The Met in Isle of Wight

Friendly atmosphere and staff. Excellent position just metres frm the sea front and dogfriendly with a large selection of drinks available. The Patatas Bravas were crispy and served with a rich smokey sauce. Unfortunately the Pork Belly Bites were a dense dry texture meat, lacking in any flavour and did not resemble pork belly in terms of flavour or texture, the small salad which accompanied them was fresh and delicious.

We called in twice for coffees & cakes and all was fine. The second time we also ordered the cheese board & two 175ml glasses of wine. A disappointing cheese board with an overly large slab of cheddar alongside two very small pieces of blue & Brie together with basic crackers and both glasses of wine were short of the 175ml line - one more than the other but we thought they must have misheard us and thought we’d ordered 125ml. Not the case - I was then given a lesson in the fact that there is a line on the glass to show where it should be poured to!! Yes - and it wasn’t! Shrug of shoulders and duly took the payment for the 175ml glasses! The service on the first visit had been very good and I was taken aback at this actually - surely for the sake of a pound on each glass (out of £35 for two coffees, a piece of cake, the cheese board & two glasses of wine) you would take the customer at their word!

What a find. We live on the island and this was first visit. Lovely lunch. Food and service was great. Made a great change from the Spyglass where we lazily return. Decor and surrounding are excellent and good vibes 😉. We will definately be back.

Lovely location. Food was amazing, could not fault it. Friendly attentive staff. Will be returning real soon.

Hadn't been to The Met for a couple of years. The venue food and staff were terrific, plus, really cold 🍻 beer.

Delicious lunch in a great setting. Front of house staff were very professional, polite and friendly. Sean(?) an accomplished musician serenaded us on his guitar. Can highly recommend.

Lovely food in an excellent setting with great sea views. I can really recommend the mussels and tapas. Friendly service.

Little trip to Ventnor and found this place

Stopped here for lunch today, and it was delicious!! Baguette with falafel and houmous. Very fresh bread , lovely side salad and crisps All served by a very friendly cheerful girl in an extremely nice setting

A (not so) hidden gem. Great food, served beautifully and really nice friendly staff. I think? family run, and run very well indeed. 2 visits in my week on the island. Definitely coming again time. Highly recommended

Great escape from blustery walk along the esplanade. Went in for coffee- ended up having food. Menus was enticing - Superb. Ladies toilet fitted out with disabled hand rails . I even managed to get my scooter inside ! Thank you

Great staff, food and ambience. The tapas dishes were great value for money and delicious. We ate here twice during our week long stay in Ventnor it was so good!

Beautiful spot for a relaxing drink happy days

Nice little seaside spot for small plates. We shared the taramasalata dip (pretty good) the barbecued pork belly (which was really more like barbecues pork bites, as it had none of the richness of pork belly and a very dense texture. The crab and shrimp ramekin was very tasty and enjoyable. Though the place wasn't crowded, it took quite a while to get our drinks. We asked if we could get the taramasalata first, then the other dishes afterwards. The waiter said he'd see to it. So, yeah, everything came out all at once. Oh, well. There's no table service, drinks and food are ordered at the bar and delivered to the table.

Had a Tapas dinner here last night. The food was excellent, the Staff delightful and the atmosphere was great.

Lovely bar on Ventnor sea front. Great tapas selection, good beer and cocktails. Friendly staff, great for couples and families alike. Good value.

Friendly staff, cracking setting sitting outside over looking the beach

Really great experience. We had the tapas & someone else mentioned the chilli con carne in their review, which I can confirm was delicious. Very impressive front of house staff, friendly & helpful. Don't know why it's only scoring 3.5 on TA. It's clearly a 5 out of 5 in our eyes.

Since this establishment has been taken back by the original owners it is back to its former glory! Great food, great views, friendly staff. Happy to say I'm a local and can visit on a regular basis 🙂🙂

Found this hidden jem this evening. The food is 10/10, friendly staff a great atmosphere and delicious food. Will definitely be returning soon

Part of the group who were assaulted. Bar staff and locals patrons couldn’t have done more in the situation. Thank you

Brilliant food, Brilliant staff, fantastic service. Loved this place

Absolutely lovely bar … great food we ordered from the smaller plates … lovely selection of food . Highly recommend

Great Staff Great cocktails and right on the beach...

Ruby and the staff were welcoming & helpful, moving tables to accommodate our party of 8. The food was great, we had a vegan, a vegetarian & someone who is gluten intolerant but there was plenty to choose from & everyone was really happy with what we ordered, it all came at once even though we were a large group. The place has a lovely atmosphere & we stayed on for a drink afterwards.

