The Boardwalk Cafe in Isle of Wight

Popped by for a Hot Drink & Snack after walking the dog on the beach. Very friendly staff, very welcoming and nice hot drinks which were reasonably priced for the size of the mugs. We definitely recommend visiting.

Great service, but the food missed the mark. Beach vibes and cheerful staff, though! We visited this beach pier café and enjoyed the lively and cheerful service provided by the staff, which added a positive touch to our experience. However, the food fell short of expectations. The fries were served as large chunks, and while they were crispy, many were discolored and had an unpleasant taste. The cheese and tomato pizza was another letdown, as the tomato sauce base tasted bitter, leaving it unappealing to our kids. Despite the great location and friendly atmosphere, the food quality needs improvement to match the excellent service.

We have been coming here for the a number of weeks ,I find it hard to believe some of the reviews The food is first rate The service is great While I was in there I overheard some one saying they went through a bad experience due too poor staff Well what I have experienced that bad time is well and truly over So give it a go but remember busy times will take a little longer ELIZABETH FROM EASTLEIGH

Just had lunch at the Boardwalk cafe & have to say how good it was. I had the fish pie which came with a lovely salad & warm baguette & my husband had the home made steak pie (which was better & less expensive than the one at the Pointers Inn last week). The portions were very generous & the prices very reasonable. The staff were very nice too making sure that everything was OK. Would recommend.

Possibly the worst place I've ever eaten. Took 55 mins for 3 kids meals and a lasagne to be served. Lasagne was so overcooked it needed a sledgehammer to break it up. Not cheap either. Will not be returning.

Avoid this place! Pies were hard, chips were either over fried or refried. Cheese in burgers was not even melted. Staff weren't rude but sat round huddled together watching patrons eat. Further into the Pier and just past the arcades is a much better cafe!

Possibly the worst place I have ever eaten. Ordered 3 kids meals and an adult meal. Not busy but 55 mins later it arrived. The lasagne was so overcooked I needed a sledgehammer to break it up. Will not be returning.

If I could give less then 1 star I would. Food has improved a lot since the last few years but what made the experience awful was the attitude and lack of customer service from The owner. I think I heard someone call her Lindsey or Linda. The work these young workers do for her and she speaks to them awfully and publicly. Me and my husband felt awful for the poor girl. The atmosphere of the cafe was lowered that’s for sure. Avoid the owner and don’t put money in her pocket! Awful treatment of young staff and lack of customer service. Unless you want to be served with a frown. On a plus side good work chefs food was great

Always have a cup of tea here when we visit the pier

Avoid We've waited for over an hour for food. The owner was very apologetic But after three promises of service I had to ask for a full refund And still no food. Sorry, but busy or not, this was poor service I can't recommend this premises.

i’m not impressed at all went here with my family today for breakfast and while eating there was a fly in my breakfast we nicely told the staff they just didn’t say anything about this and acted like nothing happened

We visited twice in a week, the first visit (on a weekday) was good with generous portions, well cooked food, and with decent prices and a very comprehensive menu. The 2nd visit (on a Saturday) was dreadful. Hubby ordered the same meal as before, an omelette but what a difference, almost served raw. My jacket potato with cheese and beans was delivered to the table leaving a trail of beans on the floor and as it was plonked on the table a pile of beans migrated to the seat..thank goodness i had wandered off in search of cutlery.I told the server who shrugged and walked off. So I sent meal back and it arrived back at table with zero beans... I gave up. Would we go again?? probably not.

This is a great spot if you want a freshly cooked meal or snack at a very competitive price. We had the mega board walk breakfast with a cup of tea and opted for the fried slice. It was about 15 minutes in the cooking (obviously all cooked to order) and arrived piping hot. For £9.95 you get 2 bacon, 2 fried eggs, 1 long sossig, beans, mushrooms, hash brown and your choice of white or brown toast. The fried slice is optional but is it a breakfast without it....? Some may think 15 minutes is a long way from a cafe but with food this fresh, hot and tasty the small wait is more than worth it. Especially with the views across the bay back to Shanklin and Luccombe. Try it you won't be dissatisfied.

Very helpful and a good choice of food at a reasonable price. Very clean

Amazing fresh food and very welcoming Thank you for a lovely meal The roast dinner was very filling and big portions Thank you

Love this place. Good quality food, cooked fresh to order and at a very reasonable price. I can highly recommend the mega boardwalk breakfast. All the breakfast essentials with a slice of toast and a tea or coffee for under a tenner. It's on my list of places to go to on every visit to the island.

