And the cooking from rich bouillabaisse-style fish stews to grilled lobster or
And the cooking, from rich bouillabaisse-style fish stews, to grilled lobster or to Chinese-style poached bass, is the best in Britain All the extras, down to the bread, are first class. The wine list is heroic, but start with the house chablis, which is a treat.
Set three-course lunch pounds 21.50, dinner pounds 29.30 Open lunch and dinner Mon- Sat Visa, Mastercard. The fish – lobster, seabass, platters of twiddly crustacea – are all so fresh they could pass muster in Brittany, except the menu is in English All of it is day-fresh. The old gent on the piano Friday and Saturday nights is her father.
The chef is Rick Stein, author of English Seafood Cookery and all-round nice guy The co-owner and host is his wife, Jill. And it is worth it: the staff are either family of the owners, or so beautifully assimilated that they simply seem like it. It may look jazzy and casual, but its understated good taste is the kind that costs, to the tune of pounds 30-pounds 40 per person. CORNWALL
Take plenty of money to The Seafood Restaurant, Riverside, Padstow (01841- 532485). It makes it difficult to find your way around unless you’ve got one of those A-Zs.Since I’ve been here the English have been very, very helpful I haven’t been snubbed by anybody. We love to rubbish the old Poms, but there’s still a fairly close affiliation between us.Best meal: Country-type pub, The Scottish ArmsLongest Queue: Tower of LondonMost London ‘thing’: the HistoryInterview by Ben Sharratt.
When you look at it, we’ve got a history a bit over two hundred years, whereas here it’s a couple of thousand years. London reminds me a bit of Sydney, except the streets here seem to go off at all angles. The Tower of London, Tower Bridge, the changing of the guards – we’ve tried to fit it all in.London has a whole different atmosphere and history to it. The Mission, 116 Wandsworth Bridge Rd, SW6 (0171-736 3322)
Serena Mackesy. Age: 70
Staying: ten days at Cardiff Hotel, Hyde Park
Our hotel is pretty spartan, but what we save on accommodation we are going to put in to tourism.
It seems to be right in the centre of where the activity is and my wife and I are really enjoying it so far.We’ve been trying to eat on the run and take in as many of the sights as we possibly can, so we haven’t really been to any proper restaurants yet. Griping apart, a good addition to the area, as long as there are only four in your party. House plonk is pounds 8.50, jugs of cocktails pounds 10, sandwiches and burgers pounds 1.90-pounds 4.50. Smokers beware: very pretty porphyry ashtrays only hold about four butts and the staff aren’t over-assiduous about emptying them. This former carpet warehouse has tables outside and a nice light opening shopfront, and one major drawback: bar tables are set on a platform so narrow that if you add a fifth chair to the end of a table the person sitting there will risk tipping off. “Come and see what’s happening and you won’t want to stop for four days.”The Gala opening is on 31 May at 9pm Festival runs from 1-4 June For info, ring the Hotline on 0171-704 6722.
Recently opened on this windy avenue of stripped pine shops is the Mission, a wine bar and restaurant with some actually likeable abstract canvases on the walls. She sees it as an opportunity for people to talk to each other. It’s the end of the winter and time for a change, for doing things that are red, yellow and blue rather than grey Festivals do that more than any other cultural event. She admits that there’s a kooky angle to everything that’s going on, but her aims are high. “It’s a seven-minute wonder, it’s adorable,” giggles Serafin. It is one of only two ticketed events in the entire four-day festival.
