Most away days go wrong in the same way. Someone books a meeting room forty minutes from the office, fills it with slides, and the only thing that feels different from a normal Tuesday is the sandwiches. The point of going away is lost on the way there.
Crossing a bit of water fixes more of that than you’d expect. People leave the mainland and something loosens. What follows is one way to build a day around Ryde, with a private lunch in The Cellar in the middle of it.
Getting everyone across
Ryde is the easiest place on the Island to arrive. The FastCat from Portsmouth Harbour lands at Ryde Pier Head in about 22 minutes, and the station at Portsmouth Harbour is served by trains from London Waterloo. The hovercraft from Southsea reaches Ryde Esplanade in ten. Both leave you a short walk from us.
If people are driving, the car ferries come into Fishbourne, a short drive away, and East Cowes. There’s no parking at Royal Maritime House, but there are two public car parks within two minutes’ walk, one of them directly opposite.
A shape for the day
- MorningGet the thinking done early, while people are fresh. If you want to spend the whole day at Royal Maritime House, that’s a different conversation, and the events page is where to start it.
- LunchThe Cellar is yours from noon until 5pm, with one long table for up to twenty. The menu is agreed in advance, so nobody spends twenty minutes reading it.
- AfternoonThe beach is on the other side of our garden wall, and at low tide the sand runs a long way out. In summer the garden bar is open, weather permitting.
- EveningA drink on the terrace before the boat home, or stay on for dinner.
Why lunch is the middle of it
Put a team around one table for a couple of hours and they talk to people they don’t normally sit near. That’s most of what an away day is for. A private room helps, because the conversation doesn’t have to compete with the rest of a restaurant, and a set menu helps, because the ordering is done before anyone sits down.
The Cellar has two rooms. The 1982 seats eight to sixteen and has a window onto the kitchen. The 1945 seats twelve to twenty and has its own bar. We ask for everyone’s menu choices seven days before, and we can print a name card for each person with their order on it, which is also a quiet way of deciding who sits next to whom.
The afternoon
Leave it looser than you think you should. A walk along the sand, an ice cream, twenty minutes where nobody is presenting anything. People come back to work talking about that part of the day, not the slides.
In summer, the garden bar takes walk-ins for drinks, and the terrace has the Solent right in front of it. Garden dining and the garden bar depend on the weather, so keep the plan flexible. The Cellar doesn’t mind what the sky is doing.
Staying for dinner
The restaurant serves dinner from 5.30pm to 8.45pm, Thursday to Saturday from September to May. If the whole team is staying, The Cellar can be booked for dinner instead, from 6pm until midnight. In December that becomes the company Christmas dinner. See Christmas at RT Café Grill. Some teams will want to be on the boat home by then. Nobody will think less of them.
The practical bits
- Cost: each room has a minimum spend on food and drink, which depends on the day and the season. It isn’t a room charge. A deposit of £20 a person on the room’s minimum numbers holds the room and comes off the bill on the day. It’s refunded in full if you cancel 14 days or more before.
- The bill: it can be split up to two ways on the day unless it’s paid in advance. For a work booking, paying ahead is simpler.
- Access: The Cellar is on the lower ground floor with no step-free access. Tell us before booking if anyone needs help and we’ll plan for it.
- Dates: the restaurant is open Tuesday to Sunday in June, July and August, Thursday to Sunday from September to May. For anything outside that, ask us through the events page.
Questions we get asked
How do you get to Ryde from London for an away day?+
Take the train from London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour, then the FastCat to Ryde Pier Head, which takes about 22 minutes. Royal Maritime House is a short walk from the pier.
How many people can have lunch in The Cellar?+
The 1982 seats 8 to 16 and The 1945 seats 12 to 20, each at one long table. Lunch bookings have the room from noon until 5pm.
Is there a room hire fee?+
Not as such. Each room has a minimum spend on food and drink, which depends on the day and the season. If the bill comes in below it, the difference is added as room hire. The deposit is £20 a person on the room’s minimum numbers, taken off the bill on the day.
