The Old Thatch Tearooms

Someone from this business manages this listing.

1,355 reviews

#8 of 44 Restaurants in Shanklin££ - £££, Cafe, British, Vegetarian Friendly

+44 1983 865587+ Add website

Hours

Sun

11:00 - 16:00

Mon

11:00 - 16:00

Tue

11:00 - 16:00

Wed

11:00 - 16:00

Thu

11:00 - 16:00

Fri

11:00 - 16:00

Sat

11:00 - 16:00

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What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

1,355 reviews

#8 of 44 Restaurants in Shanklin

Travellers' Choice 2023

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Details

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PRICE RANGE

£2.00 – £10.00

CUISINES

Cafe, British

Special Diets

Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options, Gluten Free Options

meals, features

Location and contact

4 Church Road, Shanklin PO37 6NU England

+44 1983 865587

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Details

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About

A beautiful and unique Award Winning 'olde world' Teashop and Fairy Garden offering 'the best Cream Teas', sandwiches, snacks, traditional fare and cakes. Many items on our menu are Gluten Free.

PRICE RANGE

£2.00 – £10.00

CUISINES

Cafe, British

Special Diets

Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options, Gluten Free Options

Meals

Breakfast, Brunch

FEATURES

Reservations, Seating, Serves Alcohol, Wine and Beer, Accepts American Express, Accepts Mastercard, Accepts Visa, Digital Payments, Accepts Discover, Table Service, Drive Thru

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4.5

1,355 reviews

Excellent

938

Very good

211

Average

103

Poor

Terrible

Dam_W_101

Whiteley111 contributions

Lovely garden location

Aug 2020 • family

The old thatch is a lovely place to stop for a tea or a snack or a light lunch. We had 2 of the kids sandwiches which were well presented on a nice soft sliced loaf with a choice of fillings and came with a juice all for under £2.50. I had the muffin tea which had both poached egg and bacon. All was enjoyed. The best part was the big pot of tea. It always leaves me with a happy feeling when the establishment gives enough tea. A proper treat.

Written 6 August 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Adbella25

London191 contributions

A quaint tea room

Jul 2020 • family

The cottage is beautiful outside - definitely draws you in. We had our cream tea and baguettes in the fairy garden which was rather kitsch. I’m sure that young children will love the kooky handmade garden ornaments. Our scones and tea was delicious and my baguette was generously filled with Brie and grapes. I did find the bread to be lacking in colour as it was one of those half baked baguettes which you finish toasting in the oven and was obviously not left in the oven for long enough. The rooms inside were very quaint and nostalgic but had a slight musty smell so I’m glad that we ate outside. The service was very good and the staff were extremely warm and welcoming. When settling the bill, I was told that they prefer cash but I didn’t have any on me as I was led to believe that shops would rather people pay with contactless or CC due to COVID. Overall, a lovely experience.

Written 6 August 2020

shauna

Manchester3 contributions

Absolutely delicious!

Jun 2021 • family

I made the journey to Shanklin especially to visit this tea room, however I hadn’t made a reservation. Luckily, the lady managed to squeeze us (2 adults and a 2 year old) in on a lovely table inside. The inside is so quaint and typically English it was delightful. However after maybe 10 minutes a space had become available in the garden in a nice shady spot so she saved it for us. We were right next to the fairy garden which delighted my 2 year old - he wanted to go and play with them all and spent a lot of time looking at them! We ordered 2 of the strawberry cream teas and a milkshake for the toddler which he declared to be ‘sooo yummy’ Our scones were absolutely delicious - the best Iv ever had !! You could tell they were fresh as they were still warm! The jam and the cream was lovely too. I was expecting the prices to be really high if I’m honest because Google suggested ££££ but it was really reasonable ! I paid £6.25 for each strawberry afternoon tea each of which involved 2 warm scones, butter, jam, cream and strawberries as well as a pot of tea but it was so hot I asked for a cold drink instead which was no issue. All the staff were so lovely and welcoming and I would highly recommend that anyone comes here on a visit to Shanklin

Written 1 July 2021

Nathan B

Newport7 contributions

Awful - a rip off and took way to long to be served

Jul 2021 • couples

My fiancée and I ordered an orange juice and two coronation chicken sandwiches. The orange juices came almost immediately but we then waited near to an hour for our coronation chicken sandwiches (how long does it take to make a sandwich?). When they arrived the lady who served us apologised for the delay, but the sandwiches were pretty mediocre and certainly weren’t worth an hour wait - the bread seemed like it was supermarket own brand. When I went to pay, I was expecting to maybe receive some money off when she told us how much to pay given how long we’d waited FOR A SANDWICH. Instead we were charged £18.80! Won’t be coming back. The people next to us also waited nearly as long for their order which was a toasted tea cake.

