The Reef in Isle of Wight

Excellent place, friendly and nice, tasty meals..also very good wine by the glass, clearly a good choice by a connoisseur..service fast and very friendly, good atmosphere, excellent location. Highly recommended. Been every evening whilst in the IOW.

Great location. Great team, I have enjoyed eating here! Food is spot on. Few more things to tick off the menu 😋

Excellent quality food! Nice choice of seafood dishes. GF puddings. We will be back.

Pleasantly surprised 😊 We all had a delicious meal at the Reef and the staff made the night. 10/10 for customer service and you guys deserved a 10% tip 😎👍🏼Great food and a lovely evening had by all of us. Many thanks guys 😀

Amazing food and staff! We come here on every holiday.

Didnt have a room, but had food which was great, superb location and the young man serving us was very good,

Friendly resturant on the beach with great food. Ate here a few times during our trip and everything we had we enjoyed.

The pasta was creamy and the pizza must have had a signature sauce! The view was scenic. The food at The Reef is top two in the Shanklin, Sandown & Ventnor axis, and it’s not no. 2.

We were on the island the same time last year and we ate in here for our wedding anniversary and we were not disapointed. So back on the island this year and as we had had such a great time last year we booked for this year as well. I have to say the place is still amazing, the food is superb and the young staff are great, efficient, polite and helpful. This year was our 39th wedding anniversary, so not sure where we will be for our 40th next year, but we just wanted to say thanks guys for a very enjoyable evening. All the very best to all of you.

Recently stayed in Sandown for a few days and luckily found this place on our first night. Really good food, varied menu (we struggled to choose) and friendly smiley staff. We all agreed there was no need to go anywhere else, so went every evening for our whole stay! Well done The Reef, we wish you all the success in the world, you certainly deserve it.

Fancied a pizza so had a quick look on line as our usual pizza place was shut for 1 night .pre booked 40 mins before arrival and arrived 20mins early all good ,sat, ordered drinks not rushed ,which is a big thing for us ,and ordered 2 pizzas , took a while to arrive,which is great prefer freshly cooked (would have waited longer)so arrived our pizzas with garlic ciabatta cheese, oh my days ,the pizza was huge,it must be 14 inches wide ,you could just see the plate, it was absolutely lovely highly recommended and the service was XLNT

Excellent food ,great staff fair prices well worth a visit will definitely go back on our next visit to sandown, right on the seafront with a great choice of meals at seaside prices and certainly worth the price we paid

Possibly the best meal of the holiday. The Reef never disappoints. We were staying in Sandown for the final night of our stay and having been for lunch several times there was no other thought about dinner. The cajun salmon with pan fried prawns and sautéed potatoes was probably the best meal of the holiday and there was stiff competition. The salmon was cooked perfectly The lime and lemon sauce giving that extra kick. Portion size was perfect and came with a lovely dressed salad. Swilled down with a glass or two of Pinot. Just perfect Can never fault the efficiency. Still table service only but the smashing young lad that looked after us was so friendly and attentive, Hope you got your tip of your Dad as you certainly earned it.

Stopped here for lunch. Good food at a reasonable price.

Highly recommend this restaurant great food great and helpful staff

Stopped for a drink & meal with friends great location

We had a meal here on Saturday and we were very impressed, with the service and quality of the food. Staff were all young and couldn't of looked after us any better. Recommend to anyone

We only had a meal and the menu was fairly extensive. I would recommend the pizzas

We have been coming here each month since May 2024 and tried many places to eat and drink in Sandown and this is our favourite. Service is always amazing, Josh and team always make us and our dog very welcome. Great food, good portion sizes and always a good selection. Cockails are all really lovely, our regular is the salted caramel espresso martini.

Nice food with reasonable prices. Staff were friendly, and can have a nice sea view.

Not bad, food ok , pretty friendly but small portions Wouldn't criticise it but positioned on a derelict seafront Tables and eating area need a good clean

This restaurant is amazing! Food is out of this world! Staff are expecially wonderful and attentive. Especially lily. Will be back again soon!

