Latest news with #SeafoodRestaurant
Telegraph
05-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The Padstow restaurant with rooms that launched Rick Stein's empire
I'm on my feet, dancing. So are dozens of others, to a stream of Seventies hits. Rick Stein is manning the turntables of his mobile discotheque; the strobe lights are flashing, the glitterball is glittering and there's no chance of a brawl breaking out at the Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, celebrating its 50th anniversary in style. It had started, you see, as a nightclub, where Rick and his then-wife Jill witnessed so many brawls that it was closed down by the authorities. 'Back then,' says Jill, 'Cornwall felt separate, like frontier land; it's much more cosmopolitan today.' In place of the nightclub, armed with nothing more than hope over experience, she and Rick decided to open a fish restaurant. Here we all are, half a century on, celebrating not just the original restaurant with rooms but the mini-empire (four restaurants plus bar, cookery school, shops and hotel accommodation in Padstow and six restaurants elsewhere) that the Steins have created and still run today. Very occasionally, a young couple starts out in hospitality, not knowing where their adventure will take them but with complimentary skills and a magic touch that enables them to become pillars of the industry. Robin and Judy Hutson (The Pig hotels) and Tim and Kit Kemp (Firmdale Hotels) had what it took and so did Rick and Jill Stein. In their case, not even a bitter divorce in 2007 and Rick's remarriage ended their endeavour. Here they are tonight, in front of Rick's Purple Tiger disco, taking a bow. With them are their three sons, Ed, Jack and Charlie, all now working in the family business and intent on carrying it forward, hopefully for another 50 years. For me, there are a handful of truly memorable dining rooms and the Seafood Restaurant is one of them. On my family's summer bucket and spade holidays at Daymer Bay in the Eighties and Nineties, the great annual treat was to find a babysitter, catch the ferry from Rock to Padstow and blow our money in the scintillating, all-white, eclectic, art-filled Seafood Restaurant, going home on a high. Does it matter that it never won a Michelin star? No: fish is best served fresh and simple and it was the ambience, the glamour and the buzz that counted – and still does. One criticism: the rather dreary breakfast buffet. No complaints about St Petroc's Bistro (French), the Café (dishes with an Asian twist) or the blue and white tiled Fish and Chip Shop for eating in and taking out. The restaurant was created, like the 36 bedrooms across three different Padstow properties, by Jill Stein, hardly the better known of the pair but nonetheless with a crucial role. 'There are few well-known women in hospitality,' says Jill, who began by offering bed and breakfast at home at the same time as running the nightclub. Like Judy Hutson and Kit Kemp, she believes in comfort first and my room above the Seafood Restaurant was just that, as well as cleverly timeless, with the bonus of a fabulous estuary-facing terrace. The prettily packaged, locally made Porthleven bath products are hers too. Nowadays Jill works with her daughter-in-law Kate Stein, who has designed textiles, ceramics and homeware for the brand. Their next project will be six 'fishing shack' bedrooms. My favourite of Jill's existing rooms, divided between the Seafood Restaurant, St Edmunds House and St Petroc's Bistro are those, elegant and seaside-chic, above the Bistro, which is also a delight, with views on to a secret garden. And downstairs is Ruby's, Jill's charming evocation of a Cornish smugglers' bar. Of course, it was Rick Stein's success as a TV chef that propelled his restaurants and rooms to fame and fortune. But 50 years on, despite all that, this is still a family-run enterprise with plenty of challenges, not least the current economic climate. Its various outlets are embedded in pretty Padstow, once dubbed 'Padstein'. It's still an occasion to eat in the Seafood Restaurant, the lucky ones with lobster thermidor or fruits de mer on ice (£120 for two) piled up in front of them. In 2003 Rick Stein was awarded the OBE for services to tourism in Cornwall. Ten years later, Jill also received one, for services to the hospitality industry. 'I'm proud of that,' she says, 'but it's not my greatest achievement.' Which is? 'That I'm still here.'
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Yahoo
'Quietly glamourous' Pembrokeshire seaside hotel among UK's best places to stay
Located just out of Tenby, overlooking the sea you will find a "cosy", "romantic" and "quietly glamourous" hotel named among the best places to stay in the UK. From Scottish castles and revamped Welsh inns to coastal bolt holes in North Yorkshire, The Times has released its annual list of the 100 Best Places to Stay in the UK. Introducing the list, The Times said: "Every year, our team of experienced reviewers stay at hundreds of properties across the UK and we cherrypick the best for our annual survey. "Whittling down our long list is always tough but this year the standard was so high it was even harder to choose the final 100. "It caused some headaches for us but means that you can look forward to some fabulous breaks in 2025. "Excellence in design, facilities and value for money — whatever the room rate — are always key considerations, but two other vital criteria stood out this year: dining and service. "We have been impressed with how restaurant kitchens have risen to the challenge of food-price hikes to produce ever more creative and delicious dishes. "We had more memorable meals on the road this year than ever before, including a very fine one at the Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, still going strong as it celebrates its 50th year. "It was also heartwarming to see hotels up their game on service, the intangible, deal-breaking measure of any property." The Welsh establishments among the best places to stay in the UK, according to The Times, are: Harbourmaster (Ceredigion) - Wales Hotel of the Year The Angel Hotel (Monmouthshire) - Best Foodie Hotel in the UK Penally Abbey (Pembrokeshire) Plas Dinas Country House (Gwynedd) Penmaenuchaf (Gwynedd) Inn at the Sticks (Carmarthenshire) You can see the full list of the best places to stay in the UK for 2025 by visiting The Times website. Penally Abbey describes itself as "a cosy hotel overlooking the sea" while The Times adds its "the pick of hotels around Tenby." Explaining why, the news outlets writes: "The best stays are always the most personal. That's why this late-Georgian rectory at the far end of South beach remains the pick of hotels around Tenby. "Melanie and Lucas Boissevain, both still hands-on over a decade after they bought the place in 2014, have created a stay that's all heart and soul. "Who but an interior designer (Melanie) would bring such panache to public spaces? "Oversized prints are on inky walls in a handsome drawing room and there's an almost theatrical flair to decor in the restaurant, Rhosyn." The Times continues: "The dozen rooms are more restrained, all coastal creams and soft greys to match the sky and sea outside. "Put it all together and you've the perfect weekender: escapist, romantic, quietly glamorous." Penally Abbey has also been well received by guests, boasting a 4.5 (out of 5) rating on Tripadvisor from 455 reviews. RECOMMENDED READING: Pembrokeshire coastal trail with ruined chapel and pub at end among UK's best The 2 'small and boutique' Pembrokeshire hotels named among the best in the UK The 'little-known hip place' in Pembrokeshire revealed among the best in Britain 'Instant heart-stealer': Adopted town in Pembrokeshire among Britain's prettiest One person, commenting on their stay, said: "Wow! Amazing from start to finish. The room, the service, and the food was excellent. "Harry and all the staff couldn't do enough for us. A stunning location with Tenby a short walk away over South Beach. "Would definitely recommend and we will be back soon." For more details or to book a stay (or a meal) visit the Penally Abbey website (a link to which can be found above).