What a find! Looking for a takeaway for some food on the beach, we came across The Boardwalk Cafe in Sandown. We ordered a pizza and a steak sandwich - and both were delicious. Especially the steak sandwich which was every bit as good as what you get in a steak restaurant. We had to wait a while for the food, but it was cooked fresh, so not surprising. Incredible quality food from a beachside cafe.

Dirty. Chief smoking by the bins and picking his nose. Beef burger was absolutely disgusting covered in cheddar cheese. Who puts cheddar cheese on a burger, well they do here. Burger also took 30 mins to arrive. Lots of swearing from kitchen. Rude staff. They get away with it because everywhere else is so expensive. Next time I would rather go hungry. God knows when they last changed the oil. The stink is heaving.

Such a variety of food,food was lovely, staff are friendly and helpful. Something for everyone. Well located in the pier.

We come here for a "quick" takeaway lunch, and how wrong we were. We ordered only a sandwich, sausage bap and cheesy chips and this took over 30mins to receive! I wasn't impressed. Apparently they lost some orders, due to the wind blowing the order off. Not really excpetable to be honest. To top it off as well, i only got one half of my sausage bap bun! I couldn't be bothered to walk all the back to complain. While wating a long time, looking at other tables orders, their food came out at all different times and not all together. Looking at previous reviews it's a common theme here. The staff didn't seem to bothered either. I would find somewhere else to get food.

Ordered a hotdog, portion of chips and omelette at 1427. By 1530 we gave up and got a refund. Staff had attitude problems, foul language coming from the kitchen. 1 stars all round as we didn't see any food during the hour we waited, lots of annoyed customers waiting longer than we had for simple food choices which led to a poor atmosphere. Don't waste your time or money. Sort it out owners, you own the only cafe on Sandown pier and can't get simple meals or service right.

I just want my bloody cheesy chips. I am a waitress and I know you don't skip HALF a tables orders in order to serve a bigger table that ordered late. I'd love to say the food is good but it's been 30 minutes and I am still without a singular portion of bloody cheesy chips. The gall to say you are serving another table before finishing 2 PRIOR orders. Unbelievable.

Terrible experience.. Never again waited over an hour... Some of our party had to leave without food as they had to catch ferry

Realy good service friendly staff Food is good

Tried this establishment again Very slow service and just like previous visit they forget items. Ordered a large breakfast received a small breakfast. This USE to be a well run cafe, not anymore. The staff cannot be bothered.

I cycled the Red Squirrel Trail and was looking for a double espresso so gave this place a go. Unfortunately, though it's called a cafe it's more a diner and has no espresso machine. I ordered a cappuccino which was a bit strange as it tasted like coffee flavouring or instant. There was some manual stirring involved. The milk frother machine had zero chill and produced some big bubble hot milk with no texture. It was very similar to what you get out of those machines at a Japanese starbucks. The food that came out looked really good but it's obvious from just watching how the whole thing operated that there's a huge disconnect between the kitchen and the customer facing side which explains a lot of the other reviews on here. It needs someone professional to come in and sort out their SOP logistics and training, and maybe a bit of a firm hand in breaking some old habits. It's a bit of a shame because the decor and location are superb.

i’m sorry but how does it take over half an hour for a small portion of chips? plenty of FOH staff just standing around, even went up and asked how long they would be “with you in a minute” still didn’t arrive 15 minutes after that, so we just left. so bad. didn’t even bother with a refund as we knew there would be a fuss

We had a great meal at the cafe today. All very fresh, tasty and big portions. The staff were friendly and helpful. All in all a great lunch.

Lovely little seaside cafe. Friendly staff.

We ordered 4 fish & chips and 1 chicken nuggets & chips. No mention of any delays at order and 55 minutes for it to arrive! £71 as well!!! I can only presume they get their Company boat out & catch the fish when you order it. There was also a hair in my daughter’s chicken nuggets meal. One star awarded as the food was actually quite nice albeit we would have eaten the sauce sachets at the point the food arrived as we were so ravenous!

1 hour we had to wait and when it eventually came it had a hair in and was stale. Wasn’t cheap either! Was worth a tenner at most. Would never return.

Rain so went in for a tea and chips took niece played on 2p machine clean nice staff.

