Padstow & The Seafood Restaurant (Rick Stein)

Part of my birthday present from my husband was a few nights away in Padstow staying at Rick Steins hotel The Seafood Restaurant and having a meal in his restaurant. So a few weekends ago we set off on a hour 5 hour trip down to Cornwall. I'd never been to Cornwall so was very excited to be visiting as well as eating and staying at Rick a Steins hotel & restaurant. 

We arrived around 5pm on the Friday night so checked in (hotel is gorgeous as it's been designed by Jill Stein who is an interior designer) and headed straight out to explore before it got dark. 

We'd already agreed to have fish & chips for our tea so off we went to Steins Fish & Chips which is a stones throw away from the hotel. I checked with the cashier that the gluten free batter was also dairy and egg free and to my delight it was. I ordered cod & chips. The chips were yummy but the fish was extra good, lovely crisp golden batter and big flakes of moist white fish. Yum!

Breakfast was included in our stay both mornings. I checked with the waiter for my safe options and he was very helpful. I helped myself to the fruit buffet and added some delicious Serrano ham. All the options were fantastic and made from high quality ingredients. Both mornings I chose Grilled Fish of the Day. First time I'd ever had fish for breakfast (except for smoked salmon) but I loved it. It was seasoned well, lightly grilled and drizzled with herbs and oil. Delicious. I was also offered gluten free toast but I declined as I was happy with what I'd had. It was all washed down with fresh mint leaf tea. 

The 2nd day we had a stroll around the town. I was on the hunt for Cornish Pastys. If you are only gluten free you are in luck as I spotted two pasty shops next door to each other that had signs for Gluten Free Pastys in their windows. I did enquire about them being dairy & egg free but unfortunately they weren't. I also noticed both had a small selection of packaged gluten free cakes on their counters.

For lunch we decided to go back to Steins Fish & Chips as I really wanted scallops. I asked if they could do them in the gf batter but due to the gluten free fryer only being small they didn't use it for anything but fish to avoid contamination for shellfish allergies. Not a problem at all though, I was more than happy to have them grilled and also a portion of grilled king prawns. Both were very tasty.

That evening we were booked into The Seafood Resaurant downstairs in the hotel. I'd been looking at the menu online for weeks trying to decide what to have as it all sounded so good. On the night for my starter I chose the Grilled Hand Dived Scallops and Iberico ham with Pimenton and Pardina lentils. Again the waiter was very helpful in checking that my choices were safe. It was very very tasty and I loved it. My husband had the Hot Shellfish with parsley, chilli, olive oil, garlic & lemon. I did have a taste of one of the crab claws and it was very tasty.

For my main course I decided to try a curry. I thought if their was anywhere to have a fish curry it would have to be there. I ordered the Madras Fish Curry of Stone Bass, Tomato and Tamarind. The sauce was really flavoursome without being too hot and under the sauce was a stack of gorgeous white stone bass fillets. It was served with rice and a lentil dish on the side. Good choice!

Dessert for me was an easy choice. As soon as I was offered Lychee and Rose sorbet I was happy to accept. It was great sorbet. 

Overall the meal was fantastic and I loved every bit of it. I'm pleased I got the chance to eat at a Rick Stein restaurant as I love watching him on tv. His food is amazing. 

The following morning before we set off home we popped over to Steins Deli for some snacks. I picked a selection of olives and the most amazing salt beef. It was melt in the mouth good. I noticed they sold gluten free scotch eggs and gluten free dried pasta too. 

I also found a few items to take home. Some cured bacon, smoked Cornish sea salt and some chorizo which was clearly marked on the back as gluten free and dairy free.

I had an amazing weekend and I would highly recommend staying or just eating at any of the Stein restaurants as they take great care in food allergies and the staff are very knowledgeable. Padstow is a very pretty place to visit too.