Marconi's Tea Rooms in Isle of Wight

Having read the reviews here and seen the prices for things like the chair lift to the beach my friend and I decided to buy prepacked sandwiches and drinks from the cafe. Expensive but they have a captive market. Clean as were the toilets but staff looked bored and gave the impression they were watching the clock to go home. Only the man on the till seemed genuinely interested when my friend asked how he could get a hot chocolate from the machine. Pity - they were letting down everyone else on the island we met during our stay

We stood in the queue for over 20 minutes watching staff move at a glacial pace plating up fish and chips. Once we got the food it was fine. There is no other choice for food in the area.

Good selection of overpriced food and drink. Service could be a bit quicker! plenty of seating available

Inedible lunch and expensive. The positive was clean loos. It was the only option for food at the time, they need to up their game.

Oh my word. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite so gross. Walked in and greeted by two people who looked so bored but trying to sell us pasties and sausage rolls which had clearly been out for a couple of days. On the hot plate were some chips which were clearly cold, some burnt sausages and some insipid chicken nuggets. We walked away. Someone on the site recommended the Wight Mouse Inn about 15 minutes away on the coast road which was very nice.

The cafe was the biggest "let-down" of our visit to the Needles. Clearly they were uninterested in welcoming customers.......unfortunately they have a captive market unless you get back in your vehicle and move on

Good for a short stop, cheap tea and coffee with sweet treats however not the comfiest place to relax and not overly welcoming

I didn’t think such dreadful food was still available to be honest. We popped in here to grab a bite to eat whilst waiting for our ferry home, so unfortunately this will be our last memory of the islands offering, despite having many great meals elsewhere. We weren’t expecting much, given where it was and you certainly delivered on our low expectations! Overcooked pasty, inedible sausage rolls, dry tasteless muffin and brownie, weak coffee - all over priced rubbish. I feel sorry for everyone going there expecting something good to eat!

This was the only cafe open at the time of our visit and met the basic criteria of a warm drink and a tasty muffin. We sat in the sun and watched the world go by for a short time.

We had coffee and cake at this very busy tea room. Clean and friendly staff. Lots of choice for food and drinks.

What a disappointment, you'd get better food and service at the school canteen. staff clearly miserable, no passion, just sad faces. The food is better in a school canteen, probably healthier too. If your interested in limp chips, flimsy burgers and fake cheese this is the place for you. The whole place seemed dirty, a real disappointment.

nice sausage roll, had a hearty, cafeteria vibe and the staff were friendly. was average but not terrible

Poor cleanliness of the tables, floors and generally in need of a deep clean. Poor choice of snacks, poor quality coffee. Only interest seems to be in highest profit for least effort. Very sad for the image of Isle of Wight overall.

Only restaurant available. Very long queue for food. Waiting for 30 minutes eventually just went for pasty and drink as this was quickest option. Table surface was very dirty and paper plate stuck to the table. Pasty was just about edible but burnt and hard in places. Restaurant floor could have done with a clean. Cleanest place was the toilets. Definitely not returning.

Got some convenient lunch here after visiting the Needles. The location is great and the food is just average.

Burnt and dried food on display. Very expensive for what it is. Long wait. The girl servjng food had long hair hanging all over the place. Surely this should be tied back and covered??. Same with the young lad. Hair everywhere and greeted us with...well...

40 min cue for lunch or coffee is far to long. Never again. If I ever visit again. We will take a picnic and drinks.

Over priced food and drinks. A lack of staff doesn’t help, they seemed to just be wandering around with no real purpose. It looks like it’s hasn’t been refurbished since the 1970’s.

Really disappointed with this cafe. The queue was horrendous. Took about 45 mins to get food. Just a very poor system really as self serve queue is same as those waiting to be served hot food. Very expensive but that's to be expected at places...

Very poor, managed to undercooked & burn food at same time. Coffee poor, staff look fed up. Expensive but definitely not worth it. Bring a picnic instead

Overcooked, deep fried, from the freezer, under staffed, poor service and over priced. The most concise and fair view I can give. Best taking your own food if visiting the needles.

