The chef, the team, the Island
Chef Robert Thompson MBE.
Two Michelin stars by the age of 28, the Isle of Wight’s first among them. His own restaurant for nine years. Now Royal Maritime House in Ryde, where he cooks with a team who have been with him for years.
RT Café Grill every week, Thompson’s on selected dates, The Cellar for the occasions that matter.
- Best New Restaurant in the UKRT Café Grill, British Restaurant Awards 2024
- Best UK ChefBritish Restaurant Awards 2025
- Listed in the MICHELIN GuideGreat Britain and Ireland
The yearsTwo stars, one Island, an MBE
The career in years.
- 2007 Winteringham FieldsMichelin star, aged 26
- 2009 The HambroughMichelin star, the Isle of Wight’s first
- 2015 Thompson’s, NewportHis first restaurant of his own
- 2024 Royal Maritime HouseThompson’s, Newport, closes; RT Café Grill named Best New Restaurant in the UK
- 2025 Best UK ChefBritish Restaurant Awards
- MBE The honourFor services to cooking
The storyFrom Lincolnshire to the Ryde seafront
From a Michelin star at 26 to an Island home.
Winteringham Fields
In 2007, aged 26, Robert earned a Michelin star leading the kitchen at Winteringham Fields in Lincolnshire. The obvious next move was London. He didn’t make it. He moved to the Isle of Wight instead, to build something more personal.
The Hambrough, and Island history
At The Hambrough in Ventnor, in 2009, Robert earned the first Michelin star the Isle of Wight had ever held. It put the Island on the map for serious food and set the tone for everything since: classical training, modern instincts, restraint, and a deep respect for what grows and swims within a few miles of the kitchen.
Thompson’s, Newport
In 2015 he opened Thompson’s in Newport, his first restaurant of his own. The idea was freedom: from the confines of formality, from restrictive menus, from anything that got in the way of great food and warm hospitality. Over nine years it became one of the Island’s defining places to eat. Thompson’s closed its Newport doors in 2024.
Royal Maritime House
Today Robert cooks at Royal Maritime House on the Ryde seafront. RT Café Grill is his most relaxed restaurant yet, modern European, with a 180° view of the Solent, open from breakfast to dinner, Tuesday to Sunday in June, July and August and Thursday to Sunday from September to May (Sundays until 5pm). Beneath it, The Cellar holds two private dining rooms. And on a handful of dates each month the Thompson’s tasting menu returns, served in The Cellar at lunch and dinner, in his own room, on his own terms.
Star-level cooking when the occasion calls for it, an easy-going restaurant every other day. The same chef, the same team, and the same Island larder in both.
The MBE
Robert was appointed MBE for services to cooking: two decades of it, most of them spent on an island of 140,000 people rather than in a capital of nine million.
The peopleKitchen, bar and floor
Robert and the team.
A restaurant is only ever as good as the people in it every day. The kitchen at Royal Maritime House writes the RT Café Grill menu each season, cooks the Thompson’s tasting menu on its dates, and runs The Cellar for private parties. Front of house run the terrace in August, the dining room in January, and remember how you take your coffee. Many of them have worked with Robert for years, across more than one restaurant.
They are the reason the same building can do a relaxed lunch and a tasting menu in the same week, and do both properly.
- Vickie BroughtonBookings and events
- Lisa UlphFront of house
- Clare LloydFront of house
- TillyFront of house
An evening in service. Bar and floor, photographed on an ordinary evening in August: this is what the building looks like from the inside when it is full.
The Island larderWhat grows, swims and is made within a few miles
The Island larder.
The Isle of Wight grows, catches and makes more than most counties twice its size. Robert’s menus are written around it.
From the water
Solent fish and shellfish, landed a short walk from the kitchen. Oysters, crab, mackerel and whatever the boats bring in.
From the land
Island cheeses such as Gallybagger, Hazelgrove eggs, rare-breed pork, tomatoes from the Arreton valley, garlic from Newchurch, and a kitchen garden of herbs and nasturtiums.
From the cellar
Two private rooms named for great vintages, 1945 and 1982, and a wine list that leans on English sparkling as much as Champagne.
RecognitionAwards and press, as they stand
Recognition.
Two Michelin stars, two British Restaurant Awards, an MBE, and the guides that list the restaurant today.
- Michelin
- Michelin star, Winteringham Fields (2007). Michelin star, The Hambrough, Isle of Wight (2009). Listed in the MICHELIN Guide, Great Britain and Ireland.
- British Restaurant Awards
- Best New Restaurant in the UK, 2024 (RT Café Grill). Best UK Chef, 2025.
- Honours
- Appointed MBE for services to cooking.
- Guides and critics
- The Good Food Guide, Square Meal and the MICHELIN Guide UK. Named a chef to watch by national critics. Longlisted for The Cateys Chef Award.
- In print
- Recipes in the Great British Chefs Cookbook. Features in Olive, The Caterer, The Guardian and National Geographic Traveller.
- Partnerships
- A small number of brand collaborations each year, most recently a summer of open-air cooking with Vlaze. See the partnerships.
- At home
- Robert’s recipes and cook-along dinners at YouBeChef.
Who is Chef Robert Thompson MBE?
Chef Robert Thompson MBE is a British chef based on the Isle of Wight. He held Michelin stars at Winteringham Fields (2007) and The Hambrough (2009), ran Thompson’s in Newport from 2015 to 2024, and now cooks at Royal Maritime House in Ryde: RT Café Grill, the Thompson’s tasting menu and The Cellar private dining.
Does Chef Robert Thompson have a Michelin star?
Robert has held two Michelin stars, in 2007 and 2009, and is listed in the MICHELIN Guide. RT Café Grill is his relaxed restaurant; his tasting menu is served at Thompson’s on selected dates.
Where does Chef Robert Thompson cook now?
At Royal Maritime House, 17 St Thomas Street, Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 2DL: RT Café Grill upstairs, The Cellar and Thompson’s downstairs.
What was the MBE for?
Services to cooking.
Where can I eat Chef Robert Thompson’s food?
RT Café Grill (Tuesday to Sunday in June, July and August, Thursday to Sunday from September to May), Thompson’s on selected dates, afternoon tea, or a private room in The Cellar. At home, through YouBeChef.
Press, collaborations and events
For media enquiries, cookbooks, guest chef appearances or brand partnerships, email info@robertthompson.co.uk or call 01983 526118.
Come and eat with us.
Breakfast to dinner, Tuesday to Sunday in June, July and August and Thursday to Sunday from September to May (Sundays until 5pm); the tasting menu on selected dates; and two private rooms downstairs.