The Crab Inn in Isle of Wight

Great little gem on the isle of white

Have been visiting here for over 20 years, since being a child and it is one of many places on the Isle of Wight that holds a lot of fond family memories. Unfortunately was looking forward to and ultimately disappointed in October by the recently launched new menu. The fish and chips has previously been lovely, and described on the menu as "Atlantic Hand Battered Cod and Chips". This time it now simply says "Fish and Chips". My husband asked and the staff weren't exactly sure, but there seemed to be a suggestion it is now Tilapia not Cod? I didn't want to try something unknown for the prices and had to chose another meal in the end, but was a little disappointed in that also. Appreciate times are difficult for everyone but prices stay high whilst quality decreases. There's thankfully many other places that still serve Cod or Haddock so I was able to enjoy my fish and chips elsewhere.

Recently dined here my partner ordered prawn risotto and got a confirmed diagnosis of food poisoning. The service was poor 25 minute wait. Strongly advised to eat here doesn't say a lot for greene king.just up the road is the black cat Thai restaurant price food and service a country mile ahead of the crab . Never visit the crab shanklin again.

Had a lovely family meal out, we all enjoyed what we had. Steak and ale pie and gravy was delicious. Friendly helpful staff. Would recommend

Very friendly staff, didn't have anything to eat. Plenty of people were eating and when they had finished the tables were reserved. This was on a Sunday so I would recommend booking in the high season. Our visit was at the end of October. People were walking and having food so will feed the hungry 😂. Nice place defo will return. This is in the old village of Shanklin. Also the old village is worth a visit.

We had a Sunday roast it was amazing will definitely go back staff very welcoming We were served by Julie she was lovely and very attentive

Such an inviting restaurant the staff were lovely Julie was our server when we visited she was smiling and attentive the food came very fast and was so tasty will definitely be coming back again

First visit here and everything was excellent.

We were staying in the area on holiday and visited this pub quite a few times while we were there for drinks and food. Lovely relaxing atmosphere at great prices. We ate a couple of times in the restaurant, in spite of having a few food allergies with the help of the staff and kitchen we were able to find something to eat that was delicious with great portion size and good value for money. A great place to visit.

2 nights in a row (and going again tomorrow!) We both had the "Katsu Chicken" tonight. WOW. Mind blowingly delicious 😋 and it was on the 2 4 menu. Bonus! It comes with rice and chips so it's a win win!! 🏆

The Sunday Roast was just amazing. we had Lamb Shank and it was the best. The staff was so friendly and kind Julie was amazing. If I visit the Isle of Wight again will definitely go back 😊

We live just over from the Island, so we try to visit IOW when we can for a little getaway. We always come to The Crab & have done for the past 15 years. My son still remembers a visit when he was four & had a piece of fish bigger than his head! He always requests we come, It's become a bit of a tradition. This visit, we came on three separate days for lunch or dinner. Three of us had the lunch deal (we chose the BBQ melt sandwiches) which we all enjoyed. The food is good value for money, which is rare nowadays. For dinner we had Macaroni & cheese, and beef burger. Everyone was very happy with their meals. My son picked from the kids menu (he had fish & chips and a dessert). He said they were tasty, and he loved the sundae! The staff are always polite, and welcoming. I especially want to commend the service on the service for this visit. We are a family with disabilities, and made a request upon booking. After arrival, the staff even came over to check we were happy, and told us to let me know if we needed anything else (a lovely woman with brown hair). We were also served twice by a tall friendly gentlemen (sorry, I'm terrible with remembering names). They really made the service above expectations, and are definitely assets to Greene King! If you want Michelin food this probably isn't for you, but it isn't supposed to be. If you want a nice hearty pub grub, with good options, and welcoming service, I always recommend The Crab.

Had a meal here tonight my partner had the gamon which was amazing unfortunately I didn't share the same experience I had katsu chicken which I was so disappointed in the sauce was from a packet and made badly after waiting half hour I was expecting proper home made sauce

Food hit n miss mine, gammon nice ,katsu chicken not so nice Lovely place for drinks though

Lovely greene king pub in a beautiful part of Shankin. The chairs need replacing badly they all look like they are about to collapse. This is a small expense for them to make this a 5 out of 5

Great little find, dogs welcome also

Wonderful place. Highly recommend the food

Nice pub, good food, dog friendly.

