This is a loose plan for two days on the Island with food at the centre of it. It’s built around one good dinner, with the daytimes spent at a farm and an abbey, and it leaves room between meals, because three big ones a day is more than most people want.
Book the dinner first
If you want the weekend to centre on Thompson’s, Robert’s tasting menu, check the dates before you book anywhere to stay. It runs on selected dates, each a Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and they usually sell out about a month ahead. At the time of writing, the autumn dates are 15 to 17 October and 19 to 21 November.
Otherwise, RT Café Grill serves lunch from noon to 3pm and dinner from 5.30pm to 8.45pm, Thursday to Saturday from September to May. Sunday finishes earlier: breakfast, then the Sunday roast from noon, with last orders at 3.30pm. That matters if your weekend runs into Sunday evening.
Day one: The Garlic Farm
The Garlic Farm is on Mersley Lane at Newchurch, in the Arreton Valley south of Ryde. There’s a farm shop, a restaurant and a café, tastings of the farm’s own products through the day, and walks across the farm (pick up a map in the shop). The garlic itself is in the fields from February to June. You’ll need a car or the bus to get there.
The shop is where it’s easy to get carried away. The smoked and black garlic, the chutneys and dressings are the things that tend to get used once you’re home.
Dinner in Ryde
Leave a decent gap between the afternoon and the table, enough to get back, change and arrive hungry. If you want something to read beforehand, our Isle of Wight Larder guide goes through what the Island produces through the year, and it’ll give you better questions to ask about the menu. If it’s a steak night, this is what comes off the grill.
Day two: Quarr Abbey
After breakfast, Quarr Abbey is on the coast between Ryde and Wootton. It’s a working Benedictine monastery, and its farm shop sells Island produce alongside the abbey’s own. The tea shop and farm shop are open all year, and the gallery’s exhibitions change every week. Check Quarr’s visitor page for times before you go.
Before you head home
If there’s time for a last lunch, last orders on Sunday are at 3.30pm from September to May. Our fish guide is worth a look if you’ve had the sea in front of you all weekend. If afternoon tea suits the crossing better, book it at least 24 hours ahead.
Without a car, we’d pick one of the two outings and leave the other for next time. Trying to fit both in is how people end up late for dinner.
Questions we get asked
Do I need a car?+
It helps. The Garlic Farm and Quarr Abbey are both outside Ryde. Without one, choose one outing and use the bus or a taxi. The restaurant is a short walk from the ferry terminals, and the crossings and their timings are here.
How far ahead should I book Thompson’s?+
Dates usually sell out about a month in advance, so book the dinner before the accommodation.
Is RT Café Grill open for dinner on Sunday?+
Not from September to May. Sunday is then breakfast and the Sunday roast from noon, with last orders at 3.30pm. In June, July and August Sunday is a full day with dinner. Thursday to Saturday, dinner is served from 5.30pm to 8.45pm.
Do The Garlic Farm and Quarr supply the restaurant?+
We suggest them as places to visit, not as suppliers. Ask about the Island produce on the menu when you eat with us.
