Most celebrations involve guessing what a room full of people will enjoy. An anniversary doesn’t. You know whether the person across the table likes surprises or likes choosing, whether they’d love a fuss or quietly hate one, and whether they’re a lunch person or an evening person. Most of the planning follows from that.
Lunch or dinner?
We’d settle this first, because it’s the question people tend to skip. If you’re coming over from the mainland, an evening booking means keeping one eye on the last crossing, and it’s hard to relax into pudding while you’re doing ferry arithmetic. A long lunch, with the afternoon to walk along the seafront afterwards, can be the better present.
Lunch at RT Café Grill runs from noon to 5pm, Thursday to Sunday. Dinner is 5.30pm to 9pm, Thursday to Saturday.
Which table?
For most anniversaries, the restaurant is the natural choice. The à la carte changes with the seasons, you each order what you like, and the Solent is in the window.
For someone who loves food and enjoys a long meal, look at the Thompson’s dates. It’s Robert’s tasting menu, six, seven or eight courses, served downstairs in The Cellar on selected dates, at lunch or a single dinner seating, with a vegetarian menu of the same length. The dates tend to sell out about a month ahead, so it suits an anniversary you can see coming.
Ask for a window table by all means, and we’ll do our best. We can’t always promise a particular one, though, so don’t make it the centrepiece of a surprise.
One personal thing
A wine like the one you drank on honeymoon will often mean more than the most famous name on the list, and if you tell us what you remember about it, we’ll look for something close. Our guide to the wine list explains how it’s put together.
For some people a card on the table is enough. If you’re thinking of flowers, a cake, or something brought out with pudding, ask us first what can be arranged, whether there’s a charge, and when it needs to arrive. We’ll confirm it when we reply.
And if your partner would rather nobody sang, tell us that too. “No candle, please” is a useful thing to put in a booking.
When the family comes too
Some anniversaries are an excuse to gather the children, old friends and the people who were there at the start. For that, The Cellar has two private rooms for 8 to 20, with no hire fee and no minimum spend. They’re downstairs with no step-free access, so check with your guests before settling on it. Our group dining guide covers the organising.
What to put in the booking
- That it’s an anniversary, and how much attention would feel comfortable.
- Any dietary or access requirements.
- Anything you’d like arranged, so we can reply to it.
- Your ferry or hovercraft time, if there is one.
Questions we get asked
Can you arrange a cake or flowers?+
Ask when you book. We’ll tell you what’s possible, whether there’s a charge and when it needs to arrive.
Can we have a window table?+
Ask, and we’ll do our best, but we can’t always guarantee a particular table.
RT Café Grill or Thompson’s for an anniversary?+
Whichever your partner would enjoy more: choosing from a menu with the Solent in the window, or a set sequence of courses in The Cellar.
Is there a private room for a family anniversary?+
Yes. The Cellar has two rooms for 8 to 20 guests, downstairs with no step-free access. Enquire with your date and numbers.