This wonderful Seaside Restraunt/Bar serves excellent food and has wonderful views of Sandown Bay. You can be seated inside (Book) or out on the Terrace. The Service is friendly and efficient. Plenty of choices on the Menu and they have a Daily Specials Board. As Gluten Free I found lots of choice on the Menu and felt safe, as I was informed the Owners Children are Ceoliac. I felt reassured they understood CC. It was a joy to have so much choice and it was a hard decision. I opted for the Cajun Chicken, which came beautifully presented with Cherry Tomato's, Portobello Mushroom, Fries and Salad. The Salad had a Spicy French Mustard Dressing which with the Cajun Chicken I found a little too hot for my taste. The rest of the dish was delicious though and the Cajun Chicken was beautifully cooked. All washed down with a GF Peroni! My hubby chose the Sea Bass which he enjoyed too. We finished of with Lemon Pavlova and New York Cheesecake. Both were delicious and GF! We had a fabulous evening, nice atmosphere and as Sandown Locals we will definitely be returning. If you are GF you are in safe hands here, highly recommend.

This wonderful Seaside Restraunt/Bar serves excellent food and has wonderful views of Sandown Bay. You can be seated inside (Book) or out on the Terrace. The Service is friendly and efficient. Plenty of choices on the Menu and they have a Daily Specials Board. As Gluten Free I found lots of choice on the Menu and felt safe, as I was informed the Owners Children are Ceoliac. I felt reassured they understood CC. It was a joy to have so much choice and it was a hard decision. I opted for the Cajun Chicken, which came beautifully presented with Cherry Tomato's, Portobello Mushroom, Fries and Salad. The Salad had a Spicy French Mustard Dressing which with the Cajun Chicken I found a little too hot for my taste. The rest of the dish was delicious though and the Cajun Chicken was beautifully cooked. All washed down with a GF Peroni! My hubby chose the Sea Bass which he enjoyed too. We finished of with Lemon Pavlova and New York Cheesecake. Both were delicious and GF! We had a fabulous evening, nice atmosphere and will definitely be returning. If you are GF you are in safe hands here, highly recommend.

Amazing.... We had burgers beef and chicken and they were sublime we also had garlic and chilli prawns...... i will be trying to replicate them at home becausethey were delish. Massive portions The long island ice tea I had was super good The waitress we had was charming and engaging which I always appreciate

wow! the reef was so welcoming, the staff was so friendly and lovely. I had a burger and it was delicious! My mum had the dirty fries and loved it. Would highlight recommend and will be coming back in the future :)

Our first meal on IOW was at The Reef. We had breakfast. Great food, great staff, great service and good location

We stopped here purely by chance and were so glad we did. The food was delicious with many choices for vegetarians, which so often in many restaurants is not the case. The setting is lovely, right opposite sandown beach. The internal decor is lovely too and all of the staff were professional and extremely friendly. The food was very reasonably priced too. We will definitely return.

Excellent service, delicious drinks

Excellent visit. Came down on a lovely summers evening. Spot on both service and food, would recommend to anyone in the area locally or visiting

Love this bar great vibes, super friendly staff. The food is fresh and tasty and the cocktails are totally amazing yummy

Disappointed with the food bbq ribs were very fatty, lamb kebab was chewy & tough to eat. Service & staff were good but we won't be returning.

The dinner was just okay. The food was okay, not great. They stop taking food orders at 9 pm, and we got there between 8 and 8:30 pm. They didn't tell us about the 9 pm cutoff, and we had kids with us, so it was annoying that they wouldn't take our order. But they'll still serve drinks after 9 pm. One of the reviews said they ordered (on request) a vegetarian Thai curry and they said they could make it, but it wasn't very good. It was just pumpkin in a Thai curry. And the amount of rice they gave was too small for one person. Everything else was fine, though.

