Archive review: Joe’s, Ryde
Reviews 6th August 2013
This is an archive review. Joe’s has now closed. Back in the day the local dining scene offered the choice of starched linen and silver service; sticky Formica tables with aluminium edges; or when going ‘foreign’ you could eat among exotic plastic grapes and raffia’d wine bottles. Then Mark... Read more
The Dome, Bembridge
Uncategorised 19th July 2013 1
A while ago, Dining Club founder member and inveterate Ventnor baker Klaus lent Matt and Cat a book by Kerstin Rodgers: Supper Club: Recipes and notes from the underground restaurant. This substantial tome told the story of how Kerstin went from keen amateur cook to running the country’s most... Read more
One of Matt and Cat’s favourites You don’t need Matt and Cat to tell you that the Isle of Wight is intrinsically linked to Queen Victoria; the country’s (currently) longest-serving monarch made her home in East Cowes way back in 1848. Although that’s of no consequence when compared to... Read more
Three Buoys, Appley
Uncategorised 1st June 2013 21
The north east Wight has a handful of eateries with a notable sea view; from Baywatch on the Beach you can enjoy a panorama which includes the iconic St Helens Fort; or if you get a shore-side seat outside the Old Fort in Seaview you can watch the busy... Read more
Forresters, Yarmouth
Uncategorised 27th May 2013 1
It’s inevitable, as this blog is written by the son of a preacher man and the granddaughter of a verger, that there may be the occasional ecumenical reference. Who can forget Matt and Cat’s inference that Ventnor’s Hambrough had the atmosphere of a place of worship? Or their review... Read more
Spitbank Fort
Uncategorised 22nd February 2013 1
Although it is a mere four miles away from home, Spitbank Fort luxury hotel and restaurant is not the sort of place you can just rock up at – it’s a sea-castle in the middle of the Solent for crying out loud. Vessels have to be chartered and lunches... Read more
Priory Bay Hotel, Seaview
Uncategorised 21st January 2013 6
M&C visited the Priory Bay Hotel for the first time in September 2011. Unexpectedly, their conclusion back then was a less than ringing endorsement. They said “The meal satisfied the tongue, but didn’t stimulate the imagination. And when dining at this level – and at this cost – one... Read more
Moocow, Cowes
ReviewsUncategorised 22nd September 2012 7
Matt and Cat love eating out in Cowes, but they always approach a new review in the town with a certain caution. It seems that M&C’s style of leavening their articles with impertinence and occasional sarcasm is one that riles Cowes more than any other Island area. They welcome... Read more
Archive review: Brawn’s has now closed. The Royal Family’s junior members have always courted controversy. Who can forget Princess Diana and her lively chum Sarah Ferguson dressing up as policewomen and partying in Annabel’s nightclub back in the 1980s. More recently some of you may have clicked onto TMZ... Read more
Terrace Restaurant, Osborne House
ReviewsUncategorised 28th May 2012 2
So far this year’s been great news for cosy suppers round a roaring log fire; or shaking the rain off your galoshes before nestling down for a hot toddy. But opportunities for relaxed al fresco lunches have been, until recently, almost entirely absent. With that in mind, the first... Read more
