The quality of the food and the menu choices were amazing. Everything we ordered exceeded our…read moreexpectations and was exactly as described on the menu. We came on a night where they seemingly had a staff shortage which meant a slight delay in our food order but did not detract from our experience. I'm only mentioning it as some other diners around us were less tolerant of the longer wait time. Definitely more on the gourmet fancy food side! Great place for a date night

What a great place right at the waterfront. We were there with a group of eight and so I was able…read moreto try most of the food. It was incredible. The cheese soufflé, the pork belly, the scallops, all appetizers we're just stunning. For the main course, I had the vegetarian gnocchi, in my opinion too many vegetables and too little gnocchi, seafood and lamb dishes looked really great! I also had the winter salad which I can highly recommend. The only downside was my dessert, I had the trifle and it was just really not good, one of my colleagues had the passion fruit soufflé and that was incredible! make sure to get that! All in all, a great experience, especially if you love sea food.

The Michelin starred Terrace restaurant was the main reason for booking a nights stay at the…read moreMontague Arms Hotel. What better way to celebrate your birthday than a Michelin star tasting menu! There was a little confusion over the time of our booking. I'm convinced I made it for 8pm but reception rang our room at quarter to telling me it was actually for 7pm. I'm not sure what went wrong here but we needn't have worried as we were not rushed at all. On arrival at the restaurant we were offered a pre dinner drink in the lounge. We partook in a glass of bubbly next to the open fire, with nibbles of nuts and olives, and a canapé of cheesy bread. The sommelier came with the wine list and recommended a white or light red to go with the tasting menu as we didn't want to go for the wine pairings. We plumped for a bottle of Tasmanian Pinot Noir. We were seated in the restaurant by Pierre, the lovely maitre de. The table faced out to the garden which looked beautiful with all the reflected candle light. My handbag was even given it's own little stool to sit on - what service!! Food wise, chef Matthew Tomkinson takes his inspiration from the surrounding New Forrest, most of his ingredients being sourced from the restaurant's own kitchen garden or from local suppliers. The amuse bouche was a delicious artichoke cream garnished with artichoke crisps and the tiniest mushrooms I have ever seen! First course proper was a delightful dish of scallops with a lightly curried crust, served on a bed of puréed cauliflower with slithers of fennel and apple. All of the tastes complimented each other perfectly. Next up was a perfectly cooked piece of sea bass, with deliciously crispy skin. I can't recall everything this dish was served with but it included small potatoes and sweet onions. The next course was our favourite - roe dear cooked very pink, and I'm guessing sous vide as it was so tender and delicate, yet retaining its full flavour. This was accompanied by venison croquette, also divine, braised lettuce and a red wine jus. I couldn't fault this dish at all. Next up was a cheese course. A creamy English cheese served with quince jelly and water crackers. Although the cheese was delicious, I couldn't help thinking that this was cheating a little to serve this a course on a tasting menu. If you are going to do cheese, I at least think there should be a selection. But given this is my only complaint, it didn't effect the overall experience. Next up we're the puddings. The first was a creamy orange tart with impossibly thin pastry, served with a blood orange sorbet. My boyfriend loved this dessert. I did too but the next one made me really happy! Salted caramel fondant with creme fraiche and cider lolly sorbet - absolutely divine! This was followed with a selection of petit fours with happy birthday Gemma written on the plate - what a lovely and thoughtful finishing touch. My boyfriend commented on the deliciousness of the black current jellies, and they brought him a couple of extras to take back to the room! We moved into the lounge for a final glass of port and to let the food go down! Not only was the food amazing, the level of service was outstanding as well. Both Pierre and David the sommelier were so friendly and helpful, the complete opposite of the stuffy and snooty French service you so often experience! Both are relatively new to the Montagu Arms, but having come from the Waterside Inn and the Fat Duck, you can see where these two have learnt their skills and this can only benefit their new adventure. Overall, an amazing foodie experience, I'll remember this birthday for a long time to come!

What a lovely place! I went there for lunch today and all the food, without exception, was…read moredeliciously exquisite. The Maître de maison and waiters were excellent and all the courses were explained as they were served. They even made some special Bon bons for my Gran's birthday which were brought out with a candle. The chef also made small portions for my 93 year old grandmother who was celebrating her birthday and rustled up a single scoop of plain ice cream for her desert at no charge. If I have one complaint it is that they got the bill wrong. However, when I asked them to explain it, it was quickly whisked away and a new one presented with apologies. This was my first visit to a starred restaurant and I will definitely be going back!

We came here for the first time a few weeks ago (July) for lunch and really enjoyed it. I had a…read morefalafel burger which initially came with no falafel, but when I pointed this out the the waitress, she very quickly sent it back to the kitchen and had it sorted. Although I'd already cut into the burger and finished half the portion of their chips, they came back with a new portion of the meal. The potato chips are divine too-weirdly enough, one of the best I've had in a long time. My partner had a tuna salad which was delicious and gourmet. We sat outside on the terrace looking out to the beach front. Fantastic for a Sunday afternoon!

