The Rex in Ventnor in Isle of Wight

Come here for the steak, desserts, wine and personal service from the owner. One of the better places to dine in Ventnor. Be sure to phone ahead as they only open a few tables at a time.

We have eaten here many times and the food has always been excellent. The gentleman who owns and runs the restaurant is a character and we get on very well with him. He's always attentive and friendly and service is good and not rushed. Will continue to visit every time we are on the island.

We have had two wonderful meals at The Rex this week. We have tried the prawns, crab cakes, cheese soufflé, sea bass and mushroom risotto (and three different desserts!). Every meal was presented, and cooked, beautifully! Excellent choice of wines added to the enjoyment. Sadly, as it is towards the end of season, it was not fully booked but with a lovely veranda overlooking Ventnor Bay it is a perfect place for a delicious meal!

Had the pleasure of eating at the Rex. We fancied Italian and it was a choice of 3. The Rex was closest so we headed there and came recommended. We met with Abdul and what a delightful polite and friendly host. He looked after our night attentively suggested some wines and waited on our table excellently. The food was superb. For meat eaters we had dishes with no meat in and they were just perfect. There was not one piece left on our plates which tells you not only the quality of the produce but portion sizes were exact. We ordered the Gnocci, penne Aribiate, garlic prawns, fish cakes, chocolate cake and creme brûlée. Just a lovely night and the view outside was just perfect.

Lovely family run Italian. Very tasty food. The owner was a charm

Fantastic little place,I had the fillet steak medium rare and it was cooked to perfection,my wife had a pasta dish that was amazing and the dessert was absolutely spot on we had first hand service from Abdul so thank you very much for all you’re effort

Amazing relaxed dining with Wonderful food.

Fabulous fish, great service, fantastic can’t fault it

Doesn't look like anything fancy from the outside but cosy place with great views of the beach. The manager was helpful and attentive. Never had mushroom bruschetta before but it was surprisingly tasty! The steak was a little more done than I prefer but well seasoned and the chips were spectacular. Apparently the fish was beautifully flaky & delicious. We had a set meal on NYE and were happy with our choices. The bonus was the friendly piano player who played gorgeously and took our requests too. We had a very pleasant evening and wish we could have stayed longer and tried the a la carte menu.

Had Christmas Lunch there, it was lovely. 😀

Amazing place with fantastic views and super history behind it. There's an old apartment block right next to it. It's called Rex House. The penthouse must have an amazing view 🙃 Perhaps it will be for sale some time? 🤔

We came out for an early meal and were the only ones in the restaurant, which is why I have only scored 4 stars for atmosphere, but that didn't detract from a wonderful evening. The host/owner was extremely pleasant, and made us feel very welcome, without being intrusive. We both had 3 courses and thoroughly enjoyed each one. The fish dishes were perfectly cooked and desserts were just sweet and tarte enough. The meal was reasonably priced and I would have no hesitation in recommending this restaurant.

We were celebrating our wedding anniversary. The meal, atmosphere, the attention to detail was amazing. So good that we have booked for another night. Thoroughly recommend 😊

Visited tonight (August 14th) had a wonderful evening - we really enjoyed the sea bass and pollo and fungi. The tiramisu was the best I have had. The owners were very polite friendly and professional. We were made very welcome. We would definitely recommend The Rex

Food and service were amazing and Seaview is fantastic. Could do with a face lift outside as you could walk past thinking it's closed. Probably one of the best meals I had on the island. Felt very authentic Italian home cooking

Lovely atmosphere with a fantastic piano player. But service was average, food even less so. And they didn't accept any credit cards or cash

Absolutely lovely evening amazing food gorgeous veiw and very sweet service and great atmosphere

What a lovely restaurant. We ate there last night. Made to feel very welcome. The food was superb, what lovely flavours, also a great outlook across the sea. We were thoroughly entertained by the pianist. Will definitely be going back.

