Matt and Cat\'s Isle of Wight Eating Out Guide
New Inn, Shalfleet

New Inn, Shalfleet

Reviews 0

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that British people regulate their lives around meal times. Breakfast is essential, according to Dr Kellog and the Egg Marketing Board, which cannily boosted sales of the ovoid foodstuff with Fay Weldon‘s famous ‘Go to Work on an Egg‘ slogan. And, throughout the day,... Read more
The Fighting Cocks, Hale Common
The pub Sunday roast is a tradition that is still very much alive. Even though we’re all cutting down on our eating out expenditure, certain classes of dining seem to be weathering the storm, and Sunday roast is one of them. Perhaps we’re just craving the comfortable, safe feeling... Read more
Red Lion, Freshwater

Red Lion, Freshwater

Reviews 2

Food eh? You push it into one hole and squeeze it out of another. Gravity and peristalsis assist it on its journey until, released from us human tubes, it bobs its way to Sandown for processing – but hopefully not out to sea (that’s a whole other article of... Read more
Duke of York, Cowes

Duke of York, Cowes

Reviews 0

It’s grand, it’s old, it’s the Duke of York. And it’s even half way up a hill. A few steps away from the lively town-centre pubs of Cowes High Street is the Duke of York. A family-run venue, this pub has a convivial atmosphere, and is very much a... Read more
Pointer Inn, Newchurch
Yarbridge Inn, Brading
Fuelled by spontaneity and optimism; we decided to go out for dinner. No table booked, we just winged it, driven by the desire to eat in again after five long months of takeaways followed by a couple of weeks of dining al fresco on rain-lashed patios. It was a... Read more
White Lion, Arreton takeaway
Confession time: Cat has never cooked a roast dinner. Nigh-on twenty years as a vegetarian – followed by an astonishing volte-face in 2003 leading her to eat (things with) faces – plus many years as a food critic experiencing other peoples’ cooking, means that she’s never bothered to learn... Read more
The Taverners, Godshill

The Taverners, Godshill

Reviews 0

The Taverners has for over ten years been a consistent favourite – not just with us, but with multitudes of Island diners who relish its hearty gastro-pub food and convivial atmosphere. Our first visit to this hostelry was way back when it was called the Cask and Taverners. One... Read more
Blacksheep Bar, Ryde

Blacksheep Bar, Ryde

Reviews 0

Ryde, like other Island towns, has tentatively peeped out from behind its hands, dusted itself down and regrouped in the wake of the post-COVID-19 lockdown. Some venues have repositioned themselves. Certainly elsewhere our friends in the business are considering a future not of eating in, but of delivery and... Read more
Castle Inn, Newport

Castle Inn, Newport

Reviews 1

A town pub can go one of two ways. A few weeks ago we found ourselves in London, enjoying a drink in one of the city’s many street-corner hostelries. The Victorian pub was a single small room with a bar, and that was about it. No food was served,... Read more