Review: The Terrace in Ventnor – a foodie stay on the Isle of Wight

The last time I was on the Isle of Wight was on a family holiday when I was a baby. My Portuguese mother wasn’t impressed with the British summer, but she did love the abundance of fresh crab and ate so much of it while breast-feeding me that she insists it’s where I got my lifelong love affair with the crustacean from. So, I was looking forward to tasting it first hand.

We travelled from Portsmouth to Fishbourne on Wightlink Ferries and it was a promising start. Unlike the usual misery of airport queues, we drove straight on. Then it was a short drive to The Terrace in Ventnor, a boutique wine shop and stylish B&B run by Ashley and Tom Fahey and their lovely rescue dog, Ronnie.

It’s housed in the iconic St. Augustine Villa on the edge of Ventnor Bay, with its famed microclimate, steeply inclined town, Victorian villas and shingle beach. Charles Dickens described it as “the prettiest place I ever saw in my life, at home or abroad”. The Faheys also run the Michelin-recommended bistro The Terrace in Yarmouth.

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At The Terrace in Ventnor, their commitment to serving great food and wine is evident in their 900-bottle wine cellar, four-course breakfasts, cheese and charcuterie boards that are available on request and Friday-night banquets prepared by Tom and served in the wine room.

The striking Italianate exterior of The Terrace B&B in Ventnor is echoed in its elegant interiors. The rooms are comfortable in muted, relaxing colours and overlook the sea; the sitting room with a fireplace is lovely and there is a large orangery at the front of the hotel with sea views, and a fantastic wine room showcasing all those wines where guests can have wine-tasting sessions.

We started the evening with a rosé wine tasting led by Ashley. She explained what to expect and what to look for in the aromas and flavours of the wines culminating in Les Grenadines 2022, Domaine d’Ansignan, Côtes Catalanes, which straddles the line between red and rosé with cherry notes and a lovely freshness, setting us up for Tom’s dinner. His cooking was focused on local ingredients cooked simply to bring out the natural flavour and, of course, paired with the perfect wines.

We started with a tartar of Ventor Haven bass with new potatoes and a fresh salsa paired with a New Zealand sauvignon blanc. That was followed by a tomato stuffed with scallop and lobster mousse in a lobster bisque paired with another rosé, moving through skate, roast lamb and finishing with an amazing burnt butter and honey tart with a clotted-cream parfait and a delicious Château Les Tourelles 2018 Cadillac – an amazing pudding wine from Bordeaux.

Each menu is designed around fresh local seasonal ingredients. Considering the care and attention given to it, entirely cooked by Tom, it’s no surprise the five-course meal is only available on Fridays.

Authentic Basque tapas

There’s no shortage of other places to eat in the area. There’s the award-winning Smoking Lobster just round the corner, specialising in Asian-inspired seafood with wine supplied by The Terrace.

Alternatively, we opted for The Basque Kitchen up the very steep hill from the hotel. This small, popular restaurant serves a surprisingly authentic selection of Basque tapas, including excellent croquetas, braised octopus and fried hake cheeks served with aioli.

Of course, you can’t be in Ventnor’s famed microclimate without exploring a little. We walked to the nearby Ventnor Botanic Garden (£7, botanic.co.uk) – 22 acres of garden trails, which take advantage of it being an average 5°C warmer here than on the mainland.

Over 30,000 rare and exotic plants from around the world thrive in these temperatures. Take a moment to have tea in the café, where they have feeding stations for the red squirrels. We failed to spot any, but the regulars insisted they were daily visitors.

On the way back, we walked down to Steephill Cove, a small village at the foot of the Ventnor Undercliff area, which is only accessible by foot. With colourful beach huts, fishermen’s huts, clear swimming waters and rock pools, it’s a great place to spend a day.

The water, although inviting, wasn’t warm enough to have a dip, so we opted instead for chilled wine and hot crab pasties from The Crab Shed, while sitting watching the sun sparkle off the sea. It’s open Wednesday to Sunday lunchtimes, assuming it’s not raining.

It was an easy if steep walk back to the Terrace, but the views were worth it and we rewarded ourselves with a cool drink at The Spyglass Inn, a popular local pub. It may have gone overboard with the pirate theme, but it more than makes up for it with its location at the end of Ventnor beach. It has large terraces to take in the views.

After all that walking and eating it was a welcome relief to retire to our guesthouse. We sat on the outdoor terrace with an excellent glass of wine and looked forward to a comfortable night in our room, where we could see the sun set over the beach.

After a great night’s sleep and a four-course breakfast in the sunroom, I made sure to stock up on that wonderful local crab from the Ventnor Haven Fishery, a family business on the esplanade that is renowned for the freshness of its crab and lobster. It was the perfect end to a perfect weekend and just what I needed to feed my lifelong addiction to the king of shellfish.

Natasha was a guest of The Terrace. From £200 a night, including breakfast and wine tasting. Friday dinner from £80 per person (add £50 for wine pairing), visit theterraceventnor.co.uk for details.

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