Rick Stein’s Cafe

If we had skipped the whole bill fiasco we would probably have given 4 stars.
I’ll start with the good news:
My g/​f went a la carte and got the special of the day Thai noodle soup, which she said was a bit salty, but pretty good. She then got the hake which she thought was excellent.
I got the three course special, starting with the salt and pepper prawns which were messy to eat, tasty, but a little overcooked. Then I had the whole plaice (with a side of chips). The plaice skin was grey and flabby (not crisped at all), the fish was cooked well but not seasoned that much. The roasted red pepper with it was nice, but didn’t really complement it. For dessert I got the sticky toffee pudding, very good (but nowhere near as good as the Ramsay version).
I should have led with that I’m more of a steak and shellfish guy so most fish is not going to get me ecstatic, but nevertheless I think they did a competent job.
We also got a beer, ginger infused, that was very good, and a cocktail that was also very good.
The staff were mixed, most very good indeed, one quite brusk and not exactly warm.
So not blown away, but competent.
And on to the bad news, the bill:
I got the 3 course £23, and I made a point of saying that I was ordering the 3 course while my g/​f was ordering a la carte. The bill came and we paid it, but then looking closer I saw that they had used my g/f’s cheaper fish meal to make up the 3 courses, meaning we were overcharged by £3. I brought it to their attention and then the excuses started. Three waitresses were involved in the following dialogue, all scrambling to come up with their own version of why I was wrong. «It’s the computer that does it, we have no control over it». Well that’s not true is it? If you know the computer is going to choose the cheapest meal then ring it up as two bills. Then came «Nobody has ever complained about it before». Or in other words I’m a cheap bastard who should just pay up and get out. But wait, that also means you know its ringing up wrong, but you never let on to your customers? And then «Well we could put £3 back onto your credit card if you want.» Or in other words it’s going to put us out to fix our error so wouldn’t you rather just leave? I said yes, thank you I’d like the £3 back that you stole (well I didn’t actually say that) and they grumpily did the refund, then ignored us as we left.
What a shame, it could have been a great experience, they could have easily resolved the issue, but instead they chose to get confrontational, almost winning £3, instead definitely losing a customer.

Went here for a lunch with the girls having being living in Cornwall for a few months and no sampling of rick stein. The café was very busy on a beautiful sunny winters day. The service was good but the food took quite a while. We each had fish cake appetiser which were tiny and not very exciting. I had the moules frites which were yum combined with a glass of wine. Nothing amazing but a nice casual spot in the cute town of padstow

Had breakfast which was of a decent standard (full English & kipper). However, as we were expecting the highest standards to accompany his empires’ reputation we were disappointed in the quality of the service, having to ask for the basics to accompany our meal i.e. Butter, sugar, additional coffee & a half empty basket of toast is not equivalent to the 2 baskets we ordered.
If you are going to hang your name over the door, you need to keep an eye on the running of the establishment!

You cannot visit Padstow without visiting at least one of Rick Stein’s establishments. He has, to some degree, taken over this small fishing village on the north coast of Cornwall. But being a foodie, I cannot complain about this totalitarian approach, at least there are plenty of opportunities to sample good food here. And the inimitable Mr Stein has seemingly attracted other top class chefs to this area, with Paul Ainsworth and Nathan Outlaw also having restaurants in this locality.
We plumped to eat in the café as there were options for the non-​fish eater and vegetarian amongst our group. The café itself is lovely, tucked away on a back street, decorated in a classy but fun way, quite small but with a covered outside area, and even B&B rooms upstairs. The service was efficient and friendly without being over the top.
I had been looking forward to dining here on our trip, having made the reservation some time in advance. However, on this day I was suffering terrible stomach pains, and having dragged myself along 13 miles of Cornish coast line, I wasn’t in the best state for dinner. However, I wasn’t going to forfeit my meal here for love nor money!
The café does specialise in fish but has plenty of other options for those that require it. I plumped for plaice goujons and fries as I wanted to have something quite simple. It was delicious but it would have been nice to try something a little more exotic on the menu. The others were all pleased with their meals, which included a whole bass, a vegetarian tart and a lamb curry.
The night before, when dining at the Cornish Arms, we had samples Rick’s sticky toffee pudding, sharing one between the four of us, all of us fining it divine. Finding it on the menu again we ordered one each — it’s safe to say that although delicious, it left us all feeling slightly sickly, although there was four clean plates at the end!
A good meal in a lovely location. Carry on Rick, you are doing a fine job!

