The Spice Lounge has closed down, and a new venue has opened under the same name nearby. This review is an archive review referring to the former venue.

2010 saw a relaunch for one of Shanklin's most enduring eating-places: since 1983 known as the Maharaja, the latest name for this High Street stalwart is the Spice Lounge.

This place has for many years been a great favourite of Matt and Cat's. Back in the day, before the idea of this website occurred to them, they regularly enjoyed a night of good food and friendly service around the Maharaja's tables. It wasn't too long before M & C felt the need to see whether the Spice Lounge was as good as its respected progenitor, so they treated junior reviewers Bill and Jack to a curry feast in Shanklin.

The Isle of Wight is well provided with Indian food - pretty much anywhere on the Island you're not too far from a curry or the like, and even some pubs make laudable efforts. But the problem with this - if it can be called a problem - is distinguishing one from another. Similar menus, similar décor, similar service and even similar names can sometimes cause one Indian offering to seem all too much like the next. This is often unfair - Matt and Cat can attest that some curry houses on the Island are a lot better than others. It also militates in favour of the new: a freshly launched establishment can draw custom, at least in the short term, by novelty value alone. Older, more established venues, however good, might find themselves falling behind the race, and then maybe be tempted to reinvent themselves. Was this what happened here? Was this just a fresh coat of paint on the same old Maharaja, or was there something genuinely new going on?

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It's been a tough week for Matt and Cat. Having enjoyed a wonderful Valentine's dinner at a distinctive Island B and B, they stuffed themselves with breakfast the next morning and legged it to the ferry. A mainland carvery completed the weekend's eating out but that wasn't the end of it: a trip to the Hong Kong Express, one lunch on the firm and three days of Boots meal deals plus a curry must surely make this one of the most indulgent weeks M and C have had for ages.

As part of this mammoth indulgence-fest, Matt and Cat decided to try out Shanklin's newest Indian restaurant. Despite the earliness of the season, Matt and Cat noted that the Purple Mango was moderately busy as they entered its warm interior. Like its parent restaurant in East Cowes, Shanklin's Purple Mango has been decked out in a contemporary style. Matthew was impressed by the oversized white banquette and Cat's twinkle antennae were drawn to the ceiling's glittering centrepiece, a recessed assembly of pulsing fairy-lights with the words Purple Mango written in a circle. The impressive waterfall, first seen in East Cowes, finished the signature house style. Having been pleased by their meal at Purple Mango East Cowes would M and C be equally delighted in Shanklin?

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Ryde Tandoori was one of Matt and Cat's earliest reviews. They've been back a few times, and in the meantime readers have added a mixed batch of comments. So M and C decided to return and see how Ryde Tandoori measured up these days. The original review from March 2006 is further down the page.

December 2009 Review
You know how it is on a Sunday night. You've spent the afternoon burning out your retinas in front of the telly or computer and it's time for tea. A glance at the forlorn contents of the fridge means that you have two options - lettuce soup (it's part-way there, having turned to mush in its bag) or eating out. This is the situation that Matt and Cat found themselves in recently. The answer was a no-brainer.

Scouring the County Press Weekender for somewhere to eat, they caught sight of Ryde Tandoori's advert for a Sunday banquet - three courses for £9.99. The decision was made and, buttoning up their winter coats, Matt and Cat headed off to Union Street.

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Ah, Ventnor. Yes, the magical town where unicorns roam across the sparkling beach; and pixies giggle behind every corner. Or something.

The Guardian pronounces "the place feels apart from the Isle of Wight, let alone the UK". The Telegraph dashes up to claim "Ventnor has got its va-va-voom back". Every street is cluttered by rubbernecking DFLs clutching cuttings from Sunday supplements. Locals waft by in clouds of patchouli and wind chimes, distinctive in hand-tooled sandals and flowing garments. One thing has long been missing from this idyll: a curry house. But now the picture is complete - Chutney Express has opened on Ventnor High Street, providing not only a take-away service but a small restaurant too. Matt and Cat, keen Indian fans, paid it a visit.

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Love and marriage, they say, go together like a horse and carriage. Or maybe like Peters and Lee, the interchangeable Ant and Dec, Matt and Cat, and Indian tapas... Whoah there! Indian and tapas?

Both spicy, perhaps, but a good combination? The new owners of Sandown's latest restaurant, SWAD Indian Tapas, seem to think so. Matt and Cat, initially sceptical about this cross-cultural culinary collision, decided on reflection that actually, the idea of Indian tapas sounded pretty good. After all, who hasn't looked at some bizarre item on the bottom of the menu and wondered if they'd like it. With tapas one can speculate a modest amount of money on a small dish and try new food experiences. M and C skipped to the seaside town one evening to find out what SWAD was all about...

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