Matt and Cat were flattered to be invited to try the Oyster Grill and Bar, a pop-up restaurant at Cowes Yacht Haven for Cowes Week 2011.

At the same time last year they had a delightful experience at Robert Thompson’s pop-up at Northwood House - would this year’s temporary culinary installation pass muster?

Passing up the OGB’s courteous invitation to a preview, M and C just rolled up unannounced - a habit of theirs which, even after all these years, it seems that people don’t expect. There’s a reason why they do this, you see. Even though it might be true that they’d get the best service and food if they went by appointment, they don’t. They walk in, or (if they are organised enough) book a table under someone else’s name, or as a part of a party. This modest subterfuge is intended to make sure that M&C don’t get too big-headed about any of this stuff. But more importantly, to ensure that the experience they write about is comparable to that of a regular diner off the street.

Oyster Grill and Bar is a substantial set-up in the side of the main hall at Cowes Yacht Haven. It has a good few tables and a bar out on the decking, and some inside. When M&C arrived, it was still early and the place was deserted other than a few staff behind the bar. A young chap popped out and, after his guests had considered the bracing wind, showed them to an indoor table with a nice view over the nearby Mahiki Bar.

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

You don't need Matt and Cat to tell you, but they will anyway - the Isle of Wight is a really great place.

They love living here and particularly enjoy the varied scenery and disparate local cultures. From the chalky downs and county set to the twiddly coastline with its yachties there's something for everyone - unless you like miles of "boring landscape", in which case you can go to Hull.

One of the pleasures of eating out for a hobby on the Island is that whatever mood you are in, and whatever location you fancy, there'll be an eatery that ticks those particular boxes. Whether or not it's actually a good place to eat can depend on a host of factors, some of which may have naff all to do with the restaurant itself. Such as if, like Cat, you'd unexpectedly had a plate of irresistible food and then gone out to dinner with a full stomach. Noob mistake.

In a month that had seen them eat in a variety of seaside places: indulging at one of the Island's poshest venues; enjoying a sunset dinner with pals and nibbling seafood at the Old Gaffers, Matt and Cat thought they'd round it all off with a revisit to the Baywatch on the Beach. First reviewed in 2006, this third trip was prompted by a succession of increasingly negative comments from visitors to the venue who had chosen to express their disappointment on this website. With so many seemingly disgruntled customers Matt and Cat decided to give the place another go.

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Oh, it had to happen. Just when Matt and Cat thought they had redeemed themselves in the eyes of the Cowes cognoscenti with their favourable Mojac's review, they've gone and eaten in the town again - and they're going to have to be brutally frank. But before any more money is spent on private investigators and solicitors' threatening letters, first a pre-emptive strike.

See, kind folk of Cowes: one of M&C's favourite places ever to eat is in your town, the exquisite Red Duster. And only a few weeks ago, they were raving about the great food at Mojac's, before that the comfortable New Holmwood Hotel; and, oh, the list goes on. Matt and Cat really like most places they eat at Cowes, but not without question, and they'll still keep on telling you when they don't.

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The Wight Mouse is a behemoth of pubs - one of a handful of mega-eateries that dominate the family Sunday lunch market on the Island.

It continues to serve up pub food by the shedload; trading on its unbeatable location on the popular tourist trail of the Military Road. Matt and Cat first reviewed this place in 2006 - and found it wanting. That first, brief, review is at the bottom of the page.

In 2009 they made another foray westwards with junior reviewers Bill and Jack. On the lookout for dinner, they once more found themselves walking through the door of the Wight Mouse. Had things improved? Read on to find out.

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Visit the website: http://www.islandbreaks.co.uk/site/eating-out/wight-mouse-inn-p141751

Nerds come in all sorts of guises, living history swots, expectant cartoon-kitty obsessives and frankly ought-to-know-better middle-aged Peter Pan fantasists. There's nothing wrong in immersing yourself in your hobby - the folks at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway have made a very successful tourist attraction out of a love of steam trains and railway memorabilia.

Straight away, Matt and Cat could tell that the volunteers who run this heritage railway have a keen eye for detail. From the little cardboard tickets that M and C bought on their arrival at the station to the staff uniforms, nothing has been left to chance. Even the railway's location is, unlike the incongruous Needles Pleasure Park, completely appropriate to its surroundings. There has, after all, been a railway on the site since 1875. Take those aforementioned tickets; consecutively numbered, dated and hole punched with those clipping plier things - little cardboard works of art. Matt and Cat, stepping through the 'heritage cream'-coloured picket gate, looked forward to an afternoon of nostalgia, and maybe something to eat...

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