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/

Playing at grockles one sunny August day, Matt and Cat and junior reviewers Bill and Jack headed west with a plan to have lunch at Warren Farm, a place repeatedly recommended by a colleague.

It was closed. Not to worry - something else to eat must be nearby. A quick drive up to nearby Headon Warren elicited nothing to eat other than ice cream. The foursome were getting hungry, and choices thin on the ground, so, having scrutinised the contents of the collective purse, they pulled up at Needles car park, coughed up the £4 charge and wandered into the 'Pleasure Park' on the hunt for lunch. Now it might with some justification be claimed that the Needles Park is "The Island's most famous attraction for all the family", but that doesn't make it good. In fact, rather like the notoriously rubbish 'theme park' at Land's End, Cornwall, the spectacular location and famous name is what brings the visitors to The Needles - the Park exists to separate them from their money whilst they are there.

A range of generic tourist amenities in industrial styles nestles uncomfortably under the sweeping downs, dispensing ersatz heritage to the credulous: "Test your skills with Junior Driver, have a whirl on the Spins & Needles teacup ride, putt your way around Jurassic Golf or climb aboard the traditional Carousel!" Surely this was the place that inspired Julian Barnes to write his famous Island-set satire of the tourist 'industry': 'England England'? But in amongst the tat there are a few gems of value - you can still go and create your own glass phial of coloured sand, just as generations of tourists have since Victorian times. A memorial to the location of Gugielmo Marconi's first wireless transmission is here, and despite the relentless kiss-me-quick tourist-trapness of the place, the awesome scenery steals the show. It really is worth enduring the park for the delight of the beach and the spectacular views of the titular Needles.

So, how will the food at the Needles Park measure up? Read on to see what the hungry travellers made of it.

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

It's coming up to high season on the Isle of Wight and its sailing capital in particular is due for an intense time as Cowes Week fever reaches its crescendo. This time of year all of the shops, bars and eateries are well-stocked and the town's main thoroughfare is buzzing.

Hats off then to the proprietors of Manuel's, Cowes' Portuguese restaurant for establishing their venue in a most unprepossessing place.

Far from the main shopping area, in converted former industrial units next to an electricity substation and in the shadow of a housing development, squats Manuel's. Laudable attempts have been made to make the exterior welcoming; a big area of decking and picture windows attempt to open up this little red brick building. Alas at the time of Matt and Cat's visit, the exterior of Manuel's was all but hidden by parked vehicles and any view of the restaurant's interior was obscured by Venetian blinds pulled steadfastly down. However, the door was ajar and tantalising aromas wafted out. Stopping to examine the menu which was helpfully displayed outside, Matt and Cat strolled in.

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Visit the website: http://www.sailingnetworks.com/organisation/details/7300

Cowes: a winter evening. Commuters scurry home through the drizzle. An impossibly well-dressed young man with a suitcase stands on a street-corner, bleating into his phone.

Matt and Cat are accosted by this youth, who is gibbering pitifully. "Are you from Isle of Wight?" he beseeches. On confirmation, he eagerly explains his plight. Pater has come to meet him at the ferry. In the car. But Pater has gone to East Cowes of all places. Junior thus finds himself on the wrong side of the river and is at a loss. Neither he nor Pater has ever had to deal with such a crisis. They are mortified. The phone squawks in impatience as he discourses. He breaks off regularly to mollify it: Pater is not accustomed to being kept waiting. With a great deal of careful explanation, the filial rendezvous is arranged via the chain ferry and eventually a grateful Junior strides off hopefully, his woollen scarf flapping in the wind. M & C, entertained by this distraction, find themselves standing outside Mojac's Restaurant on Shooter's Hill. So, in they go.

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