Written 20 July 2021

MrsSElkins

Portsmouth5 contributions

Rude staff, tired fairy garden, poor food.

Jun 2021 • family

The experience we had didn’t start well when booking. We were told that we could book a table as long as we weren’t going to get angry when we had to wait because they were very busy. Sadly it went downhill from there, we arrived to be met with a rude employee that abruptly told us to check in with the COVID app and sanitise our hands, no hint of a please or a smile to greet us anywhere. We ordered the Victorian Afternoon Tea for two, in our experience an afternoon tea usually comes with a selection of sandwiches. We were asked to choose what we’d like, only to be barked at that we could only have one choice each. My 3 year old was excited to find the fairies, so once we had ordered she went out to look in the garden. The garden is nice, but really needs updating. When the food arrived the sandwiches were the most bizarre sandwiches we’ve ever seen. The bread was not good at all, it stuck to the roof of our mouths as soon as you ate it, the fillings spilt out of them and it made for a very soggy and unpleasant sandwich, the actual size of the sandwiches were only suitable for a fairy! In fact the best thing about the Tea was the shop bought Victoria sponge and strawberries. We definitely won’t be returning.

Written 10 July 2021

flambatious

24 contributions

Just awful

May 2021 • couples

Avoid .. came here with my partner for mains and pudding spent almost £35 and would not come back. We prebooked our table and got a nice seat outside in the lovely garden. We came here for the gluten free food which was the main selling point. The elderly lady owner/manager.. was very grumpy and seemed unhappy. There was a slight delay from ordering food to getting it which is fine. But then it was ages before our table was cleared. Eventually the owner lady appeared and asked if we wanted pudding, I said yes she asked what we wanted, I asked for the pudding menu and got a look of disgust from the owner. 20 mins later .. I was still asking for the pudding the menu (don’t know why I didn’t walk out tbh).. the lady seemed confused that we wanted both coffee and cake for pudding. Another wait before coffee arrived. Another wait before cake arrived ! Waitresses are friendly but over worked and can’t seem to make eye contact with them. No itemised bill when you pay, and they “prefer cash”. On paying didn’t even check if the food was okay or said thanks or see you again or have a nice day. One toilet for customers up a step were you bang your head on a ledge above (if you miss the tiny mind your head sign). Never again. There was no apologising for the delay, and we weren’t in a rush but only had 3 hrs car parking. The gluten free cake was lush. But the service awful. The lady owner/manager doesn’t seem to be customer focused, and the waitresses are over worked. This seems to be an establishment were all they want to do is cram in customers and get their CASH. Such a shame but we will not be back.

Written 26 June 2021

Piyumi

2 contributions

Awful service

Aug 2020 • family

We were so excited to go here for lunch, unfortunately it was disappointing. The service was slow despite booking in advance. The food was so slow that we changed the dessert to take away as we would miss out on our next booking but we were charged extra for this. My husband ordered the crab sandwich which was inedible and they took ages preparing an alternate sandwich which they then charged us for. They don’t give you a breakdown on your bill they just charge whatever they like. Rude, unhelpful staff too. Will not be visiting or recommending. Looking at the reviews I’m not the only one.

Written 14 September 2020

Katy1982Poole

Poole40 contributions

Long wait for food.

Aug 2021 • family

We visited with our two children for a cream tea. We had been a few years ago whilst on holiday and the food was good so thought we’d return. We were a little disappointed as waiting 30 mins for someone to take our order after we were seated and then I had to ask someone to come over. We ordered and then waited a further 25 mins for food. However the food was ok although a bit stingy with the clotted cream IMO. We didn’t want to ask for more as didn’t know how long it might take?! The staff we friendly but I think couldn’t cope with the busy period very well. Not quite sure we would go back if the place was busy again.

