The Seafood Restaurant
Riverside Padstow Cornwall PL28 8BY
This simply named restaurant was indeed the seafood restaurant in Cornwall when it opened in 1975 – and Rick Stein deserves plenty of the credit he is given for the foodie revolution that has taken place in the area. Though today it has plenty of worthy competition and is now only the flagship of the ever-growing Stein empire, it’s still arguably the best place to eat in Padstow. The decor is chic and ritzy, and the seafood out of this world (and, mote importantly, straight out of the sea). Although its prices match its fame and pedigree, they’re not astronomical, and while bagging a table can involve booking way ahead, you can order anything from the á la carte menu from a perch at the seafood bar (no booking necessary), and they also do a great value three-course set lunch. Bear in mind, too, that if you stay in any of the rather nice Stein places around town, you get priority booking; and if you stay at lovely St Edmund's House you get to eat breakfast here too.
