St Petroc's Bistro

Decked out in wood, light colours & contemporary art, St Petroc’s Bistro is part of the Rick Stein empire in Cornish hotspot Padstow. It offers the same excellent seafood as its bigger sibling – but with meat choices too – in a breezier, less formal setting. Menus are shorter than at the Seafood Restaurant, & can on occasions be slightly uninteresting, but there's always a polyglot, metropolitan crowd to fuel a lively ambience. Start, perhaps with squid & potato stew with rouille, followed by roast haddock on braised cabbage with bacon & beer, or maybe pan-fried rabbit with tarragon sauce, with a classic Paris Brest for afters, a delectable confection of choux pastry & whipped cream. The wine list offers a good, affordable range of styles, with a delightfully creamy Armit white Burgundy (Chantron et Trebutchet, 2004) shading a Sauvignon Blanc by Kiwi Kim Crawford for our top marks. Try Rick Stein's Cafe (Middle Street) for more of the same in even simpler surrounds. Or head for Stein’s Fish & Chips (South Quay) to check out his latest venture.