I say! You, yes you over there! Read this review, won't you? There's a good chap.

Cowes, in the run-up to Cowes Week, is just like that. Everything is vying for your attention. Nowhere else on the Island can one gain such a concentrated sample of the 'yachty set'. Shouts from the well-heeled ring across the bustling High Street; shops appear suddenly with names like KooBooToo and Yimsy, selling unidentifiable objects at unfathomable prices. Beggars and pedlars appear unaccountably on the streets. Every man is either attired in a football shirt, or deck-shoes and cargo shorts. Every woman has the leathery over-tanned complexion of 'Skullrika' Jonsson, and a massive pair of sunglasses. It's a delightful place to visit - for mainlanders, obviously, but also for Islanders. Matt and Cat love to go and bask in the Cowes summer atmosphere. It's like a little world of its own, even if the town falls over itself to reinforce its own stereotypes.

So, this week M & C were in Cowes on the way to an evening appointment and enjoying the Cowes Week ambience. With only a short time to eat, they reluctantly decided against old favourite the Red Duster - that needs time to fully appreciate. On the way up the hill they spotted Corries Cabin - the original fish and chip shop which spawned a namesake in Ryde that Matt is quite partial to. Usually it's the welcome job of Matt and his lads to sort out the chip shops - Cat is not too keen on them. But Corries Cabin in Cowes looked so tempting that before she knew it, the Cat had been shooed inside and shown into a chair by her eager consort.

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Visit the website: http://www.facebook.com/CorriesCowes

For once Matt and Cat aren't going to start a review of a Cowes eatery with jibes about yachties and DFLs. Instead, let them tell you about how lovely this waterfront town was looking on an unexpectedly clement Saturday in May. The sun was shining intermittently though fluffy clouds and it was warm enough for The Cat to finally dispense with her trademark mittens.

'Twas a day for weddings and Matt and Cat made way for troupes of be-suited chaps with their clip-clopping consorts. The precinct was turned into a human aviary with the clucking and squawking of women wearing this season's fascinator hats; feathers bobbing in the light breeze. M and C dodged into a junk shop to escape the nuptial flash mob but, without much to sustain their interest amongst the piles of dusty tat, they soon left.

A chance encounter with fish fryer and Twestival compère Richard Quigley led Matt and Cat to lunch at The Fountain. This prominent hotel is part of the Greene King chain which Matt and Cat have found to be patchy in both service and food. How will the Cowes branch fare?

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Visit the website: http://www.fountaininn-cowes.com/

Returning from a trip to The Other Side, Matt and Cat were on the hunt for a quick take-out to eat at home. Right under their noses was Jade Garden, the Chinese takeaway in East Cowes that everyone is obliged to pass when leaving the Red Funnel car ferry. It seemed rude not to stop, so your reviewers pulled up to see if Jade Garden was any good.

Matt and Cat had heard from trend-setters in East Cowes that the Jade Garden was the place to go for Chinese. It's a classic small urban takeaway, although its kitchen seemed to go back a long way. M & C, accompanied by junior reviewer Bill, perused what proved to be a standard Chinese menu, and if the date on the front (2005) is correct, some of the longest-held prices on the Island too. Cat was surprised and interested by one section which promised fillet steak dishes - although on enquiry the jolly chap behind the counter had to confess that they'd stopped serving it 'ages ago' - perhaps fillet steak was too rich a dish for East Cowes to handle.

Before long the trio had selected what turned out to be an echo of their favourite order from the Hong Kong Express. Cat chose chicken chow mein, Matt had crispy fried shredded beef, and Bill went for sweet and sour pork Hong Kong style. A bag of prawn crackers and a side-order of mixed veg rounded the meal off, and in a trice, the hot bundle was back on board the car with the hungry voyagers, and swiftly transferred to Ryde where it was decanted onto plates for immediate consumption.

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It was way back in 2005 when Matt and Cat first reviewed Whippingham's Folly Inn. Entreaties to revisit prompted this update. The original review is below.

Matt and Cat were very impressed by the Folly, back in the day. It was a regular lunchtime haunt of theirs and they were never disappointed by the location, food or service. However, reports that things were Not Quite Right had made their way down the intertubes; and, as luck would have it, Cat and some gal-pals from work were looking for a venue to eat, drink and make mischief. Clutching two-for-one vouchers in their eager mitts, Cat and three friends rendezvoused at this waterfront watering hole.

If a packed car park is an indicator of a quality venue then The Folly Inn must rank as one of the finest places on the Isle of Wight. Even on this damp mid-week mid-winter evening there was barely room for a modestly-sized car. It was 'one in, one out' but soon a space became available. As she approached the door, Cat noted a welcoming blackboard with confidently chalked picture of the pub. Scratching her nesty mane, she knew she'd seen that somewhere before. Why of course, it was the day before outside Shanklin's Crab Inn. Closer inspection revealed the tell-tale Greene King livery; The Cat looked forward to comparing these sibling venues.

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Visit the website: http://www.follyinn.com/

Regular readers might have noticed that, apart from frequent tweets, Matt and Cat have been a bit quiet on the review front lately. This is due to their tireless work for charidee, helping to organise Twestival - and a great success it was too.

One of
Matt and Cat's
favourites

Regular committee meetings in the Blacksheep Bar meant dinner at least once a week in this delightful venue with its friendly and accommodating staff and delicious tapas. Cheers guys!

Now that Twestival is over (until February 2010), Matt and Cat have been winched back onto the review horse and are galloping into a town near you. Saddling up one weekday evening they rode into Cowes and wandered around its streets looking for a place to slip on the proverbial nosebags. There's certainly plenty to choose from in this picturesque town; Indian, seafood, Italian and even Portuguese. M and C carefully examined the menus of several different places only to be thwarted by the fact that they were closed, had already featured on these pages or they just didn't fancy them. Cat, particularly, can dismiss a place on a whim and Matt can tell in an instant the mood of The Cat (is her metaphorical tail up? Or swishing?). With this specialist knowledge of Cat's 'inclination barometer' he knew that the Red Duster had caught her eye. Lingering over the menu? Check! Peering in the windows? Check! Taking a pre-emptive photo of the outside? That settled it; in they went.

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Visit the website: http://www.theredduster.com/