Matt and Cat\'s Isle of Wight Eating Out Guide

Kate Cottage, Sandown

29th July 2006 8

There are those who say that the Isle of Wight is stuck in a time warp. If they visit Sandown, these suspicions may be confirmed. Alongside the gift emporiums, crimpolene frock shops, beachware retailers and chippies, are many cafés for visitors who only bought ‘half-board’ in one of the... Read more
At a convenient spot opposite the bustling beach at Ryde is a new and attractive tea shop entertainingly named the Happy Heifer. The cafe is nicely decorated with tongue-and-groove panelling and quarry-tiling on the floor. Although the interior is pretty small, Matt and Cat had no trouble finding a... Read more
Jireh Guest House, Yarmouth On a sunny Sunday afternoon working up an appetite looking around the lovely town of Yarmouth, your reviewers stumbled across the Jireh Tea Rooms in The Square. The tea rooms exude history. The low-ceilinged building has a compact terrace at the front which is in... Read more
This review is from 2006. New review here Most visitors to the Island travelling through the busy car ferry terminal will pass within metres of the Fishbourne Inn without even realising it. They would be missing out on a small but most picturesque area. Fishbourne has a pretty little... Read more
At the scrag-end of a hot Sunday afternoon, Matt and Cat were in need of refreshment. Turned away from one establishment who saw eating as coming to an abrupt end at 5.45, they sought succour in June’s Fish Bar. It is neat and newly painted, but does not particularly... Read more
Archive review: Siam Pearl is now closed In the middle of the last century, the mock-tudor cafe of K. Gray & Sons Ltd was an impressive feature of the High Street where day-trippers took afternoon cream teas before strolling along the golden sands. Today, this oasis of civilisation survives... Read more

Wimpy, Union Street, Ryde

18th April 2006 8

The Wimpy Restaurant or ‘Wimpy Bar’ – an English institution. Or so Messrs Wimpy would have us believe. Named after J. Wellington Wimpy – The burger-loving character from the cartoon, Popeye – these now somewhat quaint establishments were massively popular in suburban British towns until McDonalds began to take... Read more
A garden centre cafe may not be the first place you think of for a meal or just light refreshments, but your intrepid reviewers decided to stop in Thompson’s cafe for a fortifying meal before choosing plants to adorn Cat’s tiny balcony. The cafe is set in the middle... Read more
The Seashell Restaurant and Grill has now closed. It was succeeded by the Bay Grill. Appley beach is beautiful, with wide stretches of pale sands, shoreside trees and wooded parkland. From the outside the Seashell Restaurant and Grill doesn’t do justice to its unique surroundings. It looks like a... Read more
The Bargeman’s Rest is a nautical-themed pub in an unusual inland waterside location. It’s easy to see but fiddly to drive to (you will undoubtedly get lost in the one-way system of the nearby industrial estate); why not take a pleasant stroll to it along the quayside instead? Read more