Written 30 August 2021

KentishmaidSevenoaks

395 contributions

Disappointing

Sept 2021 • none

After waiting ages to be seated and kept being told will be with you in a minute we were seated in the rear if the tea room. I ordered a crab sandwich and was I disappointed. If you are going to charge £ 9 plus I expected at least being able to find the crab meat but all I got was a half empty sandwich. My daughters jacket potato had been warmed up and was soggy. This is not a pleasant experience.

Written 10 November 2021

Claire G

Buckhurst Hill39 contributions

Family lunch

Aug 2020 • family

What a disappointment. Booked in advance and wish we would've gone to Pencil Cottage instead. Overpriced, poor quality food, staff friendly but seem flustered. Ordered white crab meat sandwiches....brown horrid meat, ither sandwiches were okay, poor quality drinks and took forever to prepare. In all mediocre, overpriced lunch. Noone enjoyed and then had to rush to ferry as took so long for food to arrive. This may have been no.1 at one time but this needs some real work and love to bring it back up. Don't bother....go to Pencil Cottage instead. Better ambience, food and staff. Sorry!!

Written 31 August 2020

Peter Locke

Sandwich15 contributions

very GOOD

Aug 2020 • none

two of us eat out on a Wednesday evening, we were able to sit at a table in the bar area for drinks before taking are seats in the dining area. The app was very easy to order food and drink from, staff very friendly and helpful. Although the selection on the menu was small we had the Haddock and Chips and it was absolutely delicious

Written 14 August 2020

foodiseverything

Mirfield71 contributions

Awful.

Aug 2020 • family

The customer service in this place is absolutely shocking. Once you have ordered your food and it has been served the staff are never to be seen again! They are more interested in getting more people through the door rather than serving the customers they have. My daughters pizza ( cheap and shop bought) was not cooked properly. My jacket potato was hard throughout. Prawn topping scarce and coleslaw sour. We had no check back on our food and 20 mins after finishing we had not been spoken to still. We then cancelled our desserts as the food and service had been so poor. We walked to pay.. the owner then came and told us we should have gone and told her if the food wasnt correct. I told the owner she should have done a check back. Her response was "cant you see how busy we are". The other lady dealing with us was disinterested in what we had to say. No apology made, they clearly just wanted us out of the door. The owner said "ill take your pizza and dessert off, thats all I can do". Before disappearing again. After being recommended this place and visiting from Yorkshire I was extremely disappointed. Worst service I have seen in a very long time, if not ever. Rude, bad food, would not return. The only thing this place has going for it is the outside of the building.

Written 25 August 2020

julie s

6 contributions

A pleasure to visit!

Jul 2021 • couples

What a wonderful experience. Had a short wait on a queue to get into this popular tea room for lunch but it was well worth it. Couldn't get into the garden but was sat in the green room, very near the door, so felt like being outside. Very quaint with many things to look at and read, but spotlessly clean in all areas. The wait for the one toilet was made so much more enjoyable by the graffiti on the walls all about tea, which was very clever. The owner was so great to us. Very helpful and warm and recommended restaurants to eat in at night as we were having trouble, and even rang one of them to get us a booking for that night. Lunch was lovely and we returned again to have some cake and a wonderful cream tea a few days later. All the staff were great and a pleasure to be around. Thank you.

Written 24 July 2021

Markhayling

Portsmouth43 contributions

Just a little disappointed

Jun 2022 • family

We had very high hopes of a traditional cream tea with home made scones and loads of clotted cream and jam. However despite the banners claiming this to be the best tea rooms on the Island, we were very disappointed The scones were dry, appeared shop bought and had been microwaved A tiny pot of jam for two scones and a small dish of cream was really not enough. When we asked for more we were told we’d have to buy more. I’ve had cream teas in Devon and Cornwall and they were in a different league Hope the rest of the Island can do better or that this was simply a one off One positive is that at £6.50 the price was reasonable. Hand on heart I cannot recommend.

Written 20 June 2022

espa70

Leeds72 contributions

Afternoon tea

Oct 2020 • couples

Wonderful building full of character. Friendly welcoming staff, Covid secure, table distanced. We popped in for afternoon tea, we had fruit scones and strawberry and apple crumble with custard. Worth to visit.