Award: Two Michelin star
Chef: Nathan Outlaw – Nathan spent two years at Thanet Catering College in Broadstairs before moving to London to work under Peter Kromberg at the five-star Intercontinental Hotel. He moved on, working for both Gary Rhodes and Éric Chavot.
In 1998, Nathan moved to Cornwall and began working for Rick Stein at the Seafood Restaurant in Padstow. As a chef de partie it was Nathan’s job to prepare the fish for cooking. He moved up to sous chef in his second year working at the restaurant, and began to cook the seafood himself, developing a real passion for working with fish.
When he moved on from Stein’s, Nathan worked in a number of restaurants including John Campbell’s Michelin-starred restaurant Lords of the Manor, and the Vineyard at Stockcross, where he was head chef.
He was awarded his first Michelin star during his time at St Ervan Manor in North Cornwall and in 2006 was offered the head-chef position at the Marina Hotel in Fowey. Restaurant Nathan Outlaw relocated to St Enodoc Hotel in Rock in 2010 under Nathan’s sole ownership.
In addition to this eponymous flagship – which resettled in the picturesque village of Port Isaac in 2015 – he runs three other Cornish restaurants: Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen in Port Isaac (see my review), the Mariners Rock (a public house) and Outlaw’s at St Enodoc Hotel in Rock. He consults for his London restaurant Outlaw’s at the Capital, although he leaves much of the running of the place in to his culinary protégé Pete Biggs. He also has a restaurant at the ultra-luxe Burj Al Arab in Dubai.
Visit: 4 March 2017, dinner for two.
Price: ***
Website: https://nathan-outlaw.com/restaurants/
Review: The restaurant is situated at the top of Port Isaac overlooking the rugged Cornish coastline. Exclusively serving a seafood tasting menu, Nathan highlights the freshest sustainable seafood caught off the Cornish coast by small day boats. Nathan opened the restaurant in 2015, after moving from his 2 Michelin star establishment in Rock, which we also had the privilege to visit.
This is a truly memorable dining experience, from the initial booking through to paying the bill! The lady who took my booking recognised my name from a previous visit and I was welcomed back. The staff are very friendly and approachable.
The food is unbelievably fresh and innovative. The wine selection is extensive, but a very knowledgeable sommelier will guide you, or you can order the wine pairing, which we did. This is a restaurant you can return to again and again, and thoroughly enjoy every visit.
Nathan has been awarded the No 1 spot in The Good Food Guide 2018 after notching up a perfect score of 10 for the second year running. The restaurant nudged Simon Rogan’s L’Enclume, in Cartmel, Cumbria, into second place, after 4 years at the top.
If you are a member of Nathan’s loyalty scheme, Outlaw’s Grub Club, the discount is not applicable in Restaurant Nathan Outlaw. However, this is definitely a loyalty scheme worth considering, offering 10% off your bill at Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen in Port Isaac, The Mariners Public House in Rock (on food only) and Outlaw’s at the Capital, London.
Port Gaverne Restaurant and Hotel:
If you do visit, I can recommend the Port Gaverne pub with rooms, which provides excellent accommodation, great food, and extremely friendly staff. The pub is a short walk from Nathan’s restaurant, if you can walk up a steep hill!
https://portgavernehotel.co.uk/contact/
Nathan’s Restaurant, Views and Food:
