Padstow: Where it all started

I had loads of ideas of what to base my first blog post on, but it seemed only right to start with the place and restaurant (now restaurants!) that really got me excited about food and how amazing it can be. That special place is the beautiful Padstow, Cornwall. That restaurant is the amazing The Seafood Restaurant by probably the original king of seafood, Rick Stein (it’s not called Padstein for nothing!).

I first visited Padstow in 2015 for the pure reason of “I want to eat at Rick Stein’s!”, and it couldn’t have been a better introduction to the more finer restaurants around. It definitely kick started a love of (sea) food and a love of Padstow. With another visit in 2016 and 2018, hopefully the next won’t be too far away!

As silly as it sounds, I was pretty nervous about our Seafood Restaurant reservation; it’s a place for posher people than us right?! That thought was soon put to bed. Warmly welcomed by a smiling face at the entrance, before being seated mid-restaurant and introduced to our waiter for the evening – a young waiter who definitely knew their stuff! The atmosphere was fab and I felt really special to be somewhere like this. The whole restaurant centred around an amazing 360 degree bar located in the centre of the restaurant (there were oysters and everything on it).

First up, wine, pages and pages of it. Who knew wine lists could be so big! I am not a massive wine lover (big shock to you all) unless it is super sweet, and I felt a bit of a wally telling the waiter this fact. But lo and behold, the waiter suggested two dessert wines and provided a sample of each (mind blown). One clear winner; I will have a glass of that please! It is probably still the best tasting glass of wine I have ever had, despite nearly spitting it all back out at the end when we got the bill, but it was so worth it.

The food on offer was a seafood lovers dream, and being where we were, you knew it was going to be super fresh and local, and it has been every time. The plate that stands out the most was my starter in 2016 on my second visit; cuttlefish risotto with squid ink. It was striking in look and taste! It took me a few minutes to get my head around the colour and that I was going to eat it! The rice was soft and covered beautifully by the squid ink. The cuttlefish was cut into small pieces and each piece was exactly the same size. Take my hat off to these talented chefs and their patience for details like that. It melted when you ate it; a cliche term, but true. It was the best risotto I have ever tasted. If I am ever asked what the best plate you have ever had, this is way up there. I would have smiled more at the time but the potential visual state of my teeth and lips were a bigger issue (if you know, you know). Thank god for plenty of napkins!

If that wasn’t enough, both Seafood Restaurant visits ended with chocolate truffles; and there is always room for chocolate truffles!