One thing is for sure, if you fancy waiting 2 hours for food try Saffron a new Indian in Cowes High Street..... having arrived at 8.30pm we had to wait until 10.30 for any food to appear. It also took half an hour just to get a beer.
The food, when it did arrive, was nice but the impact was lost as we were all so tired.
Sorry escargot, the chippy in East Cowes is a quantum leap better than Corries cabin where you have to take out a second morgage for fish and chips. Its cooked fresh to order. The best resturant in Cowes is the bus to Newport.
Have you been to Newport? You're hardpushed to find a decent restaurant there, Joe Dafloes has changed hands and is in the process of being "chav'd up". Burrs is ok and the Nabab indian is good. No decent chippy and apart from that pretty standard pub grub.
East Cowes "chippy" is ok, but I wouldn't put it down as a proper chippy - if it's the one I'm thinking of (on the corner) also does baguettes, meat and 2 veg etc.. I didn't say Corries was cheap but I would say the quality matches the price.
Ryde is worth a visit for Michaelangelo's, good food and not too expensive.
I agree with escargot about Corries and it's not that expensive as they use fresh fish and the service has always been excellent and they are open all year round (plus if you can afford to moor a boat in Cowes you can hardly moan about the price of fish & chips.....)
I'd avoid the waterfront. I went there at the end of August, they still had the Cowes week menu, the food was awful microwaved rubbish and the portion so small I took a photo for evidence! I went back with friends for a beer in late november and they still had the Cowes week menu up. Never ever ever again, even if the view is good!