White lion pub in Isle of Wight

Delicious food and very busy. Menu has lots of variety and different things too. Christmas menu seems a little expensive but hope they do well. Looking forward to going again soon.

we have heard the pub is under new ownership and have noticed that more people seemed to be stopping at the the white lion. called in and gave it a try, what a turn around since we last went there some years ago. Had a tasty home cooked meal, nice beer in a pub with a great atmosphere. Have already booked to try the sunday carvery.

Popped in on the off chance and so glad we did, although we didn’t eat the drinks and service were top notch. A lovely couple running a pub with all the right values exactly what we look for when going out. Ladies toilets were a credit I’ve never been to an establishment that caters for everything you might be missing. Well done Julie and hubby good luck to you both we will definitely return to sample your food

Absolutely amazing pub, they are very friendly and the atmosphere and food are amazing

Very friendly and an amazing pub very polite as well

Lovely Sunday lunch. The best we've had on the Isle of Wight. Plenty of vegetables and the meat was tender. Staff very friendly. Will be going back again.

Disappointing. We asked about meals for smaller appetites to be told they had stopped doing them but would be starting again in a couple of weeks, however we were given a choice of meals they would cook for us as smaller meals. We chose Scampi chips and peas asking £11.95. This would have been a price paid at other places for a smaller meal. To be fair it was cook well even if the chips were jumbo sized. However, we did not feel 5 small Scampie, 7/8 chips and a spoon of peas. In out opinion probably not enough for a school/ child's portion. Spoke to lady in charge, to give out opinion, who sharply told us that is what their portion. Never have we had so little for this price anywhere on the island. Not value for money.

Just awful. Uninterested staff. No checking to see if our meal was okay which it wasn’t. No menus easily found. Red wine served cold.

Whilst visiting the island we stopped off in this beautiful pub for a Sunday roast, The staff were lovely and couldn’t do enough to accommodate our needs and the food was amazing. The plates roasts were very big and had a wonderful selection of different veg on the plates . We even indulged in a pudding not because we were still hungry but because it all sounded so yummy we simply had to. Pudding was delicious and a good size. We will def visit here again when we are back on the island.

I can't fault The White Lion, I had an issue which was dealt with perfectly, lovely friendly Bar Lady, and lovely food, I had a Vegan pie which was super yummy comfort food , 10/10.

Came past the pub and was starving. Sign outside food serving 12 to 8.30pm and it was 5pm. So we went inside. My partner asked if they were serving food and they showed us a table. So once decided what we wanted I went to the bar ordered 2 fish and chips to be told she needed to check. Next thing another guy comes out and says sorry it's curry night, the kitchen shuts at 5pm to prepare. So why did the staff say yes to food and show us a table. If they had mentioned no food after 5pm we could have ordered straight away. In addition it was only 5.08pm there were people eating surely it would not have hurt to do a ploughman's and 2 fish and chips. Oh and the lock does not shut in the loo. So all in all not happy

Not a bad pub but lacking customer service and atmosphere

My husband and I had Sunday carvery, it was excellent, well cooked tasty food. The staff were friendly and welcoming. We will happily recommend to our friends and family. Thank you white lion, we will see you soon 😊

Very helpful, friendly staff. Food good. But didn't have the BBQ ribs 😕.

Very nice selection of ales. I ordered Hunters chicken but when it arrived it was dry and difficult to cut. It took a while for the food to arrive which could have been improved by the chef not cooking the chicken so long.

If you are after home made food that is prepared immaculately and tastes like it’s from heaven, then this is your place. Great service too with plenty of car parking.

Really lovely pub outside seating area and newly decorated inside due to new owners who are so friendly and welcoming, lovely carvery on Sundays

Delicious home cooked food and generous portions. Very friendly service. Would definitely recommend!

Staff were absolutely fantastic and food was great , like mum used to make , proper thick gravy , shame they run out of turkey but that's my fault for going late

Fabulous carvary, plenty of meat and huge choice of veg all lovely and fresh. Had homemade cheesecake for desert, very nice and filling. Also reasonably priced, will definitely be back.