Proper cafe! Smell of cooking and lots of tea and coffee, good position

Where do I start, owner shouting at staff, owner looking dirty on the till, waiting for over 40 mins for food that I wouldn't feed to my dog. Absolutely shocking

So after a lovely walk along the seafront we stopped in here, took forever to get our food even tho it wasn't busy, it came out cold and you can tell it's all been pinged, I presume the owner could be heard shouting at her staff and very scruffy! I wouldn't feed the food to my worst enemy

We ordered breakfast for 3 of us 2 turned up we asked the lad where the 3rd one was off he went and didn’t return we had to ask at the till as the lad couldn’t be bothered. my friend had to wait 25 minutes for hers we had finished when hers came never coming here again

Table had sticky sugar granules stuck to it. My order was 1st order of the day and it took 40 mins to overcook cheese omelette, undercook chips and forget to put beans on plate. Gave this place a 2nd chance after the last bad experience but now it's on my blacklist.

Visited for the first time today. Really pleased we did. Delicious food, reasonably priced, fantastic portions. Lovely to be able to sit and eat while watching the beautiful sea view. Highly recommend you won't be disappointed. Staff were very friendly and made a beautiful hot chocolate.

Vile. I would have better food in prison, waste of money wouldn't of fed it to an animal.

Nice lil cafe reasonably priced for afternoon snacks and kids food

Great ice cream and lovely staff

Best cafe on the Island, have ate at most places over several years and always come back to here as my number 1, great prices and food quality, Always a fast and friendly service with a great view

Couldn't fault it really. It's cafe food so don't expect Michelin quality so you get what you pay for, however what you do get is tasty food at a great price. The whole family loved the food. And all fed on a great price. Def worth a visit.

Always a great selection of food, especially for a vegetarian. Food is good quality and great taste, the staff are always so friendly and approachable as well.

Best little cafe in Sandown. The staff were fantastic and the food is good value for money, I would highly recommend a visit and you won’t be disappointed. Great for families, on your own or whoever you are with

Food was cold and greasy twice cooked and cold chips this is today

My daughter went to get some food and a drink, and I wasn't surprised to see the receipt. I know people need to make money but not at the expense of children, see photograph

Super food, super location, super staff! Had brekkie, lunch and late night supper on numerous days - really excellent food and gabulous choices. Welcoming staff who couldn't do enought for you - headed up by Linda. The BEST brekkie in town :-)

Amazing prices and absolutely divine food. It was delivered in a short amount of time and all employees were friendly and polite. All of the food was cooked perfectly I highly recommend visiting this cafe.

Brilliant service, polite & friendly staff and absolutely delicious food. The food was cooked to perfection, there was ample choice on the menu and it was good value. We didn’t have to wait long for the food to be ready. I’d definitely recommend it here.

Not impressed with all day breakfast. Sadly this Cafe use to be very good The Chef who use to work at This cafe must have left. Won't be going back in an hurry.

What a gem of a cafe ! The food is amazing, all fresh & home cooked. Don’t miss out on this wonderful family restaurant

So it was our first day at the Isle of Wight and came straight to the beach had some lunch hear was so so my partner enjoyed his but my burger wasn't that great and they had the cheek to charge 15p each for a little packet of sauce.. but on the good side we had a gd time on the Beach!

Fantastic food, cooked and presented to a high standard. The choice of food is amazing snacks to full restaurant dinning. The food served here is better than sea front restaurants here on Sandown seafront, and less expensive too. Get a window table and enjoy the fantastic views too

I ordered macaroni cheese, it came our very sloppy and cheeses grated on the top with lumps of cheese, it should have been put in the oven to finish off. It tasted awful, I suppose because it wasn't cooked properly. I couldn't be bothered to say anything at the time and just left it there. We shall not be returning.

So pleased to have stopped in time before closing for a meal after a day sightseeing. Excellent tasty meals far bigger than expected. Really good value for money in a great location. Would definitely recommend.

First impressions were this would be a typical greasy spoon-type cafe. I was expecting big portions, big flavour, at a cheap price. I opted for the deep filled chili con carne Yorkshire pud. Cold, not very big, not much flavour, but costs a whopping £9. I'm fairly certain this is a microwave job. Service was OK, except a burger missing once the food came out, it did arrive shortly after bringing it to the waitresses attention. It was practically empty on a half-term lunchtime which is never a good sign, but we went in anyway as it was the first place we came to from the beach. Honestly don't bother. We're not made of money, and to spend £50 on a meal that none of us actually enjoyed just felt like robbery.

