The Crab Inn in Isle of Wight

My family, friends, and I were celebrating here on Sunday, 4th May, and had a fantastic experience. The service was super, the food was delicious, and I can not recommend this place enough. Mark, the very nice, polite and fun gentleman who looked after us, took great care of our large party size. He made personal recommendations for drinks, respected our requirements for the kids dessert orders. My mum and I had the fish and chips which were excellent. Great location, easy to get to. Nicely decorated. Would return to the island and absolutely go here again.

Good pub grub and pints and even had a singer on. Nice atmosphere and friendly staff

Great location and friendly staff

Slow service, reasonable food quality. Despite pre-booking our table was not ready, and a long wait to order at the bar.

Very quiet on a Sunday evening, in my experience a typical green king pub, as in food and service, avoid when busy and have a pleasant meal when quiet . The Guinness good 👍

Pretty standard but good and well priced pub food.. the staff were really helpful and friendly.

The restaurant is conveniently located for those staying near the old Shanklin village. It was clean, and the staff were welcoming and friendly. However, we experienced a long wait for our food, nearly an hour, on a Sunday evening. Unfortunately, the Sunday beef roast was quite tough and difficult to chew.

Kelly was very helpful attintive kind and caring helping us with the problems we had with the Green King app. £5sorted Lamb roast best we have had in any pub Thank you highly recommend

Generally good Easter roast, but the meat was a bit chewy. The atmosphere was really nice and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Lovely country pub with good food and menu options

Having visited the Crab Inn some years previously the exterior looked pretty unchanged. The interior looked very tired with some areas looking like they needed attention and repairs that was quite surprising as it is now a Weatherspoons. Staff Souper friendly and helpful although we were only looking for refreshments on this visit. Despite the number of people the atmosphere for the Easter Sunday seemed rather quiet and not as expected.

One of the best pub meals me and my partner have ever had. We came expecting the usual green king, which is nothing bad just wasn't expecting food to be as good as it was. I got the katsu curry and was expecting a couple of goujons with generic curry sauce. The curry and rice was really fragrant and extremely tasty. Good quality and portion of chicken. My partner had the Sheppard's pie and again we just wasn't expecting it to so good. We did have to wait half an hour for our food as it was busy... But it was well worth the wait. Hats off to the chef, staff and owners. We will be back. Thank you.

Ordered a roast dinner on Easter Sunday and it was cold , potatoes were frozen ones . Didn't enjoy my meal at all

Great couple of nights in here. Fantastic service. Good atmosphere, good food.

Looks better on the outside than it does inside, decor needs up grading was busy and food wasnt the best..

We went here for dinner on Good Friday and of course it was very busy. That is no excuse for the exceptionally poor quality of the food they served. We ordered two sausage and mash and two Shepherds Pies. I don’t know how you can get these two foods so wrong but I suspect from the fact that we’re all so dry and crispy that they had been sat under a hot plate for hours on end. It’s embarrassing to serve and charge for food of such a poor standard. I wouldn’t recommend you visit here at all.

Fantastic!! I Booked in advance for mothers day and found the staff welcoming and friendly. Ordered the Fish and it was delicious!! 10/10 Menu is full of choice and affordable for all.

We had a family meal early evening during the week, and then on Sunday, a couple of us went for their Sunday roast. The beef was excellent, but beware of the horseradish, this is the proper stuff, eye wateringly superb. If we lived locally, we'd be regular customers.

Super happy , helpful, really nice food.

We visited the Crab for dinner 9/04/2025 with our young daughter having popped in the day before for a drink. We liked it's warm atmosphere and chatty bar staff. Kay served us with a smile, she worked her tables with style. The food was good too. Would highly recommend this place to anyone visiting Shanklin. 😀

Staff friendly and polite, service was fine, some of the food better than others, the mash potatoes not eaten by one of my friends as cold. Nice that some meals at lunchtime come in a small size serving. Fairly typical pub grub.

Visited here on 10/4/25 with family for dinner . We waited over 45 minutes for food and some options were off by the time we arrived at 5-45pm . The food and prices were fine but the major downside for me was the cold. It’s the first time I’ve had to sit in a restaurant with my coat on , it was freezing … coupled with the wait time it wasn’t a great experience. Unfortunately I will not return.

Lovely meal, Thank you for finding us a table as we had difficulty getting onto the website to book. Thank you Tyra & Ellis xx

Just used bar for few late drinks. But was friendly and comftable.