Came here for the first time since the new owner took it over. And I must say the carvery was absolutely lovely! All nicely prepared and well set out. Probably one of the most tender bits of beef I’ve had at a carvery and the pork was lovely as well. My wife went for the turkey and again that was really nice as well. Looks like they have a very extensive menu and a large gluten free section as well. So will have to bring my sister back for her to sample that. Friendly staff and nice family atmosphere.

Table of 8. Good variety on menu as long as it can be deep fried or microwaved. Salad tired and mouldy. If you’re wanting value for money then this is not the place. Edible but barely. Underwhelming and a little bit grubby. Won’t be returning or recommending.

The staff were lovely and coped with our complicated order with a plumb. Good selection of meals available. Has plenty of tables and large car park. Next time on Island we'll happily visit again

Didn't look all that so had a drink and left

Excellent Sunday lunch! Thanks.

We went for Sunday Carvery yesterday and two of our party had been before 7 years ago. So under new management we didn’t know what to expect. Indoors this place has changed but we were shown to a lovely table on the same level as the carvery and toilets given two people struggle walking. The service was super friendly and the young lady very polite and quick to serve us with drinks and our carvery ticket. So we went to be served and to have four meats, all looking very appealing was wonderful , most carveries only have two or three most! The stuffing was the best we have ever tasted and we found out afterwards it was an old family recipe! The parsnips were wonderful too, so well cooked and really flavourful. Great choice of vegetables, mashed and roast potatoes and the Yorkshire pudding was delicious. The rich gravy topped it all off. So all four of us really enjoyed our meal, sadly we were too full to try the lovely looking home made puddings we saw coming from the kitchen for others. We will try to return before going home but would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a family run pub with fantastic food! Thank you to all the hard working team!!

Made very welcome and the layout of the tables made it very easy to move around but have to admit the pub was not full. Food and drinks order was taken in good time, wait time was very short, Food was excellent and cost was reasonable. Menu was mainly Home cooked food and very tasty I would have no trouble in reconmending The White Lion to my friends and Family.

A Home cooked carvery. The meat was lovely as was the stuffing and Yorkshire. Great choice of veg. Pudding also Really nice. Food much improved. I personally would prefer my pudding on a plate. The slates might look “posh” but they aren’t very practical. My Only negative was that the decor is a bit tired and decor and furniture is a bit of a mismatch. (Our leather chairs were really old tired sagging and uncomfortable) if it was refurbed it would be great !! Training and supervision of newer younger staff also would benefit them. We will be back to try the main menu. Thank you ! Andy and Steve x

We are staying on the island for the Bank Holiday weekend and decided last night to try and book a Sunday Lunch for 8. The White Lion was able to accommodate us and how glad were we. The Carvery was fantastic and super value. They were obviously busy but still had time to greet us with a warm welcome.

Probably the worst dining experience I’ve had and I’ve spent a lot of time in transport cafes. No desert as the kitchen was closed and the chef gone and it was only 8.45! Then asked if we could have coffee only to be told we’d have to wait as the only person who knew how the coffee machine worked had “popped out” then after a 20 minute wait we were told they had no milk so we couldn’t have coffees either. Felt pressured to leave at 9pm as they were obviously waiting to close! Won’t go back and won’t recommend! Been there before the last change of owners and a very nice experience. Certainly gone down hill with the current owners.

Carvery was fantastic Best we have had in a long time

Much better now new landlords have taken over, our village local is back

Had a delicious Sunday lunch today with a party of eleven. Choice of meats was good as were the excellent selection of vegetables. First carvery I been to that served spring greens. Had an adult size roast which gave a generous serving of meat. I had pork and turkey both of which were delicious. This was followed up by a shared dessert of rhubarb and strawberry crumble with custard. It was yummy! The service was good if a little slow at times, but nobody minded waiting.

