Archive review: The Bank is now closed. Years ago, Cat worked in Shanklin and took great pleasure commuting on the tiny train from Ryde through the fields and woodlands of the east Wight. However, since quitting that job for one in the great metropolis of Newport, Shanklin barely enters... Read more
ARCHIVE POST: Monsoon is still trading (Jan 2020), but as a takeaway only. Ryde is a curious town in layout – a long, thin chain of shops, pubs and restaurants snakes its way uphill from the esplanade – where the visitor arrives fresh from the ferry – thence up... Read more
Archive review: Octopus Garden Cafe, Cowes
Uncategorised 1st December 2007
This is an archive review. The Octopus Garden is now closed. John Lennon, as featured on the door of the Gents (with modesty spared by Matt and Cat), looking rather like the Island’s very own Jack Douglas? The Octopus Garden Cafe in Cowes started life as a museum of... Read more
Archive review: Island Images, Newport High Street
Uncategorised 30th November 2007
Island Images is now closed. Matt and Cat have updated their review of Island Images at the request of one of the staff. Has the place changed? Read their conclusions below. The original review follows on. Matt and Cat eat out. A lot. See this excerpt from Matt and... Read more
Archive review: Cask and Taverners, Godshill
Uncategorised 23rd November 2007
This review is of the former Cask & Taverners, which has now been reopened as The Taverners – and is quite different. See the more recent and up-to-date review here. It has been said that Matt and Cat shy away from the Isle of Wight’s more upmarket eateries; this... Read more
Archive review: the Windmill Inn has now closed. The population of Bembridge may double during the summer months as second-home-owners descend on the village to go sailing, catch up with their metropolitan friends who are DFL (Down From London) and eat out in the local bars and restaurants. One... Read more
This is an archive review. The Old Dairy Tea Rooms has closed (and reopened under new name and management) Travellers along Newport’s Whiterails Road can not have failed to notice the entrance to the Lavender Farm at its junction with Blacklands Lane. Viewers from distant galaxies can probably see the... Read more
Archive review: Tomo Bentou, Newport
Uncategorised 3rd September 2007
Sadly we don’t think that Tomou is doing her bentou boxes anymore so this an an archive review. Picnics are fun! Eating sandwiches and crisps in the open air, sitting on a blanket in a meadow or on the beach. However, picnic food soon loses its appeal when you... Read more
Dillangreli’s Cafe, George Street, Ryde: archive review
Uncategorised 26th August 2007
NB Dillangreli’s Cafe is now closed Matt, all-day breakfast connoisseur, has never known a time of day when a good fry-up should not be consumed. In fact, with his tardy rising, he often eschews the traditional pattern of mealtimes. So, having built up an appetite coughing up his lungs... Read more
This is an archive review. See the new review here. It’s hard to imagine any more prestigious setting for a restaurant than Queen Victoria’s former chapel, overlooking the beautiful landscape of Osborne House. With this in mind, Matt and Cat explored the superb gardens at Osborne one sunny afternoon,... Read more
