Note: this is an archive review. The Hambrough is now run by a different team. It’s fair to say that 2013 has been an eventful year for the Island’s most famous restaurant, The Hambrough. Last time Matt and Cat visited this Ventnor venue it was prominently branded as Robert... Read more
Paramount Café, Shanklin
Uncategorised 21st July 2013 2
It seems that the hottest dinner ticket in Shanklin is Fine Nammet. Again and again, Matt and Cat have pressed their noses optimistically at the new restaurant’s windows, only to see the place packed with diners who’d had the foresight to book a table. They’ll have success there one... 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
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
Dandelion Café
ReviewsUncategorised 28th October 2012 0
It’s all over. The sun has resolutely taken off its hat, brushed it down and stashed it away until next year. The summer of 2012, with its diamond jubilee, record-breaking rainfall, Olympics and Paralympics is a distant memory. Wenlock has closed his vast single eye and Mandeville’s name is... Read more
Isobel Centre Café, Pan
ReviewsUncategorised 20th August 2012 6
Matt and Cat’s lunch breaks are usually taken within a set radius from their Newport workplaces. Their invisible umbilicus allows them to range to Olivo, French Franks and the Blue Door. Tugging a bit tighter on the string, they can make it to the Noodle Pot and even Original... Read more
Ventnor Botanic Garden Café
ReviewsUncategorised 2nd August 2012 5
How many Islanders does it take to change a light bulb? “CHANGE? We don’t like change!”. Everyone must have heard that joke by now and presumably there are regional versions of it being laughed at around the world. And change? Well, Islanders embrace it, don’t they? Now, Matt and... Read more
Noodle Pot, Newport
ReviewsUncategorised 5th May 2012 1
Matt and Cat are big lovers of sci-fi. Matt, who fancies himself as a writer and a scientist, combines those two interests in a bookshelf chock full o’ the works of Asimov, Heinlein and Iain M Banks. Cat prefers to have her sci-fi injected straight into her eyeballs. In... Read more
Hillside Bistro, Ventnor
ReviewsUncategorised 23rd April 2012 5
Matt was once described by his university professor as having a Rolls Royce brain with Morris Minor engine. Cat, who used to be pretty punctual and organised, has adopted Matt’s languorous attitude over the years they’ve been together. This lackadaisical leaning means that they have never quite managed to... Read more