If I could give zero stars I would. What an utterly awful experience. Booked a table for Mother’s Day and not once during the booking process (or even on their fb page) did they state it was only carvery. We had a large party including young kids who don't like roast dinners so we had hoped there would be some other choice, even just chips would’ve been good. As there wasn’t, we opted to get them just a dessert each, to eat whilst we have the carvery - something which the surly bartender did not approve of. Secondly, the offer of the day was a free dessert for mums, which could only be obtained after answering a tirade of questions. Honestly it would’ve been easier to just bring along my children’s birth certificates! And back to the bartender’s delightful attitude - I made a brief comment about how I was letting my daughter have some of my free dessert and was told that’s against the rules as it was for mum’s only!! What utter nonsense! Surely it should be my choice whether I want to eat it all myself, chuck it in a bin (which would’ve been the sensible thing to do, considering the brownie was well and truly stale), or give to my kid - it wasn’t as though we were trying to scam the system by getting extra freebies, I was simply sharing what was mine. On to the much anticipated carvery... Totally unappetising is an understatement! The turkey was still pink, the Yorkshire puddings burnt to a crisp, the veg stone cold, the stuffing was just a lump of miscellaneous chunks. Not a single person in our party even managed half a plate full. How on earth they can justify charging £15.95 for such poor quality food is beyond me. After the half-eaten roasts were taken away, some of our party ordered desserts as they were understandably very hungry. After almost 25 mins of waiting for just 2 creme brûlées and 1 child’s sundae, I chased them up and was told they’d be out any second. In reality, it was another 5 mins for the 2 creme brûlées - though again the quality was so bad that the people who had them wished they didn’t! We ended up just asking for a refund for the missing sundae, as it shouldn’t take half an hour just for one scoop of ice cream with a squirt of cream on top! Surely nothing else could’ve been a let down, I hear you ask… unfortunately, you’d be wrong. We ordered 2 cokes, which for some inexplicable reason were poured straight from an already opened 1.75l bottle, resulting in room-temp flat drinks which again we didn’t finish. For the price we paid for just 1 of those drinks, we could’ve nipped down to a supermarket for a full bottle that would’ve at least been fizzy. The other lowlights to mention include the dirty cutlery with food debris still lodged between the prongs, the lack of spoons supplied when served a dessert, the expensive drinks (£10 for a G&T is outrageous), the slow service at the bar, the lacklustre decor, the non-existent atmosphere and best of all the way customers were allowed to let their dogs put their heads on the tables! My mind is utterly boggled by all the recent glowing reviews. The only possible reasons I can think of are either the positive comments are all fake, all the staff mentioned in them were off sick, or the previous customers have just never had a decent meal in their life! Had it been any other day we would’ve immediately turned round and left, but unfortunately everywhere else in the vicinity was fully booked. Even though we did leave still hungry and extremely disappointed at least we learnt a valuable lesson: NEVER eat at the White Lion again.

Love love this place, thank god it’s found the right owners! The owners and staff are amazing, the food is 5 🌟!! It’s taken years but it’s got there, great pub, food, staff, service, faultless. Thank you ☺️ 🩷

Lovely carvery in a really friendly pub. Will definitely be back

We are visiting our friends, who live in the island, and have had the best carvery . Lovely atmosphere and fantastic staff. Thank you Julie for your wonderful service

What a disaster Sunday lunch was today table booked for 6 people, did not know where to go when we arrived no one there to great and seat, there was a long queue for the Carvery there were no staff for what was a very busy day we left with out ordering anything as we could not get near the bar really need to get their act together we will not look to return. Could not score food as we did not order any.

Very friendly & helpful. Lunchtime menu, we all enjoyed our food.

Passed this pub on the way to our holiday accommodation and noticed that there was a sign saying proper pie, mash & liquor sold here. Decided to come back at a later date but it took us 3 visits before it we managed to find it open. Beware, various websites have different opening hours for it. Undeterred 3 of us finally sat down to our favourite dish whilst the other 3 including our grandchildren settled for something else, equally appealing, off the menu. The Pie, Mash and Liquor was from Manzes and was authentic, tasted very nice, if a little on the pricey side. Nevertheless the 3 of us enjoyed it. The welcome and the service were both very good.

Good food and helpful friendly staff.

Great food, nuce atmosphere, recommend this place. Not much parking though.

Lovely food and friendly service.

Great pub with a traditional vibe. Great food & beer & friendly attentive staff. Definitely be back!