Worst place on the island for a cup of coffee, stood and waited half an hour, not worth it☹️ bring your own drink and food.

Visited here to eat lunch after a day trip from Portsmouth on the ferry. We sat outside to eat as we had our dog with us on this occasion. My partner ordered sausage, chips and beans which was luke warm and for some strange reason...

Nice coffee in a sunny spot, service was quick and the coffee was nice. Great for when you have been walking around.

Avoid the place . Food is crap coffee and tea from a machine which we took one sip and binned it Very disapointing Oh decor is ok .

was hungry so called in after the chair lift the pasty was only half filled and undercooked and had a tangy taste to it, so ended up buying a few packs of crisps my wife's meal was over cooked chips looked like they had been...

Absolutely disgusted my Grandson had an out of date sandwich. The place looked like it was winding down and that included the uncaring staff in the cafe!!!!! Come on!!!! You are getting paid a wage for WHAT?????? DIABOLICAL customer service Staff SHOULD BE CHECKING DATES.......just...

Nothing fresh, everything from frozen or long shelf life. They need to out source it to outside catering company or buy a greggs franchise. Terrible quality for saying this is the number one attraction on the island.

The title says it all. Like the attraction it’s a rip off. Forced to ask for money back for coffee. Staff sullen and disinterested.

Marconi cafe. Queued for over half an hour. Husband had pasty and chips, I ordered jacket potato with cheese and beans. Queued another 15 minutes to pay. The women serving were slow and really didn’t have a clue. The man on the till was so...

Worse food I have ever paid for ! Visited as a group of 4 and none of us could eat it ! Bite of it made feel unwell for a while. My son found a hair in his burger. Avoid this place !!

Remember motorway service station food in the 1980s? Remember when British food was an international embarrassment? This is an absolute minimum-effort establishment that reheats the lowest possible quality, mechanically reclaimed frozen food at captive audience tourist attraction prices. Long queues and dirty tables.

Late afternoon so limited choices, a cup of tea and a cake. Surroundings were left with rubbish from the days activities and needed attention to bring it up to standard.

Visited Alum Bay and went to Marconis for a snack, What an eye opener! Chaos reigned at the hot food checkout, the only activity seemed to be a young lad wandering about aimlessly. Just wanted tea and a cake, so went to the alternative checkout....

Popped in the snack bar while visiting the needles. Plenty of food choices. Prices very reasonable for a tourist attraction. Selected a sandwich & drink but at the till staff, Jeanette, pointed out there was a meal deal so added a bag of crisps at...

Lovely spacious building and food was ok to be fair despite being overpriced but this is expected unfortunately. However the place was so disorganised at peak time. Everyone was walking through exit (tiny sign), queuing around tables despite nice day outside. What irritated us the...

Had a lovely time until the food the chips was old by 1 or 2 hours and cold and the pasty was also cold and 1 or 2 hours old

For such an amazing location and lovely, inviting looking building, the food was very poor. Food tasted like it had been sat there for a few hours, it was cold, the chips tasted old and were not nice at all. I hate giving bad reviews...

Well firstly I'm not an alcoholic, but after our walk over Tennyson down we look forward to going into Marconi's for a pint and some food. Could not believe it today when we got there and no alcohol being served. So disappointed, didn't even go...

We were pleasantly surprised at this cafe at the Needles. First, 3 of us are vegan and we didn’t get our hopes up but they offered 3 different vegan pies and pasties, plus the chips were vegan. They all tasted really good too. Other meat...

We visited for lunch a few days after restaurants were told that, due to Covid-19, they needed to operate as table service only. Therefore, we were surprised that Marconi was continuing to operate as self-service, including providing hot drinks from self-service machines and pre-packed sandwiches...

The worst food I’ve ever had. And I had many bad meals in UK, unfortunately. Because you always eat just expensive burgers and chips that’s it but this one was like the place has been abandoned and it doesn’t seem clean, few choices, cold food...

