BOAT CUISINE

Phil Sampson discovers an eatery that's in tune with Queen Victoria

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THE PIANO CAFÉ

FRESHWATER BAY

Being Solent boaters, we're regular visitors to the Isle of Wight. After a while - several years in our case - you begin to think you've uncovered the best the island has to offer in terms of its restaurants and eateries. And then, up pops a surprise. Cue the Piano Café. Tucked away on Gate Lane, which runs from Freshwater village down to Freshwater Bay, the café occupies an elevated position on a bank affording views over open fields and towards St Agnes, the island's only thatched church. It’s an area of poetic beauty, and not just because the land for the church was donated by Alfred, Lord Tennyson's son, Hallam.