Had a celebration evening here at the end of May ‘23. Very well looked after and the view is lovely. Love the eccentric service!

Came in on a rainy Monday early evening. Service couldn’t have been friendlier and the food was excellent. Catered for our children who wanted slightly different from the menu. Pianist was excellent and the atmosphere was genuinely lovely and relaxing. A real treat!! Thank you!

Only had a drink, well half a drink after realising how dirty the glasses were. But very polite friendly staff.

We had a wonderful meal at the Rex recently. The starter was a delicious cheese soufflé and the mains were also wonderful I.e. fillet steak with peppercorn sauce and sea bass. Abdul is the perfect host and really welcoming. Highly recommended.

We had a great evening for our anniversary, we were looked after very well.

Good Italian food. The owner was very chatty and made a good recommendation for wine Great views across the beach and sea. Although it was quiet when we first went in, it was busy when we left.

A brilliant view over the bay. Could have been in Amalfi. They made us feel really welcome and the food was fantastic. Our empty plates were testimony to this

We were treated respectfully and professionally, and made to feel special. Food flavours perfectly balanced. Fantastic view from outside. The owner cares about people feeling happy, having a taste of Italy, and a enjoying a memorable experience.

Lovely host, delicious fresh food, unbelievable view. Highly recommended.

I wish I could rate this restaurant a negative star. It's deeply concerning and unacceptable that the manager's behavior towards me was discriminatory and racist. No one deserves to be treated disrespectfully and unfairly based on their skin color. It's extremely disappointing that the manager has such a narrow-minded and discriminatory attitude towards customers. His behavior is completely unacceptable and goes against the fundamental principles of hospitality and customer service. Furthermore, the fact that he refuses to service anyone who doesn't share his skin color and belittles their ability to afford his food is incredibly offensive and unprofessional. It's unacceptable for any business owner to discriminate in this way and it shows a complete lack of respect for the diverse community in which The Rex operates. I would not recommend ‘The Rex’ to anyone, especially those who may be targeted by the manager's discriminatory behavior. No one should have to endure such treatment while trying to enjoy a meal. It's important that we stand up against such behaviour and make it clear that discrimination has no place in our society.

Anyone checking online, be sure to call and book, restaurant timings on google are wrong

Beautiful old building with some of the original features. Owner of establishment served us, and was very knowledgeable on the history. Food was excellent 👌 😋

Excellent customer service, lovely atmosphere with live music, the owner went above and beyond, best steak I’ve ever had.

what a gem of a place. it really is fantastic. food and service was amazing so welcoming thank you for being brilliant

Fantastic owner,makes all very welcome 😀. Food excellent and well presented.

As we walked in we were greeted by the sound of a piano being played beautifully.. The owner and host gave us a table overlooking the sea... He was very attentive but gave us plenty of time to ourselves .. the food was great... The only issue is they don't open everyday but if you get the chance I would say go... Even if just for a glass of wine

The best meal we've had this holiday. The crab pasta was way better than that at Rick Stein's in Winchester! Great views across Ventnor with a small but carefully crafted menu to cater to most tastes. (Pasta to pizza to grill), and a great wine list. The food is obviously cooked with love!

Wow what a fantastic restaurant. Lovely host and amazing food. The fillet steak was the best I have had in a while. The fish was also lovely. Brilliant views from the restaurant and a lovely terrace outside. Probably best to book ahead to avoid disappointment. Great wines and deserts. They even do takeaway

Fantastic food and service. Lovely terrace to look out to sea too

Hate leaving negative reviews but was honestly so disappointed by this experience :( We booked a table here as had read it was one of the best Italians on the Island. We were greeted in a very rushed manner by the waitor who took us to an undressed table, and then took another 10 minutes to even give us any menus. When we received the menu it was EXTREMELY limited and for mains had only 3 pasta dishes and 3 pizza dishes. The waiter didn't take a drinks order for us, and when he finally came to our table (about 20 minutes after we were seated), he was in a rush again (when there were only 3 other small tables seated in the whole restaurant). I had popped to the toilet and my husband asked for a couple more minutes to order as I was in the toilet. The waiter then literally shouted at him across the restaurant "are you ready yet or am I going to have to wait for hours?! You were late and I have other customers to serve!!", my husband was so stunned he didn't say anything and all the other customers were just staring- it really ruined our evening! Horrible service but food was ok. :(