We have been using the Boardwalk Cafe on and off for almost 20 years. Love the food and the staff are happy and friendly. Lovely View. Lovely People. Lovely food. Good Prices. What more could you ask for.

Overpriced. Small portions. Food bad quality. Sausage cheap and nasty. Standards definitely fallen in last 2 years. Much nicer places along esplanade

This place is awful, you can excuse the grubby look but to pay £6 for a stale roll, 1 egg and 2 bits of undercooked bacon is ridiculous. My 6 year old had some sort of reheated, burned pizza slice that she couldn't even bite into!! Don't come here save yourself the pain!

We last visited this cafe before COVID and it was lovely however when we visited in 2023 and ordered two lasagne s. The look was Very deceiving chips nice and hot lasagne well let's just say when you took off the top layer you were greeted with pure solid ICE now I would have thought that any food establishment would be using a proper food thermometer . If I could have given this place a -10 I would have done somebody from the food hygiene needs to inspect this place.they did refund immediately with no quibble.

How 3 cold baguettes can take over 45 minutes to serve when there are few diners is absolutely beyond me. Kitchen preparing one order at a time, clearly no idea how to run a kitchen and plan to deliver orders. Plenty of front of house staff stood around (as not overly busy time), but no hint of an apology or acknowledgement of wait being unacceptable. Food average at best. 100% avoid

Went here today and definitely won't go back, waited nearly an hour for some baguettes when there was barely anyone else there, queried this and we're told we were next when we then watched several more orders come out in front of ours. Then our order was missing a baguette and they just didn't care The food when it arrived was mediocre. The younger staff working front of house were doing a good job tidying including sweeping under tables which was nice to see, but other than that there was nothing good about this place.

The Boardwalk Cafe use to be very good. Last few experiences have been very poor and the Cafe is very inconsistent. It seems to vary from whoever is serving you, no 2 times are the same. Another turn off is seeing staff smoking outside the kitchen. I will go back only because of the location, but not for food in future for me, Ice creams and drinks only from now on.

Wanted to give friends and grandaughter a treat eating on the pier overlooking the sea . We gave our order and paid for our lunch , not cheap but a wide and varied menu . After 30 minutes and no food I asked at the...

Great food and loads of options. Amazing price, lovely staff and sea views!

Servers eating behind the counter, bit surprising to me as I work in catering, when I went to get served they proceed to carry on eating and didn’t wash their hands. Food was good though!

Very good breakfast ,husband loved his poached eggs perfect for him

Lovely stop off for coffee and cake

Food is very good and they are always friendly.

Food was shocking chef has no care for his food took 50 mins for a breakfast and sausage and chips no apology from staff for the wait would not recommend to my dead dog

As always good value food. Good service, hot, fresh, exactly what it says on the menu. Whether it be a tea cake or a jacket potato we always have enjoyed a snack here.

Overpriced, poor service, dirty.

If you want to get food poisoning, by all means give this cafe a visit. I visited here with my mum as part of our holiday to the Isle of Wight when staying in Sandown. From the moment we walked in, this place spewed disappointment but, like the fair individuals we are, gave it a chance. My order consisted of battered plaice & chips with a vanilla “milkshake” costing a total of £16.10 which was so extortionately priced for what it was. The milkshake was literally a pint of milk with about half a teaspoon of vanilla flavouring in it which, in turn, made it worse than it sounds. The plaice on the other hand, that is a completely different story: when it arrived, it gave off such a fishy smell straight away & as I hadn’t eaten plaice before, thought this was normal & a sign it had been caught that day. It was only the next morning when I was violently ill & did a Google search that I realised that the fish I was given was off & should not have been eaten. On another hand, my mum ordered a coffee for £1.90 which in her words, was “rank & tasteless” alongside “one of the worst coffees she has ever had”. It’s clear that the owner has bumped up the prices to fool customers into thinking they have high quality food there. All in all, do NOT visit Boardwalk Cafe, based on my own experience, it is a health hazard & how it has a five star rating with the Food Standard Agency baffles me. I will not be returning when I holiday again in the Isle of Wight, I value my insides too much & I am sure leftovers in one of the bins by the beach would have had more appealing food in there.

Cheap eats in a typical pier café. I had a Jacket Potato which was really well cooked. My had the omelet which was also well cooked. However, my wife also ordered a Latte but it was frankly disgusting. A packet mix rather than barista, However,...

