Food is plentiful in Cowes. You won’t get much by way of fine dining but you will get good atmosphere and something to cater for everyone’s tastes.
There are a wide variety of restaurants along the Cowes High Street. Walk out from the marina and turn either left or right and within a few hundred yards there will be a pub or a restaurant or a yacht club that’s able to take you and your crew and give you food and drink. There are also two well stocked supermarkets, a greengrocer, some bakers and a butchers on the high street. The smaller shops may be closed on Sundays.
We’ve eaten well at the following restaurants.
Upriver from ISC by Kathryn Lewis
Directly outside the pedestrian entrance to the Yacht Haven. It’s busy so if you want to guarantee a seat at a table then book ahead. There’s the usual standard pub menu but it’s reliable and a fun place to be.
Always busy, you’re guaranteed that you’ll bump into someone you know. Again, reliable pub food. Book ahead if you want to guarantee a table.
This restaurant is a bit of an institution. It’s not fine dining but the food is plentiful and they will happily accommodate large groups.
Well Bread
This cafe and bakery was new to me last year. They bake fantastic bread that keeps well. I trudged up here in the pouring rain but it was worth the trip as the crew appreciated the wonderful bread; welcome after spending 4 miserable hours in big seas and strong winds.
Tiffins Cafe
Just next door to the pedestrian entrance to the yacht haven they do bacon butties. You can eat in or take away.
This club is always welcoming and they have a lovely restaurant and bar on the first floor that overlooks the harbour. The restaurant can be fully booked at busy times such as during the Round the Island race weekend. They also do fantastic barbecues.
I only seem to come to this club for formal dinners but they do these brilliantly. Nothing beats a summer’s evening sitting on the terrace drinking pink gin and looking down onto the Royal Yacht Squadron. The club has recently merged with the Royal Ocean Racing Club so it’ll be interesting to see whether that changes things.
On Land 