Rick Stein Reviews 

My Wife and I dined at the Cornwall Seafood Restaurant for a late (ish) lunch - about 1:30 on the 30th Dec 2025. To sum it up in a word "DON'T" especially if you are celiac or gluten intolerant. Despite the hype, it's simply not worth going.
Let me list what they DIDN'T have: COD.... are you kidding me? No COD folks along with no tartar sauce and no local beer on tap. The gluten free batter was rock hard and the fish was small and dry. The mushy peas never arrived (but were happy to charge for). There was a wait for 40 minutes, yet tables seemed to be available - that indicates to me that they had severely underestimated demand in a holiday period. Did I mention that there was no cod? Oh yes, the wait..... the Floor Manager seemed perfectly happy to have a good old chat with a friend and accept a couple of gifts and generally faff around, meanwhile we sit there - NOT HAPPY. Did I mention that there was no cod?... To be fair, the Wait Staff were pretty friendly and reasonably attentive, but for the price, so they should be.

I hate to complain. But what have you done to your Christmas Pudding. We have had it for years and praised it to everyone. Tasted just like my Great Grandmother's. Light and crumbly. This year dark and solid. Such a shame.

A shocking let‑down for a brand of this reputation
We travelled from Switzerland to dine at Rick St
ein – Padstow on 26 December 2025, expecting a world‑class experience. Instead, we left feeling disappointed—and, frankly, unwelcome.
First, we ordered a 2022 Chablis from the wine list. Without warning, a 2023 was opened and poured. No explanation, no consent. This is unacceptable at any level, let alone a flagship restaurant. If a listed vintage is unavailable, the guest must be informed and offered alternatives—not misled.
Second, the whole fish baked in salt was a disaster. The carving was handled by someone clearly untrained: the salt crust shattered messily, bones remained in the fillets, and the plating looked amateurish. This dish is meant to showcase skill and theatre; what we saw was clumsy and careless.
Worst of all, we had the distinct impression that, as visitors from abroad, we were treated differently than local guests—less attention, less care. For a brand built on hospitality, that is unacceptable.
We chose Rick Stein for a special occasion. Instead, we experienced service failures that would embarrass a mid‑range bistro. For a brand built on seafood expertise, this was our first and last visit.
Management needs to act:

Stop substituting vintages without consent.
Update wine lists promptly.
Train staff properly before assigning tableside preparation.
Ensure all guests—local or international—receive equal respect and service.

We rarely post negative reviews, but this was a significant let‑down. Guests paying premium prices deserve professionalism—not excuses.

My daughter bought the Xmas Pudding and it was awful hardly any fruit but I did manage to find one chopped up nut really disappointing lacking flavour and stodgy. Had better pudding from Aldi and Lidl's. Cooking instructions for microwave not very clear. The best thing about it was the china basin. We all looked forward to this pudding as it was quite expensive and Rick Steins but not all good things cost a lot of money.

Just received the luxury fish box and struggle to see £95 pounds worth of fish. The hot smoked salmon was substituted with a frozen pack due to supply issues, unfortunately this fish had defrosted on arrival. We didn’t receive the condiments, again allegedly due to unforeseen supply issues, however, as we had paid for the fish box as described I would have expected a substitute at the very least.
I won’t be purchasing anything else from this company and certainly won’t be making a recommendation, very poor.

Every time I have visited the restaurant they've not had the curry.

Additionally, I bought mugs from there at full price only to find them heavily reduced on their website. I felt conned. I emailed in to complain and have never heard back, despite following up several times. Really poor customer experience. It’s unpleasant being ignored.

The service was good and the location looking over Poole harbour excellent. Food was also very good but expensive but what was so disappointing was the cost of house wine exhorbitant at £42 per bottle.
A Friday lunchtime in December and no more than eight tables were occupied. I would definitely recommend a pricing review

Ordering to delivery was perfect. No complaints whatsoever.

Came on time However I ordered Aioli but was sent Mayonnaise
Not quite the same

Lovely collection of fish ingredients. Enjoyed everything from the soup to the white fish. Excellent.

Gift vouchers
Easy to use website. Vouchers sent out straight away

Unfortunately my 3 gift parcels were delivered by EVRI. And left outside on my driveway with no attempt to deliver to my door or to be left in the porch (where I had left a note indicating to leave in the open porch). Due to torrential rain the boxes were ruined and each stocking has had to be emptied and we are now trying to dry out the contents!!!

Ordering product - good
Receiving product -also good and kept informed.
Thank you

Item arrived smashed. Email to say out of stock here have a refund. Very disappointing when this was a carefully selected gift.

My friends (who the gift was for) think the wine is going to be wonderful especially as they have their family staying with them

The lovely candles I ordered arrived quite quickly and, as usual, I'm really pleased with them

My previous order went missing with Evri when I contacted rick stein customer service they were very helpful and sent a replacement out straight away. Which I received in a couple of days so thank you very much !!
Cant wait to use my jams for Christmas

Sorry to say that I have not received my parcel yet. It would be really good of you. If you could chase up whoever you have to deliver my parcel as this is a Christmas gift for my husband. Many thanks Lisa Short 5 Rosemary cottages copse Lane freshwater Isle of Wight PO40 9GA.

Arrived on time, beautifully presented