Rick Stein’s Café
10 Middle Street Padstow Cornwall PL28 8AP
It was only a matter of time before Rick Stein opened a casual café in Padstow, but what a great job he's done with it, creating an intimate and easygoing café in the middle of town that serves good coffee, homemade cakes and pastries and naturally a firmly fishy menu at lunchtime and Thursdays–Saturdays for dinner too. At lunch and dinner the focus is on simply made seafood and fish dishes from around the world – south Indian fish curries, Pad Thai, moules-frites – at extremely decent prices. They also do steak sandwiches and other meat dishes. In the morning they serve breakfast – everything from crunchy granola to bacon rolls and a Full English to kippers and Rick's very own breakfast bhaji – plus they have a a nice, simple children's menu, which sensibly assumes that most kids don't eat curry or fish but generally prefer fish fingers. Service is upbeat and the small space is invariably bustling throughout the day – you can't book a table, so get there early if you're planning to eat lunch - or grab a takeaway instead. They also have rooms upstairs if you want to stay the night.
