A mild microclimate, an exciting locavore food scene and a distinct Mediterranean look make this seaside town a must-visit destination, says Hayley Spencer
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Lying on a lounger, watching the early morning rays dance hazily on the calm turquoise sea, I couldn’t believe how warm the autumn sun felt on my skin. The rain had been coming in sideways when I’d left London, and just a few hours later, after navigating a couple of final hairpin roads, I’d checked into my home for the night – a hillside, pitched-roof villa with a perfect vantage over the golden beach below – and had barely seen a cloud in the sky since.
No, I hadn’t caught a quick flight to the Italian Riviera; I was less than 100 miles from home on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, in the town of Ventnor, which boasts a mild microclimate that usually makes it a few degrees warmer than the mainland. The isle as a whole gets more hours of sun than anywhere else in the UK.
Ventnor’s seafront also has a distinctly Mediterranean look, with palm trees dotting the cliff and a colourful Cascade Garden tumbling down towards the bay below. It’s also home to several Italianate buildings, including my hotel, The Terrace Rooms & Wine, with turrets that inspired Queen Victoria’s Isle of Wight residence, Osborne House.
Though it’s not just the area’s sun trap status or Med aesthetic that attracts a steady flow of visitors beyond summer – it’s fast becoming a foodie hotspot. Within its pleasingly walkable one-square-mile footprint, there’s a scene that spans Asian, Mediterranean, and fresh seafood. Stylish Mediterranean brasserie Stripped is also the island’s best-reviewed restaurant, while family-run The Basque Kitchen brings a taste of Spain to the isle with authentic croquetas and sharing menus that use the very best of Isle of Wight produce.
Smoking Lobster on the seafront has two AA Rosettes for its Asian twists on whatever it catches that day from its own fishing boats and pots. The same team has also just opened The Lobby for brunch and lunch, with views across the channel.
At the edge of the bay, The Terrace is at the heart of this scene, and its foodie couple owners Ashley and Tom Fahey are intent on making the area a destination for wine. Ashley was formerly head of the cookery school at Thyme hotel in the Cotswolds, while Tom is a former restaurant guidebook inspector who has just been ranked the sixth-best sommelier in the UK. Since opening the six-room guest house in 2022, it’s racked up plenty of accolades, including best New Zealand and best rosé wine lists in the UK.
Along with an inventive four-course breakfast (culminating in an artfully arranged Full English featuring a mini pan con tomate made with flavourful Isle of Wight tomatoes), one of the main draws of a stay at The Terrace is the complimentary nightly wine tasting. Tom hosts and curates these 5pm sessions in the sea-view wine room and shop, which houses over 1,200 bottles from around the globe. Rosé is Tom’s passion – or, more specifically, challenging prevailing myths about what rosé is, and what makes a good one.
As he bemoaned at my tasting: “We’ve collectively, and wrongly, decided that dark equals sweet and pale equals dry. Producers have to pale-wash to get people to look twice at their wine.” Don’t even think about bringing up the internet’s favourite pale of the moment, “Chicken Wine.”
You may find yourself thinking: “guilty as charged”, but you’ll be rewarded regardless with a lively tasting of four distinct and delicious bottles. They’re all available to buy at a reasonable price so you can take your favourite home; though better still, purchase a glass or two afterwards to catch the sunset in the glass-fronted pergola room.
To sample the island’s unique produce, book dinner at pan-Asian restaurant True Food Kitchen on the high street, which offers a five-, six-, or marathon seven-course tasting menu. Owned by born-and-bred islander and chef Adam Fendyke, the pretty plates span everything from melt-in-the-mouth tuna tartare to tender duck leg served on noodles, lifted by the freshest veg and herbs with flavours inspired by Korea, Japan and Thailand. With a tiny number of covers and an open kitchen, it has the relaxed vibe of a friend’s dinner party.
The area also has a more laid-back side, with plenty of spots that deliver the chocolate-box cute looks and seafaring spirit you’d expect given the island’s “time warp” reputation. Right at the end of Ventnor Esplanade, The Spyglass Inn has brass lanterns and plenty of other nautical paraphernalia hanging from the ceiling, and is ideal for a cosy pitstop to sip a pint of ale or a craft beer.
Wander beyond Ventnor Beach to Steephill Cove, where fishing net-adorned The Crab Shed sells pasties stuffed with crab meat (until late September), which locals tell me are the very best on the isle.
If you’ve got time for a jaunt before catching your ferry back across the Solent to the mainland, neighbouring Bonchurch also has the quaint factor. Literary fans will enjoy the fact that it is home to Winterbourne House, where Charles Dickens famously stayed for a summer while writing David Copperfield, and which he dubbed the “prettiest place I ever saw in my life."
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On the area’s Village Road, a duck and turtle pond looks as though it was plucked straight from a storybook, while the pretty Italianate houses and rustic stone cottages opposite will have you pulling up Rightmove and plotting your relocation. Above it is Madeira Road with an impressive array of subtropical plants looming over it to match the name.
The charming Bonchurch Inn, with its distinctive sunflower-yellow framed windows, is another spot to know for a pint. And if you want to sample a final dish before you tackle the 30-minute walk back to Ventnor Beach along the coast path, it also serves a small Italian menu, including the huge “Besozzi’s Life Changing Lasagne”.
After a weekend under Ventnor’s dappled sunlight, it might be hard to leave for the grey mainland. Once you’ve been, along with your beliefs about blush-coloured wines, it’s likely the stereotypes you had about the island itself will have been dispelled too. If you thought it was all buckets and spades, sticks of rock, or beer-soaked rock festivals, this foodie corner will have proved you well and truly wrong.
Hayley was a guest of The Terrace Rooms & Wine
White Link ferries run every hour from Portsmouth to Fishbourne and from Lymington to Yarmouth, taking around 40 minutes. The high-speed service from Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde Pier Head takes 22 minutes and is for foot passengers only. Fares start from £40.50 per leg, per car, and from £21.90 for adults on foot.
Get more ideas on what to do on the Isle of Wight at www.visitisleofwight.co.uk
The Terrace Rooms & Wine has six plush, individually-designed rooms with calming schemes. Each comes with its own wine fridge, though choose Room Three to secure your own claw-foot bathtub and picture-window view over the bay.
Price: From £250, including breakfast and a nightly wine tasting
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