Went to celebrate our younger daughter's birthday with our 2 labradors, they were welcomed in the restaurants no issues. The food Tapas and everything is to die for, freshly prepared from mostly local ingredients and it was amazing, so were the drinks which were tailor made for. We requested a birthday cake for our daughter which was arranged at very short notice. Absolutely brilliant. Great place, great ambience, will certainly go again when we are in IOW again. Highly Recommended!! Thanks all for making our daughter's birthday dinner so special! Much appreciated!!

Such a superb stop. Great food and drink, watching the world go by on the beach front!! What more could you ask for? Good service? Yup, included 😅

How lovely to find the Met bar has returned to the great tapas menu after so many years..have eaten here about 4 times in the past 2 weeks with friends and locals. Excellent menu and the food has not disappointed.

Amazing food, excellent selection of tapas for all tastes. Whipped feta on specials was amazing. crab ramekin very tasty, service good, staff polite and cocktail good but only a slim range to pick from

Very good, well staffed, and the food was really good.

Nice restaurant on the sea front in Ventor… a good menu with lots of choice and a great selection of cakes! Service was brilliant .. friendly & with a smile! Would definitely return!

The best Chilli Con Carne I've ever had!

The best Chilli Con Carne I've ever eaten, and I've tried them everywhere! Staff, friendly. Location is superb. Just watch the sea as you eat. Superb!

Had lovely lunch here, French onion soup and I had pastrami baguette, having walked few miles from Shanklin it was a very welcome pit stop! Lovely staff and sat outside to enjoy the sunshine!

Good menu, I’m vegetarian and had plenty of options I went for the Aubergine Parmigiana which was very nice, the food arrived quickly the young staff were friendly and polite the prices weren’t too expensive and the view out to the ocean was great.

We only went for drinks but it was a nice environment with friendly bar staff. The cocktails were very good and reasonably priced. Would recommend popping in for a drink or two

Really buzzing place with great Staff

stopped here for lunch, didnt know the place at all and was very pleased with our choices of food and espresso martini was to die for.

Called in twice in one day, afternoon for drinks and called agin in the evening. Decided to share the chilli tacos. Delicious 😋 fresh and cooked beautifully. The staff are knowledgeable and friendly, great bunch. The sea is literally across the road. Perfect view and...

Only had a drink. Went back again to eat but we picked the day they were not serving food in the evening. Lovely place to sit and watch the world go by.

Sat at a table near the bar. Lots of staff going backwards and forwards but nobody acknowledged us. After 15 minutes we gave up. Just a polite hello I'll be with you in a minute would have done

We visit often and simply couldn't recommend The Met highly enough, now it's under relatively new management. Great atmosphere; super and attentive young, friendly staff; delicious food; and a wide range of drinks - from classy cocktails to tasty wines and everything in between. The...

We stumbled across this lovely tapas bar/wine bar by accident on the Isle of Wight in Ventor. If you are in the area and want to have either a drink or food here it was absolutely lovely, we are a family of 5 2 adults...

Absolutely top, great food, great service and great views, what is not to like? Highly recommended and will be visiting again soon.

This is a spacious bar serving delicious food at reasonable prices. The speciality is cocktails and wine but there are other choices. Choose where you want to sit, inside or out. The staff are very friendly and ip for a chat. We loved the chilled...

The experience was ruined by a cocky staff addressing me and my family as 'Buddy' in an over familiar way

Staff not friendly bar person was filling a drinks fridge didn’t bother to say anything to me so I waited then when I asked a question about the bottled beer it was like it was an effort he took my food and drink order then...

Ordered for takeaway on the beach and we were so delighted with the food. It was delicious! I had the chorizo and hubby the chicken skewers. So lovely really impressed will be back. Thanks guys.

Never went in the place but looks good

Lovely spot for lunch with great views and great food. Family and dog friendly with great service. Thoroughly recommend.

Always a good place to stop and have a drink lovely views

My self and few friend shad lunch here .The food was amazing .So much choice ,fresh,and tasty.The service was fantastic ,checked on us and asked whether we need . It was a fantastic afternoon ,and would definitely be back for more.The views the best as well. makes it even better.

We went to the met for evening tapas and food was delicious. Excellent service and a wide variety of dishes and drinks. There’s something for everyone.

Right by the beach with a fantastic view. Friendly service and a great atmosphere. On a sunny day you can sit outside.

