Review: Rick Stein’s Fistral restaurant, Newquay

I maintain that you haven’t had a proper seaside holiday unless you have fish and chips by the beach. Or ice cream, depending on the beach. 

It’s not always as easy as it seems. For every fantastic café and restaurant with incredibly fresh fish, there’s another with limp batter, overcooked crunchy chips and extra servings of grease.

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Fortunately, on our visit to Cornwall, I could guarantee being safe from that thanks to Rick Stein’s new restaurant, Fistral. Right on Fistral beach, it opened at the beginning of May and we headed there for lunch a fortnight later.

First things first… if you’re thinking of his flagship Seafood restaurant in Padstow and wondering about whether it’s a good idea to take a toddler to somewhere with oysters and sashimi, this is rather different.

Deliberately informal, it’s far more chilled out and family friendly with long tables and benches indoors and picnic-style tables outside overlooking the sea so it’s easy to wander up from the sand and grab something to eat.

It’s also self-service, so you queue up to place your order, pick up drinks then settle down to eat – although they sell wine by the glass, so you’re not slumming it either.

Divided into two sections, one focuses on curries and Asian dishes inspired by Rick’s son Jack’s time surfing in Indonesia and Rick’s own time travelling around India, from Goan chicken curry to Pad Thai.

The other is all about the fish – a local catch battered and deep fried in beef dripping for proper crispiness, plus hand cut chips (so moreish, I kept eating them long after I was full) and great light onion rings. You can also choose grilled fish if you prefer, along with veggie and gluten-free options.

I had scampi, while my husband had some fantastic lemon sole, plus there are sauces including tartare and aioli. There’s also a children’s menu, with items such as fish goujons, although frankly the portions weren’t much smaller.

The restaurant doesn’t take reservations so it’s worth getting there early, although there are plenty of tables when it’s sunny enough to sit outside – and honestly the views are amazing, so I’d recommend that if it’s at all possible.

Fistral is open from 9am to 9pm serving breakfast, ice creams and drinks as well. Prices start from £5.95 for children’s portions (including chips) and main meals, plus £3.50 for chips.

And if you can still waddle afterwards, there’s a fantastic clifftop walk which is great with kids (and much more buggy-friendly than the sand).

If you’re not in Newquay, there’s plenty of choice across the county including Falmouth, near the National Maritime Museum, and Porthleven, with some gorgeous harbourfront cottages to stay in.

For more ideas of things to do in Cornwall with kids, check out my top 20

 

Main image and video copyright MummyTravels, fish and chips courtesy Depositphotos

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