Social media coverage has been blamed for a lot of things – election results, disgraced politicians, a decline in educational standards – but one thing that the coming of Instagram can most certainly take credit for is the the advent of beautiful food. Yes chefs, if your dishes look... Read more
The Island’s tourism organisation Visit Isle of Wight never misses a trick. Going large in its inaugural year it capitalised on the enduring popularity of ‘terrible lizards’ with a Walking with Dinosaurs tie-in, based around interactive augmented reality meteorites. This was followed up with a Transformers: Age of Extinction... Read more
We were pretty much on the doorstep the day the Garlic Farm Cafe opened in 2009 and had a lovely lunch. Our one gripe way back then was “The menu unexpectedly made no mention of local produce – other than the farm’s own chutney – and hardly any of... Read more
We’ve all seen photos of the halcyon days Isle of Wight tourism. Esplanades filled with promenading Edwardians; Ryde Pier swarming with excited 1950s families; beaches packed with sun-worshippers in the seventies. It’s possible in these uncertain times that we might see a return to those visitor numbers, as people... Read more
Back when he was a nipper living at the vicarage in Sandown, Matt’s grandparents would come and stay for Easter – an important time in his family’s calendar. While the vicar and his wife busied themselves with preparing the church for its most important service, Matt’s grandad would take... Read more
“Is chef Max trying to outdo Robert Thompson?” reflected one of our dining companions in amazement during our dinner at Brading’s newest restaurant, the Nordic-influenced Heima. Well, no, he isn’t. As the evening went on it became clear that Heima has very much a style and context all of... Read more
Since we started Matt and Cat’s Isle of Wight Eating Out Guide, we’ve proudly boasted that we will review anywhere, from “the grandest of hotel restaurants to the most modest of burger vans.” As it happens, burger vans are surprisingly few and far between these days. There are a... Read more
Archive: Waxworks, Brading
Uncategorised 8th August 2016
Archive review: The Waxworks has now closed Where could you have found George Bernard Shaw on his trusty tricycle, Queen Victoria forever tapping her toe and an angelic cat with wings? No, not Alfred Lord Tennyson’s Freshwater salon, but Osborne-Smith’s waxworks in Brading. The candy-coloured museum was quite literally... Read more
Morgan’s, Shanklin
Uncategorised 13th July 2016 0
We’ve noticed a quiet phenomenon on the Isle of Wight. While street food hucksters, single-issue menus and bourbon boutiques pop up (and sometimes down again) other venues go about their business without fanfare or fashion. Each town has one or two restaurants that seem to have extraordinary staying power and ongoing... Read more
Cuisine. A foreign word that implies foreign cooking. As the world seemingly shrinks and we all become ‘travellers’ rather than holidaymakers, our experience of other cultures becomes part of our daily vocabulary. We enjoy spicy Mexican tacos and enthuse about Italian salami, we nibble at sushi even if our... Read more
