With 2 Michelin stars, Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud must be considered Ireland's finest restaurant. Located in the Merrion Hotel in Dublin, it has been open for over thirty years and describes its food as 'contemporary Irish with classical roots'. Aiming to deliver 'an impeccable dining experience', they achieve their goal and the meal was faultless from start to finish. The food is of the highest standard, the presentation precise and appealing, the flavours full while being superbly balanced such that each dish leaves you thinking there is little to nothing that could have been done to make it better. This is very fine modern gastronomy indeed.

Service matches the food and as you would expect with a 2 star restaurant, your every need is catered to. It is a restaurant to be pampered in. Meanwhile, the wine list is not a list, it's a book and is seriously impressive. The downside however to them carrying so much choice is the applied mark up and drinking here is an expensive affair: our pre-lunch glass of champagne was €25 per glass and you should expect to pay €100+ for whatever bottle of wine you eventually settle for. Admittedly, it's probably in line with restaurants/hotels at this level.

Overall, we were impressed by Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud and it's clear why they are so well regarded. They aim for the very best in all areas and succeed, making it very much a world class restaurant.

Kinloch Lodge is a small luxury hotel on the Isle of Skye. Located in an area of outstanding beauty, the hotel is lovely, the guest bedrooms turned out to a very high standard and the communal areas and sitting rooms welcoming with real log fires. Staff throughout our short stay there were all very friendly and hospitable. What's more, the location is ideal if the next day, like us, you're taking an early morning ferry to Mallaig, but the other big draw for Kinloch Lodge is that it also has a Michelin starred restaurant. 

Sadly the meal was a huge disappointment. While the main thread of the ingredients are local produce, salmon, scallops, venison, none are allowed to shine. At the point of ordering the venison main, the waitress said it came medium rare, was that okay? Yes of course, perfect, but sadly when it arrived it was at best medium well rendering it chewy and flavourless. Nothing can save a venison dish when the venison is cooked this poorly but nothing else on the plate was close to approaching that role anyhow.

The venison however had got off lightly compared to the salmon. We had to stifle an near audible gasp of disbelief as the plate was set down in front of us for the salmon had been entirely smothered in a bright pink sauce. If you have a beautiful piece of salmon, why would you possibly do this to it? Where's the subtlety, where's the finesse, where's the love? This is after all a Michelin starred restaurant (and The Three Chimneys is not)? Even if the sauce had been any good (it was not), this in our opinion is no way to showcase one of Scotland's finest ingredients for under all that sauce, it's impossible to get any essence of salmon. What a waste.

Scallops fared only a little better, at least they were visible on the plate, but here a peanut sauce and Parma ham is thought necessary to make a West coast scallop shine. Again, we beg to differ.

There seemed little point in dessert. Located in an area surrounded by some of the finest ingredients in the world, all were taken to the point of ruin. We retired early, surprised and saddened.   

Even after you leave the mainland and cross the bridge to Skye, The Three Chimneys is still over an hour's drive in a broadly North West direction, Skye is a bigger place than you might think. Accordingly, it is unlikely that you will ever just be 'passing by' or visit the restaurant on a whim unless you already live on Skye. On our previous trips to Scotland, we had been unable to fit a visit to The Three Chimneys into our schedule but the strength of their reputation and the high praise afforded to Chef Michael Smith personally from other great chefs we know and respect meant that we have been aching to go there for some time and we pretty much planned our recent Scottish adventure around our stay there.

With a two night stay in their on site accommodation (The House Over-By) and consecutive dinners booked in the restaurant, we really hope we are going to like it or things could get a little awkward for everyone. Expectation too can be the enemy of experience and we had been looking forward to our Skye holiday for some time. Fortunately, there was no need to worry, The Three Chimneys is absolutely fantastic, the food, everything you could ever wish for on a plate, and all the people there so lovely that when it was time to leave, even though it had been just two days, we felt that we were saying goodbye to old and dear friends. 