It was busy but we managed to find a table. We ordered the 'award winning' steak and ale pies and pints of bitter. The food came surprisingly quickly (30 mins or so) so very efficient. The pies looked amazing....but they didn't contain any pieces of meat...just a thick gravy with meat shreds and a couple of bits of gristle. We were so hungry we ate them anyway ( I know...we should have said something, but no one came back to ask us how the meal was, and the bar was two people deep, and we were soooo hungry). Never mind, the pastry filled us up and the beer was gorgeous.

Food was really lovely and tasty

Visited tonight,had booked and requested a table tucked away as we had our dog with us and didn't want him too close to other diners. The table was ideal and meant he had plenty of room and he didn't impact others. The food was excellent, well cooked, nice and hot and delicious. I had hunters chicken and my husband had katsu curry. The staff who served us were extremely pleasant, polite and helpful. So thank you Katie and Ellis and whoever cooked our food. Best meal we've had there in a long time,so we booked again for Thursday.

One of the best Sunday dinner if not the best first class

Under 20.00 each. Great service from friendly staff. The food was excellent, thank you.

The Crab was a great place to eat. We had our small baby with us - the staff were super helpful and the greatest asset to the pub. Really tasty burger and Hunter's chicken too, so will definitely eat there again when in Old Shanklin!

Whilst on holiday on the Isle of Wight, my wife and I paid a visit to this pub after we had been recomended to have dinner there. On entry, it was busy, but our reserved table was easy to spot, and the manager informed us, that a server would be only a moment. Not being over fussy, we ordered our drinks, but couldn't see the menu as they were showing the use of the day, as they were dirty and unappealing. The waitress immediately rectifed the problem and duly gave her our order. We did n't have to wait very long before both dishes arrived. I had ordered the hunters chicken which looked and tastied really nice, but my wife's dish of king prawn and chorizo risotto, with crumbled feta cheese and pesto green sauce appeared not quite what we were expecting. usually a risotto is made with Arborio Rice not cooking rice. The plate was swimming with the pesto sauce, the choriso had very small pieces and there were only four king prawns , no sliced egg, or other appealing ingredients. My wife did not make a fuss, because probably, the same sort of thing would come out of the kitchen again, she ate what she could and left it at that. We both ordered the mini desserts with coffee, wife had a strawbery cheese cake and I ordered a mini eton mess. The cheese cake looked and was delious, where when it was brought out, was a chocolate brownie. I spoke quitely to the very attentive waitress, who went back to the kitchen and brought me out a large eton mess, of which I profusely thanked her for. Coming to pay the bill, I found that I wasn't charged for the brownie, nor the large eton mess only a small one. Again, we both thanked her very much and duly showed our appreciation as we left the pub. So apart from grubby menu's a very poor risotto, and a reduced bill, we both said the Crab was worth visiting. What I haven't mentioned, which I should of done, is to congratulate the waitress involved. Her name was ELYNA, a very usual name which we enquired about with her, but she was miss dynamite, a happy smiling face, a lovely attitude and very pleasant. She should be recognised by the management accordingly.

Really friendly staff. The food was excellent and great value for money.

9/9 We did try again and were much happier with the food tonight. We both had fish and chips. The chips and peas were hot. Thank you for responding positively to my last post. Food goes up to four star rating based on tonight's dishes. 6/9 We ordered a chicken and pulled ham pie and the grilled gammon. The food was well presented. However, the chips and peas served with the gammon were, at best, like warm. The pie pastry was hard and tough to eat, difficult to cut with a knife. Filling tasty though. It was a Friday night and busy. Yappy dogs and a rowdy group of young men hardly helped diners to relax and chat. The bar service was efficient and the chap who brought the food attentive. It would help if someone came to ask if the food etc was okay, as it's difficult to raise issues when people are queueing at the bar. Overall assessment - could do better.

Always have a lovely meal here. Best place in Shanklin and one of the best on the island. I would recommend this place to everybody.

I couldn't even give the food 1 star, both meals dry and over cooked, couldn't wait to leave and get something else to eat, very disappointed.