We visited this place yesterday and it was quite appalling, first of all the man serving was quite rude (we were a party of 8, could only take two drinks orders at a time) secondly, the quality of drinks were awful and inedible - coffee...

I was a bit (sadly) surprised after our visit to marconi's tea room. After asking for something gluten free, the staff seemed to not be able to find any information in their folders. After saying “I think so”.. after checking with another member of staff,...

Visited here yesterday for some hot food, which we were able to help ourselves to, only to be told by this rude young man dressed in black with beard, we not serving hot food yet, even though pasties out, chips out, and no barriers preventing...

Do NOT eat the ham ploughman’s, it has made me very ill with sickness and stomach cramps, the rest of the food looked terrible yesterday, totally dried up and horrible

Went in to fill up my water bottle and one of the staff members was incredibly sarcastic and rude when I asked if it was possible to have ice. Very disappointing as I was polite when I asked. Will not be returning. The other members of staff seemed fine.

Powdered hot chocolate and supermarket tea at sky high prices. Floor was dirty and needed a good clean. Captive audience unfortunately.

Called into this cafe in the afternoon. Plenty of tables available but hardly any food unless you wanted a sausage roll or a scone with jam and cream.Drinks are self service.Toilets were clean and fully stocked.Pretty basic cafe but met our needs - just.Staff were tidying up ready for close at 4.45pm.Wouldn’t rush back.

Once you are at the needles looking for somewhere to eat you don't have much of a choice unless you brought a packed lunch. The food is of a basic cafe standard. Plan a head in order not eat here. The staff are pleasant and helpful.

Stopped here on the way to the needles, it was not even 16.00 and they closed the restaurant. However my wife used the loo and found it disgusting so much wee on the floor looked like it had not been cleaned for a very long time. Also told by other people food is nothing to write home about. Will not be back.

We came here before heading to the needles themselves for a bite to eat to fuel our journey down the steps. Unfortunately me and my partner both chose the “broccoli bake”. And bake being the definitive word here, it had been cooked to an inch of its life. So much so that the pasta on the top had reverted back to its dried state in a previous life. The chips were dry and old and the vegetables that were promised on the chalk board were just baked beans. I understand that it’s a cafe and everything is mass produced but it’s a shame they don’t use some of the amazing produce the Isle of Wight has to offer. Oh... and all of that was for £8.50 without a drink.

We stopped for lunch after walking to the battery and back. The adults had fish,chips and peas. Never before had I seen brown peas....mixed with green...assumably different batches , oven chips were tepid,fish barely edible for £8.95! Not a large portion either. My daughter had cheesy chips, literally semi warm chips with grated cheese thrown on top....cheese had no chance of melting.Would never eat here again, total waste of money!

Only had coffee, which was very good. Lots of outside seats for when the sun is shining. Service was good. The walls have lots of information about Marconi, making interesting reading while drinking your coffee.

Just went in for a cup of tea thinking it was just a tea room. It is not just a tea room and restaurant but a wealth of information all about Marconi and the first SW radio signals. Wander round the place and read all about how that started the first long distance radio signals. Learn all about a great inventor. Very Interesting!

The drinks were good here, but the choice, especially for soft drinks, was limited. The position is good with some good outside seating areas, which when the sun was shining were really pleasant. Staff were attentive and constantly clearing away items from tables. Worth a stop.

Husband had a delicious hot chocolate, but what I really enjoyed was reading the walls about the marconi connection. We were thrilled to find out the spot and plaques regarding Marconi.

A clean and tidy restaurant with a wide selection of hot and cold food..plenty of seating, staff friendly...only complaint the chips I had with my pasty were barely warm..ĺ

Great coffee and lovely cake (although there was a limited choice available!) Nice staff very helpful. Do not take dogs bus doggie folk are happily accommodated outside.

It was a really horrid day weather wise. The rain was lashing down and a very cold wind but we're turned away from the bith restaurants as we had dogs. We had to seat outside under a small shelter.

We visited for a coffee and a cake the service was good and the cakes tasted home made, the mint hot chocolate was nice but dont let the mint balls drop in the hot chocolate or you get a minty drink!

