Restaurant Nathan Outlaw

"The amuse-bouches started us off in good order with palate-pleasing crispy coley with smoked paprika mayo and simply cured in a lovely filo pastry tartlet, together enough to be considered an extra course. The curemaster then came up with staggeringly good cured monkfish matched with a fennel background and a touch of ginger. Without guidance we would not have been able to identify the next dish as mackerel, which was understated to say the least, although the parsnip crisps were lovely. We next had a generous serving of crab, white meat as expected, with good roasted white cabbage, and a crab sauce which was announced as something it clearly wasn’t. Happily the ample cod that followed was absolutely brilliant and even elevated to superstar status by the peppercorn sauce with a boost of tarragon. The three-in-one dessert, which left you the choice of combining or not, gave us crunchy apple tart, delicate crème fraîche ice cream and apple sauce, and a custard choux bun with caramel sauce, was a very good way to round the meal off. As always the service was exemplary, friendliness combined with expertise, and the wine just perfect with every dish. When meteorological conditions are extremely poor even two-star restaurants will find it hard to acquire the quality of fish so necessary for the ambitious dishes planned for their demanding diners, and, on this occasion, it was perhaps a contributory factor to the slight feeling of disappointment we felt with this meal, and, in addition, perhaps with the apparent migration of the crab community to cooler waters, we shall never again have the pleasure of tasting the real Porthilly sauce."