Known for many years as "Joe Daflo's", the Ryde branch of Joe's was for a long time one of Matt & Cat's all-time favourite eateries on the Island. Another branch offering a comparable experience exists in Newport. This review is about the Ryde branch.

Apart from the commendable free WiFi node, still called "Joe Daflo's", the name of the establishment is exclusively Joe's. Confusingly, there is a very similar restaurant called Joe Daflo's in Southampton, but that is no longer linked to the two on the Isle of Wight, and your reviewers have never been there. Got that?

Joe's has been on Matt and Cat's list for so long, they've written two reviews about it - and one of them has been edited a few times. So below you'll find the original 2006 review, and a more recent 2008 assessment.

Now, onto the food!

Review continues:

2008 review:
A long time ago, Joe's was undoubtedly the coolest place in Ryde, arguably the Island. Fickle fashion moved on, things changed, Joe's star waned. But now, it looks like it's on the way back.

Although the décor has hardly changed in five years - and is showing its age - Joe's still has a stylish atmosphere, and now the smoking ban has worked its magic, it's at last an atmosphere one can breathe. The new menu is much shorter than the original epic version, and although the main meals look startlingly expensive, a visit to the well-populated specials board reveals a wide range of more reasonably-priced and tempting main courses. In fact, with drinks and coffee, Matt and Cat paid only just over £11 each for a corking good feed - good value indeed.

Matt and Cat sat at their favourite window table, watching Ryde go by. A little scenario played itself out across the street - a crazy guy waved his can of Tennent's and jabbered on at passers-by. Before long, a neatly dressed chap who obviously knew the drunk turned up, calmed him with gentle remonstrations, and the two walked off quietly arm in arm. Perhaps it was a metaphor: Matt and Cat, safe indoors, felt as if Joe's was an old friend who'd returned after a long and worrying absence.

Cat's Caesar salad was a mighty portion, with mountains of chicken, ham and the occasional salty anchovy nestling in generously-dressed leaves. She happily crunched her way through, as Matt wrestled with an attractive side-salad served alongside his beer-battered haddock and chips. For some reason the salad was served vertically - in a narrow, tall pot. It looked spectacular, but offered an interesting challenge to the diner. Perhaps even more challenging was the curious aroma that arose from the battered fish. Matt quizzed Cat about her chicken - was it smoked? No, it was not. Was her crunchy Parma ham smoked? No more than normal. Could it possibly be the haddock, then? And so it transpired: the haddock was smoked. Not overpoweringly so, but enough to permeate the whole dish.

Whilst Matt's got no objection to aspirant Heston Blumenthals meddling with classic dishes, he'd always prefer some warning of this to allow an informed choice on his part. The specials board made no mention of the haddock being smoked, and frankly, it was an experiment that Matt might have chosen to forgo had he known. He checked with the very helpful waiter, who confirmed that yes, this was smoked haddock and it was meant to be like that. Still, never one to let gastronomic prudery stand in the way of a meal, Matt tucked in and enjoyed the meal for what it was. It was actually pretty good, once Matt had got over his indignation.

So, Joe's is back. Great service, good food, and very reasonable prices. Recommended.

2006 review (parts first published 2005):
Joe's days as the Island's cutting-edge eaterie may now be over, with several other strong contenders for that crown having arrived. But Joe's is still worth a visit, and here's why.

Joe's has been through many incarnations, but always manages to produce decent food in a very stylish atmosphere - so much so that some visitors taken to it once said, cautiously, "It's not really like the rest of the Isle of Wight, is it?". They may have had a point. There's no hint of rustic charm or seaside tack here. The bar has a continental feel, with lots of interesting architectural features very well exploited.

The downsides are that it's usually busy - although not as much as it once was - and that the patrons at the bar smoke as though they were going to ban it soon. A table in the non-smoking area highly desirable if you're going to eat a meal and don't want to spark up.

Food comes from a decent menu full of interesting surprises. It's not cheap, but it doesn't taste cheap either. Vaguely Italian by tendency, with plenty of pasta and salad options, there is no pizza on offer nor do the waiting staff dance about with oversized pepper-grinders. Joe's is far more sophisticated than that. Reasonably-sized portions come looking lovely, and for the more delicate appetite the 'deli size' is a little cheaper, and doesn't require the humiliation of asking for a child's portion - all the more necessary as no children are allowed in the place at all.

Being a café bar it also does some great drinks, cocktails, the usual coffees, and various specialities like Matt's favourite Joe's Lemonade, all made under your own eyes with panache and lots of stainless steel, glass and clanking of machinery.

Things may have moved on since the days when Joe's was a must-visit phenomenon for eating out. The prices are higher, and the menu is less interesting. But for old time's sake Matt and Cat still enjoy a predictably pleasant slap-up feed at Joe's; which can still be called one of the better places to eat on the Island.

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