foodie things to do in and around padstow

[GastroChick]

Hi

My husband and I are driving down to Cornwall next friday we are staying near Padstow. Can anybody make any recommendations for restaurants, food markets etc in and around this area. We have predictably made a reservation at Rick Stein's restaurant for one evening, is this any good? Some of my school friends from Leith's are doing work experience at his restaurant, over easter, so I thought I would show my support!

Also we keep toying with the idea of fifteen in Newquay, however we live round the corner from the one in London and so are a little apprehensive about traveling all the way there to eat food similar to that found in our neck of the woods.

Are there any authentic cornish food experiences to be had, the more interesting the better!

Thanks in advance.

[JudyB]

My husband and I are driving down to Cornwall next friday we are staying near Padstow.  Can anybody make any recommendations for restaurants, food markets etc in and around this area.  We  have predictably made a reservation at Rick Stein's restaurant for one evening, is this any good?  Some of my school friends from Leith's are doing work experience at his restaurant, over easter, so I thought I would show my support!

We have been to Rick Stein's restaurant three times now and we have felt that it was worth it. A couple of times we have had the tasting menu and the other time we went for the a la carte - the only problem that time was the impressive size of the fruits de mer starter, which didn't leave us with room for any desserts!

The other place in Padstow which we have also been to three times is Basildog's restaurant Margot's - most definitely worth a visit.

The other places in Padstow recommended by Basildog (in another thread) are Number 6 in Middle street and Ripley's in St Merryn, although we haven't been to either of these yet.

[slacker]

Come and say hello!

I have a wee wine shop-cum-wine bar just off the harbour.

Lots of good food locally, and Padstow Farm Shop well worth a mention too.

[Andy Lynes]

If you don't mind a 30 minute or so drive, you could check out Nathan Outlaw at the Marina Hotel click. I'm hoping it will be worth the journey as we've partly arranged our family summer holiday this year so we can eat there.

Edited March 18, 2007 by Andy Lynes (log)

[Infrasonic]

If you don't mind a 30 minute or so drive, you could check out Nathan Outlaw at the Marina Hotel click. I'm hoping it will be worth the journey as we've partly arranged our family summer holiday this year so we can eat there.

←

I notice the wine list part of the site is 'under construction'. Those tasting notes do take a while to compile

I

[slacker]

Not guilty (on this occasion )

[Basildog]

yes, he's very selective of who he does wine for

[GastroChick]

Thanks everyone for your recommendations

I will be sure to check out Margot's.

Slacker where is your wine bar/shop?

Nathan Outlaw also seems worth the trip, the website is very attractive and the menu reads well. Andy I will report back.

[Basildog]

Slackers shop/bar.click

How long are you down for?

I would again reccomend Number 6 in Middle St (their website is currently being updated, but it does give you an idea)Number 6

Edited March 19, 2007 by Basildog (log)

[GastroChick]

Slackers shop/bar.click

How long are you down for?

I would again reccomend Number 6 in Middle St (their website is currently being updated, but it does give you an idea)Number 6

←

unfortunately only a week from next Friday, do I need to make a reservation at your restaurant?

[Gary Marshall]

Slackers shop/bar.click

How long are you down for?

I would again reccomend Number 6 in Middle St (their website is currently being updated, but it does give you an idea)Number 6

←

unfortunately only a week from next Friday, do I need to make a reservation at your restaurant?

←

put it this way, it's easier to get into steins than margot's

[slacker]

We're right in the middle of town, just off the harbour. Padstow centre is pretty tiny, so that puts us about 300 yards from Basildog's.

I'd certainly go to Nathan Outlaw if I were you. His cooking is great, and I'd like to experience the new setting. I ate there a little while back and the dining room is good. Fowey is also a lovely town on the South Coast of Cornwall - with fab walking, boats, ferries etc. Due to a late arrival one Sunday recently, when no amount of persuasion could secure us a late table at Nathan Outlaw, we happened upon the King of Prussia, a first floor pub with granite steps off the town quay. Good ordinary wine by the glass, and a delicious 'Fowey Rarebit' - crab, smooked cheese, onion etc. Absolutely ACE, so I ordered one for pudding too.

The Fowey River also has one of the most idyllically sited Rowing Clubs in the country. click

See you soon!

Edited March 20, 2007 by slacker (log)

[Basildog]

At this time we have some space all next week,(full this Friday and Saturday evenings)

[bakerestates]

Just booked a cottage for a week in July 5 miles north of Rock in a village called Trebetherick......two rounds of golf...now need three bookings in restaurants for dinner for 4. Would ideally like three differing experiences. Having read this topic and a couple of others the contenders seem to be

Nathan Outlaw (how long to drive?)

Rick Stein

No. 6

Margot's

These are all Padstow (except Nathan Outlaw). Are there any other places worth checking out, up to 40 minutes driving.

Finally, with 6 kids to feed with picnics and barbeques, wherre are the best places to buy meat, fish and vegetables.

Thanks

[Andy Lynes]

I'm planning on popping in for breakfast at Fifteen Cornwall (no reservations taken) in the summer, mainly to get a look at the place and the view. Don't forget the Michelin starred Ripley's in St Merryn which is about 2 miles from Padstow. What was Nathan Outlaw's Black Pig is now L'Estuaire which is run by an ex-Raymond Blanc/Michael Caines chef.