Nice place! Friendly staff, decent food, great view.

Decent food. I got the salmon and was surprised by the lovely prawn sauce concoction. Though I’d probably advise going for a burger or fish and chips since my family’s dishes were definitely better than mine. Stick to the classics as they do make a mean classic 👌 Service was quite slow but it seems like that’s the case when you’re on the Isle of Wight. Overall great live music and atmosphere would come again!

Very good competitively priced food. Great service. Very happy customer.

Wonderful meal great service A+++++

Great food and excellent service, so good I've booked a table for tomorrow night.

Excellent selection of food all served by waiters and waitresses who cared

Lovely and welcoming staff,delicious food and great location

We had a lovely dinner here. The food was really fresh and tasty. Very friendly service and a great location on the sea front. The sea bass was cooked beautifully and my partner had the lamb skewers which were really good too. We would definitely return.

Very nice place. Staff friendly, nice food

Went for evening meal, said they were disabled friendly but apart from a ramp, doorways have lips that are far too high, cannot access toilet so not impressed

Really nice little find for lunch in a lovely location off the beach. Really good quality food and excellent service. What more do you want?

Fabulous food, great service with a wonderful view of the sea. Excellent gluten free food choices.

Unfortunately I cannot rate our experience because of the quality of the food ,also our ales were off too..The only good point was the service ..Now it seems as though I go out of my way to give bad feed back but it couldn't be further from the truth..I will always give good feed back but on this occasion it just didn't meet our expectations...Sorry!

Great little find last year. The gluten free options are what made us go. We are glad we did, the food was delicious, there was a great range of options, huge portions and good quality food. We even came back again last week with my family because we remembered how good it was and they were just as impressed! Will definitely visit next year when we are back on the island!

We ate very well there! Friendly staff

It was lovely to sit outside in good weather...food order was only taking after me chaising foe this then lamp kebab come so dry that it wasn't possible to eat it ,rest of the food was ok , but nothing special

We didn't stay at the reef, only had lunch there. The food was very nice and I would visit again. Thanks

Good food, great service. Shame it's right next to a load of derelict hotels/buildings. Sandown itself is quite run down. But businesses like this a worth supporting as they're doing a great job and maybe the area will improve over time.

Lovely atmosphere, friendly staff. Great to see and look out at the sea. We had pizza and cheesy garlic bread and it was a nice size and had lots of flavour. The younger generation gets a lot of flack, and all the staff were low 20's, but they all gave absolutely fantastic servic and with a smile.

What an incredible venue!!! The staff are all amazing!!! I came in after a very long day to a lovely welcome from the staff. Would highly recommend- best toast ever.

Food was superb. Staff excellent. Whole heartedly recommend

We had a lovely meal here. Right on Sandown seafront. Service was good, food was delicious. I would recommend the pork belly. Can't review the rooms as we only used the restaurant

We had the kids with us and they have a kids menu. The food is unreal. Best food we've had in a long time. Views are amazing aswell. Would fully recommend 👌

Nice food in great spot. A little pricey but not extortionate. Good service, friendly staff.

We live locally and popped in for lunch. Friendly and attentive staff. Food was lovely and of course sitting outside looking at the sea is always great.

Celebrated Wedding Anniversary here 2/52 ago, phoned before trip to the Island if it would be ok as a Saturday evening ( 5 of us & 3 dogs),lady I spoke to was really helpful, super friendly & very Kindly reserved us a table. Greeted by a young waitress when we arrived ( turned out to be our main waitress 10/10 for service & great hospitality skills - also had a young gentleman waiter for part of visit , also great service) which was a nice welcome. We were shown to a large table in the corner still able to see the Sea Views from there & room for our dogs to curl up under too. We all had different Mains from the menu & specials board, all were perfectly cooked & delicious. Highlight were the Mussels ( one suggestion here maybe serve with extra bread rather than fries)😋 accompanied by selection of Cocktails& other drinks. Daughter also really enjoyed her Chocolate Fondant, which was nice & oozy. Have never been here on previous visits to the Island, after our lovely evening we shall definitely be back during next Trip. Thank you for being so welcoming & making the evening feel special.

