Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen, Port Isaac (Cornwall) (*)
15 July 2021
outlaws.co.uk
You don’t need to tell me that trying to write about a visit to a restaurant circa 20 months after the meal has been eaten is not a great idea. How can you possibly remember what you ate, how you felt, who you were served by etc etc. All of that is, of course, completely correct. So what exactly was I thinking when I decided that a late March weekend was a good time to write about a restaurant we visited on our summer holiday almost two years before? If you’ll indulge me:
Our collective medium to long-term memory really isn’t too bad. At least where food and drink are concerned. Ask me what I was supposed to buy at the supermarket, or how old my niece or nephew is going to be at their next birthday, not so much.
Past Sarah and Jane were a lot more organised that present Sarah and Jane have become. Not only did we take a lot of photos even before we had planned to start our blog, we also took a number of hand-written notes about the courses we were served. Hooray for those girls.
We’re currently part way through an incredibly depressing period of healthy eating and exercise which has, to date, decimated our 2023 dining calendar. I both need to add to the blog and cheer myself up.
It’s Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen. Not writing about it seems ridiculous.
So back through the mists of time we go to the heady summer of 2021, when the government-imposed Covid-19 containment measures were still in full swing, Boris Johnson was still in No 10 and we’d just seen England get beaten by Italy on penalties in the Euros final. Jane and I were in St Ives, West Cornwall, for a few days for the first time since 2018, where we’d spent a not insignificant amount of time by the harbour drinking Rattler cyder and eating clotted cream everything. We were relaxed, tanned and excited for our ever-so-fancy lunch in Port Isaac.
Port Isaac is on the north coast, in an area of Cornwall with a truly exceptional culinary reputation. It’s slightly to the north east of Padstow, home of Rick Stein, and Rock, housing two Paul Ainsworth eateries. Port Isaac is very much Nathan Outlaw’s stomping ground. He moved his legendary Restaurant Nathan Outlaw to the village from Rock in 2015, and currently has three establishments open in the area: Outlaw’s New Road, Outlaw’s Guest House, and Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen (OFK). He is arguably the best fish and seafood chef in the UK at the time of writing (and at the time of eating) and we were excited. Port Isaac itself is a glorious little fishing village situated around a natural harbour, with a collection of wonderful historic fisherman’s cottages and a pub with a massive fuck-off cannon in the beer garden. We felt right at home.
As an aside, Doc Martin (Martin Clunes as odd-man GP in remote Cornwall) fans will recognise the scenery from the TV programme. If you follow the cannon’s line of sight in the photo below, you’ll see the building that doubled at the main character’s surgery.
OFK is at the top of the slipway, housed in an almost unbelievably gorgeous fifteenth century fisherman’s cottage. The decor was modern with a rustic edge, the atmosphere as relaxed and informal as you would expect at a beach-side restaurant, even if it does have a Michelin star, and the staff were friendly, and indulgent of my billions of questions. It was lunchtime, it was sunny, and we were in the spirit.
The restaurant serves a set tasting menu, which is the same whether you are eating lunch or dinner. Rather than a drinks pairing serving a recommended drink with every or every other course, there was a recommended wine that complimented the menu as a whole. However, we’d driven the 90-odd minutes from St Ives and needed to keep our alcohol consumption to a sensible level. Jane ordered the Elderflower 75, which had the gin, champagne, lemon and sugar syrup you’d expect in a standard French 75 with a good glug of elderflower cordial, which she found clean and refreshing. I chose the Haywood Farm sparkling apple cider, a medium-dry cider made down the road in Bodmin, which went very nicely with our surprise first course.
The switched-on reader will be saying, “That photo down there don’t look like cured monkfish to me”, and they’d be right. What’s life without a surprise every now and again? These deep fried sardines, lightly dusted in seasalt, were utterly delicious. The batter was light and crispy, the fish was oily and soft, and the herby mayonnaise was out of this world. Rich and creamy, but bright and floral at the same time, OFK herby mayo is made with whatever herbs happen to be in season at the time, this one including marjoram, rocket, parsley and oregano, with a squitz of lemon juice. I would have happily eaten it by itself with a spoon.
