Matt and Cat\'s Isle of Wight Eating Out Guide
There’s a theory suggesting that if you sit and wait long enough, everything will come to you. If this principle has much currency, there have probably been a few gurus on mountaintops waiting for a very long time for a nice fresh fish supper to come along. What they... Read more

Highdown Inn, Totland

Reviews 7th September 2008 7

Matt and Cat don’t often get out during weekdays, chained as they are to municipal desks in the heart of the county’s administrative capital. However, just occasionally, they given a day pass and, on a particularly miserable Tuesday, they were let off their leads to roam the Island’s countryside.... Read more
This is an archive review. Mamma Mia has now closed this restaurant and opened another. This review and the comments on it refer to the former venue. Some considerable time ago, Cat was a regular patron of Pavarotti’s Restaurant in Shanklin. Its Italian staff were very welcoming, the authentic... Read more

Bestival, 2008

5th September 2008 5

Special report by our roving festival reporter, Wendy Her updates will be added to this review, so keep checking back and read down to find out the latest! Bestival Friday update Well, I’m here posting from the SOS internet cafe, one of the few dry spots at Bestival this... Read more

Chequers, Rookley

2nd September 2008 14

Being seaside dwellers, Matt and Cat tend to cling to the edges of the Island – except when heading to the megalopolis that is Newport for their day jobs. However, they can be drawn to Vectis’ rural innards when necessary. One such voyage of discovery lead them to Rookley’s... Read more
NB: The Crab and Lobster has now been sold. This review refers to Summer 2008 but probably doesn’t apply now. The Isle of Wight is a great place to live. How people can say it’s boring is beyond the meagre wit of Matt and Cat as, apart from their... Read more

Lugley’s, Newport

10th August 2008 9

Matt and Cat like to think of themselves as ‘of the people’ and, unlike other less popular Island on-line eating out guides (you didn’t even know there were any others, did you?), they are happy to try any size of venue from the humble to the salubrious. Often they... Read more
Alexanders is now closed. This is an archive review. What’s the way to find good fish and chips on the Isle of Wight? It’s simple – follow Matt and Cat’s easy guide. Are you right next to the sea? No good chips here – and no good prices either.... Read more

Bengal Palace, Newport

5th August 2008 11

As regular readers of Matt and Cat’s Isle of Wight Eating Out Guide may have deduced, the eponymous writers live in Ryde and work in Newport. This geographical predictability means that the reviews on these pages have a tendency to cluster around these conurbations. And, dear reader, you can... Read more

Ale and Oyster, Ventnor

16th July 2008 25

Seeking, as ever, to encourage everyone to chip into the Island’s biggest and best collection of food reviews, Matt and Cat offer a ‘Suggest a venue‘ page where readers can attempt to guide them towards (or away from) one venue or another. It’s well-used and quite a long list.... Read more