Great place to stop for food and drink in Shanklin

Walk on by. Go elsewhere. Rundown. Dirty. Toilets are filthy, deep grim on floor, they smell worst than most public Toilets. Food is no more than ok. We went before going to the theatre. There are plenty of othplaces, but we decided on The Crab mainly due to the Blue Light discount. Once inside we realised food was not made on premises. So we opted for steak. For medium,it was over done, but edible, fairly tender. Not the best, not the worst. Chips were frozen not homemade. I've eaten in Greenking in Tyde, and it was miles better. This is not nice and I'd not go ever again.

Amazing restaurant, the staff here were very helpful, kind and made our experience memorable (Joe and Charlie). Food was amazing, prices were really good and affordable and we were even told in advance about the wait time and it was bang on, the reviews do not do this place justice as me and my family loved our meal here and would 100% reccommend.

Visited on a circular hike from Shanklin to St Boniface Down. Pleasant seating area out front in glorious sunshine

Nice location but beer 🍺 was not very nice . 6.50 per pint. I don't mind paying that if beer is good

Iv been to the Crab inn meny times but on this occasion it was full and raining the staff were run off there feet but one bar person Claire went out off her way and got me and my party back to our hotel dry by ring us a taxi and still was more than happy to do more wish more places had people like Claire we would all be in a happy place

I chose the pie! Sadly, just basic pub grub for the price & quality - I expected more. Pie mostly pastry, very dry, large lump of gristle in Pie. Mash was microwave mash & extremely dry. Meal only came with 1 veg - brocoli! I had to ask for more gravy as sooo dry.

Nice return after many years, perhaps needs a little freshening up but a very characterful pub

Been waiting over 30mins for the food so far

Really impressed with this place. Delicious food at a reasonable price and outstanding staff. Thank you.

Really disappointed. We read some lovely reviews but all the food came out over cooked and dry. We did get a refund on 2 dishes and I ordered the halloumi salad which was lovely in the end. The staff were lovely but sadly the food was not the best.

Waited over an hour for food on a Sunday! Staff lovely and kept trying to speed up kitchen, but without success! If we'd have known anywhere else in the area to get a decent meal we certainly wouldn't have waited! Bar had no Orange Juice. Pub in need of an upgrade decor wise inside. Toilets weren't the best. Tap needed a lot of pressure to push it on! Ok place for a Pint or a Cuppa, but that's it!

Fabulous Sunday lunch. Really enjoyed the food and Julie our server was very attentive. We would recommend this pub and hope to be back soon.

After eventually ordering our food after waiting ages to be served, the dish my partner received was missing 2 advertised ingredients. When questioned the reply was " yea we've run out of that!. No pre warning, no offer of compensation. Other patrons were told there were no soft drinks available other than milk? My roast was advertised as pink (sirloin). This was as advertised. However the veg wasn't advertised as medium rare. What I received needed a steak knife to cut. I'm All for Al dente but blanched is stretching the definition a bit. Like many of these chain pubs, the overall impression is that of understaffed underpaid under trained and an underwhelming experience. They rely on one visit tourism,not caring for repeat custom. I'm a local and I can confidently say the Crab is off my list

If there was more stars to give I would definitely give more than 5. I had lamb and it was amazing! The best food! Normally I'm a bit fussy and judgmental when it comes to eating out but this food is the best! I highly recommend the place! And I'll definitely go there again when visiting the island.

Really disappointing last meal with family while staying in Shanklin. Was told on arrival that food would be an hour wait which then turned into 1 hour 45mins. Asked a member of staff for refill on drinks and waited around 15mins before asking another member of staff as the guy we asked had forgotten. When starters arrived my family all received theirs and mine was forgotten which led to my family finishing theirs by the time I received mine. Food was average at best, chips were luke warm, my mash was very dry and crispy on top like it had been sat under a heater. We also found a few tables that had come in quite a while after us were receiving food much sooner than we did. Overall I definitely wouldn’t return which is a shame as it’s in a prime location in Shanklin and in a beautiful building.

Loved our meal at The Crab this evening. We would definitely return..

60 min wait for food on a Tuesday eve when it did not feel overly busy(though they did tell us it would be that long when we ordered). The food was average at best. Focaccia was a dense lump of bread with a crusty top. Special Burger was small and not that exciting (cheese sauce was not particularly nice, but that may be subjective). Small potion of average chips. Steak and Ale pie was a good size and reasonably good, but the mash was dense and strangely yellow and uninteresting. Luckily it came with a pot of gravy to smother it in. 3 strands of broccoli is as much as could be expected. Even the side salad was only just big enough to not be a garnish. Young serving staff were pleasant enough. All in all a bit average and not at all what it looked like it might be.

