Review on The Island
To look at the bright and breezy, post-modernist Island pub, dining and terrace, it's hard to imagine that it sprang from the ruins of a '70s-built bunker of a pub with sticky carpets, bare light bulbs, wall-to-wall dog racing and flat beer'. These days it pulls in the crowds with its informal bar, stylish first-floor restaurant and a vast, bamboo-screened sun terrace that runs right round the curiously shaped building.
In the bar you can always get snacks and hearty meals, ranging from plates of charcuterie and mezze to prime steaks and gastro pub dishes like broad bean, pea and goats' cheese risotto, plus real ales, cider, cocktails and pickings from a global 60-bin wine list.
In the brightly lit, first-floor dining room, you can order from a more ambitious, French-influenced menu that could take in – say – duck liver and brandy parfait, roast pork fillet with black pudding and cauliflower purée and rare grilled tuna with roasted peppers, rocket and anchovy dressing. To finish, expect anything from caramelised orange tart with crème fraîche to pannacotta with blackberries and shortbread.
On Sundays, the Island hosts an outdoor 'Garden Market' (10.00am – 2.00pm), with stalls selling everything from plants and garden furniture to Italian deli produce.
The Island is also featured in: Hardens
Rate this RestaurantCuisine
Gastro pub / French
Chef
Nick Rochford
Restaurant Opening Times
Breakfast: 8.30am (10.00am Sun) through
Lunch: until
Dinner: 11.00pm (10.30pm Sun)
Accepted credit cards
Visa, Master Card