We came across this clean and spacious restaurant by chance, sheltering from the rain. Stayed for a tapas lunch which was truly excellent. The dishes were fresh and very tasty. A great find!

We stumbled upon this place by accident and delighted by the meal we had there. As a large group, we ordered lots of the different tapas dishes - and every one of them was incredibly tasty. Lovely to have the friendly, efficient staff serving us.

Such a lovely place with an amazing atmosphere. We stopped in for a cocktail and couldn’t leave. The bar staff was so accommodating and happy to make my cocktails extra sweet. Jules, who predominantly served us, had some great recommendations and was happy to assist...

Lovely Cocktails! Cannot emphasise enough on trying some of Jules and the crew’s delicacies. Especially the Ventnor Breeze and the Pink Siren. Proceed to their venue and indulge in some lovely mixed drinks.

The staff were extremely helpful and pleasant and the restaurant is very well appointed. We even had an excellent sea view from our table. We settled on ordering a selection of tapas and everything we ordered was excellent and see quickly and efficiently. Dog friendly...

Loved it, only in for coffee but we'll looked after.

Good visit with food service slightly slow but they are busy. Good prices for drinks and food. If in area I would return and visit again.

I had Coffee and food. I do recommend people try this place out, it is relatively new but they are doing it right. Happy/friendly staff chatty but not intrusive. (none of the local riff raff, on my visits). “no T-shirt no service” but this is...

As a family of 6 adults , we decided to have lunch here on a recent holiday on the IOW. We received a warm welcome from the staff and were provided with menus and drinks were ordered promptly . There was a good choice of...

Excellent food, great staff too, and dog friendly. Difficult to judge from the outside, but once inside it can't fail to impress. (And the best chili con carne I've had in ages).

Really good menu. Interesting and enjoyable food at reasonable prices. Great ambiance.

We received mouldy bread for our kids! Unacceptable! Complained to the waiter and Manager, and they just ignored and charged on the bill. Terrible services!!!

Excellent dining experience from start to finish. Chris was absolutely brilliant. Totally on the ball and just so friendly. Food was tasty and people watching just the best. Well done team!

On the beach, great staff great location you can't beat a evening here watching the sun go down

Good size and set of drinks but a bit disappointed as we’ve waited 25 mins for the drinks to be served.

Fantastic position right by the beach. Friendly staff, cool vibe and great food. Lots for veggies and vegans too

Something a bit different tapas and a good quality beer.

Stopped here whilst in Ventnor lovely decor and atmosphere. Ordered paella and a pastrami baguette both were fresh and delicious will definitely visit again.

Looking for somewhere to eat one evening and came across The Met. Excellent tapas food, with vegan alternatives. Well worth a visit. Nice modern but rustic decor high added to the experience.

Visited the The Met on the beach front in ventnor sept 22, really nice place to have a drink and a light lunch. A great place for a wine bar and something a little different. The staff were very friendly and polite.

Ate twice here and we were delighted both times with the qualiy of the food and despite short staff due to covid food came in good time

The Met, situated on the sea front, offers brilliant food and a selection of beers and spirits, including the locally produced Mermaid gins and vodka. The tapas dishes are affordable, really well cooked and portions are generous. The staff are friendly and efficient. Highly recommended

Visited for coffee. Waited an extraordinarily long time at the bar for service while 2 members of staff dealt with a previous order. No acknowledgment of my presence, no apology for the unacceptable delay despite no other customers waiting. We are constantly being told that...

We arrived expectedly at this bar after having the misfortune to be evacuated from the Smoking Lobster due to electrical fire. We were welcomed with open arms by very friendly staff. The young lady who mainly dealt with us was absolutely lovely. Apologies for not...

The Met has recently reverted back to selling tapas - thank goodness! The service was very good, all very friendly and prompt. The food was tasty, perfect for a small lunch out, but could have easily had more tapas to have a more substantial meal....

I stopped here for dinner on the 25/8/22 it was my first time to the place I was very well looked after by a very nice lady on first impressions was excellent the food was hot very tasty and fresh plus the fantastic service that...

We thought we'd try this place as it was on the seafront but we wished we hadn't bothered. The food is overpriced, with very poor selection, and is bang average to say the least. Half the menu wasn't available, the staff didn't seem to care about our experience and weren't attentive. It's meant to be 'Italian' but it's a pale imitation. We ordered our food and it was really awful. Dreadful. No wonder this place was virtually empty when we came in. This place use to be good but it has no standards now, rubbish staff, awful over priced food, and clearly no management. I certainly won't be coming back here again. I don't recommend it at all. Avoid at all costs

Tables not wiped even though we asked as ours was covered in sugar. Poor service. Coffee not hot. Girl taking order did not know which coffee they use despite it being written on the cups (Lavatto). Very disappointing. No wonder the cafe further along is so full. Will not be returning.