Dining options at The Three Chimneys centre on two menus, an a la carte and a tasting menu (Taste of Skye), both of which can be enjoyed in the cosy front restaurant, while the tasting menu can also be taken at the Kitchen Table, which here, is exactly that, a table in the kitchen with space for up to six people. But this is more than just a chefs table experience peering into the kitchen form a favourable vantage point, for all guests at the kitchen table are invited to get up from the table between courses and be a part of the kitchen, stand at the pass if you like, talk to the staff and generally be involved. On our part, after a few queries of 'really?' and 'sure you don't mind?' to Michael, it was clear that it is a genuine invitation to join the kitchen family and we soon lost all inhibitions to wander freely around the kitchen at will. And to be clear on this point, this is their normal practice and not simply an invitation extended to us as bloggers. Without doubt it is one of the friendliest and most welcoming kitchens we have ever stepped in. 

The menu they offer is heaven and includes everything you would hope to find when going north of the border: oysters, crab, lobster, prawn, scallop, lamb, venison. As the menu name suggests, Taste of Skye, this is a very local affair so that oysters are from just over the way, the crab from Loch Bracadale on Skye, the lobster from Loch Dunvegan on Skye... you get the idea. A splash of Talisker also finds its way onto the menu just in case the penny has still not already dropped.

We love the Scottish larder and this is a beautiful Scottish affair. Chef Michael clearly has a deep affinity with the local area and that translates into a massive respect for the ingredients. There are nods to heritage so the meal starts with tiny bowl of Scotch broth that is hearty and comforting and leaves you wanting more (which we fabulously got the next day for lunch). Colbost Skink comes with Stornoway black pudding (Marag Dubh) and a drizzle of Talisker, perfect for a Hebridian February night (was raining cats and dogs outside).

Other big flavours come for example with the lamb rib where Talisker again lends smokiness to the deep and sticky BBQ sauce, but Michael also displays much lighter touches where required. The early seafood dishes such as the crab, lobster and scallop are all well judged affairs, nicely enhanced with the additions on the plate but never gilded, so the point of the dish is never lost and the principal ingredients shine; it's Scottish seafood heaven. 

The other special mention must go to The Three Chimneys famous marmalade, an allowable exception to their local ethos. The marmalade pudding has been on the menu for 30 years and is unlikely to ever come off and it is absolutely fabulous, while serving it with Drambuie custard then moves it on a step further to pudding nirvana. On the tasting menu it is sightly transformed into an orange marmalade souffle, but really, don't go all the way to Skye and leave without having eaten this pud.

This was a glorious meal, fun to eat but serious in execution, and a beautiful celebration of local ingredients. If Robbie Burns is Scotland's national poet, Michael Smith must surely be a candidate for their national chef (and he is @kiltkuisine on Twitter after all). For us, spending a night at the Kitchen Table, enjoying this food, being a nuisance in the kitchen yet still being so warmly embraced there, not only was a it a highlight of the holiday, it was as much fun as we can remember having in a restaurant since starting the blog. It made us happy then and it makes us happy now simply remembering. 

The Three Chimneys is 633 miles from our house but is without doubt worth every mile of the journey. We are already plotting our return.

Roy Brett is one of Scotland's finest chefs, proprietor of Ondine Restaurant in Edinburgh (which won the AA's Restaurant of the Year award for Scotland 2013/14) and an absolutely top notch fella to boot. Recently, he has also taken on the position of consultant chef at Loch Fyne, and given our love of the Scottish larder, we jumped at the opportunity to spend a few days with Roy and the folks at Loch Fyne to learn more about what they are up to. Given that Loch Fyne is famous for both its smoked salmon and oysters, we arrive hungry.

Day 1

Our first stop is the Restaurant & Oyster Bar which remains located on the original site overlooking the loch. Inside however has enjoyed a recent refurb and the menu of course is overseen by Roy Brett. A dozen oysters that have traveled no more than a mile to our plate give us a Loch Fyne welcome and they truly are fabulous. Loch Fyne has exceptionally pure water and the oysters deliver intense salty freshness that is as good as it gets. Roy is in the kitchen today and the food keeps on coming. Smoked salmon is clearly a must and that too is of the highest quality. Four amazing scallops with venison sausage are delivered while Roy's hot seafood platter that is one of many triumphs at his Edinburgh restaurant is also delivered to the table here and leaves us delighted, but by the end, beaten. Indeed, it wasn't till day three that we could even approach dessert, for me a Glengoyne Whisky Tart that has also made its way from the Ondine menu. 

