Archive review: Volcanic Steakhouse, Newport
Uncategorised 4th December 2008
Update July 2011: the Volcanic Steakhouse has closed. The essence of eating out, it might seem, is to employ an expert to cook your food and present it to you. Indeed, it’s a well-established concept, exemplified in almost every other review Matt and Cat have undertaken – the sorry... Read more
Spice Express, Ryde
30th November 2008 12
Cat and Matt have been off the scene for a week or so; confined to barracks with, respectively, a cold and Man Flu. Without any sense of taste and likely to be felled by fits of coughing, M and C decided that they were not in any condition to... Read more
Black Cat Restaurant, Shanklin
8th November 2008 15
Unexpectedly finding themselves in Shanklin one evening, Matt and Cat scratched around for something to do. Tempting as My Fair Lady at Shanklin Theatre was M and C were too late for curtain up, the library was shut and Shanklin Chine was closed for the winter. So they defaulted... Read more
Lakeside Park Hotel, Wootton Bridge
Uncategorised 6th November 2008 54
The heroes swaggered through the huge glass doors and entered the gleaming, modernist palace. Spectacular lamps – several feet long – hung over the polished bar. Smartly dressed flunkies shimmered into view and escorted the reviewers to a table with views over the shallow lake, reflecting the twinkle from a... Read more
Purple Mango, East Cowes
2nd November 2008 18
The lights are shining bright in East Cowes these days. Despite SEEDA‘s numinous arrival in the town – now revealed disappointingly as all light and no heat – the brave entrepreneurs behind Saffron in Cowes have thumbed their noses at the economic downturn and opened a stylish restaurant in... Read more
East Dene, Bonchurch
26th October 2008 1
It’s not all chip shops and cafés on Matt and Cat’s Isle of Wight eating out guide: sometimes the eponymous reviewers will veer off the well-worn track. One Saturday afternoon in the tail-end of the wedding season Matt and Cat found themselves at East Dene, Bonchurch, as guests of... Read more
Number 3, Bath Road, Cowes (DB’s)
25th October 2008 7
Note: in July 2011 DB’s changed its name to Number 3. Matt and Cat took it into their heads to dine in Cowes. As it was getting late in the season it was pretty quiet, and they enjoyed a peaceful stroll along the parade, watching the Red Funnel ferry... Read more
Puckpool Tea Gardens
2nd October 2008 2
Even on the most unprepossessing of days, visitors to the English seaside will seek out crazy golf and a nice cup of tea. The Island is well-provided with venues for both of these past-times, and it happened one brisk autumnal afternoon that Matt and Cat set off for one... Read more
Joyce’s Café, Newport
23rd September 2008 2
Matt and Cat love to find new places to eat and are regularly recommended pubs, restaurants and cafes by friends and colleagues. One suggested establishment is the elusive Greasy Lil’s – M and C have been unable to find this notorious greasy spoon café and the person who proposed... Read more
There’s a theory suggesting that if you sit and wait long enough, everything will come to you. If this principle has much currency, there have probably been a few gurus on mountaintops waiting for a very long time for a nice fresh fish supper to come along. What they... Read more