Always a must when visiting Shanklin for short stay Enjoy a good value meal on every occasion served by Kelly and all the welcoming staff Online booking always a must as generally a busy pub! Can't wait for another stay in area + visit to the Crab Inn

Lovely pub with such a chilled atmosphere. The food was fantastic and the staff were super friendly.

Had a wonderful Mother’s Day meal at The Crab with my family. The food was delicious, and the service from Julie was fantastic—so friendly and attentive. Thank you for making our day special!

Food is always amazing, Mark Bennet makes you feel incredibly welcome with his positive and funny personality. Place is clean, tidy and great selection of drinks. Great entertainment, definitely suggest going here!

Very nice lunch, we enjoyed it on Saturday and the food was really fab, went back for Sunday lunch and whilst it wasn’t as good as Saturdays food it was still a nice lunch service was great with a lovely friendly young lad and Julie, the food could have been a little warmer but we would come back again when next in the island.

We were served by Julie. First class service, excellent food, good and warm atmosphere, very friendly. On the whole a very nice place to be

We were served by jayne lovely lady, food was absolutely amazing with a lovely warming atmosphere, we will definitely be seeing you again soon.

Came to the island for a family party and booked The Crab for an evening meal. We were very impressed my wife had the Lasagna and I had the Steak and ale pie,both were very hot and extremely tasty. The service by Lara was excellent and she was very polite. All in all great value and service we will certainly visit again when we return to the island 👍👍

We didn't have food on this occasion. The team was welcoming and the beer was good the price was not bad. Plenty of seats and spacious

Had a lovely birthday evening meal with my daughter and partner, the food was cooked lovely, we chose hunters chicken as the mixed grill wasn't available and it still made for a meal, desserts chosen were apple and blackberry crumble with custard and sticky toffee pudding with custard and we found the meal was good value for money and nicely filling. Highly recommend this lovely pub for a stay in shanklin and the staff were so polite and although we never reserved a table we just walked in, they seated us within seconds and once our food was ordered it wasnt long before the drinks were served to our table and the meals came within 15 - 20 mins. We will gladly come here again, most enjoyable, thank you so much.

Visited for a light lunch and there was an excellent lunch deal on so top marks for value for money, quality of food & speed of service. Wouldn't hesitate to visit again when next in the area.

What a dreadful experience! if it wasn’t for the company of friends and not to cause a total embarrassment to all parties, I would have quite openly complained about, not only the food but the service, if you could call it that in the most loose sense of the meaning! in all my years of eating out and at a varied amount of quite different establishments, have I ever had to send “chips” back! only to be argued with, by the most odious women, who was defiant it that what she served was “skin on chips with sea salt and rosemary” and half a dozen at most! not a skin in sight and no evidence of rosemary or sprinkling of any form of salt, only for her to whip them away, in the most aggressive manner; returning shortly with her manager the same chips now completely cold covered and I mean completely covered in salt with a sprig of Rosemary at a cost of £3.49. The whole place was unclean and tired, as were staff!

Fab location and atmosphere. Talia was exceptional

On a weekend break we visited The Crab in Shanklin. Fantastic food, great prices and the staff were friendly and attentive. While visiting Shanklin worth popping in for some good value food. Drinks were reasonable too and great choice of beers/ wine.

Excellent service, fabulous food. Very welcoming for holiday visitors.

17 Feb 2025. Just enjoyed a fab lunch at this lovely Isle of Wight pub. One BBQ chicken ciabatta with chips, one fish goujon ciabatta with chips and 2 glasses of wine in the meal deal for less than £20! Staff lovely - friendly and attentive. Food presented beautifully and tasted fabulous.

We were pleased the place was serving in February, especially as so many places in Shanklin were closed. But the quality of the meals was poor. I've had better meals at what might be regarded as lower standard chain pubs. Peas that are not green but more of a grey colour are not acceptable... presumably that colour as they had been sat in the kitchen for too long. The pub was not heated either which in February is not welcoming. We therefore left straight after the meal

Staff friendly and accomodating steak was brilliant just had it with salad

Staff are so lovely and helpful, food arrived fast, tasted amazing and excellent prices , pub was lovely an warm and very clean. Highly recommend

Really friendly helpful staff, slightly more expensive than other pubs on the food prices. Food tasted nice, not sure how much of it was prepared onsite. Sadly one of the three meals ordered was cold, the Chicken and Ham pie was luke warm, the pulled lamb shepherds pie was hot, but the vegetables were cold. Having waited nearly 50 minutes for the food to arrive and needing to leave to get to the theatre in the next 30 minutes we declined the offer of reheating the food.