Had Sunday lunch today, everywhere we had tried were full (rainy day and cowes week). They had a couple of tables available in foyer. Lady who served us was lovely, very friendly and helpful. Food was delicious! Sunday roast lamb or beef, Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, peas, carrots and broccoli, very nice; only down side no mashed potato 😞 else food would have been 5 stars, gammon was really nice with great chips and lasagne tasty too. Got a bit busy later on and we were waiting a while for the table to be cleared and dessert and drinks order to be taken, we decided to leave without ordering desserts or any more drinks, which was sadly an opportunity missed for the restaurant. Whilst we were there a family were seated close by (walk ins) and they left before their order was taken as they were waiting quite a while too. Little car park to the rear, what looked like a little beer garden which would have been lovely in the sunshine. Overall great food, lovely welcome, nice atmosphere, could be a little more attentive regarding drinks and dessert orders.

Had a great Sunday lunch .The veg was lovely and not over cooked,I personally hate over cooked veg.

Had lunch at the white lion great service nice friendly staff at very nice food well worth a try

Only had a light lunch but all very nice.

Surprisingly empty given the busyness of other local pubs on the island. The outside area needs some tlc. The real ale served up was cloudy and tasted off. We decided to move on and eat elsewhere.

Delish home cooked food. Very friendly staff and host. Defo recommended a visit. 👍😊

Been wanting to try this pub for longtime. Brilliant menu, nice beer garden. Dog friendly. Had 2 course set menu, very tasty Everyone friendly. Here to next time

Complete satisfaction. We get what we expect in a drink measurement in a hundreds-year-old building that has been operating as a pub for hundreds of years :) Original atmosphere, freshly tapped delicious beers, deliciously prepared bar food. By the way, the service at White Lion is also excellent. If I can recommend something with a calm heart, it's this Pub!

Sat and waited for drinks, order not taken , not offered menu, only one person working. Sadly, did not wait as we saw others still not served.

Such a lovely find. Staff so helpful and accommodating to our party of six (including 2 children). Food freshly cooked and a very tasty lunch menu. A very genuine pub and highly recommend x

Popped in here on the off chance whilst visiting the area to have a drink and finished off by staying for a meal. Found the staff very friendly and welcoming, food was very nice and enjoyable. Would visit again and recommend well done

A great place to stop and eat - especially if you are looking for authentic London pie, mash and liquor in the deep south.

Decent pub grub both times I've been. Fairly olde worlde in design and relaxed service. Prices were just a bit more expensive than I'd hoped.

Very cool pub. Welcoming atmosphere, friendly staff, excellent cuisine. Thanks for the nice time.

Not a good sign when the owner sits himself right by your table and proceeds to berate his staff. The food was slow to arrive and some had nearly finished whilst others were still waiting for theres. It seemed to us our veg and potatoes were probably re-heated from lunch time, dry and hard. Not impressed and won’t be back.

Lovely little pub. Parking a nightmare. Had to park in the church next door. Food was amazing . Pleasant staff as well.

I went there with a couple of friends as they had told me it was a place to go for a lite bite to eat with good parking. The food arrived promptly, and tasted very nice, however there was a strong smell of cannabis either coming from behind the bar or the staff member who seated us.

Pie and mash was ok! Mash too smooth, pies crust a bit too hard, liquor spot on. Service very good worth a try.

No atmosphere. Three drunks in the bar talking very loud

Lovely pie & mash great service lovely little pub

We had a great Sunday lunch all freshly made of great quality. Warm welcome with great service and good choice on the menu. Highly recommend.

The food was amazing, very friendly and helpful staff

Food was lovely. Unfortunately, the steak and ale pie was slightly dry. Lovely staff and location

Lovely food, just a little on the dear side

We visited the white lion this evening for a meal and felt we had to write a review as it was absolutely delicious! The customer service was amazing and the resteraunt had a lovely cosy atmosphere, thank you for a lovely evening :)

Great family pub good quality food at a reasonable price, very nice staff and looking forward to having pie and mash at sometime.

Lovely meal for 2. Couldn't fault the main meals, desserts alittle disappointing. Lovely atmosphere and lovely fire to have our coffee round

Great food,fantastic staff, bit pricey but the Sunday roasts are spot on.

We were looked after very well and the choice of food was great, there was the usual menu plus a black board with more food options.

Enjoyed a very nice glass of wine Service excellent

Very well looked after by Gary and the team. Catered for gluten free. Christmas dinner was lovely, couldn’t recommend more!

Hadn`t been here for years, was nice to bring back some memories. met with some old friends, had a great lunch and enjoyed a few well kept beers.

