Matt and Cat\'s Isle of Wight Eating Out Guide
Archive Review: Burrgrills, Seaview
Archive review: this pop-up is now closed. Street food, the sort of nosh that you buy from a hatch in a wagon, is so popular that now they’re opening restaurants dedicated to it. No, seriously. And, to prove that it’s not all fuddy-duddies in faded red trews, the poshest... Read more
The Hut, Colwell
It’s a ‘hotly’ contested accolade; the Isle of Wight declares itself the Sunniest Place in Britain™, despite some vigorous but unsuccessful chest-beating from Eastbourne. An old sun recording machine from Shanklin is in Matt’s possession and, although the natural light in his humble dwelling never troubles its sensitive needle,... Read more
Archive: Mess Canteen, Cowes
This is an archive review. The Mess Canteen is closed.  It’s not as though they don’t warn you. Were you imagining a stuffy private club, where silent staff obsequiously bring gin and tonic on a silver tray to an harrumphing old commodore? There may be such places in Cowes,... Read more
Seaview Hotel

Seaview Hotel

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There’s something fishy going on at the Seaview Hotel – something fishy and good. It’s always been a decent place for something to eat, but if you haven’t been there in the last year or so, Matt and Cat politely suggest that you rectify that. Chef Bruce Theobold first... Read more
Coffee Room at Skintrade, Newport
Guinness World Records is an astonishing institution. Under what other circumstances would the oldest ever person, the world’s longest human nose and Norma Stitz’s …ahem… assets appear in the same publication? And how about that perennial favourite world record: how many women can be squeezed into a Mini? What... Read more
This is an archive review: the Tea Depot is closed. There’s a joke that’s made on the Isle of Wight every March when the clocks change, which is: “Don’t forget to put your clock forward – to 1952”. Well, in East Cowes there’s at least one person whose clock... Read more
Anyone who has been to Ventnor recently will have been impressed with how the town has picked itself out of economic malaise. Where once were junk shops and empty windows, now there are coffee bars, emporia and restaurants. And even though 2012’s Arts Festival-goers heard a particularly impassioned discourse... Read more
Beach Shack, Sandown
The sun has got its hat on, hip hip hip hooray! Not every day, admittedly, but today was The Day. And, as tradition dictates, everyone has to ‘make the most of it’. Which, for you mainland readers, translates as an hour sat dehydrating as you rage in your car... Read more
As your grandmother will tell you, people have been selling nosh from barrows since before the war. In fact, since before the war before that, and the war before that. So all those bearded hipsters who try to tell you that the street food revolution started with some sockless... Read more
Seafood Corner, Newport
Although there are a couple of pretty fine restaurants in town, Newport’s food offering is primarily geared towards lunches. From about midday, office workers can be found insouciantly perusing the menu in Olivo in the way that only those with more than the statutory half an hour break can... Read more