They only do dinner in the summer. We recently tried them out. Traditionally smoked haddock fillet…read moretopped with runny egg and crispy bacon was terrific. Their take on cheesecake is unusual, but delicious - cream cheesy and rich, with cherry and kirsch, topped with a shortbread biscuit. Fish and chips got rave reviews too. Quite busy on a Wednesday. Despite the beach cafe vibe, this is proper grub. Dinner for five was £125 (2 courses and drinks). Great view too, so well worth a trip.

Two nights of business in 10 days... yea I am a fan…read more They were happy to accommodate us last minute the first time we traipsed in with 9 people if we were able to eat within a set time limit, we agreed and were happy we did. Dinner was so good we came back again to celebrate making weight before our Regatta.

The steak was excellent. The best I have had outside of the US! Very attentive and efficient staff!read more

They took us in last minute, even when the kitchen was closing in 3 mins, they let the 4 of us…read moreplace orders! Thank u so much to our servers & host! Every dish was delicious, the experience was perfect. Also love the fact that theres a timeline for the history of this building from the 14th century of what it was back then up to now what it is today, was a cool addition to the decor. Would definitely recommend this place to anyone!

Ambiance Just beautiful dated brick building that is 730…read moreyears old. Spiral staircase takes u to restaurant on 2nd floor. Outdoor seating. Service Everyone so friendly sampled a few beers and went with Barton Chestnut Malt. Rack of Ribs This is a meal for two. Generous serving fall of the bone tender. Potatoes and coleslaw good. Dessert Pimm's Trifle It was ok. Voco Southampton Hotel recommended them.

Slow service which seems a policy as we went to sister restaurant in Weymouth called the ship…read more Food slightly better than average. Service polite and ok but extremely slow. Menu identical to ship but here they had kitchen doing something. Great outside area and parking I suppose worth a visit but ( by American standards) pretty overblown for what it is. Biggest issues are how long it takes to bring out pre frozen ice creams for children. At both restaurants we attended we had to ask to bring them for kids. Inattentive service or policy to drag it out to get more drink sales. Or want to give long term atmosphere of low pressure eat and enjoy. We plan to stay in associated hotel ( which as it turns out) is 2 minutes walk down the road !!! Where this place will serve breakfast!!!! Hopefully I have this wrong. No major complaints but would not single this place to come back again.

the outside is dirty as usual, but the service was pretty good considering how busy the place is,…read moremy husband amd daughter loved their food, but my burgers were over cooked and cold. did you do something to the chips? they're differen, or maybe just cold.

IMPORTANT: Please note that previous reviews on Yelp relate to earlier owners, not the current…read moreones. This review is as the result of two visits to the Folly Inn. My wife, who is American, and I, visited the Island for the first time in twelve years and chose the Folly Inn for lunch. I grew up in East Cowes and have fond memories of family picnics down by the river there. I've revisited the Inn many times over the years and it has continuously improved over the past decade or so. We had a great experience last time that we visited and weren't disappointed this time. The improvements are very noticeable. We chose different starters and main courses and every one of them was perfect. They were tasty, beautifully cooked and presented and good value. We even stretched our appetites to a dessert that was equally good. The selection of drinks and wines was great too. It's nice that they have the best local beers and the Island's own Mermaid spirits, for instance. The service and staff were wonderful (That's something that I don't often have the pleasure of saying) - informative, attentive, friendly and timely without being intrusive. The location is beautiful, of course, and the Inn is in perfect condition, clean, inviting, spacious and tastefully decorated. We spent time looking at the many little features on our way out. Things don't always go as well on subsequent visits to places that you visit on your travels, but this was an exception. Having looked at a few other places by the sea and in the countryside, we decided to go back to the Folly Inn. It was the right decision. We enjoyed a perfectly balanced seafood "sharing" plate. The nicely presented combination of smoked salmon, shellfish, squid (calamari) and whitebait was excellent, as was the dessert, which we also shared. I've had inferior dishes in places with Michelin Stars. We heartily recommend the Folly Inn for everything from a "pub lunch", to a special occasion. It will be our first meal venue next time that we visit the Island and we recommended it to relatives on the Island. A place that was once a slightly weary hangout for the locals and a few mariners is now well and truly on the map. Thank You to the Folly Inn team for adding some extra lustre to our trip.

Have some great memories in this island. Nice meals, lovely service and the views are great. Visit…read morewith confidence and enjoy. We sure did.

Good food! Big garden with play area for children.read more

Good food, appalling service! -The bar staff didn't seem to know what to do when a lot of people…read moreneeded serving. Ordered our food, smoked salmon & crab gnochie as snacks, with crisps. The girl behind the bar said she would bring the crisps to our table and after 10 minutes I had to ask where they were. Public an/manager was behind the bar but did not seem 'on the ball'.