Padstow, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“Out of this world!!” – “Paul Ainsworth’s flagship restaurant goes from strength to strength” and few restaurants in the UK achieve such a high level of esteem in our annual diners’ poll. “A culinary haven in the middle of, and yet a world apart from, the tourist crowds of Padstow”: it certainly eclipses its local rivals nowadays, with Nathan Outlaw a few miles down the coast its most serious nearby culinary competition. Set in a bijou Georgian townhouse, “the open kitchen shows off the enthusiastic team and it’s a case of selfies all round with the chefs after the meal”. “No, it isn’t cheap, but we found ourselves wondering how the team managed to set such high standards for the money”. “Special mention go to the dessert… and we don’t usually like desserts!” “All around an amazing gastronomic experience”!

One of the lesser-known venues in the local Stein empire, set in an old stone building in the heart of Padstow, this low key bistro serves “excellent” and “reliable meals that never disappoint” – “we usually enjoy fish”. Importantly for some visitors, there’s “a small indoor dog-friendly space”.

2021 Review: Still a “lovely, relaxing” location, with views across the Camel estuary, but feedback at this hotel dining room has become very mixed since the departure of chef James Nathan and his illustrious predecessor, Nathan Outlaw (and the ownership of the hotel itself changed in January 2019, which “may not have helped”). Whatever the cause, while it does still have some fans, some regulars feel it’s “just not in the same class” as it was formerly.

The dining room at this smart century-old hotel has long been one of Cornwall’s prime culinary destinations, but the volume and tenor of feedback was more muted this year, so we’ve left it un-rated for the time being. There’s a choice of tasting menus in six or nine courses, and less of a focus on seafood than in the Nathan Outlaw era of a few years back. Karrek is apparently Cornish for Rock.

Limited but still all-round enthusiastic feedback this year for Fred & Donna Beedles’s low-key operation, in a parade of shops away from the harbour. The menu is a two-course or three-course à la carte, whose seeming straightforwardness belies the skill of the cuisine.

Rick Stein’s large, much extended village pub has had its ups and downs in the past, but continues its recent upward curve; the worst that anyone had to say about the British pub grub on offer is that it was “OK” (and one fan praised the vegetable tart as a “little pie of dreams”). If the “barn-like dining area” doesn’t appeal, opt for the garden in summer – or make a night of it in one of the six new ‘shepherds’ huts’ on the property (far less rustic than they sound).

The “stunning location” of a 15th-century manor house near Padstow ensures this Cornwall venue is among the most popular in Robin Hutson’s shabby-chic Pig hotel group, helped by its “wood-paneled dining room oozing history, with friendly and helpful staff and great food” – including vegetables grown in the 200-year-old kitchen garden along with fish and seafood sourced nearby. There’s also the ‘Lobster Hut’, a “slick indoor/outdoor restaurant”, serving “reliable food” under canvas.

2023 Review: “A quirky hotel and restaurant serving excellent local fish” – this whitewashed, seventeenth-century hotel in a coastal bay is “always outstanding”. Chef James Lean (appointed in 2015) oversees a menu that’s naturally fish-focused. “Friendly service and great Cornish ales” complete the picture.

One of a handful of restaurants in this famous hotel, this ultra-romantic outpost was born as a beachside pop-up, and is ably overseen by Scott, a fast-rising Cornish chef and cookbook author; whether opting for the lobster lunches or six-course seafood menus, you’re in for some “fantastic food” (although one or two regulars feel it comes at a cost).

Costing £3 million and aiming to provide a ‘world class experience’, the new flagship destination at this landmark five-star hotel – a gigantic Victorian pile overlooking Fistral beach – opened in May 2023, too late for any feedback in our annual diners’ poll. The Headland offers tremendous sea views, and the new menu aims to showcase the best of Cornish fish and farm produce (RenMor means ’restaurant by the sea’ in Cornish). Maybe scope it out with a visit to one of the adjoining lounges for sarnies and cakes first – “afternoon tea looking out to sea couldn’t be more perfect”.