The Seafood Restaurant

The restaurant itself is beautiful and we received a warm welcome on arrival. The food service wasnt incredible, ive been for a tasting menu at a high end chefs restaurant and the experience wasnt as good as that sadly. The waiters were all friendly and polite but food wasnt explained very well on the menu or specials, no drink pairing was recommended with any of the dishes either. we all had starters and a fruits de mer in the middle of the table which came with dips and sides, it would've been lovely for the waiter on our table to offer us help with how to enjoy this platter and which dips went with which seafood, it would create more of a dining experience as it was some of the tables first time having this dish. For starter i had the sardines which came with a delicious garlic and coarsely chopped green herbs topping which was very tasty. For main i had the steak which was cooked to perfection, cooked medium rare and it just melted in my mouth. The only downside was if this restaurant wants to compete with the top restaurants there needs to be more care when presenting food to the table and the service provided during the meal, our waiter was pleasant enough and interacted with us in general about our evening just not enough about the food presented to us or how to get the most out of our meal. Maybe a taster menu level of service is more what i was expecting than general dining but having heard great things about the restaurant previously maybe we just built it up in our heads too much. I had some lovely mocktails throughout the meal, i cannot consume alcohol due to medicine i take, recommended by Daniel M our waiter which i let him suprise me with and they were excellent, easily the best part of service of the meal were these drinks. For desert i had 3 scoops of ice cream, 2 pistachio and one chocolate, the toasted pistachio biscuit that came with it was a nice touch. The ice cream sadly didnt have much flavour. It was still an enjoyable evening and we had a giggle with Daniel during our meal and he was very friendly and he wasn't the only one serving at our table of presenting our food, And on leaving the restaurant the team were excellent allowing us to take some menus home as gifts. It was just the attention to detail with the menu and service of the food that was slightly lacking for an renowned high end establishment.

Fantastic food served by wonderful staff in a relaxed atmosphere. My wife and I enjoyed a 4 course Sunday lunch as part of a 2 day package at the hotel. The food was absolutely amazing- fresh, tasty and simply bursting with flavour. The service was exceptional- friendly staff, perfect timing and well presented. Would highly recommend.

The food was lovely we all had fish and chips with sides of curry sauce, tartar sauce and mushy peas the batter was perfect the haddock was cooked so well and the chips were thick, crispy and well seasoned, the daughter decided to go for the surimee platter which had scallops, sea bass, salmon, tuna 2 styles of japanese horseradish she liked it but expected a but more for her buck. I was going to give todays visit an overall 4 star review but decided that due to the brilliant service and food i would stick to my 5 star. The atmosphere and the price was sadly a bit underwhelming this i hope wasn't to do with the place itself but the weather was really bad and im guessing this would be better in the evening as when we were leaving noticed they were setting up so live music. Question for me was would I go again???? The family say yes! The price would mean i would need to save up for the next visit for 6 months lol

Great food and restaurant, we had the 4 course taster and it was delicious. The treacle tart was very sweet though . Only criticism was the high 12.5% service charge that was almost as much as half the main! Else would of left a tip so decided to take it off. Think you should have a choice.

We came here on a family trip five years ago and our second visit did not disappoint! Customer service exceptional along with the food. We were also impressed with the vegetarian/vegan menu for my husband. He ordered from the vegetarian menu and we also ordered from the à la carte and set lunch menu. The latter is excellent value for three courses and a glass of white wine at £40. I ordered from here the heritage tomato salad with burrata, salmon with warm tartare sauce and blackberry pavlova. Would definitely come here again and recommend to anyone in the area. Thank you for another lovely meal and visit!

an absolutely exquisite dining experience, the freshness of the seafood served here is unparalleled and worth the price. the staff are lovely, welcoming, attentive, and exceptionally skilled at filleting the fish besides your table which was extraordinary to watch. the octopus starter is the softest, freshest, most creamy octopus i’ve ever tasted. i recommend the ‘fruits de mer’ which is a selection of fresh shellfish served on ice - it was absolutely delicious. pair it with rick steins white wine recommendation! the decor in the place is pleasant with a selection of interesting artwork. we will definitely be coming back!

The seafood was fresh and delicious. We had the "Share by Two" seafood platter, which came with a generous portion. They also offered a special four-course menu to celebrate their 50th anniversary — excellent value and a great way to sample a variety of dishes, all of which were beautifully prepared and tasted great. The only downside was the slightly long wait between courses and a few minor mistakes on our order during the meal. Aside from that, everything else was perfect.