Really appalling service, take away was prioritised over dine in customers even though they got our order wrong so everyone else ate apart from 1 of our party so we then had to wait for them to eat rather than eating as a family. And rather than apologises we were met with a really bad attitude.

This place is a hidden gem in the Isle of Wight! The fish and chip was exceptional. The food was tasty, the service was quick and efficient and the staff is friendly. This is by far the best fish and chip that I had in the UK! For my muslim friends, the batter that they use does not contain any beer/alcohol.

Great variety on the menu. Food delivered very quickly and hot ant tasty. I had the steak and kidney pudding with the veg, couldn’t fault it.

Great view of sea 👍🏄⛵🛶🚣🏊🏼 from the cafe 🍟☕🍧🥤🍨🍦

Reasonably priced this cafe is at the front of the arcade on the pier. Food was ok for the price. Service was good - young waitress. Ketchup was first two sachets per table free (there were four of us) and then 15p each thereafter -...

Can't beat the sheer quantity of food for thee price. The food is just good classic greasy spoon type food, but I love it. Definitely will be back

One of my faves on the island. Good food, quick service, vast choice and not expensive. Head to Sandown pier for a treat 👍🏻

The place is in desperate need of repair. Crazy golf had patches missing in parts of the course. Tons of machines do not work and some take your money without starting features.

This café is inside the Sandown pier arcade, good choice of food and good service, good views from a window table. food is good value for money staff could put a bit of a smile on there faces they seem to be board being there...

Found this quite by chance, hadn't looked on TripAdvisor before going in. Now we've read a lot of reviews have to agree service was ok but no smiles or small talk, we were the only ones in there so not busy. On the plus side...

Absolutely awful customer service. Two young girls miserable as anything, whispering laughing making people to feel uncomfortable. Was absolutely disgusted in the customer service, very rude and disrespectful, which is a shame because the food is amazing. If you had the great customer service and...

Very disappointing. From tea that had been stewing for hours through to a “simple” coffee order that took forever to arrive. My tea cake was plonked in front of me with a blunt “that’s yours”. Used to be a great place to eat, now an...

Service was not great, order was wrong, then forgotten. Food was also not appetising at all. Only 2 stars as view from window was nice over beach

Well it failed on both scores. On a rainy day we wanted a coffee. I foolishly asked for latte. Instant coffee with steamed milk at a price similar to Costa. Drinks were slopped into a drip tray. Tables were sticky though they had signs promising...

Visted as a group of 3 adults. Stopped for drinks. Offhand service, by a teenage boy, who obviously wanted to be else where. My coffee was less than inspiring, bland, tepid, forgettable. One of us had a milkshake which was about the same. Then it...

Been here 3 times over our holiday and so happy with it. Food is delicious. Every single meal was lovely. Service quick and staff really friendly. Even popped in before we've left to go home. Best food had all holiday.

Absolutely amazing food and staff our lovely. Would recommend to anyone who would want amazing food and great customer service should come here 😀 x

The café is obviously hugely convenient if your visiting the Pier and has some lovely views but it has a greasy spoon type feel about it and is very pricey for what it is (some out of date ready salted crisps were being sold off...

Great fish, old school afters, happy days. Thanks

Clean enough but severely overpriced food which, when questioned was 'what it is' Ordered: Jumbo hotdog with onions - Rec'd Small sausage, literally 8 strips of barely cooked onion in a small finger roll Ordered 1 large chips Rec'd a cereal bowl of chips Ordered: Sausage roll, chips and gravy Rec'd Saus roll ( £6.75!) with gravy - Chips were in the bowl with others - probably a handful of decent ones before you got to the scraps Cheese burger, chips was 'fine' Plus, 3 drinks ... to the total of £25.00 plus

Under lock-down we had been planning to go back for a breakfast! We went last week and were not disappointed. Beautifully cooked, and very good value. Great fried bread. Well set up for social distancing. Very impressed with their screens at the till, and between...

Overpriced and bad costomer service - one of the members of staff physically grabbed my friend in an uncalled for way. The large chips that we ordered were more like smal .I don't recommend this place. Never coming back.

Very clean and tidy because my aunt work there

Stuffed after eating here. Managed after the sea air.

had a lovely lunch whilst on holiday , good size meals . giant scones and ice cream, i have prawns on jacket potatoe and a double scoop ice cream, was a fanastic lunch and great value and lovely staff