£3.50 Carvery (The Sloop Inn (Ryde, Isle of Wight))

Member Name: adambrown400

Product:	The Sloop Inn (Ryde, Isle of Wight)
Date:	15/01/09 (814 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap grub

Disadvantages: a bit messy

Situated just by Wooton Bridge, halfway between Newport and Ryde of the Isle of Wight is The Sloop Inn. The Sloop has changed hands many times in the past twenty years or so, going from Brewers Fayre, to privately owned premises and now Crown Carveries.

When I drove past the Sloop about 2 months ago I almost crashed into the creek as advertised in large red writing was the sign - carveries for £3.50! I tried to read the small print on the way home, but there as none and as the week rolled by till the big opening we decided we had to check it out.

On the first night opening we were greeted by a brighter pub than the Sloop's previous incarnation. As well as this, the price of drinks is much cheaper than before. It wasn't unknown to pay over three pounds for a pint. Now drinks are around the £2.50 to £2.80 price bracket, which brings it in line with other pubs around the area.

The Sloop is perfectly situated with a view of the creek, so if you sit by the window you get a fantastic view. Its worth going for one of these seats if you can, as you cannot book seats in the pub at the moment. I would suggest going after two o'clock in the afternoon and after 5 o'clock in the evening to be guaranteed of a seat, as its getting very busy otherwise - you may not also be able to park in the limited car park.

So onto the food. The Sloop's £3.50 carvery is exceptionally good value and surprisingly good quality. If you heard that there was a £3.50 carvery near you, you might expect poor tinned veg, black burnt potatoes and meat of unknown origin. However, when you get your ticket for the carvery from the bar, you are greeted by a fantastic selection of quality meats and veg.

Once you've got your ticket from the bar and selected your table you take it up to your carver of the day. You can choose from three different meats, beef, chicken/turkey or gammon. You can also go for all three if you wish. The meat is the only thing that is 'plated' up for you, so you can't take as much meat as you want. You can then go for as many potatoes as you want as well as veg. then theres gravy, apple sauce etc. All of the veg is very well cooked and is constantly replenished.

If you don't want the carvery, and fancy something a bit different, then having the turkey curry could be for you. If you do go for this it will set you back £3.99, but you also get a free pint. Result!

OK, so what are the bad points about the Sloop? I suppose the first thing is something that you can't help - its so busy. As the Islanders have cottoned onto the fact that you can now eat out cheaper than actually cooking at home, its very very busy. Just get there at the right time. Another con is on one occasion there were potatoes on the floor and the carvery area looked a little tatty - this could have been easily cleaned up, but there was no one around to do so.

On another occasion people were complaining that the food wasn't being replenished as quickly as it should have been. This is certainly an issue that the Sloop will need to work on, if it wants to survive the wrath of Island customers - especially the 'old dears.'

An unfortunate result of the £3.50 carvery is that many other pub chains and individual privately owned establishments on the Island are now offering their versions of the cheap carvery options. So places like the Hare and Hounds, The Castle in Ryde are now offering a similar deal. This is annoying, because the quality is generally much worse.

I do think though that The Sloop has changed it fortunes from going from the 'Marks and Spencer' of Island pubs to the 'Aldi'. I hope that The Sloop keeps going in its present incarnation, as they seem to have got the balance right. I enjoy the food, as do an awful lot of other Island people - its definitely worth a visit!

Summary: you can't go wrong!