Highdown Inn

May 1st, 2023

We had dinner, small table underneath the specials board so people were standing over our table to read the board - service was ok, starter nice, I felt the food was on the expensive side, my wife's main was Tagliatelle with crab but very little crab 24 - we paid 80 for people which seems a tad heavy for pub food but cost are high for the pub I suppose
Apr 30th, 2023

Apr 26th, 2023

Apr 17th, 2023

Not what it used to be, sadly. My partner and I went a few times in 2021 and really enjoyed it, especially the fish, and it had a genuinely interesting menu with attentive and friendly service. So we were looking forward to going back. Turned up sat outside, chose a couple of dishes off the blackboard and ordered. Got served eventually; there was a queue of people waiting to order while two out of the three staff behind the bar were engaged in conversation with each other. Was told that one dish was not available (happens of course) so said I'd go out and choose something else. Did so and was THEN told that the blackboard was not offered at all and handed a really limited laminated menu, I wonder why they let me go out and choose from the blackboard a second time when it is not available. In the end we went for moules and a burger. The meat in the burger was good (this is not a one star review), but the bread was dry and fell apart the moment I tried to eat it, so ended up eating a mess with knife and fork. Chips were sparse and dry, and I got barely a thimblefull of coleslaw. A number of my partner's mussels hadn't opened, so were not safe to eat, and the others were large and spongy rather than smaller and meaty as mussels should be. It's a shame when somewhere that was formally so good goes downhill so massively. I don't know what the issue is (different chef? new ownership?), but at these prices, better service and quality should be expected. Sadly when out in West Wight we will be looking elsewhere in future.
Apr 13th, 2023