The staff are friendly and helpful but the food wasn't that good. We ordered burgers and both burgers were hard, dry and difficult to eat, needing lots of ketchup to help us get through and I added another pattie so it was even harder. I know it's personal choice but feel things could be improved. Don't use processed cheese slices but either cheddar or real cheese, don't add barely cooked bacon but a little crispy to add taste and strangely don't give 2 onion rings, golden rule of catering is everything in threes or odd numbers. The burgers in particular need improvement as the bacon was randomly put in the middle of the two patties by itself, We had the mini dessert and hot drink which was hard to eat as it was just a warm chocolate brownie on a big plate, no ice cream so a bit weird.

Booked a table which I'm pleased we did as busy and people getting turned away.Friendly waitress and barman.Standard Greene King menu.....Food was nice but ordered a side of chips & only a few chips served in a tiny metal tray.Would return if in the area.

Lovely staff, great food and lovely atmosphere in a beautiful area to wander around afterwards.

Terrible we waited two hours for our meal when we asked the waitress she said it would be one hour wait, if we had known we would not have ordered. Also the establishment wants a refurb it’s been let go seating ripped floors needed a good clean, and toilets disgusting. On our previous visits a year ago was good what’s happened now.

Simply Shanklin's best. Food delicious, choice, warm and friendly staff and not to crammed in. Perfect eating treat and our children enjoyed it as well. As well as midweek we came for Sunday Roast... best meal of the holiday! Thank you to all involved.

Whilst recently visiting family we discovered the Crab. We decided to eat at lunch time. Out of all the pubs or cafes we ate at this has to be one of the best on the entire island. Considering we had two adults and three very hungry children our entire meal and drinks was just a little over £60 and the children had desert as well. The food was amazing see images. We can highly recommend the burgers, kids meals and the king prawn and risotto. The service was a little slow however the entire island is on a different time line. The way of life down here is much slower compared if you lived in a big city on the main land. We enjoyed our drinks looking at the building which boasts a thatched roof and lovely little village whilst we waited. This is a highly recommended place to visit for lunch.

Great food and quick service. Also, best bottle of Shiraz we had all week. Slightly confusing instructions when entering. Notice says, find a table, take a note of the number and order at the bar. However, when doing this I was told at the bar that it was now table service. If this is the case I would suggest removing the notice and having a server available at all times around the entrance (no-one was there when we walked in but we found our name on a table as we had reserved in advance). Great if you are with the AA as you get 15% off too.

Lovely pub good service good food spent a week in and out of here but was let down a bit at the weekend when the sniffers were in

Really friendly attentive staff dealing with broken grill & consequently long waits for food. Our meals arrived earlier than expected and were delicious. My son had lamb shank, wife had beef bourguignon and I had the prawn &:chorizo risotto. All recommended. They even provided a bowl of water for our pooch.

Popped in about 6pm on Mon 5th Aug to enquire about possibility of getting a meal that night and was met by a lovely , polite , young lady who was so very helpful , and assuring , in answering my questions about my sons severe peanut allergy and confirmed how thorough they are when you sit down to order , which they were . When we arrived to eat @ 8pm the same waitress met us where a sign clearly stated that there was approx 45 - 60 min wait from order, to receiving your food, so anybody claiming otherwise is a liar . Food was superb, service was exceptional and it's a beautiful little pub , couldn't fault it , and liked it so much that we went back the following night . DO NOT believe these negative reviews , the world is full of whiney keyboard warriors desperate to moan about something , and some of the horsesh*t posted about "Not being asked about allergys" and "Had to wait an hour for food" are from doughnuts as , first of all , it is YOUR responsibility to inform staff of an allergy , and signs clearly state how long food service will be , so ignore these morons and go and get yourself a wonderful culinary experience , with great service , in gorgeous surroundings .

Food took quite a long while so I can’t give it a 4/5. However my chicken schnitzel was absolutely delicious once I got it! Very reliable and tasty dish nothing less from a Greene King. Hope they get more help in the kitchen because it does really put a downer on the experience.

