News and comment | Matt and Cat's Isle of Wight Eating Out Guide

Electric dreams and afternoon tea

Articles 21st February 2020
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As you know, we review restaurants. This website is full of our opinions on Isle of Wight eateries. That’s why you’re here. But that doesn’t mean we don’t like to write about other nice things. Cat is always daydreaming about the future – her 1970s interpretation of it, brought... Read more

Something Yummy Supper Club

Articles 31st October 2019
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Long-standing Matt and Cat followers might recall our dining club, which ran for several years. Members could enjoy discounts at various selected Island eateries, but the buzz for us was hosting our monthly dinners. We have made some long-standing friends of our dining club members and many of them,... Read more

Gurt Cook Off 2019

Articles 7th October 2019
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One regularly asked question of us is, “Do you get free food?”. And our, oft-spoken answer is “No, not really.” All the food we review is paid for. Even the meals we write about for the Isle of Wight County Press are paid for out of our hard-earned. The... Read more

Cycling Gourmand electric bike adventure

Articles 3rd September 2019
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Recently, we were asked by the lovely people at the Seaview Hotel to help curate a series of bike rides which would take in some of our favourite eateries in the north-east Wight. And so the Cycling Gourmand was created. However, these are not just any bike rides. The... Read more

A visit to Godshill Orchards apricot orchard

Articles 5th August 2019
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Hopefully, you’ll have been enjoying locally-grown Godshill cherries this time of year – we certainly have. And it was a tweet we posted from the Southsea Food Festival that led us to an invitation to have a look around the orchard’s other enterprise – apricots. The apricot orchard is... Read more

Southsea Food Festival 2019

Articles 22nd July 2019
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In what is now a regular and extremely popular event in Hampshire’s calendar, the Southsea Food Festival returned last weekend – and, once again, we popped across the Solent to join in the foodie fun. Thanks to Wightlink for the free ride! The weather gods were smiling down on... Read more

Artisan Sourdough Workshop at Tiny Homes Holidays

Articles 15th April 2019
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Bread is the stuff of life, or so they say. Others might disagree, preferring internet karma, getting passionate about politics, or simply chocolate as their life fuel. However, come the zombie apocalypse (or Brexit, whichever arrives sooner), we may all have to bake our own bread over flint-sparked flames,... Read more

Omakase Supper at Stripped, Ventnor

Articles 2nd April 2019
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For one night only Stripped, Ventnor’s achingly hip burger and pizza joint, was turning Japanese – we really think so. Over forty guests joined us for a superb evening of authentic Japanese-style Omakase dining from talented Steffen Erbe, chef at both Ventnor’s Cantina and its sister venue Stripped. Fifteen... Read more

A Weekend in Southsea

Articles 18th March 2019
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We had a couple of lunch dates in Southsea this weekend but, what with Storm Hannah brewing up, we realised that we might either not get across the Solent or, if we did, we might get marooned over there. What to do? Make a weekend of it and stay... Read more

New Chef at The Hambrough, Ventnor

Articles 9th March 2019
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There’s a new hand at the helm at Ventnor’s Hambrough. Experienced chef Ashley Randle has worked alongside some prestigious culinary names, and now plans to bring a local food twist to his modern European menu. We were invited to check out his work – well, it would be rude... Read more