We've just had a lovely meal at Met Pizzeria. Well , what can i say. The food arrived VERY quickly . It was very fresh and we ordered some pizzas. They came beautifully cooked and they were authentic Italian , thin crust. We were served by Shane and his lovely colleague. The place was also very clean. It overlooks the marina and the sea breeze made us feel so energised.Gorgeous view.We asked Shane to make us a soya cappuccino , dry . Proper Italian coffee ! He listened attentively and made a lot of effort to make sure everything was the way we liked it.I would give it 5 stars and would def come here again.Thanks.Best wishes Sarah

Not one to ever leave reviews, let alone bad ones but to say it was an unpleasant experience is an understatement.We had dinner here yesterday in spite of having read recent reviews as we’re locals and used to dine frequently, however have been disappointed. The food was okay, we had to order pasta dishes as we were abruptly told by a long haired blonde teenager(whom we only remember as we found the same hair on our plate as regardless of basic health and hygiene it was not tied back) that they were short staffed and couldn’t make pizzas, which as understandable as it is, could of been said more apologetically or at least worded better. We ordered the carbonara and pesto pasta as for an “Italian restaurant” they had only 3 pasta dishes. When the food finally arrived, despite being bland, was alright. The staff were ignorant and cared more about chatting to each other and going on their phones than paying attention to the restaurant; which had numerous dirty plates and glasses on tables as they had been neglected rather than cleared, as-well as dirty floors that hadn’t been swept from previous meals, and uncared for, unhappy customers within, the table afar from us were also complaining to one another about the lack of customer service. Seemingly it’s run by a bunch of uninterested, substandard rude teenagers. It’s upsetting as we used to eat here often, has it changed hands? Either way, maybe the manager/owner should be reading these reviews and enforcing the necessary training for their staff members to ensure the best experience for their custom.

Decided not to be put off by previous reviews and so glad we went. Due to staff shortages the menu was limited but the staff were very honest about the problems and the food was amazing. The staff all had smiles on their faces even though they were extremely busy. Nothing was too much trouble. The antipasti starter was delicious and huge. Can’t wait to come back again

Arrived at 19.20 for a 19.30 booking. Pleasant waitress took our order20.10 asked when we were going to be served. Apologies came, will be a while longer. Asked for our garlic bread starter to be brought. 20.20 it arrived. Toilets filthy20.40 asked again when we were going to see our food. Told it was still going to be a while. We decided to leaveThe staff were all very young and more interested in laughing and joking with each other than serving their customers. The menu was extremely limited and disappointing. Overall the whole experience was unpleasant and I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone.

ate here today and oh dearie me the food was awful i ordered a pesto pasta but it was more like heavy cream and basil in pasta with no pesto xx i threw up twice after and was surprised at how bland the food was considering it’s an italian restaurant it was more like italian with a bushtucker trial twist !! would never eat here again the waitresses are lovely but the food is not x

Visited whilst on our holidays in Ventnor and booked before we set off from home. We'd read some of the negative reviews and wondered if we'd done the right thing...Our visit was lovely from the start. Gorgeous weather, wonderful view of Ventnor Beach all set to a background of good music and tasty food. The service was second to none - we were given just the right amount of time to order and never felt rushed or left waiting - perfect. We ordered garlic bread and antipasti to share as a starter - plenty for two and arrived on wooden platters and very well presented. We were then asked if we were ready for our main meal or if we'd like a little more time (unheard of in a busy environment and very refreshing). Our pizzas (a double pepperoni and a pescatori) were perfect. All in all one of the most relaxed, enjoyable meals we have had whilst here with pleasant, polite staff - what isn't to like?!

After reading the many horrendous reviews we still decided to make a booking and go for dinner. (Booked 2 days prior) Bad decision! Turned up to be told they are only doing pizzas as the chef “just wasn’t in”. No pre-warning, no phone call no nothing.Woman on the front didn’t give a toss. Ended up at 7:30 with a hungry child and obviously - everywhere else was booked. Very poor

Not quite sure how this restaurant has managed a 3.5 rating. The food was probably the worst ‘Italian’ meal we have ever had. We weren’t expecting much so we ordered a simple pizza and tomato pasta (there were only 3 pasta dishes on the menu) and I’m not sure how they got it so wrong. The pizza was cooked from frozen and undercooked so we sent back. The pasta was over cooked and the sauce tasted like a packet sauce, horrible. Staff were accommodating but I think they need to rethink their menu, chef and methods. Definitely would not recommend, even if it’s the only restaurant with space in Ventnor.

