Matt and Cat\'s Isle of Wight Eating Out Guide
Red Duster, Cowes

Red Duster, Cowes

Uncategorised 10

Now that Twestival is over, Matt and Cat have been winched back onto the review horse and are galloping into a town near you. One of Matt and Cat’s favourites Saddling up one weekday evening they rode into Cowes and wandered around its streets looking for a place to... Read more
Archive review: Manuel’s is now closed. It’s coming up to high season on the Isle of Wight and its sailing capital in particular is due for an intense time as Cowes Week fever reaches its crescendo. This time of year all of the shops, bars and eateries are well-stocked... Read more

Rex Piano Bar, Ventnor

7th July 2009 13

Matt and Cat have said enough recently about the idiosyncrasies of Ventnor’s inhabitants. Sweeping generalisations have been made from the most cursory of glances at passers by. So, one might assume that if M and C were given hours of intense exposure to one of the town’s most quirky... Read more
This is an archive review. Oceanblue Quay has changed hands and changed name.   After giving it a while to find its feet Matt and Cat finally toddled through the doors of Oceanblue Quay, the new restaurant at Ventnor esplanade, as bone fide customers. Although in an enviable position at... Read more

Olivo, Ryde

16th June 2009 45

What glorious weather the Isle of Wight enjoyed in early June! Good job too, as otherwise the music festival would have been a wash-out and Seaclose Park remodelled as a quagmire to rival last year’s Bestival mudbath. Making the most of the sunshine, M and C put on their... Read more

Chutney Express, Ventnor

15th June 2009 17

Ah, Ventnor. Yes, the magical town where unicorns roam across the sparkling beach; and pixies giggle behind every corner. Or something. The Guardian pronounces “the place feels apart from the Isle of Wight, let alone the UK“. The Telegraph dashes up to claim “Ventnor has got its va-va-voom back“.... Read more
The Loaves and Fishes is now closed. Matt and Cat have a good friend from the West Wight who’s a bit of a bon viveur, and who enjoys exchanging notes with them on the latest Island eateries, preferably over a glass of some appropriate quaffage. Over the years they’ve... Read more
This is an archive review. This venue is now closed.  It seems like ages since the Hong Kong Express opened in Newport, and whilst chatting to the staff in the new bar at that time Matt and Cat were amazed and delighted to discover that yet another HKE was... Read more
Fox’s Restaurant, Bembridge
Mighty oaks from little acorns grow, or so the hackneyed saying goes. Matt and Cat’s Isle of Wight Eating Out Guide started in 2005 as an idea on the back of a napkin and, last month, the website welcomed its one millionth viewer. Hurrah! Likewise, Fox’s in Bembridge is... Read more
SWAD, Sandown

SWAD, Sandown

Reviews 15th December 2008 19

Love and marriage, they say, go together like a horse and carriage. Or maybe like Peters and Lee, the interchangeable Ant and Dec, Matt and Cat, and Indian tapas… Whoah there! Indian and tapas? Both spicy, perhaps, but a good combination? The new owners of Sandown’s latest restaurant, SWAD... Read more