Had a Sunday roast, potatoes were rock hard, veg mushy with no taste, meat unimpressive. It all tasted like it had been warmed through from frozen. Spoke to the staff who really didn’t care. Won’t be going back!

A lovely cosy pub with a good choice of beers and a nice food menu. I didn't have it but the pie mash & liquor is very good

Lovely pub. Great food and beer

Our group had a very happy evening last night at your pub. The atmosphere was very friendly, service excellent and food most enjoyable. Thank you to all your staff! :)

Great beer, lovely food and friendly staff

We had a fantastic evening meal here, top notch, cooked to perfection. Ales well maintained, a must return to pub!

Popped in for a quick pint with my eldest and sat in the rear beer garden. Had a Doom bar and a JD. Nice location off the main rd. Previously had a great meal and a lovely bar area inside. 🍺👍😊

Called by for Lunch and had a disappointing meal. The Gammon I had was overcooked/over reheated, and my wife's 'homemade' pie was equally over cooked/reheated. Consequently for the price charged it was very poor value for money. In other respects it was clean, tidy and comfortable in there, with good service, it was just the food that let it down. In readiness tor a response that says that if I had said something it would have been addressed. My view is that if the Kitchen thought it was okay to serve food of that quality in the first place, then I was certainly not going to want to eat whatever it was that they brought out in order to make it right.

Very nice food and very nice staff, very good service

Lovely local pub. The staff were very friendly. The food was excellent and we will deffently be going back again.

Had london pie mash and liquor And was very tasty, definitely be back

Every year apart from over Covid lockdown, my 90 year old mum and aunt along with myself and friend have eaten in this fabulous restaurant every day of our holiday. My mum has gallstones and is a diabetic so her diet is very much controlled. All the staff could not do more to cater for her needs they went above and beyond Gary the Chief....well what can I say, all the food is cooked by him and melts in your mouth. Gary also went above and beyond to alter the menu to accommodate mum. We love you Gary and thank you so much for looking after mum and us so very well. Hope to see you all again in 2023 all being well. Kindest regards Mum aunty my friend and myself Sharon Witney

Fantastic pub restaurant. Staff amazing could not do enough for my 90 year old mum and aunt. My friend myself and mum and aunt always eat here when on holiday. We would not dream of going anywhere else. Food is amazing Gary the Chief could not do enough to alter my mums food order to accommodate her gallstones and diabetes. Thank you so much guys and all being well we will see you all in 2023. All the best the Witney family

Quiet (especially compared with next door) and friendly, good food, exactly what we were looking for!

Didnt make reservation but still had a warm welcome. Good service. Great food. Lovely and clean and lots of space. Reasonable prices.

Tried to eat here, woman told me I could have soup as was safe for my allergies, chef came out and said I couldn’t. Decided it wasn’t safe and she chased us to the door, swearing at my son then threw food at me. I asked why she swore at him and assaulted me with good and she got closer and closer into my face- what a dreadful woman

Lovely place. Really delicious, well sourced food. Had the wild mushroom risotto today and it was scrumptious. Everytime we come its always a good meal, friendly, reasonable and kids eat free with an adult meal. Also dog friendly so for us, all round ticking all our boxes.

Absolutely loved my meal I had the Waguy beef burger from the specials board. Went there with my wife and kids, they have a kids eat free policy which means 1 paying adult gets 1 free kids meal from their set kids menu. Didn't book a table before going but was lucky enough to get seated for 5, we did get told that it would be about a 30 min wait for food once ordered which I didn't think was to bad anyways. The food did in fact take around 30 minutes from being ordered, and it was absolutely fine and worth the wait. All my kids enjoyed their food and the meals were made to a high quality and tasted incredibly. The place has a nice and cosy atmosphere and it's family run, and everyone got involved to ensure we had a good experience. Would definitely recommend for a great and affordable meal out.

Great place, great food and lovely service.

Had two meals here recently and they were very tasty and more than adequate. Pleasant staff and no complaints.

Fish full of bones. Potatoes nothing eise. Disappointed. Informed gentleman who took my plate and stated he could not see any. Full of embarrassment. Will never come again or recommend .

Staff very friendly food very nice and value for money nice evening out

Good lunch experience with friendly staff.

The food and service were great.