To balance out our lunch, a bracing walk along River Fyne in the afternoon with Virginia Sumison, head of marketing and events at Loch Fyne and niece of founder John (Johnny) Noble filled us in on the wonderful history of her family and the origins of Loch Fyne as an oyster business. Johnny sadly passed away in 2002 but was surely the type of person all of us wish we could know. In the obituary published in The Guardian it states:

He ate in his own restaurant several days a week... anonymous to the coach parties that surrounded him... he had a gentle manner but a loud whisper, which got him into difficulty. Once, in his restaurant, a woman luncher overheard him discussing another, obnoxious luncher with a member of his staff, and asked that he be removed. Noble left obediently with the words "fair enough"'

But as the article also observes early on:

His largest achievement was the prosperity and optimism he brought his own small community in Argyllshire.

The result is that in Cairndow where Loch Fyne's operations are based, there are more jobs than there are people such that Loch Fyne is as much a community as it is a business and that was demonstrated by the warmth and pride of the many people we met during our time there.

As if we weren't already lucky enough to be at Loch Fyne, we must say a huge thank you to the Sumison family who let us stay at their remarkable family home, Ardkinglas, a house that is simply breathtaking as it first comes in to view as you proceed up the driveway. See the pictures below to view just how fabulous this house is and for anyone visiting the area, it is possible to have a private tour of the house, a wedding, or even stay there as we did (details available on the Ardkinglas website.)

Day 2

Sunshine. Blue skies and a walk down to the loch before breakfast. It's little wonder we love Scotland so much.

Later that morning we visit the oyster farm and Andre talks us through the process. Despite our years of food blogging our oyster knowledge (beyond eating them) is somewhat (embarrassingly) sparse and we're amazed to learn that oysters are bred initially in hatcheries (not on site) after which it can take up to three years for an oyster to grow to the size that is served in a restaurant. We're amazed too at the number of oysters packed off each day by Loch Fyne, and that each and every oyster is checked (for being alive) by tapping the shell (dead ones have a hollow ring) and that this is done by just two people, Andre and his colleague Alistair. What's more, despite Loch Fyne having pure enough water to serve oysters without purification, that's done anyway but with Loch Fyne water so that the essence is never lost. It goes without saying that despite the volume of oysters shipped, Loch Fyne Oysters is a sustainable business.

Andre was amazing and yet another perfect ambassador for the Loch Fyne community and of course, put us in the mood for another dozen oysters at the Restaurant and Oyster bar where some crab also seemed like a good idea.

Three men and a boat. And us. 

Sea legs for the afternoon as we board a RIB and head out to Loch Fyne's IMTA site to see first hand the very latest developments in sustainable aquaculture. IMTA stands for Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture and the ever useful Wiki describes it thus:

Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) provides the by-products, including waste, from one aquatic species as inputs (fertilizers, food) for another. Farmers combine fed aquaculture (e.g., fish, shrimp) with inorganic extractive (e.g.,seaweed) and organic extractive (e.g., shellfish) aquaculture to create balanced systems for environment remediation (biomitigation), economic stability (improved output, lower cost, product diversification and risk reduction) and social acceptability (better management practices)

Put another way, Loch Fyne has salmon farms and that leads to a concentration of certain factors in the water surrounding these farms. Can this be balanced out by the encouragement of other native species around the farms for improved environmental practices and enhanced sustainability? Yes is the current best thinking on the topic and therefore alongside the salmon farms marine biologist David Attwood is overseeing the cultivation of seaweed, mussels, oysters, scallops and even sea urchins providing a win-win for the business and the environment. 

We got so see the tiniest baby Queen Scallops alongside the bigger versions. It was really something to see David and Iain bring up some sea urchins from the loch also, though perhaps the highlight was to pull up the oysters and shuck them while still wet out the water. A bottle of Chablis had even found its way on board to be enjoyed alongside the oysters, but this was a highly educational trip and our thanks to David, Iain and Richard for spending time with us to explain what is very much a leading edge research project.

Day 3

Can't be lucky forever and it's raining again on Day 3 but Ardkinglas looks lovely in all weathers. Fortunately our activities are mostly indoors today.

If you visit the Deli at Loch Fyne and look through a window behind the counter, you might see a machine delivering perfect sides of salmon. This is the smokehouse where all of Loch Fyne's famous salmon is smoked. Donning our shoe covers, white coats and hair nets, Production Manager Raymond MacAffer walked us through the process of one of Scotland's most famous food products. Again, to see, smell and later taste the finished product (which we of course eagerly did many times during our stay) allows for a much greater appreciation of food that is all too easy to take for granted. 