Really disappointed, we went in for a meal while on holiday, but when we got in there , the grill was broken & didn't have a lot to choose from

Eaten and drank at The Crab a few times during our stay from 29/07/24, very average, catering for many, but our experience of dining out 02/08/24 was exceptional, table service excellent, and one member of staff, who we later found out was Charlie, was one of the best, had an eye for maintaining an excellent standard of service, we will definitely be returning before the end of our stay. Would like to praise the manger/manageress on running a great pub, well done 👍

Food was OK but the service was incredibly slow

Unfortunately our food, which we had to order ourselves at the bar, was only lukewarm and wrong. Instead of pea puree we had peas. The dishes were also just slapped down. The fries were extremely limp. The bartender always had something more important to do than serve me. We weren't asked if everything was okay and apparently no one was interested. What a shame for our first experience with a “Real English Pub”?

Had a awful visit here on Wednesday evening. Having been for the previous two years we had booked for our first night on the island. When we walked in there was a sign stating there were no steaks.gammon.or anything from the grill. We were never asked if we had any allergies. A young member of staff told us when we were ready to order at the bar. We were not told bout the long delays in the kitchen. She then came over to take our drinks order. A lady then brought the drinks and then I was typing the order in my phone she then proceeded to take our order. The service was very slow. The starters were passable. The mains were just warm enough to eat not piping hot like most places. The peas on one main were like bullets. The hunters chicken was abit tough. When I paid I was told that they were very busy,over the last two years it had been alot busier and we got better food and service. I also gave cancelled our other two evening meals we had booked with them and have found another venue. We will not be returning at all and won't even contemplate next year when we come back over

Food average and staff not that accommodating. Toilets are dirty and urinals all out of order.

We were able to book a table for a meal and then watch the England match. Really enjoyed it and dog friendly too.

Had a great lunch here. Lovely food nice friendly service. Nice and clean as well 👌

There was live music but the hot weather meant more people were on the beach that evening so the atmosphere was flatter than normal.

Really surprising to have such a good middle east inspired meal here! So good!

Myself and 2 friends had dinner here tonight. My friend received his meal quickly but it went downhill from there. My meal came 15 minutes later and our other friend never received hers. When she went to ask where her food was, the waitress came out to say the kitchen would "make it now". So they hadn't even STARTED cooking her meal? We pointed out the above issues to another waitress and explained that we had come out to have a meal together and had eaten totally separately. The waitresses response was "we have a small kitchen and limited staff tonight so we are all doing our best". Okay, that's fine. However, the orders were placed within 30 seconds of each other and your staffing issues are absolutely not the customer's problem. No effort to resolve our complaint was offered. The food was lovely but the service was lacklustre.

We came here on a whim after being unsure on where to eat. We decided to come here. We did actually call in advanced in which we were told they were fully book and there was no chance of us being able to have a table... On a whim, we walked in to see if it really were full. To our surprise it was mostly empty. But we didn't let it hinder us, and we took a seat. We were unsure on whether to stay or not at first due to some uncomfortable looks we were receiving from some of the staff, however I am glad we decided to stay. The food was brilliant and definitely out did any service that we weren't too happy with.

Greatly changed since my last visit some 50yrs ago. Instantly recognisable outside unrecognisable inside. Green King so in good hands.

Great place, staff very friendly, good awesome...location perfect

Fabulous meal. Truffle mushroom chicken schnitzel special. Great value, great food, perfect.

You need to get a nice stronger Coffee

Food was ok once one of the meals was changed as the first one was cold, and we got served out of date bottled beer, 2 months out of date, my husband had already drunk half the bottle, I took it back to the bar and all the bottles in the fridge were out of date, this should really not happen, as the fridges and drinks should be checked and rotated on a daily basis, very poor.

Only stopped for a drink, good real ale and a good atmosphere.

Nice night, nice food & beer, and excellent service by the staff in particular a young lady called Katie I think,she made ourselves & our dog Floyd very wecome,great service ! Thankyou 👍🐕🍺🍲🥘

Part of a national chain so the menu is standard and caters for everyone. Situated over 2 levels, the lower being a restaurant where tables can be booked and an upper bar level where seating is first come first served. Food is available on both levels and I believe they now serve food in the garden although in 2023 they didn't? Pub and food on a budget its the perfect place as much of Shanklin more Gastro pub or no food at all. There are plenty of restaurants however, they seem to open and close frequently. There is no parking at The Crab which seems to be the norm in the town although there's is a large public car park 30 metres away. My 3rd visit in the the last 12 months and I pop in atleast once to eat if not more often to enjoy a drink.