The first time we went to Rick Stein’s Café it was out of curiosity, just to see what it was like. Very bright and light inside with a variety of seating, furnished with cushions and modern paintings, befitting of the relaxed feel of the café. One of the many friendly staff, showed us to our table, which was adjacent to the bar area, that also served to showcase the homemade cakes on offer, like lemon drizzle. As a late breakfast we just had a coffee and a cappuccino, a croissant and a pain au chocolat. The pastries were wonderfully light and tasty, clearly homemade, and the coffee whilst small in size, was wonderfully rich, so much so my wife had two cappuccinos on both our visits, as they were so good. Coffee in most cafes now seems to be quantity over quality, this was the reverse, and all the better for it. Never rushed we spent a very relaxing hour, feeling like we were truly on holiday.
The next day we visited again, this time at breakfast time, the coffee was just as good, as was the service and the pastries, but this time I tried the Huevos Rancheros, two eggs on tortillas, with a spicy tomato and chilli sauce, superb! To the rear of the café is a courtyard area and the very well furnished, but compact toilets.
As an aside on the first day we visited, the man himself came into the café, but by the time I had taken a double take, he was already on his way out again!

Rick Stein pretty much dominates Padstow so after trying his fish and chip restaurant in South Quay over the summer, we decided to go to his café this time round. Busy as always and waited a while before ring seated. Service was slow but food was tasty. My wife had the Vietnamese Phở soup which was full of flavour and I had the cod fish cakes, you need to add £3.50 on top of the £6-£7.50 standard size else and I quote the waitress said «the menu standard size is like an appetiser size».
Good to try out but expect to wait for a table.

Being a Rick Stein café you expect a little more, but the cooked breakfast was very nice. You can tell the ingredients are better than the average. Worth a visit if you’re hungry in Padstow.

Another visit to Rick’s Café. This time service got off to a not so good start, starters arrived before any drinks and they seemed to have forgotten that we had ordered two glasses of white to go with the fish starter before we started the red with our mains. After this shaky start service improved and was great from there on. Salt and pepper prawns to start with Asian stye salad. Cornish ribeye cooked perfectly to follow. Set dinner option good value as, after selecting the starter and main that you were going to order anyway, you then find you can have a superb dessert for an extra £2.50. Great value way to eat the Rick Stein way!

My friend and her family are a big fan of Rick Stein. When we came to Cornwall, we couldnt get the table at the Seafood Restaurant, so we decided to come here instead.
It is not a big restaurant. It is a café so it’s pretty casual. The best part is the food is amazing but not that expensive.
Great experience overall.

The best spanish garlic soup («sopa de ajo,» I think) I’ve ever had. I have endured nary a flu nor a vampire attack since.

A group of 4 adults and three kids went for lunch. The service was rather brusque, the place was not full but, we were seated under a mantlepiece! A table we moved out about a foot, before waiting rather too long to be offered menus and drinks. Two dishes were sent back as they were cold, but shouldn’t have been. Meals were not served together, in fact two of the kids had finished before the third was served. The general standard of food was far less than expected, as a result we were all left feeling very disappointed, let down and quite hungry. Unfortunately I got the feeling that the Stein empire was more important than the customers and food, which is a shame as I’ve been a fan of Stein’s approach to food for a long time… ho hum.
The star is for the sunny room.

Well after hearing from various sources making me aware that dining out at a Rick Stein establishment will leave a considerable hole in one’s pocket, I avoided his seafood restaurant and after dining out at his fish and chip shop/​restaurant I was inclined to agree, £77 for fish and chips for four, okay that did include a bottle of wine, but the food was first class as expected, but I’m not here to talk about this establishment, bit this little known café, secreted in one of Padstow’s tiny back street, away from the crowds. This is a quite a small restaurant, but they layout does allow you to dine at your own table and not brush against other diners. The Menus isn’t fish based as some would have thought, but has a quite a varied menu. Our first courses was Rick’s version of Phở, which I found to be amazingly true to its origin’s with the different ingredients bouncing around on my taste buds, leaving a pleasant spicy feeling. Avoiding the fish dishes, I opted for the rib eye steak, yes I know, boring, but I just fancied steak having had oysters and fish only the day before. The steak was cooked to perfection, my daughter loves her steak ‘blue’ and she found it to be just how she likes it. My wife had fish breaded goujons and found the breaded coating to be very light unlike some that tend to be used to hold the fish together. For dessert and being a chocoholic, I buried my face into a large slice of sunken chocolate cake accompanied with pouring cream. One thing i did find was that the portions were very generous and some diners would have found the Phở to be quite substantial and with the total bill being in the region of £160 for four, including 2 bottles of wine, beers and sparkling water, and exceptional service, I found the cost of dining out here to be very reasonable.
NB: This café also offers B&B accomodation.

Rick Stein’s entry level restaurant and it is pretty amazing. Affordable fair with a complementary wine list. Famous for his fish, you should really opt for that however you won’t be too disappointed with his meat options eitherlamb was decent. The house wine is very drinkable so the meal can end up being very reasonable. Advisable to book. P. S. try the chips!