This is a very clean and attractive cafe which is well worth a visit.

Stopped for lunch as was the only option available, not impressed at all. Poor choice of sandwiches and hardly any pastries/cakes left. Expensive for what it is. Wont be back.

I am a tea drinker. But... The coffee looked good so I ordered a latte. I must say it was lovely. The seating area was outside and comfy. Recommended for refreshments.

Ongezellig plek om te zitten met eten wat ook zeker niet aan te raden is. Het bestek was op waardoor we onze fish and chips met een lepel moesten eten. Droge vis, jammer genoeg allemaal niet smakelijk. Ook werden de tafels niet opgeruimd waardoor je tussen de afval van de voorgangers zit.

Called into Marconi Restaurant while visiting IoW and after paying over the top for a sandwich with just couple of pieces of chicken and a piece of limp lettuce in it i needed to use the toilet. The mens toilets are the most disgusting toilets i have ever been into (picture opening shots of Slumdog Millionaire and you will have an idea) and walked out close to throwing up leaving half the sandwich on the table as seriously needed fresh air.

We came up on the chairlift from the beach after a boat trip and realised it was lunchtime! We wanted to head on to the Battery but couldn’t wait for lunch so we went into the Marconi cafe. We shared a large portion of chips and a big sausage roll. Bargain at £5.10 in a place where we were effectively sitting targets. Clean and pleasant surroundings to eat in. Free tap water on request.

After wondering around the needles we were ready for a well deserved cup of tea and some cakes, however we were attracted to the cream tea which was very delicious. Yummy scones, clotted cream and jam. Reasonably priced compared to other tea rooms.

Called in for a quick drink and very early so it was very quiet. Plenty of seating inside and outside limited range available

Called in here for a drink and snack whilst visiting the Needles. Large restaurant that is licensed but choice of sandwiches was very small for some reason even though it was lunch time. Coffee was hot and very good. Staff were helpful and friendly and the restaurant and toilets were clean.

Went to this restaurant as part of a trip out. Very clean and staff are friendly. It’s well priced and serves children’s portions so that’s a big bonus in my books. Plenty of table space, and a good choice of menu.

The Marconi’s restaurant is next to the Tea Rooms. Got a proper queuing system and wide variety of food choices.

Was appalled there was no queuing system and people were just pushing in to get food and drinks, staff not very friendly or helpful and prices are extremely high for less than average food will not be eating here again

We arrived 20 minutes before the cafe closed to have the door shut on our face. So rude!! Avoid and pop across the road to Annabelles for a lovely coffee with a smile.

Expensive but good food good service and clean. Can imagine busy in high season but smooth and quick service. Recommend 2 people to a portion of chips :)

Nice situation with plenty of seating ondoors and outdoors. Just had tea myself but food selection looked good. Liked the info about Marconi on the walls. Had no idea he had any connection with IOW.

This is a good sized cafe/restaurant with plenty of seating in what is a clean and well kept premises. We were a party of five - grandparents, our son and his two girls, aged 14 & 10; most of the tables are for four people so we sat at two tables next to each other. I am sure you will find something here to your liking. Unfortunately I was not careful enough when I made my choice picking up a Cheese & Brochilli bake, which I thought would be brochilli with cheese sauce over it with a crispy cheese top, but under the crispy cheese top was reasonably dry pasta with very little sauce and very little brochilli. My husband had Cottage Pie with mash which he thoroughly enjoyed, so take time with your selection, so you are not left with something you can only eat half of.

Not a great selection for lunch. Husband had a pasty, it was fine. Daughter had a sausage roll, seemed ok. I had a sandwich, it was dry and tasteless.

Went in for a coffee and cake when visiting was mid afternoon but the service was very slow only one person serving and one making all the coffees didn't have much choice of cake left either preferred the cafe ok if you want a beer.

Seriously expensive drinks and snacks! I thought £1.50 for a Capri Sun is a complete rip off. Looked at the food but decided not to eat as it looked unpleasant and not to a high standard. Staff pleasant but they were more interested in talking...

