RestaurantsCornwallPadstowPL28

Harden's says

Little sister to the Islington Prawn, and inhabiting a venerated Padstow site (formerly Margot's, RIP), this tiny fishmonger-cum-restaurant shows off what's on today's menu in the shop window.

survey result

Summary

£65
  £££
4
Very Good
4
Very Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Rich & Katie Toogood’s Cornish offshoot – a tiny spot near the harbour – generates much less feedback than their Highbury Corner original in London, but the ratings for its small plates of local seafood remain high. They also run a seasonal pop-up called Barnaby’s on similar lines, at Trevibban Mill Vineyard a short drive from Padstow.

Summary

£62
  £££
4
Very Good
4
Very Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Rick and Katie Toogood’s sibling to their London operation is a “miniscule café” (“can you even call it a restaurant?”) down near the harbour, which moved to this famous Cornish town from Islington in 2015. It’s “very basic” and attracted much less attention in our survey compared to their summer pop-up, Prawn on the Farm, which occupies a big marquee on Trerethern farm a short drive outside Padstow, with fine views over the countryside to the sea. It “has real soul to it, shown by the young, enthusiastic service. The small fish plate menu is generally great and it’s good fun as a concept”. On the downside, “you need to go easy on the number of plates” and one or two reporters found results “insanely good, but incredibly salty and rich”. The most common verdicts, though… “exceptional…”, “incredible…”, “superb…”

Summary

£57
   ££
5
Exceptional
4
Very Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“Low on pretension; high on panache” – Rick and Katie Toogood’s “wonderful seafood tapas restaurant goes from strength to strength”, having moved in 2015 from Islington to Padstow – where “there’s lots of competition but they stand high for their imaginative food and use of best local produce”. “The very best businesses don’t just survive adversity, they thrive from it” – in their case, operating a successful summer residency in a marquee at nearby Trevathan Farm. “POTL will live long in the memory – without doubt the culinary highlight of our trip to Cornwall.”

Summary

£55
   ££
5
Exceptional
4
Very Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“Just brilliant, incredibly fresh seafood” is the payoff for a visit to Rick & Katie Toogood’s “very small” and “cramped” venture (24 covers), which – since they made the move from Islington in 2015 – has shown it can compete with the best of the best in this foodie enclave. (They still also own the restaurant of the same name in N1).

For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).

Have you eaten at Prawn on the Lawn?

11 Duke Street, Padstow, PL28 8AB

Restaurant details

Yes
No dress code
Yes

Prices

Traditional European menu

Starter Main Pudding
£13.00 £28.50 £0.00
Drinks  
Wine per bottle £30.00
Filter Coffee £3.00
Extras  
Service 12.50%
11 Duke Street, Padstow, PL28 8AB
Opening hours
MondayCLOSED
Tuesday12 pm‑10 pm
Wednesday12 pm‑10 pm
Thursday12 pm‑10 pm
Friday12 pm‑10 pm
Saturday12 pm‑10 pm
SundayCLOSED

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