Matt and Cat\'s Isle of Wight Eating Out Guide
Seabreeze, East Cowes

Seabreeze, East Cowes

Reviews 1

Back in the day, our descriptions of East Cowes included slightly pejorative terms like ‘tired’, ‘statistically deprived’ and the even more harsh ‘miserable’. These words have been quoted from a review more than a decade old – today we’re pleased to say such descriptions have been superseded by more... Read more
Taste of India, East Cowes
We’ve had some agreeable times in East Cowes recently – perhaps the most notable was the impromptu party aboard Floating Bridge #5 as it made its last transits of the Medina before retirement. With music from some passing minstrels and a picnic from Waitrose we enjoyed ourselves so much... Read more
Union Inn, Cowes

Union Inn, Cowes

Reviews 0

Never let it be said that we’re cheap. Well, maybe just a bit. Truth is, we probably wouldn’t have set off for Cowes on a chilly Monday evening if it hadn’t been for the fifty per cent off food offer at the Union Inn. We’ve eaten at the pub... Read more
Prego, East Cowes

Prego, East Cowes

Reviews 1

Much is said these days of gentrification; the process by which overlooked and undervalued areas are upgraded, often by incomers. This has long been going on on the mainland and beyond. Unfashionable boroughs of London and even New York have incrementally been improved by the rising tide of hipsters,... Read more
Jolliffes of Cowes

Jolliffes of Cowes

Reviews 1

Much is being trumpeted at the moment about the government’s idea of stopping central funding for public services through the ‘liberation’ of selected bits of England from the shackles of Westminster control. This is, on the surface, potentially an appealing prospect. There’s a local Solent Devolution Deal including the... Read more
Harbour Kitchen

Harbour Kitchen

Reviews 2

So it looks as though the cronut has passed the Isle of Wight by. The biggest culinary fad of 2013 disappeared before we even had time to pretend to be interested. How about the slider burger? Briefly in fashion some time around last Christmas, it’s probably no disaster that... Read more
Coast Bar, Cowes
The Coast Bar, in the trendy heart of Cowes, is unquestionably one of the most popular places in the town. Both the previous times M&C dined at Coast it left something to be desired, and the venue felt the rough edge of Matt and Cat’s virtual pen. However, M&C... 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
Has anyone opened a café recently that isn’t vintage-themed? Is there actually any room in the market for a place where you can just eat a cheese sandwich and not have to be reminded of the joys of rationing, ersatz coffee and lend-lease bacon? Well, of course the answer... 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