Tradewinds Beach Cafe — Restaurant in England

Tucked away on the scenic sands of Lake Beach, Trade Winds continues to live up to its stellar reputation for quality, freshness, and good vibes. Whether you're a local or just breezing through the Isle of Wight, this beach café is an absolute must-visit — and after today’s visit, I can wholeheartedly say: they never miss.

I ordered the lamb flatbread, which came loaded with succulent pulled lamb, sweet cherry tomatoes, briny olives, peppery rocket, and a cooling drizzle of mint yoghurt — all served on a golden, crispy-yet-pillowy flatbread base. Each bite was an explosion of Mediterranean-inspired flavour, perfectly balanced between richness and freshness.

To wash it down? A tall, ice-cold Offshore Pilsner, refreshing and bubbly, served in a branded glass still glistening with condensation — the ideal companion to the warm August sun and savoury lunch.

What made the whole experience even more memorable was the ambiance. There’s a certain calm and joy in the air at Trade Winds. From the rustic wooden tables to the seaside breeze, it’s the kind of place that feels like a little pocket of holiday magic. Even the plush capybara (yes, really!) at the next table seemed to be enjoying his classic margherita slice with contented silence — a charming, whimsical touch that only adds to the café's unique vibe.

Trade Winds is all about quality, and they consistently deliver. The ingredients are fresh, the flavours bold, and the staff always professional and friendly. Whether it’s a quick bite, a cold drink, or a full-blown lazy lunch by the water, the team here makes sure you’re well looked after.

Final thoughts: If you're after good food, great beer, and a spot that echoes with laid-back, feel-good energy, Trade Winds Beach Café is the place. Bonus points if you bring your capybara...

I am a regularly visitor and we would normally give 5 stars. Do give the place a try as its lovely. The food and setting is always great. Unfortunately, today the service was very very poor. Lovely staff and they are all perfectly capable but ourselves and all other visitors we observed were not seated despite a sign at the entrance requesting we wait for a table. Then after a long wait we were told to order at the bar rather than the table service we have experienced before. Standing in a queue to order a £44 bottle of wine is not ideal is it? Food and drinks arrived in reasonable time and all very tasty and well presented as we have come to expect. I wanted more. Alas the waitress clearing the table wanted me to return to the bar to order coffee and a cake. I tried but the staff were more interested in polishing cutlery that taking my order and there was someone in front of me fussing over the flavour of an ice cream cone. I gave up and left. I realise it’s a small operation and there may be a wait etc but Tradewinds - You can and normally do better. You could upsell, check everyone is happy, take additional...

Completely disorganised. 6 staff front of house, none of which seemed to know what they were doing. Just standing around trying their hardest to ignore customers.

Sat there for 20 minutes, eventually ordered some drinks and food, was told that we could only order certain food items from this team-member and another would have to take the rest of our food order… super-weird, no-one came. We eventually asked for someone else to help and was told that they too couldn’t take the rest of our order and we’d have to see someone else to order the remaining food…

When someone who we could order the food from eventually arrived, we were told the food would be at least 30 minutes… despite the fact that the food we were already allowed to order was on its way, having been ordered twenty minutes previously.

Paid for our two drinks (which took another 10 minutes) that we had received (out of the 4 ordered) and left. Not a single apology or acknowledgment that our time had been wasted.

It’s tough times for hospitality and those that try hardest will be ok, while those that couldn’t...