Matt and Cat\'s Isle of Wight Eating Out Guide
Smoking Lobster

Smoking Lobster

Reviews 2

You come to the Isle of Wight, you want seafood. You’d think there’d be no problem with that, really. After all, we are surrounded by the stuff. Londoners arriving at their cosy cottages by the sea reasonably expect crustaceans to be marching up from the beaches and throwing themselves... Read more
Crave, Ventnor

Crave, Ventnor

Reviews 6

Ventnor’s Crave is one of that small and select class of venues that is spectacular enough for us to drive across the Island on a whim; not knowing what was on offer but confident that whatever they were offering, we wanted it. Crave is an extraordinary little ice-cream shop,... Read more
Ventnor Haven Fishery
Dining by the seaside – it’s what we’re all here for really. Whether you’re on holiday, or you live on the Isle of Wight, be honest and admit that you just love settling down with a view of the sea and something to nibble on. Be it childhood’s sandy... Read more
White Horse, Whitwell
In these modern times, you can buy a pint of beer from ten o’clock in the morning. To help it down you could order a budget meal from a satisfyingly familiar menu. All this just a step away from your house into the embrace of a town centre chain... Read more
The Griffin, Godshill
Godshill’s one of those places like Shanklin Old Village, that seems to have just been created for the pleasure of tourists. Chocolate-box cottages filled with fudge, scones and trinkets line a twisty road as summer tourists spill onto the carriageway in giddy abandon. But what about in winter? Apart... Read more
Bonchurch Inn

Bonchurch Inn

Reviews 7

Remember the days when pubs were full of character? Not that murmuring old gubber perched at the bar, his gnarly teeth like a rural cemetery. No, the sort of atmospheric character that has accreted over the years with decades of smoking, drinking, laughing and crying. Trendy towns like Brighton... Read more
Cantina, Ventnor

Cantina, Ventnor

Reviews 1

Cantina in Ventnor is one of those places that Matt and Cat get asked about a lot, and recommend a lot, too. But those conversations don’t always go to plan. It’s not unreasonable to ask what kind of food they serve at Cantina, but there’s no easy answer, because... Read more
A Frequently Asked Question of Matt and Cat is ‘are you guys really fat?’. Another question in the top ten would be ‘where’s the best place to eat?’. That question is much harder to answer than the first (which, by the way, is dodged by the statement ‘Cat is... Read more
It should never have happened. Only a few years ago the Hambrough Group was sailing unassailably high on the choppy waters of fortune. A Michelin star safely on the wall, expansion was in the air as the Pond Cafe and other properties came successfully under the wing of this... Read more
Archive review: Fogg’s is now closed. Fogg’s has undergone something of a mild transformation. An earlier incarnation saw a wildly ambitious multi-page menu with an eclectic range of dishes from around the world. Probably a menu that was more fun to conceive than deliver. A change of ownership saw... Read more