Bonus sardines, with herby mayonnaise
Aha! You knew the cured monkfish would show up sooner rather than later. The next two dishes arrived similtaneously, by virtue of both being served raw and cold. I thought the monkfish was particularly lovely, delicate but characteristically meaty with hot ginger and spring onion, liquoricey and crunchy fennel and the odd dollop of tangy yoghurt, it was the perfect sashimi-like dish for a hot summer day at the beach.
Despite mackerel being one of my favourite things, this other dish did less for me, I think because it felt like there was just a bit too much going on in terms of flavour. The mackerel was a delight - delicate and richly oily - but I found the sea buckthorn too tart with the other elements, slightly overwhelming the fish. The chilli level was really good, and the overall impact of the dish was refreshing with its apple and mint elements, but I think it lacked the subtly of the monkfish dish. It has to be acknowledged, though, that the plating of the mackerel was particularly dramatic.
Cured monkfish, ginger & spring onion dressing, fennel and yoghurt
Mackerel, sea buckthorn, chilli, apple & mint
This next dish - grey mullet with an Asian inspired salad - was Jane’s dish of the day. Grey mullet is known for having an unusually earthy flavour which some people find a little unpleasant, but paired with the courgette and cashew salad, which balanced spice, acidity and sweetness, and the creamy and aromatic yoghurt and coriander dressing, the balance of this dish was something beautiful. The fish was cooked to perfection, with a crispy, slightly charred skin and soft and delicate interior. Jane was so taken with the salad that she often seeks similar side dishes out now. Praise indeed.
Grey mullet, courgette & cashew nut salad, coriander yoghurt
And onwards to my dish of the day… I think. Those sardines were something special. But, the next dish was sea bass, which I adore, and it was served family style which is very un-British and something I have a soft spot for. As a side note, if I had been eating with anyone but Jane it would have been a disaster, but I can stab her with my fork if she starts getting too grabby over the potatoes without worrying about the consequences.
The perfectly cooked fillet was served with a completely delicious smokey hollandaise and new potatoes in a herby butter (marjoram, parsley, chives, oregano and sage - the waiter was very patient with me, even though I had to ask more than once at this stage as the cider had taken effect). The bass was panfried and meaty, with the slightly sweet and salty flavour that makes bass so wonderful. And combined with the rich smokiness of the hollandaise and the herby potatoes it was fabulous. And Jane was a perfect gentleman about the potatoes, which meant I could keep my fork in my lunch and out of her hand.
Bass served ‘family style’, new potatoes, hollandaise sauce
A bonus shot of my plate after dishing up. Notice the plate featuring an image of OFK.
Bass plated up
So… £100 to the best suggestion for a fish or seafood based pudding (no fish custard, please, it’s already been done - see ‘Mana, Manchester, 12 February 2022’).
Not a sea critter in sight in the delicious, summery offering at OFK. The star of the show was the honey ice cream, silky smooth with a pervasive note of floral Cornish honey, topped with sweet and tart raspberries and poached rhubarb, caramelised peanuts providing a salty crunch, and a drizzle of honey to finish. This was both a joy to eat and a joy to look at.
Time for one more surprise, right, because when in Cornwall you’ve got to have a piece of fudge? The final bite was a smooth and creamy chocolate fudge topped with a sprinkle of sea-salt. A lovely final nod to summer days by the Cornish sea.
Honey ice cream, peanuts, rhubarb & raspberry
An extra treat: Chocolate and sea salt fudge
Our visit to Port Isaac was one of those perfect days where you look back months (say 20 or so) or years later and remember the sunshine, sea and holiday mood. Our lunch at OFK was an absolute pleasure. The cooking was exceptional - we’d have expected nothing less from a Nathan Outlaw restaurant - and the sense it created balanced nostalgia for the perfect summer holiday with wonderfully executed dishes featuring the finest Cornish produce. In total, lunch cost us around £200 which included tip, which is pretty reasonable for Michelin star quality. New Road next, I guess.
And what about the Toast Sandwich?
Jane - The courgette and cashew salad served with the grey mullet. Fresh, hot and slightly sweet, it transformed the fish from an acquired taste to something that no one could argue is wonderful. If I see anything even a bit similar on a menu now, I’m ordering it.
Sarah - The herby mayonnaise served with the fried sardines. It was f’n SPECTACULAR.
And that, folks, is how two people go to a Nathan Outlaw restaurant and not choose either fish or seafood as the Toast Sandwich.
Wait a minute…