The Pond Cafe

In the tranquil environs of Bonchurch, The Pond is the sister restaurant to The Hambrough in Ventnor (see entry). It's a simpler set-up as the café designation indicates, but not devoid of a certain romantic charm with its candles and intimate proportions. An outdoor terrace has been added for those balmier days. Under new ownership and with a new chef at the helm, the menu has gone all eclectic, taking in influences from all over. So interesting, inventive starters range from cured mackerel with salted peanut and cucumber kimchee, to crispy brawn, radish, shallot and XO sauce, and ramson ricotta angelotti with oyster emulsion. For main, lamb chump gets the Mediterranean treatment with fennel shoots, olive oil polenta and aubergine, while roast chicken comes with buckwheat waffle, sea kale, salted lemon and garlic crisps. Desserts are equally multi-dimensional and creative, such as sweet potato ice cream, Jamaican ginger cake, lime meringue and sour cream.