J and I were were on a weekend visit to Cornwall to see my mother's family and my gran. I was born in Cornwall and wanted to show the glorious countryside and dramatic sandy coves to J. The culinary highlight of the weekend was Sunday lunch at Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant down in Padstow. Padstow is where my mum and dad met some 40 years ago and where 37 years ago Catherine Grace Reynolds was born. How Padstow has changed since then. It's a pretty little fishing town, but weekends and Summer brings hoards of tourists, Padstow is often referred to as Padstein due to Rick Stein's hotel, cafe, fish and chip shop, Deli and restaurant.
I was determined to book the Seafood Restaurant to treat my parents, Rick Stein is one of my cookery gods. I had been told to make a reservation to sit in the restaurant at least a month beforehand and were told that there was a table left at 12.30. It is possible to show up, but you will be sitting at the bar. It was a dreary day outside, but on arrival at the Seafood restaurant we were happily greeted at the door, coats whisked away to hang to dry and taken to our table.
The menu is just well you guessed it -a range of seafood mainly from the Cornish coast. I decided on Crisp Smoked Mackerel and Green Mango Salad, J had the Sashimi of Hand Dived Scallop, Salmon, Sea Bass and Kingfish, Mum and Dad opted for the lunch menu at 35 pounds, which is a bargain, but with a limited selection. Mum had a huge bowl of Fish and Shellfish Soup with Rouille and Parmesan, I actually forgot what dad had as I was so loving my starter. Mackerel is something I would rarely eat but this was a surprise dish of the day. All was helped down with a bottle or two of the Rick Stein Chardonnay.
Then on to the main course. As we were all treating ourselves J opted for the messy Singapore Spiky King Crab, mum the bream and dad the sole. I opted for a Padstow lobster which I have to say is almost the best lobster I have ever eaten- only superseded by a freshly caught lobster in a little taverna near Oia in Santorini. J's crab remains one of the messiest dishes I have ever witnessed him devouring. All around us you could see people enjoying their food with the happy, bustling atmosphere. Our waitress was really efficient- boarding on the almost militant, but she definitely warmed to us as lunch service went on.
Mum and dad still had room for dessert of Tarte Tatin. I think we spent a good couple of hours at Rick Stein's. It was a perfect meal, that was topped off by a stroll down to the beach to look at the amazing Atlantic- right where our meal had most likely been caught from. Absolutely fantastic, an absolute recommend.
Go on treat yourself. Flights to Exeter from Amsterdam daily.
http://www.rickstein.com/the-seafood-restaurant.html
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