Ricks Plaice (Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant)

Member Name: markw-d

Product:	Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant
Date:	22/12/01 (972 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: location, fresh produce

Disadvantages: menu, staff, price

Life is sometimes full of interlocking events and happenings.

I'm a surfer, so I like Cornwall and have a VW Beetle. Jamie Oliver is a celebrity chef who has a loveley VW and likes to surf in Cornwall. I like sea food. Rick Stein is a celebrity chef who makes great sea food recipes and has a restaurant on the sea front in Padstow Cornwall.

I dont think he surfs or has a VW though and maybe that's the problem.

I am lucky enough to have two lives. I live and work in the city and have an expense account lifestyle so I eat in lots of nice restaurants on the company account and know the difference between good service and snobbery.

Evenings and weekends though I live in my surfing clothes and have a life.

Therefore I am just as comfortable eating at Marco Pierre Whites Oak Room in Piccadily, or from a foil container from the local Chinese (which is brilliant).

We had a family holiday for a week in Cornwall just prior to the eclipse, and to giev the family a break from the surfing lifestyle, I booked us into Rick Steins restaurant for lunch. There were four of us, including my wife and two young daughters.

We looked forward to sampling the delights of Ricks T.V repetoire as Fiona and I love spicy sea food.

First disapointment - We had booked as two adults and two children, however there was no childrens menu or alternatives to the main courses. We ended up with what the waitress described as fish and chips between them which was a small fillet of white fish (no sauce or batter, which kids tend to like) grilled in its skin and about ten chips...not inspiring or very filling.

Second disapointment - A very lacklustre menu with no sign of the spicy delights from the T.V programmes. I ended up with the most exotic starter on the menu which was small smoked sausages and Scallops (ok but not mind blowing), and a Dover Sole grilled in sea salt (lacklustre). Fiona had something similar.


Third disapointment - The service. It wavered between innatentive and downright hostile and it was very clear that the children were not welcome.

Fourth disapointment - The bill. We were in there for a little over an hour (and that was only because the staff ignored us for much of the time) and we only had water to drink as we had driven there. Add that to the disapointing amount and quality of food and £85.00 or thereabouts seems excessive.

The decor is very light and airy, in a conservatory style and given better food and service would be an ideal backdrop for a special meal.

We booked about 6 weeks in advance, and at the time we were advised that it was better to book a little further. You can stay here and have a gourmet weekend, but you had better get a bank loan first.

Sorry Rick, love your programme with all the spices and exotic fish but the experience was rock bottom for me.

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