Date visited: Friday 17th May 2024
The Deck Tea Garden at the Carlton Hotel on Eastcliff Promenade in Shanklin is effectively the hotel bar, open to non-residents for food between 11 am and 4 pm. As well as tables in the bar, there are eight tables outside for those wishing to take tea.
The menu is typical of a seaside pub, with sandwiches, ploughman’s, soup, wraps, and jacket potatoes. Seafood features prominently. The choice for ‘cake’ is rather limited, with just scones and teacakes offered. Jam and clotted cream are both extra and don’t come included in the price for a scone; butter was included. The choice of beverages is also typical of a hotel bar, with a small selection of Twinings tea bags as well as plain ‘tea’ offered.
I chose a BLT baguette, a scone with jam, and a pot of tea, which in total came to £12.50. The ‘B’ in the ‘BLT’ was two whole rashers of bacon rather than the more customary small bacon pieces. The ‘L’ was similarly whole lettuce leaves. Fortunately the tomato wasn’t whole. The food was filling if unremarkable, and the tea pot was rather small for a two course meal. However, with the demise of the Grand View Tea Gardens, this is now the only place to take tea in Shanklin whilst enjoying cliff-top views out to sea.
