As Matt and Cat never tire of pointing out, this website started as a hobby, is independent and takes no money from restaurants.

This gives them the freedom to air their honest opinions, and the liberty to please themselves without anyone pulling their strings.

Having written a fairly enthusiastic review of what was then the new Phileas Foggs back in 2009, they didn't see any need to write another one in any hurry. Not because they didn't want to go back to this very nice venue - on the contrary, they’d had some good food in a lively atmosphere. However, as each review involves a modicum of preparation, usually an evening spent in a restaurant and then several more hours crafting their opinions and processing photographs, M&C tend to target their revisits for mercurial places where the review might no longer be accurate, or which elicit polarised opinions from commenters to this website. The new owners of Phileas Foggs implored Matt and Cat to "visit us soon, we need an up-to-date review" - but, as the word was that all was still rosy in the house of Fogg, it took a bit of time for them to do so.

Eventually, of course, it happened. Matt and Cat made no mention of their impending meal to the new owners, who naturally enough got the anonymous review treatment. The big question is, has Phileas Foggs lost its way or does the earlier positive review still hold muster?

Read more »

Some of the Island’s iconic buildings are intrinsically associated with their previous celebrated occupiers.

What would Dimbola be without pioneering photographer Julia-Margaret Cameron? Can you image Osborne minus the pervasive presence of Queen Victoria? And surely Farringford can only be known as the home of poet laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson?

But perhaps Tennyson’s old hat now: despite Farringford being his signature venue for over 150 years, someone else is staking a claim. And that someone is confident young chef Justin Brown, who has well-publicised aspirations for his ‘Justin Brown at Farringford’ restaurant. Is this starry-eyed chef a mere a flash in the pan or has he got what it takes to usurp over a hundred years of Tennyson's association with this landmark property?

Read more »

Have you noticed how Ryde's Union Street is a street of two halves?

Slice it lengthwise and you will find that on the western side the eateries are mostly chain-style fast food franchises: Wimpy, Subway, KFC and the like. On the eastern side of this vertiginous thoroughfare are some more salubrious establishments. Olivo, Joe's and before its much-mourned demise, Liberty's. Obviously there are exceptions: Yelf's Hotel and Black Sheep Bar are on the shadier side and, Domino's has set its stall opposite Wetherspoon's but the pattern is still apparent.

And the trend is continuing. As part of an audacious expansion into Liberty's beautiful old building, House of Zabre fashion department store has opened a bijou coffee shop in what was the restaurant's kitchen. Matt and Cat broke the news about this venture way back in 2011 when Liberty's was hardly cold - and must admit to a certain scepticism about how well yet another café could do in Union Street. So when they popped into Zabre one day to have a nose about the handbags and gladrags, they were inevitably drawn through the shop by the aroma of coffee and a powerful sense of nosiness.

Read more »

How many times has Lady Gaga reinvented herself?

First it's an encrusted lobster on her head, then she's teetering about in a meat dress with matching flesh heels - easy when you've got a reputation for outrageousness and clearly no shame. These grotesque makeovers may keep Lady G's downloads at the top of the hit parade, but is probably an inappropriate model when applied to a pub.

Over the years that Matt and Cat have been reviewing the Island's eateries they have seen many places change hands and change styles. From the understated improvements at the old St Helen's Restaurant - now Dan's Kitchen, to the more GaGa-esque gaudiness that transformed characterless town-centre carvery Mill Bay II into rock café aspirant House of Legends. Two sides of the same coin perhaps, but how do you change a village pub without upsetting the locals but encouraging new customers? Perhaps the re-christened The Fishbourne (formerly The Fishbourne Inn) has the answer?

Read more »

Matt and Cat pride themselves on not having a clue. No, really, it’s important.

They’ve never worked in the catering industry and can’t cook anything more complicated than a casserole, and they know little about wine, meat or famous restaurants. Not watching the television much means they don’t know what celebrity chefs are up to - nor do they care. What they do care about is good food well served. Every time Matt and Cat walk into a new venue, they assess it, insofar as they can, based on what happens there and then. Because that’s what matters, isn’t it? It’s the experience that is delivered on the night - preconceptions have to be left at the door.

A pleasing side-effect of this policy of wilful ignorance is that Matt and Cat are often surprised by a restaurant. Sometimes they find a great venue unexpectedly and get to praise it highly. Less often they find a terrible one and have the mixed pleasure of telling their readers about it. Either way it keeps them entertained.

Matt and Cat certainly had fun the night they visited a little café in Bembridge with some chums. Lockslane, which opened in early 2012 in the former Café Maya, is described as ‘Lockslane Contemporary Bistro’. Wondering if it would be like the much-vaunted Dan's Kitchen in nearby St Helens or maybe keep to the previous incumbent's wholesome and modest approach to catering, Matt and Cat knew there was really only one way to find out.

Read more »