Another establishment staffed by uninterested teenagers more seemingly interested in their appearance than customer experience.From uncleared and uncleaned tables to advertising take ways which they can’t always provide it’s just a sorry experience.If you like being a nuisance by wanting decent service then this is the place for you. The pizzas aren’t great either. It seems like it changed hands a few years ago and looked to have been well received back then.

I wouldn’t eat here based on previous experiences but the cocktail I had the other night was lovely and the service was good. It is nice to go here before eating elsewhere for a drink and see the beautiful sea!

Stopped for a coffee & cake. Had to ask (during a pandemic) for the table to be cleaned! The mugs and Tea Pot were ingrained with filth and the servers attitude when it was mentioned was annoyance. Avoid.

Ate here twice this week. Ventnor is so busy it’s hard to find a restaurant with space. They couldn’t fit me initially on my first night in the town so I booked for the following night. One of the waitresses then took pity on me and “squeezed me in” in a socially distant way!! The pizza “The Mer” was lovely, a really thin pizza base just how I like it. The second night I had Italian meats then spaghetti carbonara which was so tasty. Highly recommended

Happened upon this sea front restaurant completely by accident after a lovely walk in the sunshine around VentnorThe waitress was very pleasant and friendly and once we were seated brought the menus immediately, she then gave us exactly the right amount of time to make a decision ie we weren't sat waiting for ages to be served A table slightly along from us had ordered the fish platter which looked amazing but as we had eaten fish the night before settled for the Antipasti platter with an extra baguette and a bottle of Sauvignon BlancI cannot find the words to describe how good it was, silly as it may sound the garlic butter was beyond perfect and there was more than enough of all the meats and cheeses to even satisfy my partner!10\10 Perfect

Me and my boyfriend reserved a table at this restaurant to which we arrived with a table directly next to the open door on a very windy evening. We asked the waitress whether they could close the door as the gust of wind was making as feel cold. She replied with a confused face saying “Um I don’t know” to which we had to ask to move tables as the cold air was effecting us on our table. When we moved we realised we felt another cold breeze from the other door they had wide open which they refused to close. We had to keep our coats on the whole time as it was so cold in the restaurant with both doors open.They had a board of cocktails up next to our table which we were looking forward to try to be told by the waitress “no we can only make aeperol spritz” and was very blunt and unapologetic about it. We weren’t even given a drinks menu and was only given the choice of two gins to choose from as they had “no stock”. We both had pizzas which were ok but had more cheese and could hardly taste the tomato sauce. The servers were extremely incompetent they seemed to have no idea what was on the menu or how to treat people with respect. The waitress couldn’t even clear our starter plates before our main meal and didn’t even check if we needed anything after serving our pizzas. Overall, me and my partner were very dissatisfied with the service and the food was the only good thing about our experience.

Have always enjoyed going to this cafe/bar before but we have never been in the evening, and, unless they close the rest of Ventnor's hospitality establishments, we never will again.In the positives column, the staff were pleasant enough and the pizzas were quite good.The service was slow, if pleasant and somewhat incompetent. The bottle of J2O came out with the top not removed, the cutlery for the starters I ended up fetching myself ( though to make up for it we got an extra fork for the mains) the bill was incorrect ( though in my favour but honesty got the better of me). While I have no proof, I doubt the homemade pate was. Oh yes and the mask wearing was, if I'm being generous, hit and issue at best.All in all utterly underwhelmed by an air of don't care won't care

Went to have a coffee on Saturday, the waitress was putting out the last of the tables, I politely asked whether they were open baring in mind it was past 10am and was blankly and quite frankly rudely told not yet. No longer than a minute later I saw that they were serving! The question I want to know is was it actually something said?

Not a pleasant experience.We had cappuccino one Friday morning. Lots of froth but not much more than hot milk underneath, the weakest coffee we’ve ever had.Mentioned it to the 2 ladies running the place (for want of a better word), they showed no interest whatsoever. However we did rather better than the man on the next table. He ordered a pot of tea, which arrived but was so weak it was undrinkable. He stirred it like mad, only to discover there was no tea bag in the pot!Would not return and looking at recent reviews, it’s a place to avoid.

Coffee passable, food was horrible. Inside dirty and flies everywhere - and impolite staff. Congratulations, what an astoundingly badly run business