Just an amazing experience! We arrived without reservation, and the owner welcomed us with great kindness. The food was verrry nice, the wine excellent with a very large selection. The owner is a wine AFICIONADO which selected very well win for suggestion. We highly recommend this place and we will come back with pleasure

Great hospitality and lovely food. Amazing sea views.

Lovely food, great service. Accommodated our two children with lovely croquettes, rosemary fries and garlic bread. Pizza and Caesar salad were both delicious. Also, lovely views of the sea!

Food was very good. Nice quiet place to sit and have a meal. Gorgeous view of the sea.

Lovely meal and friendly service. Great value.

A really nice small restaurant and wine bar with a terrace overlooking the sea, the fillet steak was cooked to perfection. The owner was very friendly and everywhere was very clean.

Lovely art deco restaurant who's interior far outdoes the rather tired exterior. Our host was a perfect Italian gentleman who made me & my friends feel so at home with his warm smile and homely welcome. Surprisingly generous floor area with outside terrace overlooking the sea & a lower garden. Menu was not over extensive but choice was more than enough and all proved to be brilliantly cooked and delicious. Not the cheapest restaurant in town but well worth the cost, especially compared to what is offered at similar prices in the town. Great evening and thoroughly recommended.

Food was really tasty and the service excellent. Very friendly and welcoming. Great views. No children's menu but did adapt a main meal - from reading previous reviews that have said they weren't family friendly they were fine with my son maybe they've changed their ways?! Personally I found the music playing a bit annoying as it was crackly and the decor is dated rather then fine dining. Definitely don't be put off though as the food was lovely.

Rudest service on the island would never recommend!!!

I’ve had ALOT of steak around the world and this is up there… it’s bloody fantastic 🥩 cooked perfectly and tasted incredible

Best pizza I've had in a long time and the almond and polenta cake is also highly recommended. Owner/manager was very welcoming, would definitely visit again when in the area.

Great venue, great Pizza, the dough is made in-house by the baker-chef. Great Polenta cake too.

I almost walked past because it's not much to look at from the outside, glad I went in though. Fantastic food, and Abdul is a wonderfully attentive and charming host. His style is old fashioned, but all the better for it. He recommended a place to eat the following night in Yarmouth, which was also excellent.

Good service, good food. We really enjoyed the freshly made lasagne.

Me and 5 friends were looking for a quick meal and decided to try here after hearing a few good comments about the place. Upon arrival, without booking we tried to see if there was a table for 6 of us, it didn’t look like there was any space but the gentleman very kindly asked a table of 2 if they’d move on to a smaller table to accommodate us. The menu had a few choices of starters, mains and desserts with a good wine selection, all very reasonably priced and there was something for everyone. We ordered bruschetta to start, pizzas, gnocchi for mains and the torte and mini doughnuts for dessert with a bottle of Picpoul wine. Everything we received was absolutely delicious, and the gentleman serving was very accommodating for all of our requests. We will most certainly be returning very soon, if you don’t know about this this place.. get to know!!

Lovely dinner. Warm welcome. Really good food. No kids allowed in the evening, which is great...if like me you dont have kids and other places are mayhem.

Wine advice ..spot on. Food advise spot on..sweet advice very spot on , all in all Spot On will be back

Food is fantastic, service excellent. Will certainly be back

Great place for a meal overlooking Ventnor... beware no children

Lovely food, atmosphere and service. Would recommend.