With so much going on, we didn't even have time to visit Fyne Ales for the brewery tour (next time!) before it was time to move on, but we left Loch Fyne not only with a deep appreciation of the food they produce and how they produce it, but of the people behind all of this and how Loch Fyne Oysters has brought people together as a community, colleagues and friends. To be welcomed into that family for the duration of our stay was very special. 

Our thanks then to all those mentioned above as well as Campbell and Bruce with whom we enjoyed a very pleasant dinner, learning more about Loch Fyne from the top down view, as well as Martin, Richard, Alastair and Moyra in the restaurant and deli who looked after us so well every day and kept those oysters coming. And three years from hatchery to plate: never again will we take oysters for granted.


Disclosure: we were guests of Loch Fyne

I continue to wonder if Hedone is the UK's most under appreciated restaurant. On the occasion of our first visit last year, we suggested it was one of the best meals of the year, where a unique vision of food was being crafted by chef-proprietor Mikael Jonsson. Back then it was relatively early days and we speculated that an exciting future awaited. Returning to Hedone with fellow blogger cumbriafoodie I was again struck by how Mikael's approach of the best ingredients shown off to the best advantage makes for such a compelling meal. From warm crab cooked to order, cepes and marinated duck's foie gras, the most amazing roasted pork chop of suckling "Noir De Biggore" pig through to roasted snipe and more, each dish is a exceptional without fail. Not only is my view unchanged then, it is strengthened: Hedone is one of the very best and most exciting restaurants in the UK today.

There's around 700 Red Lion pubs in the UK but if you want a real food treat, we suggest you head for the one in East Chisenbury, Wiltshire. If you do, don't expect to have the pub to yourself however because the secret (of how good it is) is rapidly spreading, such that on the occasion of our visit there, the place was bustling throughout both the Sunday lunch and dinner service. There's many reasons why the Red Lion should be so popular but let's stick to the food for now. The Red Lion is run by Guy and Britt Manning, an Anglo-American couple who met while both were working at Thomas Keller's Per Se in New York. This was clearly a vintage period for Per Se for it was when James Knappett and Sandia Chang of Bubbledogs were there (and getting together also), as was Tom Sellers of Story. Prior to Per Se, Guy worked with Bruce Poole at Chez Bruce. It's easy to see why this Red Lion is not like other Red Lions when it come to food.

In and beyond the kitchen, they have a philosophy which they state on the website as 'trying to do everything the best we can... if we can make it in house, we do... if we can produce it, we do... we forage for stuff... we seek out and form relationships with the best and most local businesses and suppliers'. Look beyond the beer garden and you can see practically what this means, there's hens for eggs, a couple of West Berkshire piggies (see below) and cultivation of the land. And of course, anybody can talk about being the best and all that stuff but at the Red Lion, we continually saw evidence throughout our stay that showed they are serious about it putting these ideas into practice, something immediately evident in how perfectly polished the silverware is at the table. It may be a pub, but we have no doubt their standards would make Thomas Keller proud.  

But what's also endearing about the Red Lion is that it's also proper old country pub in a village that still acts as a hub for the community, where friends meet, guest ales are served, Sunday papers are on the side to read if you wish and dogs are welcome. Put another way, it's a place you want to be, so much so that we decided half way through lunch to stay for the night in the newly renovated guest accommodation, Troutbeck which is absolutely lovely (great beds!) and sits on the bank of the River Avon, albeit at the point where the River Avon is more like a stream than a river.

Moving on to the food, as has already been suggested, it's a menu with a lot of Wiltshire character and to start, the Tagliarini of Wiltshire truffle seems a must. We think it was after the first bite of this we properly fell in love with the Red Lion: exquisite pasta with a generous shave of Wiltshire truffle, in a pub. The other starter was Pressed terrine of Wiltshire partridge & pheasant with parsnip quince and prunes which is a riot of contrasting colour on the plate and impressively packed with sizeable chunks of game birds.