We wearnt sure what to expect but the service was excellent. Our drinks were served within minutes of ordering them and the food was delicious. We ordered a pizza, a steak, cajun chicken and the moule. All was absolutely delicious there wasnt a bite left on the plate. The staff were courteous and very attentive. Thank you, we had a lovely meal. 🙏

Beach area and crowd around looked run down however the weather was sunny and windy that made up for it possibly .Staff is very accommodating and friendly.

Sadly this bar is located well enough overlooking the water but in an area that is very run down . The bar prices were high, the atmosphere poor . Staff were friendly enough .

Lovely location on the seafront! We had a burger, which was fine, and a crab salad which was swimming in brine from the olives! Chips were only warm when they arrived and freezing by midway through the meal. I don't think we'll go there again.

The staff here were very friendly and helpful and seemed happy working here. The food was great too. The only let down was that it was cold outside, they were pretty full inside unfortunately much better than the Ocean Deck who wouldn’t take walk-ins, seems they wanted people to sit outside as wasn’t busy inside at all

I came to the restaurant for our lunch . All the girls are so happy and helpful . Food is so yummy . But it’s a non halal restaurant so we couldn’t eat any meat but we had to take a beef burger from the kids menu for my little boy . The margarita pizza is so good don’t forget to orderr this when you will visit this restaurant.

Think this is my 5th visit and it just gets better. We go for the gluten free options as there is so much. My son had the gf burger and said it was the best burger he has ever eaten. Great taste, portion size and friendly staff.

Stunning little restaurant right on the seafront. Every course was better than the last, the steak in the steak sandwich was cooked to perfection and had a beautiful combination of flavours. The vegetarian in our party described the sun-dried tomato, feta and pesto sandwich as "the best meal I've had in a while" which on a holiday of eating out every night was a big statement, but I agree wholeheartedly. The desserts we went for were the lemon meringue roulade and the chocolate fondant, both of which were the perfect compliment to the meal and left us speechless. Really friendly and smiley staff, they were very attentive. Thank you all for a perfect end to our holiday! Will be back in the future!

We had a delicious meal here trying lots of dishes. Our children have coeliac disease and so finding safe places to eat out is tricky. We saw lots of GF options on their website and booked a table. When we asked for the allergen menu, we found out that the owners children have coeliac disease and so this immediately reassured us that they really do understand it. The boys had a hard time choosing as they don't usually have that many options to choose from! We had delicious calamari, pork belly, moules, Thai curry, roasted salmon and burger. They were all made GF, so we could all try each other's food which is a novelty! All were delicious and filling, so we didn't need to even look at the dessert menu. This has convinced us to plan another family holiday to the IOW so we can visit here again!

A great meal with delicious food and friendly service. The view is stunning. It's like being in a Mediterranean seaside restaurant. Definitely somewhere to visit when on the isle of Wight!

Always great food and cocktails. 👍

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Food was excellent in a lovely atmosphere. The staff are very help full and efficient. The setting is opposite Sandown beach adding to the overall experience.

Fantastic food & staff ! We had a beautiful meal here the food was excellent, it’s right on the beach too with stunning views ! The waiter Josh was so polite & looked after our family so well ! He would make a great manager / supervisor , he went out of his way to give us everything we needed & our food came out so quickly & it tasted so good! They have a great GF menu choice too ! Would love to see GF cheese cake on the menu & a pint of fresh prawns . We had steak 🥩 and it was cooked perfectly ! What a fantastic chef & huge menu choice with large portions ! We highly recommend!

Lovely relaxing seafront location, staff extremely attentive and made to feel welcome. Menu is impressive and food is amazing. Childrens menu is also great value for money

Great food and drinks. Wishing you the best of luck. Great place.

