With its golden beaches and sweeping cliffs, Cornwall is a visual delight for those who visit. At our Truro cottages with hot tubs you’ll experience the magnificence that the county has to offer, and with the unspoilt landscape providing the perfect backdrop to your holiday, you’ll need great food to match.
Celebrity chefs have been taking over our screens for years, and many have decided to set up shop in Cornwall. Whether it’s the beautiful views that attracted them or our stunning local produce, check out some legendary cooks you can enjoy during your stay.
Paul Ainsworth at No6
Location: Padstow, PL28 8AP
Open: Lunch, Thursday to Saturday; Dinner, Tuesday to Saturday.
Website
Padstow is home to many great fish restaurants. However, Paul Ainsworth’s No6 regards itself as a cutting-edge gastronomical experience showcasing everything else the region has to offer.
Paul Ainsworth trained in some of Britain’s finest kitchens, including working under Gary Rhodes and Gordon Ramsay, before opening No6 in 2005. He was a winner on the BBC’s Great British Menu in 2011 and won his first Michelin Star a few years later. Since then, he’s regularly appeared on cooking TV, including on Saturday Kitchen and Master Chef.
Set in a beautiful Georgian townhouse, No6 offers a blend of classic British dining with wonderfully creative flourishes. With a Michelin Star to its name, you can be sure of an unforgettable dining experience here.
If you fancy something a little more casual, Paul Ainsworth also owns Caffè Rojano in Padstow, a more relaxed but equally gorgeous restaurant.
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Rick Stein’s The Seafood Restaurant
Location: Padstow, PL28 8BY
Open: Every day, year-round.
Website
Arguably the most well-known of our celebrity restaurants, Rick Stein opened The Seafood Restaurant in 1974 with his wife, Jill. Rick Stein is a common face on British TV, presenting cooking and travel shows dating back to the 1980s, and still going strong.
Originally planned to be a nightclub, the Steins found trouble with the clientele they were attracting, so after a rethink, they reopened as a seafood restaurant. Using the freshest and finest seafood that Cornwall has to offer, The Seafood Restaurant opened a year later.
It’s the simple dishes and the classic flavours that make the restaurant so popular. With a bar in the centre of the room to watch chefs assemble your platter, you’ll be sure to want to return to this firm favourite amongst the visitors of Padstow.
The international reputation it has gained over the decades means that The Seafood Restaurant is going nowhere soon. However, if you find that it’s booked, the Steins own other establishments through Padstow and elsewhere in Cornwall, which you can find on their website.
Jude Kereama’s Kota
Location: Porthleven, TR13 9JA
Open: Lunch, Thursday to Saturday; Dinner, Tuesday to Saturday
Website
If you’re looking for something different during your stay in Cornwall, Kota, located near Porthleven Harbour, offers an incredible blend of traditional Cornish ingredients and popular Asian flavours.
Kota is the restaurant of Jude Kereama, one of Cornwall’s finest chefs who has won multiple awards and has appeared as a representative of the South West on the BBC’s Great British Menu. Kereama worked under famous chef Antony Worrall Thompson in London before moving to Cornwall with his wife, where they set up Kota in 2006.
Kota is a beautifully intimate and subtle environment. The name is Maori for ‘shellfish’ and speaks to the restaurant’s beautiful blend of traditional, often foraged Cornish ingredients with Asian culinary influences.
If you prefer a more casual setting than Kota’s main restaurant, Kereama also runs Kota Kai, a bar and restaurant just down the road.
Nathan Outlaw’s New Road
Location: Port Isaac, PL29 3SB
Open: Lunch, Wednesday to Saturday; Dinner, Tuesday to Saturday
Website
Many regard Nathan Outlaw as Cornwall’s best chef, particularly when it comes to our signature ingredient – fish.
Nathan Outlaw actually trained as a chef under Rick Stein at his famous restaurant in Padstow before forging a star-studded career of his own, which has included multiple award-winning restaurants in Cornwall and elsewhere. Outlaw has appeared on the BBC’s Great British Menu and Saturday Kitchen, and is regarded as one of the very best seafood chefs in the country.
This establishment was previously the two-Michelin-Star Restaurant Nathan Outlaw. However, it closed and rebranded during the COVID pandemic. New Road keeps much of the same ethos, and has already earned its first Michelin Star, but within a more relaxed environment. If you find New Road is booked up, Outlaw also runs Fish Kitchen in the town, perfect for those wanting a truly unique seafood experience.
Most of the restaurants listed here allow you to book months in advance, so if you’re planning your dream Cornwall trip and hoping to explore some culinary delights, be sure to reserve your tables at the same time as your accommodation!
