The Island
Look at me, I’m on the Island!
Waaaaay back when we flew internationally, I wrote for Vegan Living magazine about how Koh Phangan in Thailand was a vegan paradise. Well guys, good news. You no longer need to fly 6000 miles to paradise. The little old Isle of Wight is paradisical. And it is only, depending which ferry route you take, five miles from mainland England. We like to take the Lymington - Yarmouth ferry, because then we drive through the New Forest, where wild horses, donkeys and even pigs mosey about. If only all pigs had it so easy.
Look at him, he’s on the Island!
“She thinks of nothing but the Isle of Wight, and she calls it the Island, as if there were no other island in the world.” Jane Austen: Mansfield Park
We saw that on a flyer in one of the vegan restaurants I’m here to tell you about. You know that in my head, I am now that she, and will henceforth be referring to it as the Island, as if there is no other island in the world, right? Good. Let’s crack on.
I grew up on the Island, fell in love with my now-husband on the Island, married him on the Island and now, we are very lucky that my mum still has a place there. We visit as often as we can and despite all the years I lived there, I feel like I’m seeing it for the first time. It’s got everything we love - the sea for swimming in and gazing at, fields, cliffs and coastal paths for walking, running and stomping along. And, most importantly, wait for it… drum roll… FOUR vegan restaurants!
FOUR!
That’s FOUR plant-based, 100% vegan restaurants. There’s also a ton of cafes and restaurants with vegan options, which is standard these days I know, so I’m not going to sprinkle any praise on them. It’s 2021, if you haven’t got plant-based options on your menu you obviously want the planet to go to hell in a handcart and take us all down with it.
After 18 months cooped up at home cooking every meal myself, I was a vegan unleashed on our recent holiday to the Island. For research purposes, of course.
Django’s Tapas Jazz Cafe
In Staplehurst Grange, a long drive down a country lane brings you to an old lavender farm, now the beautiful location of Django’s Jazz Cafe.
Proprietors Aidan and Poppy get bonus points from our family because Poppy is an absolute diamond with my sister, Pip, and that’s always a sign of a good soul. Pip hasn’t been to Django’s since pre-pandy, but she still talks about Poppy. We didn’t get to go there this time as they were not fully open post-lockdown, but Django’s holds a special place in my heart.
OPENING: For now they’re only open for some jazz and tapas events at weekends. Check Instagram for updates.
EXPECT: Smoked sweetcorn chowder, asparagus and smoked cheese croissants, chocolate and blackberry cake, salted caramel slice. The tapas menu changes with the seasons so prepare to be surprised and impressed!
What you might get at Djangos, you lucky devil.
© Jonathan Habens for Djangos Tapas
In Ryde, a craft beer and vegan pizza joint has opened on the Esplanade, overlooking the pier. Aptly named Craft Vegan Pizza, they deliver all over the north of the island, but we had been on a massive hike and I was starving, so we ate in as I calculated that it might be the fastest way to get pizza in my belly.
The sourdough base was one of the best I’ve ever tried and there were loads of unusual topping combinations. Craft serve an array of craft beers, but we didn’t try any on account of being ludicrously sober, but we had a lovely kombucha. Top marks for cool decor. You wouldn’t know, I forgot to take any photos!
OPENING: Tuesday - Saturday, noon to 9pm. Sunday, noon to 5pm.
EXPECT: It’s not just pizza! There’s doner kebabs and junk food fries too. If you like craft beer, you’re in for an extra treat.
In Newport, new to us this time is PEACH. Mum and Pip joined us on the island for my birthday (39 and proud, mostly, although I could do without the grey hair) and Mum treated us to a Peach brunch. It’s a small cafe and I’m not sure if they take bookings, so there might be queues at busy times but we went on a Monday and were straight in.
Peach is also a zero waste shop and my beady eyes would have drained my wallet if I’d had any need for a paper bag full of nuts and lentils on holiday.
The food was so good, Gaz and I returned for a few more peaches as the holiday continued. Which is good because, more photos.
The Full Vegan. And I was, after this!
Gaz loves it when I faff about taking photos of my food from different angles.
The coconut bacon and tofu scramble were YUM!
Peach serves affogato, which is my favourite way to consume coffee. Well, back in the day my favourite way to consume coffee was Espresso Martini, but now it’s an espresso drizzled over a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. Change is good.
