NUMBER 3, Cowes - Menu, Prices & Restaurant Reviews

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About

An intimate restaurant tucked away in the old town of Cowes.

CUISINES

European, British, Contemporary

Special Diets

Vegetarian Friendly

Meals

Dinner

FEATURES

Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Serves Alcohol, Accepts Mastercard, Accepts Visa, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service

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4.5

360 reviews

Excellent

275

Very good

58

Average

13

Poor

2

Terrible

12

Alan R

Isle of Wight8 contributions

Best meal out for a long time!

Oct 2020 • couples

We visited recently and I have to say it was one of the best and most enjoyable meals I've had in a long time. If you've never been before it can be a little confusing, The lady just plonks a small list of dishes down and tells you it's small plates???? So your thinking tapas style ????... It's actually like a tasting menu. You choose between a couple of starters and mains and they bring you out 3/4 set dishes inbetween. For the life of me I don't understand why they don't lay the menu out like this and put it all on the menu for a fixed price (£30ish). Then people could see a menu and have an idea of what they're going to be served. However for me it was brilliant, every mouthful was beautiful. We will definitely be back very soon I think 😀.

Written 15 November 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ronald s

7 contributions

Always excellent

Mar 2020 • none

We have been frequenting Number 3 regularly since they opened about fifteen years ago, and it has become an important and much valued part of our lives. We love the unpretentious atmosphere and of course the food. The simple blackboard menu is always excellent, and we have been working our way through the splendid, extensive wine list. We like to share our enjoyment with others and always recommend to friends and visitors to out holiday cottages, some of whom return to the restaurant more than once during their one week stay. We just wish that it was at the end of our lane so that we could walk home! We can’t wait for the lockdown to be over so that we may return.

Written 23 April 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

tonedunc

Marlow64 contributions

What a gem!

Aug 2020 • couples

This tiny restaurant was recommended by our b&b and what a little gem. The menu is very small (which I appreciated) & they serve what they call “small plates” but this is reflected in the price. The quality of the food surely benefits from a small menu as everything was excellent and I would definitely recommend the place & we will return next time we visit Cowes. Great service too!

Written 17 August 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Howard L

Isle of Wight1 contribution

Bizarre!

Sept 2020 • couples

What a strange place, from the front of house to the wine list to the concept. Very odd! On entering one is presented with a handwritten short menu and separate red and white wine lists including “orange wine” ? Most of these we’d never heard of, but I chose a South African orange wine which can only be described as unusual and only 10.5% proof! The concept of small plates was explained and we both opted for a crab mouse which was pretty good. We then shared a minute piece of cod, again which was OK, but nothing special. We shared a tiny piece of sea bass and a piece of steak which were both just about OK, but minuscule sizes. As they were charging £12 to £13 for each dish, in realty for a normal sized dish that would have put it in the high £20’s. We were however presented with 3 amuse bouches of beetroot mouse before the starter and then a mango mouse and a white chocolate mouse, all not bad followed by some homemade salted caramel ice cream which was really quite acceptable. The young lady serving us was very pleasant, but overall we found the evening a little bizarre. Should we find ourselves in Cowes again, we would certainly give this restaurant a miss.

Written 8 September 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Suzan C

Southampton17 contributions

number 3? no thanks

Mar 2020 • none

we are accustomed to eating out on a very regular basis, our favourite restaurants on t he Island are the basque kitchen (cant recommend it highly enough) and Ada. As the reviews for number 3 were so good we thought we would try it, , we were so disappointed. My starter prawn and crab mousse sounded delicious, but I found a few bits of shell, it was far too chilled and I thought pretty tasteless. My husbands pork was fine, the mains left me cold, the fish didnt have enough sauce and the vegetables were really stingy, a small dish of sliced potatoes and a small dish of greens, for two hungry people, could have been better. As for the wine list I have never seen a larger or more ludicrous choice. Do people who eat here really buy bottles of wine that cost over £100 , well maybe yachties in the season, but ordinary people if they do must have money to burn. We bought a bottle costing £22 , frankly I wouldnt have paid £5 for it in a shop. Such a disappointing evening, we wont be back, , the basque kitchen reopens next week, cant wait

Written 8 March 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Graham H

Betchworth28 contributions

Delightful surprise

Sept 2020 • friends

A wonderful meal with friends. The menu was just 6 choices including starters and mains, but that undersells the overall experience. An amuse-bouche arrived of beetroot custard that was an amazing start, the starters and mains were delightful and we then asked about desserts. The pleasant waitress explained there were a choice of 2 desserts but we would also first have “a few surprises”, and we were then served separately 2 small pots of lovely desserts. When the bill arrived we couldn’t believe what fantastic value this meal was. We would highly recommend Number 3 as an experience to saviour while in Cowes.

Written 8 October 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Seasidedad

Weymouth420 contributions

Fantastic food in a tiny restaurant

Oct 2020 • couples

Number 3 is a very small restaurant, I think it only has 18 covers or so. It runs a small and reasonably priced menu serving delicious food, but they are small plates - quality not quantity. However you order 2 courses, starter and main, but get an amuse bouche to start with and then 2 free deserts! There is a very extensive wine list. The service is really good and a delightful evening ensues.

Written 1 October 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Shirley

Chessington23 contributions

Don’t worry if you’ve forgotten your teeth .......

