Restaurant Nathan Outlaw

Coming down to Cornwall from London is always a treat, but a trip to Nathan Outlaws restaurant in Port Issac made this trip very special. The only thing on offer is an 8 course fish menu with optional wine flight the menu choice was easy, you ways go for the optional wine flight. The menu took us though some wonderful flavour combinations from light and delicate crab to robust and meaty bass. What stood out to me were the sauces, so much depth in their flavour! Only thing missing, an amuse bouche and petit fours. It is just something you expext with a tasting menu, I didn't leave hungry! I just noticed it was missing. Finally the wines fantastic pairs, unique, interesting and well thought out. Absolutely loved the experience.

During our holiday in Cornwall we were spoilt for choice for places to eat lovely food. One restaurant that we had both been really, really excited about however was Nathan Outlaw at Rock. A two Michelin starred restaurant that only serves tasting menus comprising of just fish – how would I cope with no meat?!

With two michelin stars and rated number 4 in the GFG, as well as the opening of a london outpost, young nathan outlaw seems to be on an upward trajectory. With a recent move from St Enodoc to the little coastal town of Rock it was intriguing to visit a really good restaurant so far from the chaos and hype of the big city. As we negotiated the meter in a nearby car park and tried to work out exactly where the restaurant was, the maitre 'd was already outside welcoming us and making sure we knew where to go. The first thing that struck me was the lack of pretensions, elitism or obsequious disdain associated with the some high end mitchelin restaurants. Outlaws was different the staff seemed more family than employees and the welcome was clearly genuine. Inside, the restaurant is pretty spare, plain tables, pale cream and simple decor with a fishy theme and a stunning ocean view it clearly had no london pretensions and some might say it would be more michelin with an interior titivate I thought it charmingly seaside. We felt relaxed and looked after as the maitre 'd opened the kitchen door, and called nathan out for a quick chat with us. It was then obvious that here was a young man with a big personality, a good talker, open with a manifest passion for food and clear intent on sourcing the very best local ingredients. The menu is purely degustation and we opted for a glass of the camel hill sparkling rose the only English wine and a single wine match between two. The first course was monkfish, cured and thinly sliced to transparency, on which sat thin slices of tart gooseberry, held in place by a ? yoghurt. The balance of textures, colour, acidity and flavour was perfect a simple little dish displaying skilful restraint. With this the wine match was a Japanese sparkling dry white wine an interesting minerally wine unlike anything I 'd had before. Second course: three layers a grapefruit gel on which sat a custard of brown crab meat, on which sat the white meat and then a few small segments of pink grapefruit. This was delicious the grapefruit cut through the richness of the brown meat, as with the previous course achieving a beautiful balance rich, sharp with the slightest pleasant bitterness. Third: Lemon sole pan fried on the skin side, then skin removed. This sat on a mush of garden peas, marrowfats ? and broad beans. Possibly a hint of citrus. The sole perfectly cooked and the combination a classic. Fourth: red mullet with an intense sauce. Again a perfectly cooked fish atop a gorgeously rich no nonsense reduction of roasted crab, turbot and tomatoes. Fifth: turbot with sea parsley, roast potato and a cabbage roll excellent surprisingly the potato was stunningly flavoursome. Sixth: a layering of puffed crisps, sandwiching the most perfectly ripe gooey cheese accompanied by pickled celery and at its base honey. A beautiful combination of textures and flavours. Dessert s there were three. 1. Rhubarb granita with strawberries and mint. 2. Raspberry creme brûlée. 3. Pineapple and coconut tart. All excellent the rhubarb granita was my favourite. The sommelier was passionate, extraordinarily knowledgeable and added to the pleasure of our meal. The wine match I thought was unusually good the weight of each wine paired with that of the dish it accompanied, yet each was not allowed to overshadow the dish itself. In two instances the match was worth more than the sum of its parts. All of the wines were unusual, rare or interesting. Overall I felt that the dishes that we sampled were made from the best local ingredients, cooked perfectly, constructed with skilled restraint. The range varied from delicate to powerfully rich and the progression of dishes superbly orchestrated. This is not a restaurant where diners go to pay homage to a michelin starred chef but rather where diners, cooks and staff all pay homage to the wonderful products of England 's coastal waters and are thankful that Outlaw and his gang can present them in the way that they truly deserve.

The modest, but perfectly formed St Endoc Hotel houses Restaurant Nathan Outlaw and a rather lovely view awaited us with an aperitif on the terrace. A glass of very fine sparkling Cornish from the delightful Camel Valley Vineyard was perfect to sit and gaze over the estuary. Adjourning to the dining room itself brings a compact, modern space that houses an intimate 20/25 guests every evening. There is a single tasting menu on offer priced at £99 with a wine flight at an additional £72. Nathan Outlaw – view from the terrace Two dishes arrived that were somewhere between an amuse bouche and a starter, I settled on pre-starter for the purposes of my caption. Moist white crab meat had been bound with a mayonnaise that was enhanced by the addition of the richer brown meat. The plate was finished with an injection of salty flavour from sea purslane, a foraged sea herb. The second offering wa

This is the normal restaurant that is an adjunct to the 2 Michelin starred Nathan Outlaw restaurant at the same location (which we couldn't get into.)