One Fish Street, St Ives (Cornwall)

20 July 2022
onefishstreet.net

Writing about a fabulous summer holiday on a cold night in October when the rain is lashing the living room windows and you’re debating cranking up the heating again is not really in the interests of one’s mental health, but I have no one to blame but myself. I’ve been slacking off and now have many a blog post of many a fabulous spring and summer meal to write up and, it has to be said, this particular one is quite lovely.

I get to travel back mentally to one of our absolute favourite places in the whole world. St Ives in west Cornwall is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places in the British Isles. An ancient fishing village less than 20 miles from Land’s End, Britain’s most southerly point, it boasts crystal clear coastal waters, fine beaches, a temperate climate and a unique quality of light that has attracted artists from across the world. It’s also where we spent our honeymoon in October 2011 when, honestly, the weather was not very temperate at all, but we had a wonderful time anyway.

I mean, just look at it.

Fish Street in St Ives. Off to the left is The Mermaid, another restaurant close to our hearts

We try to get to St Ives for a week each summer for a few days of beach, fine cider and fantastic fish and seafood. There are loads of great restaurants and cafes to choose from - one of the things we love about it is that you could visit for a two week holiday and eat in a different, good quality eatery every evening. But one thing that had been missing was an exciting, modern fine dining experience. Then, completely by chance, we discovered One Fish Street (OFS) in summer 2021. At less than £60 per head for a 6/7 course tasting menu (at the time) we took a punt and made a booking, and were absolutely delighted with the exciting menu, brilliant quality cooking and relaxed, modern aesthetic. So when we planned our 2022 trip, it was the first dinner booking we made.

Situated on Fish Street on the Downalong (the bit of town where the fisherman used to live), the restaurant is situated just off the harbour in one of the pretty former fisherman’s cottages, just opposite 14th century pub The Sloop. OFS is an intimate venture founded by chef Bradley Monk, who is passionate about showcasing fabulous quality ingredients in beautifully presented dishes. There’s lots of fish and seafood on the menu, but there’s also top rate beef and rare breed pork, award-winning cheeses and a varied and well thought out drinks list. The menu changes regularly to ensure that the cooking showcases the very best ingredients available at the time, and also offers an exciting drinks pairing featuring wine, beer and cocktails. Did we opt for the drinks pairing? We were on holiday. What do you think?

We were seated at out table by our friendly, knowledgable waiter and were served our first bevvy of the evening, a glass of Nyetimber Classic Cuvee. Nyetimber is an exquisite medium dry English sparkling wine, made at the eponymous vineyard in West Sussex, and we think it gives a lot of French champagne a run for its money. And then to improve matters further we were presented with a delicious soft flatbread soaked in smoked butter and topped with soft and salty anchovies to share. If there’s anything better than anchovies and champagne (okay, okay, not champagne - better thank champagne) I have yet to find it.

Still quaffing our Nyetimber we then received our second dish, which was a base of tasty, rich fish stock and a bed of sweet crabmeat supporting a delicate dumpling filled with lobster and carabineros. The latter is a highly sought after breed of prawn known for its distinctive red colour and strong, full prawn-y flavour. Jane, a big fan of prawns, had been looking forward to trying this one and was pretty blown away by it. The balance of this dish was sophisticated, the sauce and pasta combining for a deliciously rich taste without losing the delicacy of the crab and lobster. The presentation and plating was also very effective. There is obviously something decadent about lobster and champagne too. Not at the level of anchovy and champagne, but still.

Judging by successive menus the chef is obviously interested in Korean cooking, which Jane and I are completely down with. I thought that the next dish - the Korean Fried Hake - was great. The delicate, flakey white fish in a crispy batter, with sweet and spicy Korean barbecue sauce and Kewpie mayonnaise, was completely satisfying. I’m even going to say that the lettuce leaf accompaniment worked well*, bringing a cooling freshness to the bite and helping to ensure that you (me) don’t get barbecue sauce and mayonnaise everywhere. The sharp eyed will also see my glass of beer in the photo below, which was the Wild Beer Co’s Yokai, a pale ale spiced with Sichuan peppercorns, that really brought out the spices in the fish.

