A New Era at the New Inn

Seating yourself in this quintessential village inn, you will be aware that something has changed. This pub, which for decades headed up the Island’s seafood dining scene, has re-opened and is bringing back the old charm. The New Inn started with oysters on the bar from the Newtown Oyster beds in the 1970s and went on to enjoy recognition from Egon Ronay in the 1980s.It is that level of freshness and home cooking from scratch that the team now wants to reintroduce.

The New Inn is uniquely positioned to take advantage of Shalfleet Quay and the breath-taking Newtown Estuary, with easy day mooring and a gentle stroll to the pub. Already sailors are back using the pub and the staff are more than aware of the need to ‘catch the tide’. In addition, the pub is on the Round Island Cycle Trail, the Coastal footpath, and the number 7 bus stops right outside. The newly redesigned garden offers space of groups for sailors, walkers, and cyclists to take advantage of the exciting menu, and rest before the next leg of their adventures.

The new owner used to use the pub, back in its ‘glory days’, and is sure that the home-cooked-from-scratch approach is what people want from eating out. To this end the Head Chef, Tom Atherton, has joined the team having recently relocating from Frome in Somerset. He moved here in 2022 with his wife and family, to join other family already based on the Island. Tom started cooking in kitchens as a teenager but later decided to hang up his apron and become a glass blower instead. Returning to the kitchen five years ago, he has since run his own wood-fired pizza company, provided pop-up Sunday roasts, and worked as catering manager for The Cheese and Grain — a corporate event catering firm (where he cooked for Tom Jones, Wolf Alice, and even Paul McCartney before his headline slot at Glastonbury). “I had noticed the pub when I first moved here, and just had the feeling it could be something interesting says Tom “When the opportunity came to join the team, I was very happy to help make that happen”. When asked how he would described the style of cooking he brings Tom says, “Locally sourced seasonal produce, original takes on pub classics, an abundance of fresh seafood, generous portions, non- pretentious honest food”. Options include fish goujon ciabatta, scallops wrapped in bacon, and ‘surf and turf’ — rump steak served with very large and juicy tiger prawns. The New Inn’s famous seafood sharing platters are also making a comeback, featuring lobsters, prawns, mussels, and shrimps. If you’re not feeling the fish, there are locally sourced steaks and homemade burgers too, as well as Sunday lunches that include giant Yorkshire puddings and next-level cauliflower cheese (described by one recent customer as ‘banging’). The menu is due to expand as summer approaches and we are expecting big things from Tom. Bringing his delicious food, ample portions and down-to-earth style with him, he aims to make the New Inn an Isle of Wight food destination.