Update: Matt and Cat revisited the Pilot Boat Inn in 2010. Had their opinion of this friendly pub changed? Read the original review below this update.

For a change of scene, Matt and Cat decided to cast their net wider than their usual haunts for a Monday evening supper. For once deciding to try something out of their Ryde comfort zone, they headed west to Bembridge and the twinkling lights of the Pilot Boat Inn.

Last time they went to this distinctive establishment, M and C were verily impressed with the excellent food and friendly service. And, so it seemed, were plenty of other people as the restaurant was packed and some of the dishes had even sold out. This time however, there was no need for the reviewing duo to worry about being squeezed out as the bar was undeservedly empty, apart from a few supping locals.

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Oh Keith, can you ever forgive Matt and Cat? Just a few weeks after this website was celebrated in the Isle of Wight County Press for offering "no high-falutin’ kitchen-speak intended to impress rather than inform", this entry appears, which might cause straight-eatin' columnist Keith Newbery to shake his head in dismay.

Once every couple of years, Matt and Cat rummage down the sides of the sofa for enough spare change to push the boat out for one night. Not just a posh meal out, but also a bed in a hotel afterwards. A luxury which means that a leisurely evening can be passed, safe in the knowledge that nobody needs to drive home; and with luck, a splendid breakfast awaits.

For this year's treat, M & C booked a room at Ventnor's Royal Hotel and soon enough found themselves holding an overnight bag on the threshold of one of the Island's oldest and grandest hotels. Long a watering-hole for the well-heeled, the Royal is also renowned for good food.

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

Excuse the contradiction, but novelty restaurants are nothing new. Matthew has happy memories of eating at a Mongolian Barbeque twenty years ago; the drive-through has been a staple of the American eating experience for decades and cooking on hot rocks is probably as old as... well, cooking itself.

Matt and Cat have tried this self-scorching method of cooking (more of which later) at Newport's Volcanic Steakhouse. However, that wasn't the Island's first example of this exciting way of enjoying a meal out. For several years, Yarmouth's On the Rocks has been championing the volcanic rock experience, so spurred on by Dilweed and @theordinarychef amongst others, Matt and Cat booked a table and headed west.

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Regular readers might have noticed that, apart from frequent tweets, Matt and Cat have been a bit quiet on the review front lately. This is due to their tireless work for charidee, helping to organise Twestival - and a great success it was too.

One of
Matt and Cat's
favourites

Regular committee meetings in the Blacksheep Bar meant dinner at least once a week in this delightful venue with its friendly and accommodating staff and delicious tapas. Cheers guys!

Now that Twestival is over (until February 2010), Matt and Cat have been winched back onto the review horse and are galloping into a town near you. Saddling up one weekday evening they rode into Cowes and wandered around its streets looking for a place to slip on the proverbial nosebags. There's certainly plenty to choose from in this picturesque town; Indian, seafood, Italian and even Portuguese. M and C carefully examined the menus of several different places only to be thwarted by the fact that they were closed, had already featured on these pages or they just didn't fancy them. Cat, particularly, can dismiss a place on a whim and Matt can tell in an instant the mood of The Cat (is her metaphorical tail up? Or swishing?). With this specialist knowledge of Cat's 'inclination barometer' he knew that the Red Duster had caught her eye. Lingering over the menu? Check! Peering in the windows? Check! Taking a pre-emptive photo of the outside? That settled it; in they went.

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Visit the website: http://www.theredduster.com/

Churchfields is a pretty red brick house owned by St Faith's Church, Havant and was for many years the home of Cat's grandparents, Fred and Marjorie. Back in the 1970s the summers were always hot. Home-grown runner beans and squishy raspberries were harvested from the small but bountiful kitchen garden; and Sundays were spent helping granny in the ritual top-and-tailing of gooseberries ready for the crumble. Even if your own experiences of Sunday lunch fall into the category of crisps and coke in a drizzly pub car park, Cat's halcyon memories of an iconic childhood meal can be reconstructed for you for just £7.50!

Yes folks, the Island may have jumped on the carvery bandwagon with 'traditional' Sunday roasts being offered at venues across the county - from the excellent to the not so good - but for Matt and Cat's money, the Sunday lunch at Fields Nursery, Niton, is truly like your granny used to make.

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