Matt and Cat\'s Isle of Wight Eating Out Guide
Dimbola, Freshwater

Dimbola, Freshwater

Reviews 1

We are often asked where the best place is to eat. That, of course, depends on the circumstances. You might not want to hold your toddler’s birthday party in a venue which is mostly populated by vertical drinkers yelling football-related expletives at Sky Sports on a muted telly. Similarly,... Read more
New Inn, Shalfleet

New Inn, Shalfleet

Reviews 0

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that British people regulate their lives around meal times. Breakfast is essential, according to Dr Kellog and the Egg Marketing Board, which cannily boosted sales of the ovoid foodstuff with Fay Weldon‘s famous ‘Go to Work on an Egg‘ slogan. And, throughout the day,... 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
White Lion, Niton

White Lion, Niton

Reviews 0

Niton used to have two pubs, the White Lion and the Buddle. After some prevarication the White Lion closed for good, and there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth amongst the Crab-Nitoners. Left without a pub in the village itself, drinkers were faced with a steep walk down... Read more
Crown Inn, Shorwell

Crown Inn, Shorwell

Reviews 3

There’s nothing we like better than a nice surprise. It’s a treat that never gets old when we wander into some venue anticipating an indifferent meal, and our unambitious expectations are blown away. Perhaps the best example of this in recent years was the tragically short-lived fried-fish wagon of... Read more
The Freshwater Coffee House
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
Blue Crab, Yarmouth

Blue Crab, Yarmouth

Reviews 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
Chessell Pottery Cafe, Shalcombe
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
La Cucina, Yarmouth

La Cucina, Yarmouth

Reviews 0

Dunno about you but we’ve got one of those mates who is not comfortable with eating out. He loves his own home cooking and is consequently unfamiliar with the inside of a restaurant, some of the terminology on a menu and is also not keen on spending money on... Read more
Kings Head, Yarmouth

Kings Head, Yarmouth

Reviews 0

We’ve recently returned from a holiday in the Cotswolds. Snowshill, where we stayed, was almost painfully picturesque. Golden stone cottages encircled a pretty church and there was even a working red telephone box. The entire hamlet could probably be mistaken for a Olde Englande theme park created just for... Read more