Driftwood Beach Bar n Grill in Isle of Wight

Arrived here, 5 of us and the dog. Man at the counter asked if we want to sit inside or out, we chose a wood booth as it meant our dog could be away from others as he is quite nervous. We were told no as there wasn't enough of us. Now I could understand if it was busy or just 2 of us had asked to sit there but that wasnt the case. It was practically empty. We left! Surely some business is better than no business at all. He can clearly afford to be picky!The location is 5 star and with the right management, attitude and skill, this would be a gold mine. Upon reading other reviews, people have had quite bad experiences here. Sad as it could be a wonderful place.

The most shocking service ever. Clearly not setup to enhance a customer experience. No engagement from the bar team, to be honest thought they had a stand in crew as level of basic service skills just lacked. having read other reviews though, clearly an issue so good luck in changing culture. Didn't bother staying for the food or drinks. Given the fact that I was shouted 'did you not here me go and find another place to eat - plenty of other places down the beach.' I chose to ignore the idiot as I was with my family. We did take his advice though and found a fab place which I'll be sending some very positive reviews to.

Exorbitantly priced food, ended up not dining here and went to Flanagans instead. Good location but simply unwilling to pay that kind of price premium. Cold, windy day so we asked about use of the patio heaters. Was kindly provided with a blanket but the girl never came back with an answer about the heaters. Disappointing.

I wouldn’t usually slate a place like this but I was completely in shock by this place today.I’d give -10 if I could. The worst experience at a restaurant I’ve ever had. food was terrible and over priced. Service was non existent. Who ever was working in the kitchen on Sunday 22nd may has anger management problems. Screaming at the waitresses because he’s unable to put a decent burger together and not burn chicken wings. He even struggled to work out the ingredients for nachos. Service was so so bad - my mate went to the toilet and they took his meal away that had hardly been touched, they refused to give him another meal?I now understand why they make you pay before you eat - I have to now go through my bank to get my money back which luckily my bank is able to do.The inside restaurant was filthy and stunk. The kitchen looked like it had different foods all over the counter. Hygiene was terrible. Glasses were dirty and tables stickyThe cocktails were absolutely terrible - they made a mojito with lime cordial 😂A terrible excuse for a restaurant, I’d be embarrassed to work there let alone own the place.Don’t waste your money or time.

Terrible. Awful service. Rude management. We’d just arrived and were trying to get ourselves settled when we were shouted at by what I can only assume was a manger to get out the way as we needed to leave a metre for fire prevention. My mum is in a wheel chair and had decided to stay sitting in her chair as the chairs around the table had no arms. First of all can I add that we were on a beach with plenty of sea water to our left (in case of a fire) plus there was a cordoned off exit with rope which is a compete contradiction to your statement. Food was average. Had to wait 45 minutes because the Kitchen couldn’t cope. Kitchen closed because it couldn’t keep up with its orders. Bar was swimming in a layer of filth. Overheard staff saying they had 3 no shows ?staff which is why service was so bad. You do not deserve your spot. Total disgrace to the industry.

5 star for location but 2 star for food which was cold and over priced for what it is. Table service wouldn't go a miss either, why make your customers queue in line for 20-30 mins to order food or drinks is beyond me. Felt like I was back in the school canteen. God forbid should you need something else after ordering either, back to the line I was told!

We went for lunch on a Saturday. The waitress who showed us to our sit started giving instructions on how to order even before we all sat down so only the person nearest to her could hear what she was saying. We ordered our food at the bar counter. We ordered a beer that needed to be refilled so the lady told us she will get someone to bring it to us in about 5 to 10 minutes. However, after time has passed, our drink did not arrive. I went to the counter to enquire and saw a pint of beer sitting there on the counter top. I don't know how long the pint has been sitting there and people in the queue were ordering by speaking over the cup without wearing their masks. I tried to reject that pint saying that I don't know how long it's been sitting there and whether or not it's fresh. The lady said she filled the cup immediately after she topped up the barrel so it should be fresh, although this did not address my concern that they had left the cup sitting there in the open when they said they will send it to our table. We're still living in Covid times... We ordered a fish and chips and the mushy peas could not be swapped to something else which is fair enough. There were also many bones in the fish so be careful when you eat this dish. The pizza was great but if you don't eat it fast enough, it goes cold really quickly due to the weather and the cheese hardens. Overall food was fine, service not great for us. We actually chose to come and eat at this place because the waitress who worked on friday nights was extremely friendly and helpful when we enquired about bookings. We saw her again at work during the Saturday dinner time, so maybe she works at the dinner shift

If I could rate this -5 then I would.Absolutely disgusting place, Every customer abused, wrong and disgusting food.The staff verbally abused my family, were racist to a family sitting near us too.When I questioned this I was also abused, filthy kitchen and horrible place, the police need to close this down.Under age children serving and pouring drinks and bringing food to your table after waiting for 2hrs.

Arrived as they opened for lunch today with a toddler and dog, very friendly staff found us somewhere sheltered in the heat, made a fuss of both the dog and our 18month old. The view and setting is great.The food is not your usual beach bar chips and burger for a fiver rubbish (see some of the other reviews moaning about price) so the food is a little more expensive but It’s a proper restaurant, and I would pay their prices for the food that was delivered….Mussels were massive and tasty best I’ve had in the UK. Wife had one of their fresh home made pizzas 🍕equally as good 👍 (I didn’t take any pics of the food as it didn’t last long and I didn’t want to pick my phone up either!)And finally corona on tap what more could you want 🤷🏻‍♂️Thanks for making us feel welcome and for a lovely lunch 👍

Such a beautiful setting right in the beach. Went on Bank Holiday Monday, were seated quickly and lots of safety measures in place. The staff were very friendly and worked extremely hard.We were made aware there was a wait on food upon arrival but with the beautiful weather we weren't surprised. The food was great and definitely worth the wait.We will be back again.