[*I don’t make a habit of doing this, but if you’ll permit me a small aside… What is the deal with some people thinking that you can replace the corn shell of a taco with a slice of lettuce and that’s okay? Yes, it’s lower carb. Yes, it’s lower fat. No, it’s not as good. Yes, you’re sucking all of the joy out of life. Piss off.]

I need to take a moment to say that Jane absolutely LOVED this dish. She loved the fish. She loved the barbecue sauce. She loved the mayonnaise. She loved the toppings. She loved the bloody lettuce. She even loved the beer. To quote her at the time: “Do you think they’d make me 15 of these to take away in a bucket?”

Note to self: Remember to bring bucket on next visit to OFS.

From one part of Asia to another, our next dish was a tasty monkfish curry. We both really like monkfish, which is meaty and stands up well to spice making it an ideal star of a fish curry. The sauce was buttery and rich, with fresh garden peas, wild garlic and caviar to cut through and provide texture. There was also tarragon oil which lifted the dish with its bright, citrussy tones. The menu had stated that there would also be summer truffle, which was absent on this occasion but didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the food - I really enjoyed this dish. Jane did too, but found the plating awkward which I agree with. The wide, flat base of the plate made the sauce difficult to get at, and it was worth getting at. Interestingly, the dish was served with a lightly oaked, fruity red wine from Germany which worked well with the brighter, summery flavours in the dish.

Monkfish, chicken butter sauce, peas, tarragon, cavier and wild garlic

Okay, this next one is a bit of me and is an enduring feature on the tasting menu. Oysters two ways - raw with fresh lemon and Tabasco and fried with seaweed and katsu mayonnaise - served on the half shell and accompanied by a glass of dry, crisp muscadet. The raw one - my favourite - was silky and creamy and just wonderful with the dash of citrus and spice, and the cooked one - Jane’s favourite - was crispy and savoury. The oysters had been farmed on the Camel Estuary on the north Cornish coast, whose warm, shallow waters are well known for the production of fine shellfish.

Just delightful.

And on the final stop on our tour around Asia, we found ourselves in Thailand for an aromatic hake curry with tart, fresh pickled cabbage. The cabbage cut through the rich, creamy curry sauce perfectly, and the chef had also added a sprinkle of puffed rice which added texture and was a nice re-think of the traditional curry and rice pairing. The plating was perhaps a little overdramatic, but I don’t mind that.

It was served with a glass of German riesling, which I can usually take or leave, but this one was special. A 2008 vintage, the aging process had brought out complex fruit and honey notes which paired brilliantly with the fruit and sweet notes in the curry. This was a really clever pairing, and reminded me that its daft to write off an entire type of wine, particularly when its paired with good food.

Thai coconut curry, hake and pickled cabbage

Dessert is quite lovely at OFS. The restaurant has a business relationship with the magnificent Pump Street bakers and chocolate makers in Suffolk, and often features their fantastic produce. This dish was right up Jane’s street - crumbly almond and chocolate with cherries given a deeply savoury/umami quality by the use of the miso, and served with a quenelle of vanilla ice cream. What a wonderful way to finish off the meal.

And, of course, there was port. A vintage tawny with caramelised sweetness and spicy tones, which complemented the chocolate and cherry perfectly. It was served in one of those wonky glasses which is supposed to maximise exposure to the air and bring out the flavour more fully. I can’t vouch for that one way or another but, surface area aside, it was bloody good.

And so we reeled off into the summer evening, full of summer holiday cheer, good food and too much booze.

OFS has become our new favourite restaurant in St Ives, and for good reason - great produce, varied and exciting food and drink offerings, and a really nice, grown up dining room atmosphere. The price has risen a bit since our first visit, but that is an increase on what we felt to be an impossibly low sum. Dinner and drinks for both of us cost about £270 including tip, which felt reasonable for the quality of food and experience.

I’m signing off to look at dates for next sunmer.

And what about the toast sandwich?
Jane - The carabineros and lobster dumpling. Dumpling filled with uberprawn plus lovely, rich stock. What’s not to love?
Sarah - I wanted to say vintage port, because I always want to say vintage port. But I’m going to say the anchovy flatbread. Bread, anchovy and butter - everything I like and utterly delicious.

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