It was a very wet January at the crab when we visited and the only issue we had was water that had dripped onto our table... we make a joke of it and had a good laugh. The service was excellent.

The fishcakes were very tasty & it was something different for me! The young lady who served me was very friendly & we had a chat before I left.

Very disappointed. Presented an inedible jacket potato. Yes changed but the rest was cold. Lamb shank with very little meet. Played loud unsuitable music like wrap. When asked to adjust it by the way we were the only customer in that area told us they were unable. Sangria good but overall avoid and go over the road to the village inn.

We were served by Kelly. She was very attentive!!. Food was delicious. We ordered fish and chips. Fish was massive! Quiet on Friday early evening beginning of January. Just what we needed. A must stop when visiting the Isle of White.

Absolutely lovely food. Service was amazing. Definitely a place to visit 💕🩵

A wonderful lunch, Felt incredibly welcome. Thanks for the experience.

Book a table and get table service. Staff are very attentative. Great value. Look for the special offets on main menue. Great tasting food. Nice surroundings

Great lunch today! Would recommend & return. Fab food & staff😀

Delicious food freshly prepared. Prompt and friendly service. Reasonable prices

Stopped in here for a late lunch, we had one of the best burgers I'd had in a while.

Christmas Day lovely atmosphere great portion sizes. Managers and staff are delightful

Friendly local, good food and beers

We went for a festive meal at The Crab, old village, Shanklin. I have to say I was really pleasantly surprised, we had a brilliant time and the food was lovely, soup to start, Turkey dinner and a brownie that I struggled to finish! Big thanks to Kay Ginge and Kelly for hosting a very fun afternoon, loved the bingo! What a laugh we had, we’ll definitely be back! Thank you and Merry Christmas!

We have been here a couple of times in the last couple of weeks for dinner. The first time the food was awful! The veg was hard and the meal was tasteless. We did tell the waitress and she said she will make the kitchen aware. We let it go this time. However we went back again last night and AGAIN the same standard, hard veg and food was lukewarm to say the least. Entertainment was great however the place was nearly empty by this time. We came here same time last year for a works Christmas party and the place was heaving and food excellent. It seems standards have slipped since then. Such a shame as this place used to be great. Probably won’t come back again.

Several times a year my wife and I visit an elderly relative in Cowes on the IoW. We have recently taken to booking a lunch in the restaurant at The Crab Inn in Shanklin and have had very nice lunches in the pleasant restaurant area with good service and attentive staff, including in the run up to Christmas last year. Our last visit was yesterday, Tuesday 10th December. When we got there at our booked time of 12:30 the restaurant was full with a large party of over 60 people just having their starters and we were put in the Bar area. We had not been advised of this when we booked but were told it would not affect the service we would receive. The seating in the bar area was on either low chairs that were not suitable for eating a meal or on dining chairs with the cushions nearly falling through the frame. We had to order our drinks and meal at the bar and carry our drinks to the table instead of being served. We were told the meal would be 30 minutes which we thought was a bit much and not what we had been advised on arrival. It did not arrive and after several complaints to the staff it eventually arrived 55 minutes after we ordered it. All the time we were there was continual noise from the restaurant party who had recoded Christmas music, which was ok, then a live entertainer and finally a Bingo session. The food was ok but nothing to shout about. Clearly, they were putting profit before the interests of other customers. We shall not be going there again.

We had a festive menu meal, 2 courses. Absolutely delicious, great portion sizes. Fresh, well cooked, food. Great service by Ellis & Flick. Very good value.

Delicious Christmas meal. Fresh, well cooked, 2 course meal. Fantastic service by Ellis & Flick. We always visit when holidaying on the island. GREAT value!

Excellent service but disappointing ales.

We had a great meal here with wonderful service and it was such good value that we returned the next night! Ellis was very much an attentive server and the whole ambiance of the pub was warm and welcoming , we loved it and highly recommend a visit. All of the staff were friendly and did a great job!

A lovely friendly pub ,wished it was our local!I want to thank the manager for the glass & really sorry we didn't return with the rest of the donation ,but have donated to Macmillan in our green king .

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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!

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

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.

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.