From St. Petroc's Church to St. Petroc's Bistro

 

In my last post I described Mass at St. Petroc's Church. I left there at 6:15pm. Having walked into the graveyard through the south gate I left after Mass by the town gate and made my way down Church Lane (which also has Padstow Methodist Church on it) to the Spar at the corner of Duke Street and Middle Street where I had arranged to meet Drew. The Spar is three doors down from the cottage where we stayed 14 years ago when we were last in Padstow, so we both know the location well. 

Drew arrived at 6:30pm and we wandered down to the harbour and walked along the front. It was quiet at this hour of the day indeed apart from the pubs and restaurants we passed we saw no one.

We walked back up to St. Petroc's Bistro and arrived just before 7pm, the time we had booked our table. St. Petroc's is one of the Rick Stein restaurants here in Padstow. (There are four eating places and six sets of accommodation owned by Stein in the town).

We spent some time with the menu, the range on offer was so amazing it took some time to decide. While we made our choices we ordered appetisers of Coombshead Farm Sourdough and Kalamata Olives along with Halloumi Saganaki drizzled with honey, black sesame seeds and oregano. The bread, the same brand as we had had in Barnaby's the night before, was as delicious as it looked, the olives sharp with a bay and garlic flavour. Drew loved the Hallomai, it had to much honey to suit my savoury tastes but Drew says: "The Hallomai had a lovely squeak as you eat it, which is good. The honey and sea salt made a perfect balance of sweet and sour with the cheese, to sweet for some people, but perfect for me and accompanied by the nutty taste of sesame seeds." 

We finally made our minds up and Drew opted for celeriac Soup with parmesan, truffle oil and croutons while I went with warm salad of pigeon breast with watercress and potatoes.

The celeriac soup had an earthy taste and the cheese and oil provided highlights to lift the flavour. The croutons provided a balance of crunch. 

My pigeon, see the photo at the top of the post, was delightful. Drew may call it 'vermin of the sky' [Co-pilot's note: Not may, dear readers, but does, they are just rats with wings!!] but I love the slightly pink richness of this gamey meat. I might have expected the salad to be rocket, but the water cress provided a peppery hotness that showed why its use was such a good idea. Really lovely.

For Mains Drew opted for whole Plaice with roasted red peppers, chilli, garlic and oregano and I had pan fried Hake with piperade, lemon sabayon and crispy serrano ham. 

I was impressed by Drew's choice of fish, as he hasn't always enjoyed a fish cooked on the bone but tonight he managed it easily. The mild taste of the plaice worked well with the generous butter it was cooked in and the peppers were a light background to the lovely fish.

My choice of food reflects many years of holidaying in Spain. A starter of Pichones followed by a main of Merluza would be my ideal combination in Spain, and it worked really well here at St. Petroc's. As a child Hake was a battered fish with an awkward shaped bone, as I've matured I have got to respect this delicious fish more and more. Cooked simply with the Spanish flavours of piperade as a bedding made it a real delight of Spanish style eating. The sabayon provided a sharp contrast to the deep piperade flavour and the ham acted like seasoning for this lovely piece of fish. 

Both our meals were served with new potatoes with parsley and mint which were good for mopping up the sauce. 

We ordered Cavolo Nero with fennel and garlic and Kalettes with sea salt and olive oil to accompany the main dishes. I love Cavolo Nero and it was treated with respect in its gentle cooking. I think this is the first time I have had kalettes, which are a cross of kale and a Brussels sprout, both vegetables I really like and they had the rich earthiness of kale and the crispy crunch of a sprout.  

For our desserts Drew choose Sticky Toffee Pudding with Cornish clotted cream, feeling obliged to have some clotted cream while in the county. I choose the cheeseboard this was a piece each of Quickes Cheddar, Finn and Livarot (from bottom to top in the photo). The cheddar is made in a Devon farm just north of Exeter and is gentle but rich in flavour. The Finn, a Parish style cheese had a wonderful kick of flavour and the Livarot, a Normandy cheese, begins with a nutty flavour which gradually releases lemon and spicy notes as it melts in the mouth, excellent cheese.  

We finished with an espresso and feeling very content walked back the half mile to our accommodation.