Chef Robert Thompson MBE and RT Café Grill

Chef Robert Thompson MBE, Ryde, Isle of Wight

By the water.At Robert’s table.

Restaurants by Chef Robert Thompson MBE, overlooking the Solent in Ryde.

All-day dining at RT Café Grill, the tasting menu at Thompson’s, and two private rooms downstairs in The Cellar.

  • Best New Restaurant in the UKBritish Restaurant Awards 2024
  • Best UK ChefBritish Restaurant Awards 2025
  • Listed in the MICHELIN GuideGreat Britain and Ireland
  • Among the Island’s best for a special mealNational Geographic Traveller, June 2026

A day on the seafront.

Thursday to Saturday. On Sundays we serve breakfast from 9am and lunch from noon, last orders 3.30pm, and close at 5pm. We open Tuesday to Sunday in June, July and August, Thursday to Sunday from September to May.

  1. Croque monsieur on a wooden board, on RT Café Grill paper

    8.30am, Breakfast

    Coffee, pastries and cooked plates until 11am.

  2. The dining room at RT Café Grill in the evening, tables laid, the Solent through the window

    Noon, Lunch

    Lunch is served from noon until 3pm, in the dining room with the Solent through the windows.

  3. Afternoon tea on a brass stand by the window, on a blue tablecloth

    2.30pm, Afternoon tea

    From £35. Book 24 hours ahead.

    Book afternoon tea
  4. A chef finishing a plate with sauce at the pass

    5.30pm, Dinner

    Dinner is served from 5.30pm until 8.45pm.

Oysters on a blue-rimmed RT Café Grill plate, seen from above

RT Café Grill

Your new usual.

Modern European cooking with a 180° view of the Solent. A good steak and a second glass, a lunch that deserves a little time, dinner with people you’re pleased to see.

The restaurant has a terrace and garden bar for the summer. Tables for one to seven book online; eight or more, call 01983 526118.

Inside RT Café Grill

Thompson’s

The tasting menu. Six, seven or eight courses.

Robert’s tasting menu, served in The Cellar on selected dates each month, at lunch and dinner. From £100 per guest; dates sell out about a month ahead.

See the dates About Thompson’s
A chef plating at the pass
The long table in The Cellar, chequered marble, orange chairs and a chandelier of red flowers

The Cellar, private dining

Everyone you wanted around the table.

A birthday with all the right people. A Christmas party. A business dinner where the conversation can carry on.

The 1982
8 to 16 guests, a window onto the kitchen
The 1945
12 to 20 guests, with its own bar
Just you
One party at a time
Explore The Cellar

The Cellar is downstairs, without step-free access. Please talk to us about what you need.

The people

Chef Robert Thompson MBE and the team.

Robert earned Michelin stars at Winteringham Fields in 2007 and at The Hambrough in 2009, the first the Isle of Wight had ever held. At Royal Maritime House the kitchen and front-of-house team have been with him for years: the people who write the menus, run the terrace in August and remember how you take your coffee.

Meet Robert and the team
Chef Robert Thompson MBE opening oysters in the kitchen
Flames rising from a pan on the stove
A chef dressing oysters with seaweed

Postcards from Ryde.

A few frames from the terrace, the table and the sands below the house.

Oysters on the terrace
Something cold, in the sun
Pass the tomatoes
Iced coffee, mid-morning
Low tide, after lunch
Room for pudding
Cheers
The sun going down over the Solent

Twenty-two minutes from Portsmouth.

The FastCat runs from Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde Pier Head in about 22 minutes. The hovercraft from Southsea lands at Ryde Esplanade. Both are a short walk from the door.

Royal Maritime House, 17 St Thomas Street, Ryde, Isle of Wight PO33 2DL

Dinner on the Island from Portsmouth

From the Journal.

Every story

Book a table.

Tables for one to seven book online. Eight or more, call 01983 526118. Walk-ins welcome at the bar.

Pull up a chair

Choose your
occasion.

RT Café GrillBreakfast, lunch and dinner. Tuesday to Sunday in summer, Thursday to Sunday in winter. Sundays, breakfast and lunchThompson’sTasting menu, lunch or dinner, selected datesAfternoon teaBook at least 24 hours ahead

Prefer to speak? 01983 526118

From Robert’s kitchen

Take a look
at the menus.

Menus change with the seasons; prices and dishes on the day may differ.

The Cellar, private dining

Tell us what
you’re planning.

Two minutes now saves a phone call later. The events team replies to every enquiry.

Or call 01983 526118. We don’t share your details with anyone else.
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