Where to Eat in Ryde: A Local's Guide

Ryde is the first thing most people see when they arrive on the Isle of Wight — the pier, the sand running for half a mile at low tide, the Solent behind you and the town rising up in front. It's also, quietly, one of the best places to eat on the island.

Getting to Ryde

Ryde is the easiest arrival point on the island. The FastCat foot passenger ferry from Portsmouth lands at Ryde Pier Head in around 22 minutes, and the hovercraft from Southsea reaches Ryde Esplanade in ten. Both drop you a short walk from the town centre. If you're bringing a car, the vehicle ferries into Fishbourne and East Cowes are a 10–15 minute drive away.

Which matters for one reason: you can be sitting down to lunch overlooking the Solent less than half an hour after leaving the mainland.

Breakfast in Ryde

Breakfast is where the day should start slowly. At RT Café Grill the kitchen is open from 9am, Tuesday to Sunday — proper cooked breakfasts, pastries, good coffee, and that view doing the work while you wake up. Walk-ins are welcome at the bar if you haven't booked.

Lunch with the Solent in view

Lunch is RT Café Grill at its most relaxed. A daily-written menu of grills, seasonal plates and classics — island produce where we can get it, cooked with care but never fuss. Wide windows wrap the dining room, so you're looking out over the water while the ferries cross. In the warmer months the private garden behind the restaurant opens for lunch in the sun.

Lunch runs 12pm to 5pm. It's the easiest table to get and, for a lot of visitors, the highlight of the day.

Afternoon tea

If you're after something between lunch and dinner, afternoon tea runs Thursday to Sunday — sandwiches, warm scones, pastries and a proper pot of tea, from £35 per person. Add a glass of fizz if the occasion calls for it. It books up, so reserve ahead.

Dinner

Dinner at RT Café Grill is the same relaxed room turned down a few notches — candlelight, the water going dark, cocktails from the bar. The menu shifts with the season and what's landed that day. Service runs from 5.30pm to 9.30pm.

Drinks and the sea-view bar

You don't need a table to enjoy the best of it. The bar and terrace are open 9am to 10pm daily for drinks and bar snacks — oysters, a glass of rosé in the afternoon, cocktails as the light goes over the Solent. It's one of the finest sunset spots on the island, and walk-ins are welcome.

For something special

Two experiences sit a step above the everyday:

• The Cellar — two private dining rooms beneath the restaurant, each looking into the wine cellar. For anniversaries, milestone birthdays and celebrations, 8 to 22 guests, bespoke menus from £75 per person.
• Thompson's — chef Robert Thompson's tasting menu, revived from his original Newport restaurant and now served in The Cellar across a handful of evenings each year. From £100 per person, menu released a month ahead.