I have been wanting to dine at Rick Stein’s ‘The Seafood Restaurant’ in Padstow, Cornwall for years and having finally satisfied this longstanding curiosity, I have been vacillating on this review for months now, having certain reservations when it comes to appraising those who are exceedingly successful and cooking celebrities enjoying immense commercial success.
With the fish stock still simmering on the stove, I’m in a right fishy mood. And we must have been on the evening of June 6th as well, as we found ourselves at the Wright Brothers Soho Oyster House, 13 Kingly Street, Carnaby, London.
Not only is the location perfect if you are going to the West End theatres, they open Monday to Saturday right through from midday to midnight, and midday to 8pm on Sundays. It does not get any user-friendlier than this for theatre goers, especially for families, like us, who arrived at 5.00pm for an early dinner and out by 7.00pm, not rushed at all, indeed a most relaxed and enjoyable meal.
Yesterday’s fishing expedition took a turn for the better and within a half hour two of us had pulled in some 21 Mackerel, yours truly bringing in the bulk of this and every time I put out the line I literally had to pull it back in. The in-coming tide was probably the reason for us encountering a school of fish and we probably won’t need any more Mackerel now with enough for breakfast for the next few days.
Another beautiful day in Cornwall, out at sea by 8am before the low-tide to check our lobsters pots. But no luck again save a young specimen that we threw back. Still, where’s there’s children there has to be adults so we re-baited the pots and hope we are more successful tomorrow.
A 7am chug around Falmouth Bay, that is the mouth of the Fal River, checking our lobster pots proved fruitless, although I did catch a Mackerel on the way back.
We set off to Helford Passage for lunch at the Ferryboat Inn, now run by the oyster and seafood specialist, Wright Bros, of Borough Market and their Soho restaurant, which we dined a few weeks back and had a most enjoyable experience. More on that later.
Having traveled down from Highgate by train to Haslemere in Surrey for a few days to stay with friends, we then drove to their beach house in St Antony, Cornwall, a good 6 hour drive stopping off at their Devon Farm to raid the cellar. He’s a true Wandering palate with a taste for old German Riesling and Southern Rhone reds.