Being a Sunday lunch, there's a couple of roast options on the menu and a slow cooked lamb shoulder with roasties, mint sauce and gravy seems just the ticket for me on a Winter's day sitting next to the pub's wood burner. It comes as no surprise by this stage that it's a fabulous piece of lamb, generously delivered leaving you more than satisfied. A blanquette of pig's cheeks with January King cabbage, root vegetables, chervil & mustard showcases perfectly turned vegetables, separately cooked to perfection again highlighting the attention to detail here, reinforcing the idea that this is a kitchen that never takes short cuts.

Almost too full for dessert, we share a Bramley apple crumble though for our taste, the sour elements needed a little more sugar to balance them. By dinner time, still full from lunch despite a countryside walk, a warm crab tart and the cheese plate (Westcombe Mature, Bosworth leaf, Helford Blue & Wigmore) suffice. Both give us exactly what we want. And we must mention the FOH team who were all really great, really friendly, and who further impress upon you what a nice place the Red Lion is.

The Red Lion then is one of those places that you're really happy you stopped to discover. On our South West trip, telling folks along the way that our last stop was there, the feedback from top chefs was always the same, 'I've heard great things about them' but no one we met on our trip had yet been there. We're pleased to confirm those good things heard by everyone are true, we love it there and are already planning a return visit.

Tanners, located in Plymouth, is of course the restaurant of Chris and James Tanner, familiar faces to many due to their regular TV appearances on shows such as Ready Steady Cook. Now in its fifteenth year, Tanners continues to be one of Devon's leading restaurants and is located in a stunning fifteenth century building The Prysten House that has to be considered one of the most impressive buildings we've eaten in since starting the blog, almost certainly the only mediaeval one. 

While the building might be old, the restaurant itself offers up contemporary dining with a focus on South West of England produce and a set menu, a la carte and a tasting menu are all available. Looking at the current a la carte menu online, there's Bodmin venison, Warren's flatiron of beef (Warren's is a brilliant butcher based in Launceston that also includes The Ledbury among its client base), monkfish tail and brill. This is very much then a local menu.

We had the tasting menu (A Tasting of Tanners), showing currently as six courses (on line) which is £55 per person. This kicks off with Westcountry crab, avocado, pear and parmesan biscuit which is a great little dish driven of course by fantastic local crab. While we were supposed to have duck liver parfait as a second course, with our car on metered parking we hit time constraints so dropped a course from the menu, it resulted in the first three courses being seafood which was certainly fine with us because the seafood here is top quality. The next course was the favourite of the day, native lobster with 'snail butter' that not only had been brilliantly cooked and delivered bags of flavour, but had also thoughtfully been prepared to make it really easy for the diner to eat, the lobster tail already sliced through but returned to the shell so carefully it's a genuine surprise that you need nothing more than a fork to eat it. As a lobster dish, it competes at the highest level with anything else out there, really excellent.

Poached fillet of brill is next. We're sure it is not a coincidence that brill was on the specials at Outlaw's Fish Kitchen when we ate the the next day also: smart chefs using the best of the current catch which that week was clearly brill. Another lovely dish with a fantastic red wine sauce that offers a glossy reflection back at you; add a little earthiness with seasonal trompettes and artichokes and you have another winner.

Our main was Roast Bodmin venison loin, tarka dal, salt baked turnip, cavolo nero that sees a plate brought to the table with a vibrantly red disc of venison that just so looks the part, and of course is. Throughout the tasting menu, none of the plates are overly fussy which we like, rather, there's enough going on to add something extra to the lead ingredient, but never so much to take away. For dessert, it's caramel compressed pineapple, buttermilk, pistachio sponge, chocolate soil mixing up textures, sweetness and some cleansing acidity.

It's all good, precise cooking with the best of local ingredients and the appeal of Tanners within Plymouth is obvious: when you find somewhere that can reliably and consistently deliver, it's a place you'll return to time and again. Service too was excellent, pitching everything at exactly the right level. Tanners is a remarkable story and Chris and James were both in the twenties when they first opened the doors; fifteen years on it continues to go from strength to strength. With their media careers flourishing also, we expect to hear a lot more from the Tanner brothers going forward and we very much look forward to it.

