We like | Matt and Cat's Isle of Wight Eating Out Guide

The Chequers, Rookley Hot

Reviews 28th December 2018
Leave your own comment on this place 0

You know The Chequers, right? One of those big, rambling family road pubs that you took the kids and grandparents to. The kind of place where a large car park and play area are adequate compensation for the generic pub grub menu. If that’s still your idea of the... Read more

The Freshwater Coffee House

Reviews 26th November 2018
Leave your own comment on this place 6

The Isle of Wight is often insulated from mainland trends, but even the Island’s high streets have not escaped the decline of recent years. This national phenomenon has been attributed to anything from online shopping habits, austerity, high business rates and car parking charges, inaccessible public spaces, chuggers, spiceheads... Read more

The Cottage, Shanklin

Reviews 6th November 2018
Leave your own comment on this place 0

Dining out with us could be a bit of a chore for our friends. You’re invited out a for a fun night out, yet your dining companions are constantly fiddling with notebooks and hustling their camera phones up and down at every course. Luckily we have some very tolerant... Read more

Blue Crab, Yarmouth

Reviews 29th October 2018
Leave your own comment on this place 0

Imagine popping into your local village chippy only to find yourself bumping into a peer of the realm. That was our diverting experience when we were waiting for a table in Yarmouth’s Blue Crab. ‘Takeaway for Michael?’ was called out, and we passed local celebrity Lord Grade of Yarmouth... Read more

ADA Meze Kitchen, Carisbrooke Hot

Reviews 26th August 2018
Leave your own comment on this place 1

You’ll have heard us harp on about how Ryde is the international cuisine capital of the Island with its varied world food offerings. But what’s this? Is sleepy Carisbrooke snapping at its heels? The village is already home to one of our favourite English pub roasts, plus what must... Read more

Seapot, Ventnor

Reviews 14th August 2018
Leave your own comment on this place 0

At the outer edge of England lies the Isle of Wight; at the Island’s southerly perimeter is Ventnor – and clinging to its shoreline is Seapot. We approached the cafe from the Bonchurch end, pausing to read about how, when Victorian celebrity Tennyson popped into the village, local girls... Read more

High Street Bar Co, Ventnor

Reviews 6th August 2018
Leave your own comment on this place 0

With Cat unexpectedly incapacitated, Matt had to find himself an alternative dining-out companion. First in line was barbeque-enthusiast Kieron, an old pal who has many times plied Matt with more perfectly-grilled meat than a normal human should ever eat. The well-matched duo set off towards Ventnor on the hunt... Read more

Ryde Tandoori

Reviews 23rd July 2018
Leave your own comment on this place 0

Although we don’t claim to have our fingers on the pulse of all the zeitgeisty food fashions, a recent trip to Bristol showed us that ‘raw’ food, sliders and nose-to-tail eating are still very much on the mainland’s (artfully-chipped enamelled) plate. Islandside, we’re all over The Rise of the... Read more

Chessell Pottery Cafe, Shalcombe

Reviews 1st July 2018
Leave your own comment on this place 0

Now that David Bowie has shuffled off this mortal coil, the memory of him will surely eventually fade away. But for old codgers like us, there is no greater shorthand for reinvention than the conceiver of the Thin White Duke and Ziggy Stardust. And, just as the erstwhile David... Read more

White Lion, Arreton

Reviews 10th June 2018
Leave your own comment on this place 0

One of the great things about having mainland visitors is proudly showing off the Isle of Wight to them. Whether they are staunch monarchists, transport buffs or competitive children, you will find something to impress them. And so it was when we took recent guests to Osborne House, the... Read more