Routes from theaa.com are pretty reliable and you can figure out journey times from door to door using postcodes.

Edited April 19, 2007 by Andy Lynes (log)

[offcentre]

Beautiful spot Trebetherick. Make sure you visit St Enedoc church. You can walk along the beach to Rock at low tide too, although you may be swimming back after a long lunch.

[Tom Roberts]

On a related subject, does anyone know why St Ervan Manor closed and whether there are any plans to reopen it in a similar format?

[CaptainJack]

On a related subject, does anyone know why St Ervan Manor closed and whether there are any plans to reopen it in a similar format?

←

No, it is being bought as a home i believe

[bakerestates]

Spent a week in Trebetherick and ate out at the following;

Fifteen, Watergate Bay, Newquay

Stunning location above the beach. It was a windswept evening pouring with rain and the waves were really rolling in with a couple of kite sufers gliding along the beech in front of us. We were taken through a very busy buzzing restaurant to a side room (The Garage) which meant the atmosphere was more muted and, for me, sterile. After a bottle of Gosset Watervale Riesling (£39) (incidently, not as good as his top Riesling Polish Hill which at the Hotel du Vin in Winchester three nights earlier was £37) our waiter introduced himself and then took us through the concept, the produce, the oil, the bread, the menu, my choice of wine etc, etc, etc,. The oil served with the bread was far too strong and peppery so early in the prodceedings. Good fat big green olives stone in. Opener of seared scallop wrapped in pancetta served with beetroot puree with horseradish (underfiring) was fine. Burrata, local fennel salami (quite loose an super-waffer thin), rocket, balsamic was more of a lunch/brunch dish for me rather than a starter. Pasta course tortellini of peas, broad beans, mascapone, sage butter overwhelmed with peas & sage butter and was served in a ridicuously deep wide rimmed bowl.

Mains of brill with clam/mussel broth was very good but could have done with a spoon or bread to mop up the broth. Porchetta was very thinly sliced which lost the crux of the dish. Cannellini bean smash were not smahed but good if underseasoned and the roast fennel on the side was uncessary given the fennel in the pork. Local cheeses were excellent but two flavoured breads and date salami killed the cheese. Puddings seems out of keeping in that they were twice the size of the starter and pasta course and looked, dare I say it, bought in (they had that look rather I think they might have been). My chocolate torte was not rich enough or bitter enough. The raspberry/strawberry cheesecake was odd. Two bottles of excellent Agliancio from Molise and Recieto from Anselmi, our bill was £76 plus service (£50 food) seemd a lot for what it delivered. Service was too informative and interrupting and I felt I was a tourist visiting a restaurant for the first time, maybe even eating for the first time. But I am a cynical publican as my family pointed out and they enjoyed it.

The Gurnard's Head, Zenor, St Ives

Excellent feel to the place - warm, welcoming, relaxing. Main bar and dining room with open hatch into the kitchen. Good smells and noises coming out. Started with a pint of prawns with aioli that was so well balanced my three year old ate most of it on its own. I had a rose veal chop with herby lentils and spinach which was execellent and my wife slightly smoked kippers with toast and butter and salad - a perfect lunch. Amazing setting on cliff tops, well worth the journery given we did not make it to the Tate in St Ives on the grounds that all four car parks were full.

Ripley's, St Merryn, Padstow

A really excellent meal. The best freshest bread I have ever eaten - one rosemary foccica and one sour-dough served with three pots - butter, light olive oil and nuts - yum yum yum. Two starters of squid, chorizo and rocket was fresh and light. Crab mayonaise with pink grapefruit (not for me) was delicious and sardine fillets with gremolata were smokey and lifted by the lemon zest. Main courses of Moroccan lamb with tapanade & roast peppers, courgettes and tomatoes (I think) was beautifully cooked. Pork belly with caramelised apple was dissapointing in that the sealed skin crackling was quite hard to get through and the meat did not have that flaky untous (wrong spelling) give to it and the apples were odd in July. Two brill were ordred, one was changed to trubot but whose complaing with fish this fresh, perfectly cooked. With some diced courgettes (didn't really notice them) and a saffron sauce which was incredibly subtle it hardly interverred with the fish. A chocolate fondant for two was ordered by one and ended up in a doggy bag, a light walnut tart and perfect cheese rounded everything off. I usually find this style of food conservative and bland but this was so fresh and so impeccibly cooked I was bowled over.

Chez nous we had some seabass and crab from Port Issac (don't drive to the fishmonger!), ribeye from Watts in Rock (not great) and beautiful lamb from a farm near Polzeth cooked with lots of rosemary from the garden with local courgettes and new potatoes and mint sauce with mint picked 1 minute before eating, were all worth the effort. We had the lamb with a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Domaine A 1999 from Peter and Ruth Althaus' in the Coal River Valley in Southern Tasmania - a stunning wine that was complex, structured and balanced - a top wine that will cellar well and worth every penny.

Edited July 16, 2007 by bakerestates (log)