Food is amazing, staff lovely & helpful, gave the right amount of attention. Lovely setting just off the harbour. Highly recommend

Traveled far to come to this place, as I had read about it in a travel book. After a long drive to Padstow, I was so disappointed. I don't care who your chef is, your service is awful. We waited until the exact time of our reservation, although we were quite early, and still couldn't get service. Had to send drinks back twice because it was made wrong (how do you ruin a vodka and soda?). Food was fine, but I've had better fish and chips from roadside shops. There is a great selection of other restaurants nearby. Save your time on stopping here.

Fantastic service and great food! We tried oysters, a combination plate and the sea bass for main dish. I would say the seabass was a bit salty but still delicious! Sourdough bread and olives were also awesome :)

Lovely evening meal. Shared the lobster risotto appetizer and we both had the cod casserole; both were very tasty. When ordering a casserole my expectation was more of a hearty dish served in a ramekin type vessel. This was a piece of cod( beautifully cooked) lying on top of a light broth and nothing to help soak up the broth. Would have ordered a side dish if I had known this. Expensive for what you get in portion size.

The waitstaff is attentive and personable though seemed disappointed that we ordered just one starter - we were there for lunch. The quality of the food is quite good, but it's exorbitantly overpriced.

When planning my trip to Cornwall, I asked several people for recommendations and they always mentioned Rick Stein's first restaurant. 6 months in advance I booked lunch but then after two weeks of eating, almost cancelled the booking to avoid the drive. So happy I did not, the restaurant fully lived up to its reputation. I started with the sashimi, three pieces each of tuna, salmon, bass and brill. Never had bass or brill sashimi before but all were great. Fantastic pieces of fish, fresh tasting, meaty, east to eat. I also liked the two types of wasabi that came with it. For a main, despite wanting to try the fish I had to go with the lobster Thermidor. It was great but incredibly ric, pretty much knocked me out for the rest of the day. Fantastic meal. Also wanted to say my son had the lemon sole, cooked whole and deboned at the table, and it looked incredible. So did the cold shellfish platters I saw at a couple other tables. Meal was so good considering returning to Cornwall just to come back.

As part our my mini-moon, me and the new Hubby wanted to eat somewhere Posh. As we were going to Cornwall, I knew it had to be Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant. After a quick peruse of the menu online, I checked out available dates for booking. Man! This place books up quick! You HAVE to get in there early to get a chance to go. Luckily, we wanted to go for lunch rather than dinner - so we were ok! A couple of clicks and we were booked! There is nothing quite like a nice stress-free booking process and this couldn't have been any easier. Within minutes we had our email confirmation and were looking forward to getting to Padstowe to give it a try. The venue is right on the harbour at Padstowe (opposite the carpark). After a lovely jaunt around the town in the sunshine, we walked back towards the restaurant for our 1:30pm reservation. We were made to feel like the most important people in the room as soon as we walked in! I had put that we were honeymooning on the booking and we were told that the best table in the house was ready and waiting for us. We were escorted to a lovely comfortable corner booth all laid out for a delectable dining experience. Our waiter was super attentive, friendly and helpful throughout our dining experience. From taking us through the non-alcoholic cocktail options (hubby was driving) to talking us through each dish, we knew we were in for a treat. The food was fantastic. I went for the seafood soup to start, the Lobster Thermadore for main and we both opted for the dark chocolate tart with peanut butter ice cream for dessert. Each dish was wonderfully presented and we were given olives to nibble on whilst we were choosing our food and the most delicious sour dough and white bread to accompany our meals. The real "wow" factor came from the truffle and seaweed butter that was served with the bread; I have never had anything like it! The cocktail came with an edible flower and looked and tasted amazing. A great accompaniment to our meals. Now, as you might have guessed... the meal wasn't cheap. The cheaper lunch menu was £38.50 for 3 courses, so 2x 3 course meals, a side and a couple of non-alcoholic cocktails came to just under £100 (£110 with tip); however, it was totally worth it for the dining experience. This place is thoroughly recommended for a celebration.