My favourite meal was the buckwheat pancakes with scrambled tofu and coconut bacon. As you can tell from my smug smile:
Gaz loves it when I make him take my photo in busy cafes.
OPENING: 9-4.30 Monday - Saturday
EXPECT: Buckwheat pancakes with savoury or sweet toppings, burgers, hot dogs, salad bowls, smoothies and shakes. Peanut butter latte, homemade chai latte, Himalayan salt latte and for ultimate holiday vibes, affogato.
Saving my favourite for last, in Godshill is Tansy’s Pantry.
It’s just down the road from the island’s model village and everyone should go to a model village at least once in their lives because they’re so quirky and weird. Top tip, borrow a friend’s child so you can get photos like this:
Honey I Shrunk the Village
Taken over by new owners in the autumn of 2020, Jess and Rob have been feeding us so often since we started our post-pandemic returns to the Island, we thought they might think we were a bit much so one night we stayed in and ate sweet potatoes, which I burnt.
Sweet potatoes at home or sweet, sticky seitan wings at Tansy’s?
Every week they change the flavour combination on the seitan wings. There’s been Carolina BBQ, Korean style Gochujang, Tikka and more, but we can attest that they’re all fantastic.
I do not know how they get the seitan so delicious. The wings are big, yet the ratio of ‘meat’ to sauce is perfect. Sometimes on the way to Tansy’s we talk about how we’ll definitely order the salad this time and then we get there and we both get too excited about the wings. We laugh at the thought of our old selves, thinking we’d order salad. Those fools! Thank god they don’t exist anymore and these current and present human beings know the right answer is always seitan wings.
If you’re the sort of person who eats salad on holiday, or you’re lucky enough to live on the Island and therefore frequent Tansy’s Pantry often enough to not go into Mad Holiday Mode and order all the calories, the Soul Boul is light and wholesome, with a generous portion of marinated tofu or delicious handmade falafel served with a ton of other stuff.
The laksa, a special, had another generous portion of tofu (always important). It’s the kind of meal I cook at home, but not this well. If I cooked this well at home, we wouldn’t turn up at the Tansy’s Pantry door like excitable bunnies.
And now for the puds.
Blueberry Cheesecake
PBJ Brownie
Chocolate Tart with fresh berries
You didn’t think I’d caption a picture simply ‘PBJ brownie’ then walk out of here like it’s no big deal, did you? I mean COME ON! Peanut butter and jam brownie! That’s three things I love, in one pudding! There’s jam goo. There’s salty peanuts. There’s just the right balance between moist and crumbly brownie sensation. The PBJ brownie is so good that when Gaz suggests we share one, I wonder why I married him.
Kimmy doesn’t share food!
Tansy’s has a warm and welcoming vibe, not only because it’s full of green and luscious plants, wooden furniture and twinkly lights, but also because Jess is so warm and welcoming, I feel like I can see her smile radiate through her mandatory face-mask.
At Django’s and Tansy’s Pantry, the proprietors humour my enthusiasm for all things vegan. They make us feel so welcome, even greeting us by name despite the fact that weeks and months pass between visits. That’s not to do the other two restaurants a disservice - not everyone has to learn my name and make me feel special to warrant a repeat visit (although Gaz does like to make a trumpet sound and whisper: ‘introducing… Kim Willis!’ as we enter establishments. Can he see inside my brain?)
Tansy’s Pantry - OPENING: Mon & Tues: Closed. Weds - Sat: 1200-2130. Sun: 1000-1500
EXPECT: Wings of the week, moussaka, burger, vish & chips, specials. PBJ brownie (unless I’ve eaten it all), cheesecakes, Biscoff smoothie, komboocha, beers, coffees, all the good stuff.
I’m proud of the Island. While it seems like everyone is off to Cornwall on holiday this year, I think they’re heading for traffic jams and crammed beaches. On the Island, some beaches are empty!
The views are stunning. It’s got castles and botanical gardens and iconic lighthouses and lagoons and ruddy dinosaur fossils! Thanks to the ferry ride over, you feel like you’re leaving England and really going on holiday. And now, thanks to all these plant-based entrepreneurs opening restaurants to keep us warm and fed, our visits are complete.
I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I don’t want the Island to become a Cornwall-esque tourist trap. But I do want these four restaurants to thrive, so come on down. The water’s lovely and the food’s exquisite.
The Island. Definitely not on the rocks.