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

Summer's a busy time for food reviewers. New places open like flowers - and sometimes wither in a similar way.

Avid readers are keenly recommending new places for Matt and Cat to review, and as new eateries are popping up faster than the duo can visit them their list of potential reviews is longer than a very long thing.

This bodes well for the Isle of Wight's leisure economy and, with the promise of a heatwave this summer and the inevitable influx of day-trippers that always brings, it looks as though quite a few Island enterprises are already doing well.

Many of these 'new' venues are actually pretty old but, with a lick of paint and a new team behind the stove, they are reborn. One such place is the Waterside Café in Ryde. This seafront stalwart has a new tenant and is open again for business after a couple of year's languishing and even a threat of demolition. With so much competition along the Esplanade, will it be sink or swim for this municipal café?

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As regular readers of this blog may have deduced, Matt and Cat work in Newport.

Once they have eaten their nammit, they will sometimes spend the remains of their lunchtime having coffee at Olivo, Island Images or the Quay Arts Centre. Just occasionally, for a bit of a treat, they might have their midday meal out together on a work-day. Over time, they've visited most of Newport's venues so are always on the lookout for somewhere new to eat.

When they noticed that a new café had appeared in Scarrot's Lane, they thought they'd give it a spin one lunchtime. Take 5 has arrived in the stead of what was previously Monroe's Coffee House - a venue reviewed favourably by Cat in 2008. Sooner than they'd anticipated, poor planning managed to deliver both of them to Newport without any packed lunch, and so off to Take 5 they went.

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The cult of the chef isn't something Matt and Cat subscribe to - but sometimes you just can't avoid making the connection. Robert Thompson's name, of course, is inseparable from his famous Ventnor hotel, and even Alan Staley of The Royal has been known to feature in the glossy magazines. And one particular young Island chef has caught Matt and Cat's attention on several occasions, with increasing levels of impressiveness.

The Bay Grill, a restaurant with spectacular views across the Solent, is set in Ryde's Appley Park. By way of disclosure, Matt and Cat will reveal that their first direct encounter with the chef at the Bay Grill was a while ago at Ryde Venue during an under-attended gig by Control, a Joy Division tribute band. This exuberant chap bounded up to the reviewers and offered to buy them a drink - which they eagerly accepted. On his return from the bar with the refreshment, Matt and Cat had to confess to the handsome young man that they didn't know who he was. It transpired that he was Ryan Burr, at that time the chef at Chale Green Stores. His menu had been the subject of an enthusiastic review. Matt and Cat have since had several other memorable meals from Ryan, and so were fired with anticipation when they heard that he'd opened a new restaurant practically on their doorstep.

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Visit the website: http://www.thebaygrill.co.uk

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/