The Cornwall Restaurant adventures - North and South.

The restaurant edition....

The South...







During 'The Fish Saga' that took us to Porthleven we had passed this place. When we returned on our first trip it was shut so when we went back in August, this was on our hit list. This place was also recommended by the park we were staying on. As with Black Rock restaurant, Kota offers a set menu but this time it was available all evening.

We went to Kota early on in the evening and were only the second table in. Despite this the atmosphere was welcoming with strong dark wood all around for that extra cosy and intimate feel. One thing that's big for me on the atmosphere is the space between the tables, nothing worse than sitting on another diners lap. I am happy to say that this wasn't a problem here!

The restaurant offered an extensive wine and cocktail list and just for my blog I sampled one from each (wink wink). I started with a champagne cocktail and if my memory is correct it was a Kota Champagne cocktail which had cucumber vodka in. It came with a curl of cucumber in the bottom and a fantastically fancy champagne flute - a great way to start off your meal.

Josh decided to opt for the Set Menu for £17.50, dessert was added on and was well worth the money! With some set menus you get smaller portions but I can say that it matched mine in both size and quality.

To Start Josh had:
Tomato, chilli, coconut & seafood soup

I'm not usually a soup advocate, especially when we go out for dinner but Josh chose this dish and it made me re-think my stance. The soup came in a beautiful bowl (yes it makes all the difference) and wasn't stingy on the fish which made Josh happy. The bowl was littered with big chunks of cod and salmon with a thick soup which was well seasoned. The hint of chill complimented the whole thing. Josh even said he felt full after the starter and those of you who know Josh will understand the gravity of this.

For Main Josh had:

Pan fried hake fillet with saffron & seaweed risotto, shellfish & lemongrass bisque
Josh never used to like rice based dishes and had started to warm to it before Cornwall but this dish cemented his willingness to try. Once again the portion size was massive with a good portion of Hake. Crispy skin and well cooked meat made it extra tasty. Risotto was a little on the soft side for my taste but Josh found it tasty and worked well with the texture of the fish. Well seasoned and comes well recommended.
I was a pain as ever and decided that I wanted to eat a la carte! 

To Start I had:
Heirloom tomatoes, garlic custard, olive caramel, avocado puree & courgette flower (which was £7.50). 

The presentation was amazing - colours were bright and vibrant (different varieties of tomatoes featured) and the puree was scraped across the plate which made it even better! Flavour combinations were spot on too. Although I thought the portion was small at the time, when I had eaten my main and pudding I realised they did no wrong. Who knew tomatoes could taste so good!! ( I obviously did as I used to eat a punnet to myself when I was younger and go red!)

For Main I had:

John Dory with crab & ginger ravioli, cabbage, peas, globe artichokes & lemongrass (which was £17.50)

The first thing that struck me was the smells - the ginger and lemongrass. As you will probably pick up throughout the course of my ramblings, I adore spice and strong flavours and this did not disappoint. The John Dory fillet held its own well and was cooked perfectly offering a great texture to the ravioli. In my head when I ordered I imagined lots of little ravioli but it came as one big offering. I am probably being greedy as I am a carb fiend but I felt that I could have eaten more of it, especially as it was my carb helping of the course. The vegetables were fresh and al dente which made the dish even better.

Me and Josh share our pudding. We were both full but couldn't pass up the opportunity based on what we had already eaten.

For Pudding we had:

Malted chocolate fondant with popcorn ice cream, salted caramel and malted tuille. (which was £7.50)

Well well well. This was the loveliest end to a meal I have had in a very long time. The presentation was playful and made you feel as if you were embarking on a mini adventure to eat it. Different segments meant that you did know where to start.  Josh jumped straight into the fondant which oozed out some silky and delicious goo so naturally I stole the bit he had broken into. I think my favourite bit was the popcorn ice-cream. Oh so creamy and popcorny! The caramel played nicely against the creamy ice cream and the fondant! - below is the pic!

Go on check on the rest of the menu!

The restaurant comes highly recommended.When it got busier we still received attentive service and the vibe was relaxed and fun. Booking your table comes highly recommended! Definitely a place you can have a romantic meal with your other half. 

The North...

In September I went on holiday with some of the girls from University. Louise found some gorgeous wood cabins near Bude called Ivyleaf Combe. Before jumping onto the food, the accommodation was so good I want to give it a mention. Located in some fantastic countryside, you really couldn't ask for better for some time with friends. Each lodge has a hot tub on the deck which was very well used for relaxing times and catch ups with the girls.