Where to visit on our trip to Cornwall? Port Isaac is a beautiful and ancient fishing port that is quintessentially Cornwall, a short drive from our Padstow base and for good measure, it's where Nathan Outlaw has chosen to open his latest restaurant, Outlaw's Fish Kitchen; it seems just the ticket. We haven't checked on the map exactly where Outlaw's Fish Kitchen is within the town but we're not concerned, for Port Isaac isn't that big, the whole place fits neatly on a postcard, and as it turns out, Nathan has bagged the best location in town, you can't miss it. Port Isaac being built on a cliff, gravity naturally leads weary legs downhill to the port entrance where a cart of lobster pots sit outside the RNLI lifeboat station; next door to that is the Fish Kitchen. Sit at one of the front tables and the view through the window is of the boats in the harbour, quite possibly the same boats that brought in the catch that you're about to eat. It's perfect.

While Nathan's flagship Rock restaurant and his London restaurant are both Michelin star holders, the Port Isaac restaurant seeks something a little different, a more casual affair, recognising the importance of the tourist trade such that our hiking boots and weatherproof coats in no way make us feel out of place on entry; the waitresses meanwhile are wearing official Fish Kitchen T-shirts and there's a relaxed friendly vibe to the place as soon as you enter. This is the kind of seafood restaurant you wish every port had and certainly feels like what every port deserves.

The menu is small plates, around starter size, order a few and if you want to order more at any time, just add them on, no problem. Plates came out in no particular order we could discern, just when they are ready and you graze through lunch. It's exactly the right thing for here: we entered the restaurant after exploring rock pools, now we're exploring fish dishes in the same leisurely way, a more formal affair wouldn't seem appropriate. Small plates, hungry, us - we got to try most of the menu and the specials too.

Porthilly oysters to start, and they are so good, briny not milky, substantial, fleshy, best enjoyed with a bit of chewing, but no accompaniment needed benefiting as these do from purity. We have a couple of crispy oysters too with pickled veg and oyster mayonnaise which are really nice: gateway oysters for anyone taking their first oyster steps. A smoked mackerel dip and toast is also an early dish. Then it's onto the hot fish dishes.

From the menu there's Grey mullet, mushrooms & parsley, potato, saffron & garlic puree as well as Outlaw's fish burger (which is already for us a legend). From the day's specials, there's Grilled brill fillet, anchovy & tarragon butter, cider onions as well as Seafood & Bean Stew, Octopus, Mussels, Seabass. Clearly, to make this restaurant work you need two things. First, great ingredients, and here, well, just look outside. Nathan's name also underwrites a quality product so no worries, tick. Second, you need a chef who understands how to make the most of those great ingredients, and here, Outlaw's Fish Kitchen has Paul Ripley (@ChefPaulRipley). Admittedly, we weren't familiar with Paul ahead of our visit to the Fish Kitchen but we had heard nothing but good things about him and discovered that he was formerly Head Chef at Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, where during his time he trained up a young chef named Nathan Outlaw; subsequently he held a Michelin star for six years at his own restaurant Ripley's in St Merryn. Put another way, you really couldn't ask for a stronger chef in the kitchen than Paul, tick. The food then is excellent, beautifully cooked, done with understanding such that the fish is always allowed to shine on the plate.

Our waitresses for the day, Hayley and Megan were fantastic: friendly, smiling and contagiously enthusiastic about all aspects of the Fish Kitchen. We had a chance to talk to Paul Ripley too who was also really super and simply everything and everyone in the restaurant endears you to it further. Outlaw's Fish Kitchen does full justice to the sea's riches and you feel a genuine connection to Cornwall, its people and its food when you eat here. We are endlessly sad about seaside towns that don't have a good fish restaurant, such a waste; in Outlaw's Fish Kitchen, Port Isaac has possibly the best incarnation of what a fish kitchen should be staffed by the best people possible. 

In summer, we can imagine this place is simply rammed, queues out the door. In winter, there's a peacefulness to it that is better for the soul. But whatever season, Port Isaac itself is worth a visit and it would be criminal to visit the town without stopping by Outlaw's Fish Kitchen to get the real taste of Cornwall, courtesy of the talented Mr Ripley.

Staying over in Padstow for a few days, for sure there will be one or two fine dining adventures, but outside of those, you always hope to find a different kind of restaurant, a more casual place to sit, eat and relax at those other times, somewhere to park yourself after a walk, a cheeky afternoon chocolate brownie perhaps or a dinner that you can enjoy without breaking the bank and without dressing up for. For us, on our visit to Padstow, that place rapidly became Rojano's in the Square.

