Joe's, Ryde
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.
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 with updates.
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.
2010: Yes, it's still there, and still serving good food at decent prices. They even have linen tablecloths and napkins now, the décor has been smartened up, and there's a substantial fish and seafood menu as well as the usual stuff. Matt is delighted to report that his all-time favourite Joe's Old Fashioned Lemonade is now back on the drinks list - any glass of lemonade made with a whole fresh lemon has to be good. Joe's is still 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.
22 comments
If anybody can update this space with better news on Joe's, I'd love to hear that they're back to their "fighting weight", but as things stand I think I'll be going to other places like Burr's or Lugley's if I'm looking for reliably good food in Newport, or to Liberty's if in Ryde.
It's a shame as it was once very nice. Bring back Ian I say!!!
My family and I are looking to spend Christmas 2007 on the island, we shall avoid your restaurant.
We selected a table in the no smoking area. The ceiling fan nudged the smoke through but not enough to make us want to move.
Oooooooooh £4.70 for a 250ml glass of shiraz cabernet seemed a bit pricey. But the smooth tasting glug was a pleasure to absorb.
I ordered the reasonably priced (under £6.00)roasted med veg panini and J ordered the nutty burger! A quick turnaround in the kitchen meant our food tabled in 15 mins. The rustic bread was tremendously moreish and both fillings adequate and scrummy. We argued a bit over the skinny fries, J got more than me but I was then allowed to pinch a few. Glad to see that the tomato ketchup was Heinz but unusally it was warm? A sign of a busy night maybe?
Salad was the usual crunch and tomato with a smattering of red onion and a nice runny French dressing stuff.
All in all we had a good night and would consider a visit to this noshery again
We have recommended Joe's to family and friends and always taken our Island visitors there. (We have also sampled just about everything on the menu). But unfortunately not any more.
What are they doing to the place(s)? As daft as it sounds we have always loved the big round tables at Joe's; perfect for spreading out the newspapers on a Sunday morning and for cosy conversations on an evening. But now they're putting square tables in there; why?
Our last visit to Ryde in April 07 was for Sunday brunch. Extraordinarily disappointed in the quality of the food and the service; there appeared to be only one waitress working.
Dare I say that the quality of staff has deteriorated these last couple of years. The staff at both restaurants were always dressed immaculately and very attentive; nothing was too much trouble for them and they always served you with a smile. But not any more. The smart attire appears to have disappeared altogether and the staff morale is obviously low.
A couple of weeks after this visit we decided to give the Newport branch another go (Apr 07). There was a different feel to the place; they too now had square tables in places; the art being displayed was just totally out of kilter with the whole place and menus were so tatty that they were falling apart. We had coffee and left to go to OLIVOS round the corner WHICH IS FANTASTIC!
I went to Joe's in Newport with my son, who hasn't been for a while, on 5 May, and he too was bitterly disappointed with the standard of food. I had a ham sandwich on granary - the granary was superb but the ham was just cheap sliced stuff, not the gammon ham of old. My son had his absolute favourite at lunchtime - steak on ciabatta. The steak was tough and tasteless.
My overriding impression of Joe's now is that the owners are just out to make a fast buck; the prices have hiked noticeably. They no longer seem to care about their customers, the quality of food they serve of the staff they employ.
One positive about Joe's has always been that they serve Deli portions at any time of day/night. OLIVOS take note! LIBERTY's have also followed suit.
We couldn't face going back today (7 May) so we went to LIBERTY's in Ryde instead; our first visit. We were rather impressed and will be giving this place further scrutiny.
The food was dreadful! Same sort of menu but whoever was cooking simply didnt know the basics (IE. Salad had been left in the warm somewhere so was all wilted and no longer crunchy!). And on the menu was highlighted 'IOW Ice Cream' - one taste and I knew it was not Mingella's or 'Calbourne Classic' so I asked. To begin with they said it was IOW Ice Cream but wouldnt say where from. Finally they admitted it was mainland stuff (Hmm, Tesco more like!) and hadn't updated the menu's.
Ho hum, Joe Dafloe's in Ryde is off our (very small!!!) list of decent eateries :-)
Mat and Pamela
I'd already queued at the bar to order an overpriced bottle of wine which turned out to be at least a year past its best and there was no way to back out. Only my partner's good humour and several drinks in the Castle saved the night.
With Liberty's just down the road, I see no reason to endure Joe's. If you can't get a table at Liberty's the Wetherspoons is preferable to Joe's. Leave this place to the kiddies and addled old hippies.
Unfortunately a few recent changes have not been to our liking...
Changing the brand of earl grey tea from Twinings to Liptons
Stopping stocking draft San Miguel, and not replacing it with any other brand
Stopping stocking skimmed milk - no more skinny lattes or hot chocolates
but the crunch has really come since the weather turned cold this winter...
It's freezing in there! The radiators are rarely hot and the door at the bottom of the stairs behind the kitchen now seems to be permanently open which provides an icy draught through the bar area. We've been grimly sticking it out in coats and scarves, as have the many fewer other customers that brave the cold, to hastily down one of the dwindling selection of hot drinks and a beer before they freeze over (maybe skimmed milk has a higher freezing point leading to complaints about icicles?!).
...not being people that do well in the cold, and unable to get any drinks of choice, we've been forced to abandon Joe's until the place thaws out in the spring. Maybe they'll have been taken over again by then and have some more sensible policies in place (fingers crossed the kitchen will still be producing some excellent food then!)
However this bank holiday weekend once again saw the demise of the San Miguel, but not to be daunted the boyfriend declared it to probably be a temporary thing and switched to Kronenberg.
Then came the decision to eat out on bank holiday Monday evening after a hard day's grafting in the garden. Being tired, and in no mood to spoil the holiday vibe doing battle amongst the noisy families in the local pubs, we drove into Ryde looking forward to good reliable Joe's food.
The waitress ignored our hungry looks and clutching at raised menus, despite our stating the intention to eat when we ordered drinks on arrival, and had to be prompted by the manageress to take our order. The first two options I looked at weren't available (not a problem as it was the end of a bank holiday weekend) so I decided on the goat's cheese and black pepper tagliatelle with vine-ripened tomatoes and a side salad. The boyfriend ordered the Joe's homemade burger, cooked medium, with a side of onion rings.
The order came out of the kitchen, the vacant waitress walked into a pillar and my pasta spectacularly decorated the floor. The burger was dumped on the table and cleaning up ensued, I was told that more pasta would be cooked quickly and we were left with the burger. We tried the chips that came with the burger which looked overcooked, they were (and soft and tepid). After 10 minutes the onion rings appeared after a prompt from the kitchen - these looked lovely but oozed grease. The pasta emerged shortly afterwards looking nothing like the original dish that came out - the pasta and tomatoes were drowning in a bland, creamy sauce (no hint of goat's cheese and the black pepper, although visible, couldn't be tasted). Side salads seem to have shrunk to garnish size and are now presented in a finger bowl. The burger meanwhile proved to be overcooked to the point of burnt and had a bad smell and nasty aftertaste - not being in the mood to complain as they were obviously having problems we ate what we could, settled up and left quickly.
Thoroughly disappointed with the experience we can't wait until the next buyer comes along, fingers crossed they will restore all that was once good about the place.
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