The standard of cleanliness was fantastic and we were greeted onto the park by one of the owners who gave us a tour of the lodge before allowing us to settle in. The small things really do make a difference and the apple juice and biscuits laid out for us won us 4 over straight away.

Although most things are a drive away it was nice to come back and be in utter silence

So I banged on about this one restaurant for some time.....

We booked around 6 months in advance and availability was still tight. As Padstow is around 45 minutes from Bude we opted for the early bird special at 6.30pm. What I have learnt is that it can be somewhat of a rush to get ready for this time when you have been out all day as well as feeling slightly odd leaving the lodge dressed to the nines when it is light out.

In saying that my reservations left me as soon as we pulled up outside the restaurant and I began to get that excitement in the pit of my stomach.

As we walked up to the door in our heels, the door was opened for us which always puts me in a good mood. We were swiftly accompanied to our table by the same man and seated. All the excitement went to our head as we committed to the recommended sparking rose wine which we later discovered was £50 for the bottle. In saying that we had planned champagne and if we had had 2 glasses each it would have been more than this. Louise even got her posh on and tried the bubbly before it was poured to us all. I do like a bit of posh! With the bubbly poured we were greeted by the amuse bouche - some breaded cheese! These guys were smooth, too smooth perhaps.

I cant help but think that our experience here was ultimately made better by our waitress. She was friendly, attentive and made us feel completely at ease to ask questions. She even came over to ask if we needed help making our decision and spent time with us explaining what it was like and whats even better being honest.

If you are a fish lover, you NEED to look at the full menu. Only then will you fully understand how hard it was to make a decision. Be prepared to be amazed!

So after much deliberating and ensuring that no one else on the table was having the same thing, I opted for the following (drum roll please...)

Starter

Sashimi of Scallops, John Dory, Salmon and Seabass. 

That's right I went raw. I figured that if I was going to do it, Rick Stein wouldn't let me down. The plate came to me with a clean appearance and a good amount of each. I was so pleased that I got chopsticks but not so pleased I couldn't separate them (thanks to Louise for doing it). I had eaten some raw fish but this was another level, you could taste the freshness and the quality in each mouthful, My favourite of the selection was definitely the Scallops that literally melted in my mouth. Simple and beautiful. Worth every penny (£15.00)

Main

Braised Fillet of Brill with black truffle, slivers of potato, mushrooms and truffle oil.

This stood out to me straight away and what got my eye? The truffle. Together with the fish and the mushrooms it struck my palette as somewhat sweet and fragrant. The fish melted away in my mouth and was cooked to perfection. The slivers of potato did what they said but were cooked well. As I mentioned before I am a carb fiend so I would have happily eaten more! (£29.50)

Pudding

Passion fruit Souffle with white chocolate ice cream

I had so many tastes in my mouth all of which were amazing but opted for passion fruit as a light and refreshing flavour. The souffle was lovely and the passion fruit was there in abundance and gave me a zing which brought me out of my food coma. As with all other ice cream I had when I went to Cornwall it was velvety in texture and rich in flavour.

Overall -

The seafood restaurant is somewhere you should go, especially if you love fish and enjoy a bit of pomp and ceremony. All in the meal cost £75 each. This included the champagne, 2 glasses of pinot grigo wine, coffee and 4 three course meal. It is on the pricey side but sometimes you really do pay for the whole experience and the quality of what you eat.

This picture shows you my emotion about the food we ate:

Wow that was more writing than I planned!

Hope it was worth it and you guys enjoy!

Eat, Drink and Be Merry

H x

My year in Cornwall. Part 1, the south

Ahhh life in Cornwall...

So, for those of you that don't know, my boyfriend's parents recently bought a chalet come caravan near Penzance, Cornwall. To be more specific its right here...

Praa sands is a beautiful little village near a gorgeous beach on the south coast of Cornwall  This has meant that this year I have had 2 holidays in the area. As you can imagine this has meant that I have had some amazing food and want to share it all with you.

Cornwall Food and Drink Festival at Trereife House

This country house is beautiful and is around 10 minutes from the centre of Penzance. They have events on all year round and is well worth a visit. The car parks are placed in the surrounding fields so if its a wetish day DO NOT opt for gladiator sandals like me! The car parks are also a walk away from the main house on a road with potholes prone to puddles. Note again DO NOT wear gladiator sandals if its a wet day.

My love of curry continues...

Whilst there we found this little gem- Ruby Junes Curry Sauces - This stall impressed me so much. Freshly made Bhajis both onion and butternut squash! I bought 1 of each and ever since wish I bought more. So much flavour in both with a good kick of chilli which didn't over power and it was obvious love and care was put into them. If you ever see this grab me some and let me know ASAP.