Rojano's in the Square is, as the restaurant's own website describes, 'an Italian influenced family restaurant' and has been serving food in Padstow for almost 40 years under the Rojano's banner. However, in 2010 Rojano's changed ownership, with the new owners being the same team behind the now Michelin starred Number 6 Restaurant round the corner, Paul Ainsworth and his business partner Derek Mapp. 

While Paul and Derek kept what was essential about Rojano's character, its ethos, the Italian heritage and the sheer friendliness of the place, they did however change a few things. In March 2011, Rojano's was remodelled giving the place everything from a grazing bar to outside heating to an allotment. It provides Rojano's a great look, contemporary, accessible and smart. Second, Paul of course took over his food ethos and if you are unaware of Paul's background, he trained under Gordon Ramsay back in the day when Gordon was in the kitchen and having got to know Paul a little over recent years, we can say with certainty he really is a remarkable chef. He is also massive on ingredients (hence the importance of Rojano's having its own allotment) and that means you can have real confidence in the produce you're eating: fish for example will be straight from the Cornish day boats, it doesn't get any better than that. Third, he's put his own team of people into the restaurant. Accordingly, heading up Rojano's as General Manager is, Paul Dodd (@Paul_Dodd14), a colleague of Paul Ainsworth from the Ramsay days, brought in especially for the role because Paul D shares Paul A's values around food and service. The formula is a winning recipe.

The menu is what you would expect from a casual Italian eatery: antipasti, salads, secondi from the grill, pasta, pizza and a few extras on top of all that also. And what really puts a smile on your face, above and beyond the welcome you receive from the staff, is that from the first moment, the food is so so good, and that's not just the star items on the menu, but even the more humble nibbles like the tomato bread. The tomato bread here offers a plump yeasty and doughy base topped with an intense vibrant pomodoro sauce that really does take your taste buds on a journey to Italy rather than those oh so poor relations served elsewhere offering nothing more than a thin crust pizza base with a smear of tomato paste from a tube.  

Ingredients matter and if you still haven't got that, by the time the 'Italian Charcuterie Plank' arrives, you will be left in no doubt. Parma ham, bresaola, salami milano, spinata calabrese and salami napoli ought to be enough delights but throw on for good measure a cheese fondue, porcini relish, pickles, olives and rosemary toats and as you address the plate you wonder where do I begin? We know where you end: with an empty plate. It's a platter like this where the importance of food to the owner, not just the bottom line, makes itself felt and the quality of the meats has already made this a firm favourite of ours. Bruschetta is similarly lifted by the quality of ingredients and the perfect level of toasting on the sourdough base.

In the menu there is a section called 'Paul's Favourites' (being Paul A) and Calzone beef ragu, spicy sausage, mascarpone, roquito peppers, red onion, mozzarella, cherry tomatoes is one of the featured dishes. I had it on a previous occasion and it's amazing, with everything working in what Paul beautifully describes as a cross between a pizza and a Cornish pasty making it accessible to all. We were also so tempted by the Burger Italiano with a Cornish beef pattie and Cornish blue cheese but felt we should stick closer to the Italian ethos and a bowl of Linguine Alla Carbonara Con Salsiccia (Meatballs, smoked bacon, free range egg, Parmesan and fresh parsley) is we're told a recipe that Paul brought back from a trip to Italy, though the pasta itself is made by Rustichella D'Abruzzo in the traditional style including 40-60 slow drying. On a night out to your neighbourhood Italian, it's exactly the type of creamy comfort pasta bowl you want to eat. No surprise there's little room for dessert, but no surprise we had some anyway: not only is the chocolate brownie fabulous {tried on two occasions to check the fact :)} but the coconut ice cream is knockout while a tiramisu and a panna cotta have been combined to make a tiracotta, or is it pannamisu? Either way, it's a lovely sweet end to what is a great night out, or afternoon in.

One doesn't really go to Padstow expecting to find a first class neighbourhood Italian, but here it is anyway. Readers of our blog will know we are big fans of Paul Ainsworth and his team, but we are fans precisely because he cares so much about his food and his customers, and that is exactly what the ethos of Rojano's in the Square is about. Family friendly, there's even a bambini menu, Rojano's ticks so many boxes. For us, it ticks the box of where we like to hang out in Padstow when we want relax with delicious comfort food and friendly service. Another reason to return to Cornwall.