Former MHK David Cretney looks back at the island’s dining scene in the 70s in his latest column...

I read an interesting piece recently in a ‘Manx Life’ magazine from July 1978 about eating out at that time. The article was titled ‘A Taste of Man’ and I remember a number of the businesses from way back then and I am sure you will as well …

So what did the author say?

‘Eating out in the Isle of Man is definitely looking up! … Increased affluence all round, the opportunity that increasing numbers of people have for foreign travel and extending their gastronomic experience, and a general tendency for eating out more often than in the past have all contributed to the establishment of more, and better, eating places …’

At the upper end of the luxury scale we have places like The Coach House in Ballasalla, where you can feast on caviare, pheasant and lobsters in surroundings of restrained opulence. The linen is fine, the silver and crystal sparkling, and nothing is spared in the way of service. An almost unlimited amount of money could be spent there, but on the other hand by choosing judiciously you could still have a very good meal with wine for under £10 a head, and considerably less in the Saddle Room. It is worth it for the experience.

In the piece an advert for the Saddle Room offered home made soup of the day for 45p, prawn cocktail 85p, home made steak and kidney pie (served with jacket potato, peas and garnished with tomato) £1.50. A pan fried sirloin steak with all the trimmings would set you back £1.95 and a Queen escallop Mornay (queenies coated in a cheese sauce edged with piped potato and garnished with prawns) £1.15 …

Another restaurant described as well up in the luxury class is Alan Brookes’ and Julian Holt’s ‘Julian’s’ at King Edward Road in Onchan. The head start they had when they took over from the already successful ‘Sizzler’ has been more than maintained. I well remember ‘The Sizzler’ as I am sure others will, operated by the Erani family it was very popular.

In 1978 the writer continues … the surroundings are particularly comfortable, especially the private little banquette seats under arched alcoves overlooking the sea, and the menu is extensive. Hors d’oeuvres include avocado Mexican (stuffed with assorted seafood in mayonnaise), chilled melon with crème de menthe sorbet, champignons gratinées (in a sauce of garlic and Pernod) … remember Pernod? … did you like it? The sweet trolley was described as very attractive. Do we still get sweet trolleys? Coffee is Gaelic, Jamaican, Caribbean, Highland, Manx (I wonder what that was?) or as it comes!

This restaurant has had other incarnations as the excellent ‘Boncomptes’ and as my favourite eat in Chinese restaurant ‘The Majestic’ and is now operated as the popular ‘Gandhi Indian Restaurant’.

Back to 1978 and our writer continues, one of the island’s more flamboyant eating places both for the personality of its proprietor and the dishes he serves, is Mr John Paramor’s Lively Lobster at Peel. As you might guess from the name, the speciality is seafood, described as hardly surprising in the place that is the centre of the island’s fishing industry. Crab, scampi, mussels, scallops, plaice … every sort of fish is featured.

One of the most tempting dishes is the ‘gigantic’ cold seafood platter offered … it includes small portions of almost every seafood you could imagine, and is really far too much for one person to eat alone. Mr Paramor serves scallops in a sauce which is ‘very secret’, but the main ingredients are wine, cream, garlic, onion and cheese. The scampi Provençal are poached in tomato and garlic sauce with butter, and flambéed.

Our reporter mentions that the restaurant is furnished with a pianola, which customers are encouraged to play and sing to. He notes ‘opinions vary as to whether this is a good thing!’

John Paramor’s son Stephen operates an establishment also specialising in fish including a ‘massive portion’ of fresh local mussels cooked in white wine with onions, garlic and cream. Five different sauces – Mornay, Ronald, Newburg, Provençal and Thermidor – can be served with your choice of fish.

I was delighted to read that the next advertised premise was the Henthorn family’s ‘Grasmere Grill Room’. From 1978 I was spinning discs for customers after they had enjoyed the lovely food prepared by one of the very talented Italian chefs who have joined us on our island, Guy who went on to open a lovely Italian on Bucks Road ‘La Cucina’ with his wife Paulene.

In the Grasmere soups included cream of scampi, lobster and brandy bisque and steaks were served such as entrecôte King Henry (with mushrooms, onions, Madeira and mead), tournedos Mexicaine (with tomato sauce, green peppered herbs) or escalopes of pork Cordon Bleu (filled with cheese and diced ham). Duck and chicken were both cooked with mushrooms and oranges and coffees included Cona, Medieval (Benedictine), Gaelic (Irish whiskey) and Kintyre (Drambuie).

Next to be mentioned was ‘The Howstrake’ in Onchan. Was the so talented Donald Slee there at that time or was he still managing ‘The Villiers’? … someone let me know! On offer starters included oyster soup with Guinness, avocado pear and prawns and mains such as steak au poivre, sirloin chasseur, gammon with eggs or pineapple, grilled trout, and liver and bacon.

Later it became ‘Mollys Kitchen’, a great place for food and entertainment operated by Graham and Danny, both sadly no longer with us. Such a shame that it has remained a vacant site for so long after it was demolished.

The author states ‘if you are looking for novelty surroundings Mr Barry Fielding’s newly opened “Tudor Inn” might fit the bill owing its decor to the most colourful period in English history’. Starters included prawn cocktail, pate, egg mayonnaise and the speciality steak was entrecôte steak chasseur, a sirloin covered in a rich wine sauce of tomatoes, bay leaves and other spices and ‘the chef’s secret ingredients’. Other choices on the menu included beef stroganoff and duckling a l’orange.

Background music is not always Tudor. ‘Sometimes we have a bit of Johnny Mathis,’ said Barry. ‘You get a bit fed up of Greensleeves don’t you!’

One of the reasonably priced eating places was ‘The Eagle Hotel’ in Port Erin. It became the social centre for the annual Mananan Arts Festival and offered bar lunches including chicken or scampi in a basket, pizzas and an excellent ploughman’s lunch and daily specials such as hot pot, curry or salad depending on the weather.

Gastoni and Susan Quaglio had been operating ‘The Barn’ at Port St Mary for about 18 months and had built an excellent reputation for their outstanding cooking with Gastoni concentrating on mains and Susan on the sweets, offering six choices for each course.

For TT fans ‘The Handlebar Grill Room’ in the Woodbourne, decorated with TT memorabilia and offering ‘practice lappers’, ‘Grand Prix courses’, ‘last lappers’, and of course much enjoyed ‘international lubrication’, operated by legendary landlady Joyce Cottier with Hilda keeping us all in order!

What is your favourite eating place past or present? … get in touch via the usual channels with your favourites then and now and any memories you have of them!

Today, in challenging times with discretionary spending under scrutiny, those in the hospitality sector need our support whenever possible …