 I also got one of their Tikka Masala sauces. Although this flavour wouldn't be my first choice, after one taste I was hooked. Fragrant, Spicy and moreish it was an instant hit. Despite the fact I was on holiday I wanted to cook it! I even went to Tesco in Penzance to get the milk. From my last post you'll know that adding excesses of milk-like substances is not my favourite thing in the world. The sauces all come as a thickish paste and June recommends 1/4 pint of milk in her sauces

Have a look at her sauces here - Yummy Curry!

No need for bland food...

Another stall that got our purchase was Nature Kitchen. My friends say that it is easy to sell things to me and they could be right, especially when samples are involved! We were welcomed to the stall by the waft of a delicious mix of smells. 

We tried a few samples including Lemon Pepper and Ras-el-hanout which were lovely but the highlight for us was the Thai Lemon Fish Spice  as shown below.

The great thing about these spices is that they are so versatile - you can add them to roast potatoes  your roasting joint or the fish that the title so suggests. When you smell this intoxicating blend you are instantly met by the lemon quickly followed by the warmth of cumin and mint.

Nature Kitchen have been so kind as to put their suggestions on their website which is worth a look - Sprinkle me, use me!

As with the curry sauces you can order online. As the mixes are so fragrant you don't need to use much to achieve a great flavour - a little pot goes a long way!

Restaurants...

This restaurant was something we stumbled upon after our trip to the Tate at St Ives - they offer an A la Carte Menu but between 6pm - 7pm there is an express menu that you can sample. Prices are two courses £15.50, three courses £17.95. Most people see the express menus and think uber small. Trust me the portions kept me and Josh truly happy so don't worry!

When you walk into the restaurant you are first hit by the art work that is emblazoned on the walls. I later found out that this is all work by local artists. Now I'm no art critic but the variety in the work on display really added to the atmosphere and gave it something extra. 

My mother and some of my friends (Magrath and maybe Alex) would have been put off by the plastic chairs but the menu was enough to deter me from even caring.

When we first visited in June at 6pm on a weeknight you were not surrounded by people. However, the friendly waiting on staff made the place seem friendly and warm.

I started by having a prosecco with elder flower syrup and what a taste sensation this was. This was quickly followed up by home made breads (still warm!!!) and real butter with a teeny tiny pile of salt. I was sold already.

• To Start I had Mussels steamed with chorizo, white wine and coriander. Predictably I asked for more bread! Probably should have resisted as the bowl was so big and brimming with tasty Mussels

For Main I had Cider baked belly pork with crackling, pickled apples, celeriac dauphinoise and seasonal greens. Belly Pork is my absolute favourite meat and this was cooked to perfection. Flavourful and moist (yes i said it) and totally melt in the mouth. Complimented excellently by the dauphinoise and the apples. I even devoured the crackling. The portion size wasn't as big as the stater but the quality, presentation and flavours meant it did its job - left you wanting more. I'm big on restaurant etiquette but i totally wanted to wipe the plate with my finger!

I was that full by pudding I shared. We had Homemade ice creams and biscuits . If you have never had Cornish ice cream you are missing out! So thick and creamy and the flavours were amazing - the caramel honeycomb was def my fave! It was accompanied by Vanilla and a Whiskey Ice cream and the biscuits were divine. Great way to finish off a meal

Just to give you and idea of how good it was, we went back twice in a week and took some friends that had joined us. I can see why they have these recommendations:

The Fish and Chip Saga

Now I don't know about you but fish and chips and are synonymous with Cornwall. Me and Josh first went down in June for the Queens Jubilee and had a hankering for the lovely yet fattening seaside treat. 

At 7.45pm we left Praa Sands and drove to Porthleven which takes about 10 minutes. We found a parking spot the walked down to a chip shop only to find they were shutting up! So we trundled round Porthleven to find not one single chip shop was open past 8pm. We got back in the car and spent about half and hour driving to Penzance passing 5 or more chip shops all shut.

Lesson learned. In June, past 8pm you have to go to Penzance. We found 1 little saviour down a back street called Captains Fish Bar.

(62 Daniel Place, Penzance, TR18 4DU 01736 330333) that is open till 9pm!

We had a couple of fish a large chips and some mushy peas for the mister.

If my memory serves me correctly it came to about £10 for the lot. Once again

they were not shy on the portion size.  Batter was light and the fish was cooked

in front of you.

This Fish Bar had the option to take away or eat in and offered cute little gifts in the window! 

Out of season holiday-ers. You are welcome. ‎

Eat, Drink and Be Merry

H x