As my girlfriends birthday was coming up and she'd booked us a short break in Cornwall, I thought I'd surprise her by booking lunch at Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant. We were promptly seated on arrival and I mentioned to the waiter that we'd travelled to Padstow just to visit the restaurant and on hearing this, kindly offered to concoct a tasting menu for us along with a sharing starter of Fruits de mer. After ordering our food the waiter returned to offer us a tour of the kitchens which was an absolute treat. Unsurprisingly the food was incredibly fresh and utterly delicious, my girlfriend exclaimed it was the best meal she'd ever had which was hard not to agree with. Once we'd finished our meal and paid for our meal I was asked again to wait for a moment. Unsure what was in store, I was delighted to discover that the staff had put together a little package of a collection of their deserts inscribed with a birthday greeting. I hadn't directly mentioned that it was my girlfriends birthday and can only assume that the attentiveness of the staff was second-to-none. So really what I'm trying to say is that you must visit, it was one of the most enjoyable dining experiences I've ever had.

I've always love this place. A bit pricey to be more than a special treat. The place for the freshest and finest fish dishes.

With a short break in Cornwall coming up after our wedding the wifelet (then fiance) booked us in for lunch with much excitement. We both adore seafood and with such critical acclaim I was looking forward to an incredible lunch. We were met with fantastic service (including a warm congratulations and a lovely table reserved for us) and given time to peruse the menu. We'd already decided beforehand on the set menu - at £38.50 for three courses it's a no brainer! The mussels to start were delicious - perfectly spiced in a Thai inspired coconut sauce. The lobster thermidore was wonderfully decadent and rich. And the dessert of a chocolate tort with peanut butter ice cream was incredibly indulgent and made even more special with the inclusion of marzipan scrolls saying congratulations! Alas, I was driving so couldn't sample the extensive (and expensive) wine menu but we did try one of their mocktails which had just the right balance of sweet and refreshing. I would love to go back and splash out on the main menu, but with lunch costing £100 I'll have to save my pennies first!

Conveniently located in Padstow with paid parking opposite. The service was good and the food fresh. We had the Porthilly & Carlingford Oysters, Special Lobster, Foie Gras, avocado and bean salad (nice but a bit rich), Bucatini Pasta and the Hot Shellfish Mix (Excellent). Booking is important.

This place is ACE!!! I have been here many times over the last decade and every visit is a great dining experience. The staff are excellent #serviceisking an you are made to feel special from the beginning to the end of your dining experience. The restaurant is busy with a gently bubbling atmosphere. The service is efficient but respectful. The drinks are superb. Whoever picks the wine does a very good job and there is an excellent range which has been reduced and improved over the years. The food menu is a tantalising mix of dishes exploring a world of sea food, techniques and cultures. Pervading it all is a sense of simplicity. Sure this isn't a Michelin starred restaurant and Rick doesn't cook your dinner, but the overall dining experience is excellent!

OK I visited this restaurant a while ago, but I think it really needs a mention, as it serves up pretty much the best seafood I've ever eaten. So, Padstow has earned a slightly infamous reputation as being the business hub of Rick Stein's culinary forays, but to be honest, i couldn't care less as he does it extremely well. Padstow itself is a terrifically quaint Cornish town, nestled on the estuary of the Camel river, and it would probably be a sin not to eat seafood there - oh and drink some pretty tasty Cornish ale. The place to choose in Padstow for said seafood and Cornish ale has to be Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant. Walk into the restaurant on the edge of the harbour, and it expands back, packed comfortably with leather booths, stone floors and wooden panelling around a circular oyster bar. Hit the bar while the staff prepare your table and a piping hot baked oyster appears with your aperitif drink to whets the appetite until your personal waiter or waitress take you to your table. Friendly, yet unobtrusively attentive staff seem to preempt pretty much every request, and a bottle of wine appears within minutes of us ordering. Equally, our choices of starters prompt quick cutlery changes, and my brother is soon equipped with an array of medieval utensils to attack the crab platter that has become the envy of all sitting around him. I chose Oysters Charentaise - which is a heady mixture of piping hot chorizo, chilly fresh oysters and a good few slugs of white wine - weird, but very very tasty. As an aside, it's pretty likely that this evening will involve drinking enough wine to fell a small horse, so come prepared. Moving back to a more food-oriented discussion, I had a LOBSTER for my main - my first ever lobster - but nonetheless was I think one of the best things to have passed my lips. In fact, I can still taste it if I think about it. My brother had a Dover Sole, which, according to him, was possibly the best fishie he's ever had - and he's had a lot of fish in his lifetime. Pudding followed, but it was a bit of a nonevent, considering the culinary delights that preceded, and I think some coffee happened after that, but, again, was not so memorable, and has been replaced by further musing on how nice that lobster was. Then we went to the pub and I had more Cornish ale. I then woke up the next day, with a very sore head. Nonetheless, any pain endured the following morning is supplanted by what was truly an excellent meal, with great atmosphere, in a beautiful town. The only problem is that it was bleeding expensive, but hey, if you're going to spend money on food, then this really is the place.

