The famously mis-spelt Long John Eater has spawned a sidekick - and Ryde Esplanade has gained another fish and chip counter.

The Little John Eater is more than a counter opening onto the esplanade - but not a great deal more. For sit-down meals there's the Long John next door, but this new place is obviously intended to soak up some passing trade on that crucial junction at the bottom of Union Street. At such high-exposure locations the temptation must surely be to sell poor quality food in high volumes. Certainly other chip shops in comparable places seem to do this and little else. After all, if your visitors are all day-trippers who might not return for another year, if at all, is there any incentive to cook decent fare?

Because of this effect, Matt and Cat have a rule of thumb about fish and chip quality and proximity to the seaside. In their review of Alexander's (another Ryde chip shop) they posited: "it seems to be a general truism that to get the best chips, you must simply turn your back on the coast and head inland." So by that prediction, the Little John Eater should be pretty grim. But oddly enough, it isn't. In fact, it's not too bad at all. Matt took his fish-and-chip-reviewing buddies, Bill and Jack, down to the new place to try it out - and they were pleasantly surprised.

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Regular readers won't need reminding that Matt's got a bit of a weakness for fast food. By contrast, dainty Cat will often raise her pert nose and walk past even the most tempting of burger joints.

One day when The Cat was away, Matt recruited some expert assistance to try out Subway's franchise on Ryde's Union Street. Junior reviewers Bill and Jack - no strangers to the discipline of surreptitious photography - were joined by Subway aficionado and reviewing neophyte Toby, who promised faithfully not to blurt out the purpose of their visit.

So, on a rainy afternoon, Matt shepherded his little flock through the big green doors. The shop was clean and tidy, if a little worn around the edges. The ubiquitous group of students was in one corner, eking out some meagre provisions and whiling away an afternoon in the warm. Otherwise the place was pretty empty. Toby boldly led the way to the long counter behind which a Subway myrmidon stood inertly.

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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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On a rare week day away from the coal face, Matt and Cat decided to have a nose around Ryde. Having wasted the morning mooching about on the intertubes and browsing the Isle of Wight County Press, they decided head up to town to fortify themselves with brunch. This was to be the first meal of the day for the pair so they didn't want to spend long hunting for somewhere to eat - they were hungry!

As it happened, the first eatery they came across was the quaintly-named Missy J Cafe, a relatively new addition to Cross Street's ever-changing emporia. Occupying what was once a plate-daubing shop and, prior to that a chemist, this perky little eatery has one of the nicest doorways in Ryde. Curved double doors set into the building's corner afford views down George Street, across the Solent and - on a clear day - of Portsmouth's landmark Spinnaker Tower. Bustling across the threshold, Matt and Cat were warmly greeted by a nice lady who, gesturing to the many tables with a sweep of her arm, invited them to take a seat.

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Lud, known also as Lludd map Beli Mawr, was a legendary king of Britain some time ago - in fact, so long ago that it's unclear if he ever even existed.

It's sometimes claimed that London is named after him, and more often that part of London called Ludgate has some connection. Supposedly there was once a pub named after him at Ludgate Circus, but no longer. So perhaps now the only real legacy of this British Ozymandius is the other pub bearing his name, situated at Ryde Esplanade.

Although it's located in a line of eating establishments, for some reason M & C have never really perceived the King Lud as an eaterie - it's really got more of a drinking town-pub ambience. But it's normally necessary to walk right past the King Lud to get to Matt and Cat's firm favourite, the Hong Kong Express. So by sheer repetition, eventually the lure of the cheery chalkboard outside was too much, and your reviewers decided to give the King Lud a chance to show what it could do.

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