New Isle of Wight café a hit with Matt and Cat and customers

The brightly-painted shopfront hides a surprisingly large interior, including an actual kitchen at the back, with a real live chef in it.

As well as takeaways, the venue has room for patrons to sit down, so that's what we did.

Craft is a sandwich shop, and sandwiches and their variants are the main thing on the pleasingly short menu.

A sandwich sampled at Craft in Ryde. (Image: Matt and Cat) Not even baguettes or wraps — bagels are about as far from the orthodox sandwich as Craft permits itself to go.

This makes sense — Craft says it is "unapologetically all about the food" and a few things done well is always a good sign.

Read more: See what Matt and Cat ordered from this Island pub and what rating they gave

Local provenance is another feature that suggests food quality is being carefully curated.

Meats are from Harvey Brown's butchery, sourdough bread from Lost Mill Bakery in Cowes.

These sandwiches are each carefully designed and created.

Eating in, the signature sticky beef toasted sandwich came with a few crisps and a small pot of slaw.

Read more: See which restaurant served Matt and Cat one of Island's best seafood brunches 

The toastie was absolutely packed with searingly-hot beef shin, enriched with bone marrow and a thick gravy.

Caramelised onion and mozzarella were packed into the chunky slices of sourdough too, the whole thing brushed with bone marrow for a crisp finish.

A sandwich sampled at Craft in Ryde. (Image: Matt and Cat) And what a finish — the crispy bits of cheese at the edges; the sweet onion and that glorious sticky meat.

The crisp, light slaw was the ideal accompaniment to an unctuous delight. This was an epic toastie, worth savouring.

Food like this, freshly cooked and prepared, isn't the same as pre-packed ingredients cobbled together on a production line.

Read more: Matt and Cat find "inventive menu" at charming Sandown seaside cafe

Craft is at odds with a typical high-street sarnie shop, where price and quick delivery is key — and food quality and provenance is rarely a consideration.

True, Craft's model is not as cheap — but it's time to get over that.

Some food costs more, and takes a little longer to prepare, because it's better. That's what you get with a Craft sandwich.

If you are looking for budget fast food, there are endless options elsewhere in Ryde.

If you prefer something fancier, then Craft is offering it.

Judging by the number of customers queuing out of the door on the day we visited, it's something that people are rightly keen to try.

(Image: Matt and Cat)
(Image: Matt and Cat)