I thought the food was very disappointing. I had the XO clams to start which were overly salty and very small. Some of the clams had not opened (tight shut) which I really hadn't expected from a high quality fish restaurant. The Singapore chili crab was dreadful. The sauce was just sweet goo - no chili or real flavor. The crab was not 'a stir-fried Whole crab' - but a collection of limbs(5!) daubed in the awful sweet sauce, that were tired and certainly not fresh. Stringy, dry crab meat. I went to the Scallop Shell in Bath last week and paid 2/3 price for a crab that was 10 times better. I feel this is a business trading on Rick's name that seems to have forgotten how to deliver good food.

One word - amazing! We took a short last minute break in Cornwall and were lucky enough to get a lunch booking at The Seafood Restaurant. We were about 30 minutes early for our reservation, but the staff were really accommodating and were able to seat us at our table earlier. It's a really beautiful restaurant (although, surprisingly, the view is of a car park...!). As you walk into the entrance, one of the first things you see is the giant hanging fish mobile - it really does look like a shoal of fish! Inside the main room, the tables are arranged around the bar in the middle, which makes the place feel very communal. We had the set lunch menu, which was reasonable (compared to the cost of some of the other menu items!). I had the fish and shellfish soup, which I must say, seemed to be very good value for money as it comes in it's own tureen and you get enough for two people (even though it's an individual menu item). The soup is amazing! This is probably the best fish soup I have ever had (ever!). Hubby had the lobster and fennel risotto, which was also good). For mains, I had the hake and he had the bass - both were cooked really nicely - I couldn't even begin to describe it. For dessert, I had the strawberry pavlova and he had the chocolate mousse cake. Again, both really good. This is another great special occasion place and really lives up to it's name as THE Seafood Restaurant! ;)

Mmmmm tasting menu. Mmmmmmm passionfruit pavlova. Ummmmfff walking around Padstow harbour with a post-Seafood-restaurant stomach-ache. Still, worth it.

Great from start-finish. Had the Ray, Seafood Soup, Chocolate Fondant, and Gin Martini - all perfect and I'm so glad I ventured out and got the Ray. Very different, wouldn't see that on your everyday menu but was beautiful. Happy I didn't go for any of the Fruits de Mer or straight-up lobster. My thinking is go to a 5 star restaurant and get 5 star cuisine. Im sure the fresh seafood would have been incredible but i'd rather buy something from a boat or go diving for it. Whatever your opinion is, everything at this place was unreal. My sister is very cautious of seafood and loved all of it. If there's a place in the world to overcome seafood fears, its this place. Book in advance.

Pretty much what it's hyped to be: excellent seafood with loads of local choices.

The food was delicious. The service was uneven. Our server was a charming person. Unfortunately, he, and everyone else on the staff, was rushing about like a whirling dervish. The result was a general nervous air and a lack of attention; we were not invited to order drinks before we ordered out meal, and dishes went uncleared for too long. Sole and john dory were delicious. I just expect a more polished surface in this price range.

Maybe when you have been to somewhere several times you start to notice things more than when you are visiting for the first time and are slightly in awe. We have been going to the Seafood Restaurant for several years now and have visited three times in the last year including the latest time last weekend. The surroundings are nice especially if you get one of the tables near the windows. Based on our last three visits, service has become variable. In January 2011, it was detached and poorly executed; the young girl seemed inexperienced and badly trained. In November 2011 with the tasting menu, service was great. This last time it was friendly but slow, a large gap between starters and main and I had to start waving across the restaurant to staff to be able to pay the bill in the end. The food remains good but based on the last three visits, the chefs cannot deliver bass to the table with crispy skin. Brill with potatoes and winter truffle was excellent though. So to sum up, food is good not exceptional, service is generally good not exceptional, prices are .....exceptional. Still the place to go in Padstow, though.

Not cheap but ...... You get what you pay for. Staff attentative just to the right level, food is exquisite !!! I had t he fish pie for mains and could have licked the plate clean. All three of us loved the ambience, the staff, the wine and especially the quality of the food. If you're down here it would be rude not to come here - excellent Stein food