Lostwithiel Restaurant Guide

“Great food cooked interestingly with great local ingredients” keeps reporters coming back to this “dog-friendly” pub in a stone building dating back to circa 1460 (and whose rangy garden overlooks the local church). Given the “‘back lane’ location” off the usual Cornish tourist trail, it’s a surprisingly “busy place” – its popularity certainly not hurt by the good-value set-lunch deals.

About to enter its 15th year of operation, Fred & Donna Beedles’s well-established venue is a favourite for some diners and “always delivers quality and exceptional value”. It’s a low-key place, in a parade of shops off the road down into the harbour.

“The food is as good as Outlaw’s New Road but half the price!” according to fans of Nathan Outlaw’s “intimate and cosy venue situated right on the harbour”, which many diners feel “is our favourite of the two excellent restaurants in the Outlaw stable”. Being only “tiny” if anything boosts its “lovely and intimate atmosphere”, “staff are highly trained, but friendly and attentive” and it delivers “incredible value for the price” (“of the mainly small plates there wasn’t one we didn’t like” and results are “superb”). “I was lucky enough to be in Cornwall when this place opened. It has never dipped in what it does. Nathan = brilliant!”

“Always, always perfection… fish and seafood never tasted this good: Nathan Outlaw shows utter mastery of his beloved ingredients” at his stunning harbourside HQ, which continues to inspire dizzying levels of customer satisfaction in our annual diners’ poll: a high volume of reviews (it’s one of the top-50 most commented-on venues outside London) contains barely a word of disappointment. Most especially, it’s “a go-to place for outstanding seafood and fish” – the cuisine “is simple, it’s clean, it’s elegant, it’s just right, it has that wow factor!…”; and as an overall operation it is also an outstanding all-rounder with “stunning service, stunning views and a stunningly well priced (but short) wine list”. (“Several visits each year and this place never fails to deliver. Each time we go we feel that we’ve eaten the best meal they’ve ever given us. The staff are pretty awesome too, providing a great balance between perfect service and a gentle, warm approach”).

It’s impossible to assess “Rick Stein’s original restaurant in the seaside town of Padstow” without viewing it through the lens of his TV fame and its place in UK food history, having opened in 1975 and having helped put ‘Padstein’ on the map as a major foodie destination. Nowadays run primarily by Rick’s ex-wife Jill and her sons, this sizable, relatively straightforward dining room near the water remains one of the top-40 most commented-on places outside London in our annual diners’ poll. Numerous diners who comment are long-term visitors, and though the verdict still tends to the positive their collective opinion waned a little this year. To its most ardent supporters it remains “as good as ever”: a “stunning restaurant in a beautiful harbour setting with an incredibly large menu mixing inventive dishes alongside all the classic fish and seafood dishes”: “the food he does best, fish in attractive ways, served without fuss and delicious”; and it “couldn’t be fresher”. Fairly, even some fans acknowledge that “these days, there are many more quality options in the town and surrounds”, but they feel “it still represents excellent value for the standard of a meal”. Inevitably, as is the case every year, there are some detractors who feel that “standards have declined since Rick handed over the reins but the prices have increased”. This year, though, saw a more marked deterioration in the mark for service in particular and more significant disappointments in general (“after 22 years visiting this restaurant, I‘m compelled to express dismay at its descent in my estimation. The mojo of the place has fallen, although we’ve given it several chances in the last year or so. I’m tempted to post a crying face emoji at this point, but maybe that would be just a little too tacky!”). Still, overall the winning view remains that it’s “always a treat coming to Padstow and sampling the freshest of fish at the Seafood Restaurant for that special occasion”.

“Reliably good food with some interesting touches” is on the menu at this hotel bistro in an old stone building in the heart of the town from the Rick Stein group, with what is perhaps a surprisingly large proportion of non-fish dishes. It’s also generally “good value”.

Paul Ainsworth’s casual and reliably buzzy venture is still “great” by most accounts, turning out small plates, heftier fare plus popular Neapolitan-style pizzas as part of its homage to the Mediterranean. For the odd sceptic still not convinced by its 2020 bistro reinvention, however, there’s a sense that these days it’s rather “trading on a name”.

“High-quality cooking, a buzzy atmosphere and reasonable prices” characterise locally born chef Benjamin Palmer’s six-year-old outfit “right by the harbourside”. Fresh fish and seafood dominate the menu, but there are beef and veggie options to satisfy fish phobes.

“A new venture in 2023 in one of this fishing village‘s back streets. It is somewhat hard to find, but worth the effort. Simple decor and menu which features the local fish catch. Nothing fancy, but simplicity is all sometimes” – one reporter says it all regarding this recent arrival a short stroll from the harbour.