Bit hard to rate it properly as we only had a drink but the atmosphere and host were very nice

They were short staffed and heavily booked but agreed to fit us in early. We enjoyed a very tasty Italian meal and the service was excellent despite the rapidly filling tables. The room is a "piano bar" theme with views over the bay and some tables outside. It was driving rain and blowing a gale so we stayed in the dry! Highly recommended.

Lovely pizzas but the service, well...although it says take-away available in the entrance..both times we went to order pizza to take away we were received by a very grumpy old "italian" man (owner or not), just nodding his head, even before we had the chance to say something..if he was smart enough he would know that we pay the same, we don't take a table (more guests to sit, more money), less dishes to wash, less tables to clean. Second time we went away with empty hands. It's a shame, the food is nice

Really nice location, great service and fresh tasty food

Had a lovely meal everything prepared fresh well presented and very tasty well done chef nice relaxed atmosphere good piano player playing appropriate tunes, lovely decor sat outside with drinks later with a wonderful view of ventnor and out to sea, over the English channel, great service, hats off to the lady and gentleman serving they never stop

Lovely atmosphere with the piano music accompanied by delicious food! Would highly recommend for a nice relaxed evening with beautiful views of the coast and very friendly servers.

Great food, best steak I've had in a long time nice sea view if you eat outside.

Tried to book a table to celebrate my son’s birthday (2 adults 2 children) only to be told children were not welcome and “the wine bar is not a playground.” Staggering in this day and age to turn away families, and a fairly shortsighted stance which may yet come back to bite them. Disappointing stance from the management.

Honestly this is such a hidden gem! We booked earlier in the day and on arrival we're given a great table indoors with a fab view of the sun setting over the ocean. The food was gorgeous and they cater for both vegetarians and gluten intolerances. The wine on offer was divine. Once we had finished eating we asked to move to a table on their terrace which has an uninterrupted view over ocean. The service was truly wonderful, can't recommend this place enough.

This restaurant does not deserve a single star. We have come across the most atrociously rude behavior from the owner at the door of his restaurant, and we were blatantly turned away in the most unreasonable fashion even though we had already reserved a table with him on the phone. Having already understood that the owner did not want young children running around in the restaurant, I reassured him on the phone that we had two well behaved young girls aged 12 and nearly 10, to which he agreed to offer us a table on, not one, but two evenings. As we approached the doorstep of the restaurant, we were met by an older man who gave us a look without a word and shooed us away! When I explained our prior booking, he appeared to remember but instantly pointed out that my elder daughter was not 12 years old based on her looks! Admittedly we are a mixed race family and my daughter is one of the smallest in her class in her second year of secondary school. But he was not having any of our justification of her age. The worst irony was that there was clearly another family with two even smaller children already having a meal in the restaurant! He claimed that they were his family (denied by that family afterwards as we stayed in the same hotel!), that it was his restaurant and he could let whoever in as he wanted. We did not wish to upset any of the existing diners but walked away feeling extremely frustrated and traumatized, particularly for our young girls. I am a professional in my early 50s and have travelled the globe and seen the world. Never have I come across such appallingly rude, arrogant and prejudiced manners in any public service. But I have since caught up with many 1 star reviews of the Rex Restaurant, complaining about the consistently rude, sometimes racist behaviour, and his dislike of children in general. I couldn’t agree more. I am only so pleased that we were never let in so that I didn’t have to pay him a penny.

Fairly decent pizza. The owner doesn't allow children under 14 years of age. He insisted on an early booking even though no-one came after us.

Food was tasty. View is good (on non cloudy days). Service was mediocre, presentation was so so and menu was limited (not many choices), but had a fair mix. The piano player was very good and took requests, set a nice ambience for the evening.

Limited menu but the food they serve is very good would recommend.

Amazing food, amazing views and an amazing host who runs the restaurant! No evening quite compares as one at the Rex!