Jul 2021 • none

because trust me, you won’t need them!! We had been here on our last visit to the island and loved it. You had a choice of 3 starters, 3 mains and 3 puddings and the food was lovely. We had read that it now had a “taster” menu, but going on our previous visit, thought that it would be fine. Well, how wrong could you be. Like a previous reviewer mentioned, the wine menu was handwritten and crammed onto a sheet (and was quite pricy) and then straight into the food. There were several dishes ranging from sweet potato with some puree to goats cheese and puree with possibly a mousse, or was it a “snow" The fish dish was lovely, but it was soo small with some puree or another and then the lamb dish, which was ok, but some of it was too rare, even for me. The pudding was nice, but I couldn’t tell you what it was and then there was the cheese plate, which was one small piece of blue cheese with a few crackers. Thank goodness my other half ate the bread that was on the table, otherwise he would have starved. One of the staff said that they had started doing the taster menu, as there was less food waste. Well, I would imagine that a pureed parsnip goes a long way!!! I can honestly say that I was not very well all night after eating so much mousse and snow!! I think that I have been generous with a 1 star rating, if I could give a minus I would.

Written 12 July 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

janelmcd

London4 contributions

Perfect family meal

Jun 2021 • family

We have just enjoyed a perfect evening in a lovely family restaurant with our children aged 12 and 13. It was so exciting to have a surprise for each course (7 courses including the amuse bouche and pre dessert) Each plate is prepared with great attention to detail and the service is first class. Excellent cuisine and fantastic value. We’ll certainly be back on our next visit to Cowes.

Written 2 June 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rachel C

3 contributions

Fabulous evening !

May 2021 • none

I had a wonderful evening at this little gem of a restaurant No. 3 in Cowes. The food, wine, ambience was perfect ! I am the awkward person in the party who is veggie/nearly vegan , however the chef and team were totally supportive of this and made some wonderful tasting dishes for me. I loved all of them and was just a treat to wait for the next tasting dish to be served up ! The rest of my group had the standard tasting menu and also loved the dishes. The fusion of ingredients and flavors were great and really thought out. Thank you to the team front and back of house for making our Saturday evening ( 29th May ) fabulous !

Written 1 June 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Julian A

28 contributions

Shame, so close and yet so far

Mar 2022 • solo

I'm not going to write an essay but my meal could have been so much better, it promised so much. My wine was corked and I asked if it was supposed to taste like that as I had never tried orange wine before. I described it as a gauz beer was not helped and when I looked it up that's not how it was supposed to taste. Very tart and I was rather I'll the next day. Embarrassing for a restaurant that clearly prides itself on the wine selection. I'd prefer if you could have paired a small wine with each course. The meal was delightful in places, the parsnip purée with the lamb for instance but so far in others, the 20 minutes wait between meat and fish courses. The biggest upset was finding mould on the cork of the water bottle. Really unacceptable in a higher end establishment especially. That the replacement bottle had thick limescale on the lid was off putting considering the mould on the previous. More of an issue was that they really didn't seem concerned when I mentioned it. Well it looks like I did write an essay! Port was nice. I'm pretty sure I won't be back.

Written 15 April 2022

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Hazel W

Godalming25 contributions

Wonderful tasting menu and wine

Jun 2021 • none

The restaurant felt very exclusive due to it's size and COVID limited numbers, however the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly. The food was served in a timely efficient manner with good explanations of the dishes. The wine list was very interesting with natural and orange wines. The variety of fish, meat and vegetables was good but my only comment is that there were a lot of mousses within the dishes, so texture could have been more varied. Value for money was excellent. Thank you all very much

Written 26 June 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

s-pestic

Bridgend94 contributions

Delightful find in the centre of Cowes

Jun 2021 • couples

The Tasting Menu was delicious. All plates of food were unusual and very moorish. As the Tasting Menu changes often if there is anything in the menu that night you do not eat they will change it. The staff were lovely and I would thoroughly recommend it. However although I rated it a 5 which it was deserved of there are 2 things which I feel would have taken it to another level - the first was that some of the dishes were very small and came in just a cup and plonked on the table and I feel these should have been presented better on a serving plate - my other thing would be a uniform of some sort for the staff. Whilst I appreciate that these two things are minor I believe it would make a massive difference.

Written 4 July 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Claire R

1 contribution

Even more excellent than before!

Jan 2020 • couples

I thought it would be hard to beat our previous visits to this great little restaurant, but I was wrong. Our meal on Friday night was the best to date and we loved the course surprises as well as the pared down menu. I didn't think it was possible to beat the amazing steak I have there but I was wrong ... absolutely loved the wonderful tender lamb. So glad we made the last minute booking.

Written 12 January 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Michael S

Llanelli13 contributions

Fantastic meal

Feb 2020 • family

What an amazing place! Its tucked out of the way in a little corner. The food was superb with only a small choice on the menu it made the agony of choosing easy, there were little surprises along the way, making the whole experience a joy. My son said "Everywhere should do parsnip mousse" Great food, great atmosphere and fantastic service. If you're ever in Cowes and fancy something special, you won't get any better than No 3.

Written 18 February 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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NUMBER 3, Cowes - Menu, Prices & Restaurant Reviews - Tripadvisor