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King Harry's Bar, Shanklin
Shanklin
PO37 6NU
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about King Harry's Bar
Located on the main road through Shanklin, although situated down in a bit of a hollow making it not immediately apparent, this is an old-fashioned hotel bar in an attractive thatched roof building. Some steps take you down into the hotel lobby area, unmanned on our visit, which in turn leads you along a corridor towards the bar. Against my expectations, this turned out to be a surprisingly compact room with the servery to the left and some limited seating to the right. The bar has a nice counter with an impressive carved frontage, mirrored bar back decorated with blue fairy lights and a basic pot shelf above. The seating area is carpeted and has sufficient space for four or five tables served by standard chairs, all arranged around a nice stone fireplace which acts as a focal point for the room. A small arch to the rear right leads through to a small side room which appeared to have a few more tables and chairs, but was in darkness on our evening visit, suggesting it’s only ever used as an overspill area during busier months. Décor consists of traditional items such as decorative plates, old paintings, numerous salvers and some information boards detailing various bits of local history. Music was playing very quietly in the background during the course of our stay and there was only one other customer in when we arrived, it being off-season, although a few more turned up before we left.
I didn’t expect too much from the bar, so it was a nice surprise to find four hand pumps in operation, dispensing Fullers ESB, Andwell King John, St Austell Proper Job and Ringwood Boondoggle. The King John was in good nick and a nice traditional bitter to enjoy in this very traditional feeling hotel bar.
I thought this was a nice quiet bolthole away from the louder pubs and bars on the beachfront and the food-led pubs along the main road. Finding some well kept beer in a homely place like this felt like a bit of a coup and I would definitely consider heading back here in the future.
On 8th January 2020
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about King Harry's Bar
Picturesque thatched building nestled in the ‘pub and restaurant’ section of old town, this one is easy to miss being at the far end of the street and set back and down from the main road. However it’s well-worth popping in. Enter via a hotel (Glenbrook) lobby to a tight multi-roomer with loads of character (‘pseudo-medieval’, as mentioned below) and is actually quite small with low ceilings, wood trim, whitewashed walls, carpet, arched doorways and subtly lit. Note the muskets mounted above the bar. There is also a lovely flora and fauna garden which wraps round the rear and side of the pub and is actually the end of the chine so you can get a good view of it with your pint. Five pumps with four on and an eclectic mix of the more obvious breweries available on the Isle – Marstons Pedigree, Banks Lions Roar, Fullers ESB and Yates Sunfire (decent shape). Lady Quinno reported that the ladies loos were worth a trip on their own, with a pseudo lounge available (who needs the bar?). Worth the slog up the hill to do this one and is also very close to the Isle’s best restaurant, Pendletons.
On 10th July 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Michael Wright left this review about King Harry's Bar
According to notices outside it is in the 2010 / 2011 GBG, and I can believe it. I will not bother to describe the layout because it has been so well done by other posters
My visit was October Friday lunchtime, bit out of season, so I nearly had the place to myself
4 hand pulls on my visit, I opted for "Proper Job" because it was brew I had not experienced before. It was lovely, especially with the £1.50 cheese & onion roll purchased at the same time
The weather, whilst fine was bit windy, so I sat inside, and to echo previous posting, it was a very relaxed time, even inside, if I had not other things to do I could very easily have settled here for a while
Staff were polite and helpful [I was nearly the only customer]
Unlikely to go to IOW again, but if I did I would return here without any qualms
Photos to follow in due course
On 10th October 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 526 recommendations about 382 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about King Harry's Bar
King Harry’s is the bar of the Glenbrook Hotel but it is open to all and sundry during normal pub hours. The building is as enticing and picturesque as things get even by Isle of Wight standards, a choclate box thatched building with picturesque floodlit grounds overlooking the chine and containing its own colony of red squirrels.
The cosy bar section is housed in the centre of the building and can be accessed either through the Hotel hallway or via the gardens. Surprisingly, the building only dates back to mid-19th Century but the pseudo medieval décor makes it feel much older with the centrepeice being a magnificent ornate carved stone fireplace. There are plenty of beams and pillars and enough touristy ambience to keep most visitors happy.
Beer wise there were 4 ales were available across the 6 hand pumps - Bombardier, Fullers ESB, Wells Banana Bread Beer and Island Wight Knight. Quality was fine and prices seemed about par for the area. From the large collection of pump clips displayed around the beams and ceilings I would gather that there is a good guest ale rotation policy. There is a separate restaurant but I didn’t investigate any food options.
The toilets may take a bit of getting used to with their full length glass French doors peering out directly onto the beer garden and just a thin net curtain protecting the user’s modesty.
Maybe I was lucky and we caught a sunny day where we lazed away an hour or so watching the squirrels frolicking but I thoroughly enjoyed the relaxed ambience of the place and it was certainly one of my favourite pubs of the good number we did on the island.
On 20th May 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Soup Dragon left this review about King Harry's Bar
A large detached thatched stone pub and restaurant that does accommodation and has a terrific beer garden, with views over Shanklin Chine.
The interior had three rooms that i saw. The bar was all dark to be honest and i caouldn't see much, there was an ante room before the main dining area, that was in a salmony colour with beams and some stone. The big dining room had a blue ceiling with mock stone battlement and fake Tudor door and fire surrounds. Interest was also supplied by a beer mat colllection. The service was a mix of friendly, by the younger chap and surly, by the older chap. The clientele was non-existant inside the pub, as it was a nice day, so all were ensconced in the beer garden.
Beer; some tap stuff, but a classier choice. On handpull, there was a good Adnams Broadside and the untried Fuller's ESB and Exmoor's Fox.
At first, i didnt enjoy the service and despite being a historian, the interior was a bit too fake. However, the beer garden was class and the other chap made up for it - the beer i had was also fine - so i would give this GBG 2010 every chance of a return.
On 16th April 2010
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3067 recommendations about 3062 pubs]