Matt and Cat\'s Isle of Wight Eating Out Guide
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
This is an archive review. La Scala has now closed.  Matt spent his formative years in Sandown, pottering on the beach, playing on the railway and trotting up and down the High Street. Much has changed in Sandown since those days… but much has not. Matt can’t quite remember... Read more
Everyone likes to be nosy. The fascination with our fellow humans occupies a lot of our time. You’ve only got to look through the TV listings to find programmes dedicated to satiating the needs of trunky-want-a-bun viewers. You can spend half an hour watching people struggle with their hysterical... Read more
The Island’s landscape is often called ‘England in Miniature‘. Maybe it is. But if so, it’s a bit short on some things. Thank goodness, there are no nuclear power stations, no motorways, no slag-heaps and no international airports. And no pylons. Or are there? Here’s a game you can... Read more

Café Maya, Bembridge

15th June 2008 3

Years ago in St Thomas Square, Newport there was a great little Italian restaurant. It occupied the premises that had been vacated by the Niton Bakery (now a mobility shop). It was a super place for lunch; cheap pizzas and fresh tomato-based salads, pouring oil and steaming cups of... Read more
In a special guest review, Matt & Cat regular Wendy reviews food at the Isle of Wight Festival. Read on for her daily updates! Friday 13th June 2008 Isle of Wight festival food feedback today, Friday! (Just back in, how’s that for dedication.): More varied Island presence than last... Read more
With a population of just under 20,000 (which more than doubles on Cowes firework night), Cowes is a pretty small town. Its heart is pretty compact, with quaint bow-fronted shops and chandleries, pressed into a small waterside High Street. Also squeezed into the town are four Indian restaurants; a... Read more
Brothers fish and chip shop, in Brading, is a novelty on the Island: a chip shop which is not on the beach – or even near it. Hence, like Brading itself, it has much of the charm of a quiet rural town, and is rarely overtaken by hordes of... Read more