Matt and Cat\'s Isle of Wight Eating Out Guide
Summer menu at the Seaview Hotel, 2023
The Seaview Hotel has been one of our top recommendations for year-round quality dining for many years.  And it’s not just us – the hotel has two AA rosettes for food and was this year awarded the keenly contested IW Chamber of Commerce​ hospitality business of the year award. ... Read more
Stripped, Ventnor

Stripped, Ventnor

Reviews 0

Stripped is, and long has been, one of our favourite places to eat, ever. It has been years since we first stepped into the former Midland Bank in Ventnor and enjoyed what was, and remains, the Island’s best burger. When it was trading from a mobile van we pursued... Read more
Artisan Cafe, East Cowes
The attractions of East Cowes are well-known, but for us as food reviewers they have historically been relatively few. Not to say there haven’t been highlights. We’ve enjoyed the classy food at the Albert Cottage, the cheerful atmosphere at hipstery pizza joint Prego, and even nodded in approval at... 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
Smoking Lobster, Cowes

Smoking Lobster, Cowes

Reviews 0

It almost seems obscene to be reviewing one of the Island’s most expensive restaurants at a time when the government is practically on the verge of issuing the populace with hair-shirts to simultaneously humiliate and keep us warm during its self-generated energy and cost of living crises. But someone... Read more
Se7en at the Royal Hotel, Ventnor
It’s been an age since we had one of those dinners in which each course delights and confounds our expectations. However, we knew that if we were going to experience food like that anywhere again, then it would be at Ventnor’s Royal Hotel – location of so many memorable... Read more
Pointer Inn, Newchurch
Drunken Lobster, Ventnor
Aside from the Bitesize donut kiosk in Newport, Drunken Lobster must be a candidate for the Isle of Wight’s smallest eatery. Back when it was El Toro Contento, about a third of the bistro was taken up with a kitchen, and not an inconsiderable amount of space on the... Read more
Brunswick Hotel, Shanklin

Brunswick Hotel, Shanklin

Reviews 0

Somehow, Shanklin has escaped the worst ravages the grim reaper has visited upon the hotels of Sandown. One can still stroll down leafy Queen’s Road and take one’s pick from little family-run guesthouses, boutique hotels, and bed-and-breakfasts. Sure, the inevitable blocks of flats have cropped up; but Shanklin of... Read more
Da Vinci, Newport

Da Vinci, Newport

Reviews 0

When we started writing our eating out guide, the main thrust (apart from making our dining experiences more diverse) was to help people make informed choices about where to spend their hard-earned. Nobody wants to waste money on a poor or indifferent meal. Nothing worse than forking out for... Read more