Banana Wharf started at Ocean Village in 2005, right on the marina boardwalk, and the second site followed at Port Hamble in 2008. Both of them live and die by their terraces, which in Britain has traditionally meant living from about May to September and dying the rest of the year.
The Hamble terrace got the fix: a pergola built in partnership with Mermaid Gin, with a roof that retracts. Sun out, roof open. Sideways drizzle in November, roof shut, and you’re still sitting over the marina with the masts clinking, eating outside in some technical sense while being entirely dry. Outside dining and drinking all year round was the whole point of building it, and it’s quietly one of the best places in the area to be on a cold bright day.
Is a retractable roof cheating? Possibly. We’re comfortable with it.
The boats don’t go anywhere in winter, after all, and now neither do you.