Sitting on the terrace in the sunshine, overlooking the beach with good wine, good beer and great food. What is not to like. Friendly young waiter. Highly recommended.

This place is amazing, the staff are brilliant, very friendly with my son, and delivered a brilliant service. I’d highly recommend and we come here every other month!

Had a excellent lunch here with loads of choices. Will use again.

The food here was excellent and the service was extremely friendly and efficient. We visited on a Friday night and there was a great buzz there. I would definitely eat here again if I was in Sandown again.

Third year visiting the island and eating here. Always made welcome as a family, lovely setting. Friendly staff and excellent food! Can’t ask for more.

Great lunch here overlooking the beach. Service was great and also catered really well for my son who has several food allergies which is really appreciated! Delicious food, would recommend!

Fantastic food and the staff are very friendly.

Stopped here this afternoon for dinner and what a surprise. Lovely food, lovely view and wonderful staff. The waiter apart from super handsome was extremely kind and patience. Happy to come to places like this.

The Reef had been recommended to me as a restaurant good for gluten free options on our recent family holiday, so we gave it a try. After a wet, rainy walk on the beach we went in just after 11am. The staff member was friendly and told us that food wasn't served until 12 but we were welcome to have a drink and gave my children some colouring. He was really friendly and when I asked about gluten free, he explained he was coeliac too and that nearly everything on the menu was gluten free. I ordered the fish and chips and it was really tasty. I wanted to go back to try something else and one of the delicious desserts but didn't get time. Would highly recommend and will return on a future holiday!

Stopped for a late lunch, food was beautiful and location is laid back overlooking the water. Great service

Great food and drinks with a sea view!

What a big surprise and I can be very fussy the vegetables were all fresh extra gravey provided very generous portions. Reasonable prices and very helpful and happy young man serving.

Great location and food. Did not stay in a room.

Lovely place, amazing cocktails ! Friendly staff, well visit again!

The family at AtlasAdventured highly recommends this restaurant! If you ever find yourself on the Isle of Wight (doesn’t matter where), you should definitely make a point to eat here. It was so nice we went twice! Both visits were amazing. The outside of the restaurant is very unassuming, but once you walk in you are greeted by a clean, modern oasis. Great location right along the beach in Sandown. Not too many tables which gives it a more intimate feel. Great menu selection with creative yet familiar daily specials. The chicken sandwich was the best sandwich we had on the IOW! Perfectly seasoned with a great kick to it and the chicken was juicy. I would like to say that our daughter is a noodle sommelier, and the kids tagliatelle was one of her all time favorite pasta dishes! The drinks were also fantastic. The salted caramel espresso martini was the highlight of our visit. Sweet and strong. Absolutely perfect. Shout out to Josh for the impeccable service. He was very welcoming and attentive, and great with our toddler. Thank you for making this a memorable experience!

Fantastic meal catering happily for my quite fussy gf 6yr old. They couldn't have been more accommodating. Highly recommended. Will definitely return next time we're on the island.

They have wonderful food and drinks, with a great atmosphere and view.

Best ever Club sandwich. So much so we went back for another meal at the end of the week. Staff were very welcoming. Would definitely return.

Just popped in for drinks...great service and drinks....and lovely views from the front outside seating area...

Lovely meals in a great location with friendly and speedy service

Had a really good lunch here with our 2 grandchildren. Sat on the terrace with a great view of the beach, service was friendly and quick. The food was excellent, pizza, loaded fries and burger. Well worth stopping for a drink or food.

Stumbled on this place by accident. Staff were lovely and food was fantastic! Kids menu was good and their food was really nice and they finished the lot. I recommend the malteser cake for pudding!

Stumbled on this place by accident. Staff were lovely and food was fantastic! Kids menu was good and their food was really nice and they finished the lot. I recommend the malteser cake for pudding!

Pretty good gluten free fish & chips, plus really good service and view

Excellent food and excellent service! Staff members were lovely, will definitely visit again ☺️