Planet Buffet, Shanklin
Uncategorised 31st August 2015
The all-you-can-eat buffet is a curious animal. Almost an equivalent of the popular Sunday carvery – but without the vast sweaty bird – the nature of the buffet system is to prioritise quantity over quality. In places like Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth where you have huge crowds of hungry... Read more
This is an archive review. The Ponda Rosa is now closed. A pensioner, a teenager and a toddler walk into a pub and demand lunch. As much as this may sound like the beginning of a joke it is, in fact, a scenario played out every Sunday at Ryde’s... Read more
Archive Review: Burrgrills, Seaview
Uncategorised 28th July 2015
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
Rylstone Tea Garden, Shanklin
Uncategorised 13th July 2015 1
Matt and Cat don’t half bang on about it but for them a significant part of the Island’s charm is the steadfast way it refuses to move with the times. Yes, it is home to some top tech companies, future energy factories and even the electric bicycle has made... Read more
Fighting Cocks, Arreton
Uncategorised 23rd June 2015 0
Island roads are different, so the apologetic sign once declared to visitors disembarking from the ferry. They sure are. Some Isle of Wight roads are in a deplorable state; Cat’s car recently sustained enough damage to require the replacement of two wheels and a hubcap as she inadvertently drove... Read more
Coast Bar, Cowes
Uncategorised 9th June 2015 1
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
Uncategorised 9th June 2015 5
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
Fresh Coffee House, Sandown
Uncategorised 21st April 2015 0
Matt and Cat have been part of the Isle of Wight community for many years even if they can’t boast actual Caulkhead status. As taxpayers, voters and residents however, they like to think that they are nonetheless entitled to comment on local matters – not just the food. And... Read more
Kevar’s, Ryde
Uncategorised 6th April 2015 2
Just as Newport has become synonymous with coffee shops, Ryde is a place where one is spoilt for choice for a light lunch. There are plenty of sarnie and baguette shops or, if you prefer your nammet enclosed in other ways, you won’t have to look far to find... Read more
Seaview Hotel
Uncategorised 21st March 2015 1
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