Good pub with pub food. Service and food excellent.

Lovely place to eat. Great food at good prices. 👍

Pies were tasty but unfortunately we're microwaved which spout them

All generally good, very picturesque location and pub, good staff, we had the misfortune of a potty mouthed young lady in the back corner last night, that's all, but hey its a pub these things happen. Very likely we will return when next on Island .

My partner and myself had a meal in the crab on Wednesday night and it was delicious everything was wonderful from the service of the staff who where all lovely polite and welcoming. The food was really lovely food and the atmosphere was good. We had a lovely evening for the last night of our first holiday together so thank you for making it special.

Very average food , but it’s not cheap , 2 meals and 2 drinks were £40 , it was fine but the portions were small , but there’s much better to be had

Fabulous food but waited a long time for our food

I Last visted in 1968. Yesterday Everything was excellent including service and prices Thank you

Popped in for a freshing dring with friends, good service, good atmosphere.

This is not a Weatherspoon. The food was terrible. I ordered a lasagne it was swimming in oil . I asked for a different one. The girl was not helpful. I tried to eat it but just couldn't I called another waiter who agreed that it just didn't look right and he agreed to change it.

Eventhough we booked an evening meal, it took over an hour to be served, the starter and the main arrived together after asking twice for our meal. The starter salt and pepper squid was just one round ball, the outer coating of the squid was extremely hard, cold and inedible. The steak was also inedible, basically a piece of gristle, with some chips. The batter on the cod was over cooked thus the fish inside was equally unsatisfying. The two young bar staff where overwhelmed and very unhappy. I in no way feel the bar staff were to fault, rather there was not enough of them for such a size of establishment, it's unfair to put people under pressure like this in such a busy place. I wouldn't eat at this pub restaurant again or recommend anyone really does. It's quite high priced pub food, that is obviously bought very cheaply and cooked very badly and served even worse manner. Green King chain you have lost the plot with this establishment. Frankly disappointing, not even the Green King IPA was available, comical really.

I came down and stayed on the island while working as a shuttle bus driver at the IOW Festival and visited The Crab as part of a team bonding exercise. The building itself looks amazing from the outside, but that’s just the start. This establishment has a welcoming atmosphere, a lovely little outdoor area and sports on the TV as well as a pool table. There’s a fine selection of ales as well as other beverages, but the icing on the cake is the food. I plumped for the king prawn and chorizo starter, which was tantalising on the tastebuds. Main course consisted of macaroni cheese and toasted cheesy garlic and rosemary focaccia on the side. Let me tell you, this combination of starter and main was perfect. A delight. Will visit next year.

Lovely old pub run by Greene King so you already have some idea of what to expect once you enter the pub. We were not disappointed at all. Excellent choice of drinks and food available. This is a dog friendly pub 👍

Meals were very good but it was very busy

Fantastic! perfect portion sizes, great atmosphere. 38 pound for 3 meals,extras and drinks... ps; try the lasagne.. best one I've ever had

Lovely little pub. Friendly staff and the food was lovely

Perfect place to rest having walked from Sandown before returning.

I have visiting for years.today I am so disappointed.. the menue seems to have shrunk. No table service .you have to order at bar where there was only one person serving. The food we did eat was very good

My family and I have today 9/6/24 enjoyed a wonderful lunch both the food and the staff were absolutely wonderful

Excellent place staff very friendly food excellent and a nice place 10/10

Waited an hour for our food, staff did not tell us of the long wait time before we ordered. After waiting so long the food was inedible, steak was like rubber and the steak pies barley warm with fatty meat/gristle inside. We sent one meal back and asked for a refund, there was no offer of a complimentary drink or replacement meal for the inconvenience, after waiting so long for a plate of rubbish 1 person had to go hungry for the night and the pies were basically warm gravy pies with inedible meat. Very disappointing and the manager that evening should have offered something for the unsatisfactory food and poor experience. Just a plain apology does not go far enough. I also work in catering and this is not customer satisfaction and good standards of service.

Beautiful food with very helpful, attentive staff... A really lovely village pub