King Harry's Bar, Shanklin

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

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.

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.