Nice hot chocolate, a decent brew and fabulous pasties at a reasonable price! Worth popping in if you're at Alum Bay.

El personal era encantador y servicial. Los bocadillos eran empaquetados, pero muy agradable y la comida era razonable. Buen lugar para ir si no Traiga un picnic!

Un gran salón de catering para los partidos en autobús sin personalidad. El personal era alegre, pero no tenía ambiente.

Marconi autorizado salón de té y un restaurante. . . . Más bien una cafetería. Casi cualquier variedad de comida, así que tenía que tener un pasty. . . . Sabía que antigua, como que había sido recalentados. Área de descanso parecía un McDonald's. El...

Shame that this 'tea room' and I use the term loosely is allowed to trade at this landmark. With so much good produce on the Island the offering here is extremely poor. Totally okay if you want a stodgy offering or plastic cake. Reminds me of very poor motorway service station. My advice look for alternatives outside Alum Bay

A nice place to visit whilst at the Needles attraction but a tad expensive. Staff welcoming and polite. Nice selection of locally made food. Sandwiches enjoyed by even our 8 month old. Keep it up...

We ordered cod, chips and peas, the cod consisted of a quarter inch thick piece of fish encased in brown three-quarters of an inch concrete and the peas were tinned, yes you read that right tinned. An insult yo British catering, hate to think what foreign visitors must think!

An expensive eaterie. Not much choice where to eat in this attraction. So you are stuck food OK but not over the top

Could be really good but was really just filled with a few sarnies, pasties and dried up lasagne & chips.

Wanted to buy wine with our food but we're told to buy our food find a table and then go through to the licensed coffee shop to get wine!!!! Food was Luke warm and the fish and chips were awful. Yellowish fish, dry and obviously pre cooked. Lasagne dry round the edges. Both at over £8 each .....Horrible.

Local Beer. Good Sandwiches. Good beverage selection. Nice decking area outside. The member of staff was very friendly and welcoming. Not bad prices, given the location.

We stopped here to grab a quick eat and have a pint, appreciate the location but this was the first time on the isle of wight where I felt ripped off, £3.20 for a ham salad sandwich that whilst nice wasn't even an expensive cut of ham, the pint was nice but I have had to mark it down low as my wife used the toilet and she said it was disgusting

Lovely light lunch. Had a couple of pizzas and they were very nice. Lovely atmosphere and very relaxed. Looks like a lovely place for the evening, tapas menu looked inviting.

Was delighted that this cafe actually sold decaffeinated coffee! A touch on the expensive side -4 drinks and a cake cost £13 but the coffee made it worth it. Staff very helpful and friendly and lovely to my youngest in particular

After visiting Old Battery we had some tea and a piece of carrot cake in the tea room and it was very good. The are not a lot of seats upstairs, but we had luck, The food is fresh prepared and yes, you have to wait a little, but this is vacation and all is fresh made, so no rush. Nice little tea room

We stopped in here for a cake and a drink, the tea and latte were nice but they didn't have a very good selection of food. The food may be to other people's taste but the 2 things we got are the only things I would've chosen, and I'm not a fussy eater! I had a blueberry muffin which was delicious! And my partner had a flapjack which was ok.

Very happy with our tea & coffee. Nice sitting outside. Food pricey. A nice break from travelling. Proper cappuccino not out of a vending machine.

Decided on a mid morning coffee. 6 or 7 people in the queue in front of us and took about 20 minutes to get served. Thought the food was overpriced (£3 for a sausage roll) so just ordered to Cappuchinos. A good coffee would still have a 'head' after drinking the coffee, this disappeared after about 2 minutes. And the table hadn't been cleaned properly as it was sticky. Wouldn't go again.

There were 6 people in the queue and it took nearly 25 minutes to be served. The food is basic and not particularly tasty. The special for the day was a caramel nut slice which was awful. Guess they needed to get rid of it hence being a special.Outdoor seating is pleasant enough and if just having a beer or coffee it will suffice

Nice clean place, quick service by happy staff, food was fresh and tasty. A variety of food and drinks to choose from and not over priced.