Argumentative owner, had already paid for drinks with bar staff and then approached at my table in front of my guests and accused of not having paid for drinks. Was very embarrassing. Refused to accept my receipt as proof when waitress confirmed I had in fact paid her earlier. Then was told I was charged the incorrect amount and asked to return to the bar to pay the difference (less than £2 for a round of drinks for 8 people).

Excellent quirky restaurant, with a spectacular view. Lovely food and a good wine list. The owner Abdul is quite a character and balances good service and a chat just right

Lovely friendly restaurant with great music to dine to. Tasty food Thank you

We only have one word to describe this place "excellent ". Make sure you book before you go. The chocolate torte for dessert was devine. Thank you

Food was absolutely wonderful and the owner was so lovely. I would rate this place 6 starts if I could.

Just want to say a huge thank you to Abdul, Stuart and their team for helping to make sure we had the most perfect wedding day. The food was amazing and would highly recommend this venue for your special occasion. The views are also incredible looking out across Ventnor Bay and our guests thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Hard to describe our experience at The Rex in Ventnor without feeling nostalgic and feeling a strong desire to go back! Food service and hospitality at its best!

Abdul is a very peculiar host. His ways are old school, so he may seem rude at times with more sensible guests. In my case i liked him. The food was good overrall, but pricey for what it offers ( frito misto was disappointing whilst the lasagna was soft but heavy) I was however impressed by the coffee at the end, and as an italian i am hard to please in that regard so well done there The view from the restaurant was very nice, although in the inside the floor was sticky and there were flies everywhere. The gents toilet has very...interesting decoration ahah I would recommend the place if you are going for lunch From what i understand the restaurant is short staffed and it can be busy in the evening

Awful service, very rude. Would not recommend.

horrible customer service! me and my friends got kicked out because me and my friend decided to share a meal plus a side. the manager said he was kicking us out because we “only ordered sides” when we only ordered one side and the rest were main meals. he also said he was kicking us out because “we weren’t customers” even though he let us in, sat us down at a table and started taking our orders. wouldn’t recommend!!

Excellent, very good food. Recommended

Wonderful food, wonderful setting, exceptional service. Couldn't recommend more.

Food was delicious and staff could not have been nicer! Definitely recommend to anyone wanting Italian food with a good sea view.

Excellent food and amazing views

Lovely food and views in the piano bar. Highly recommended 😁

We had a lovely dinner with a very accommodating host. We will definitely be back. Thank you :)

Reviews don't do the justice. The food was divine the owner was a lovely man and prices were reasonable ❤️ will definitely come back with my family 👌

Perfect food, service and atmosphere, 100%recommended.

The pictures says everything .. simply the best italian restaurant I have been!

What a lovely little gem in the heart of Ventnor. We went there on two consecutive evenings during our 5 day trip in the island. Beautiful live piano with amazing food. The service is very slow since there's only one guy serving, the owner himself. But he's so lovely you won't mind. Highly recommend! :)

Love it here great food and wine.

Fabulous fillet steak, great atmosphere

Lovely food and atmosphere with stunning views.

Lovely food and very good service.

I would have given 0 star me and my wife went there for weekend dinner the man serving us was extremely rude we asked for some chilli flakes as toppings on our pasta and we were being told this would cost extra money which we agreed to but the attitude of the man serving was extremely disgusting. He was repeatedly saying that he had to go to the kitchen thrice because of our order. The pasta was very dry and not of a great quality either. A BIG NO TO REX IN VENTNOR. I would never go to this place again

Not great. Mediocre food and serving it seemed to involve waiters fingers in every dish. Just odd.

Awful place. Did not feel welcome. Yhey certainly do not like children you are asked to write your own meal request on a pad no customer interaction. So got up.and walked out

Just very ordinary. I don't really get the rave reviews. Pleasant gentleman running (literally) front of house. The food is very average;edible but forgettable . AWFUL muzak (no piano when we visited). Could see it has a great view in the daytime but in the evening that's irrelevant and you are left with harsh lighting and the aforementioned depressing music. .