While there is something to be said for randomly wandering a foreign town until you find the local favourites, when planning a trip in advance nothing can beat a good browse through TripAdvisor for restaurant recommendations. Before my trip to Cornwall I made a point of looking up the top ranked restaurant in St. Austell for a special Easter weekend meal. All signs pointed to Austell’s as being the area’s top pick (additionally, it’s listed in the Michelin Guide!) so I emailed my reservation for Saturday night in advance and headed off to Cornwall ready for a delicious dinner.
Unfortunately, and to my great surprise, I heard back that they were entirely booked so I swung by the restaurant to plead my single traveller case – thank goodness I did, they kindly found a spot for me and allowed me to enjoy the most delicious meal I’ve had in ages.
Austell’s operates on a set menu – always a good sign in my opinion as it means the menu options will be well prepared rather than a whole range of short order meals coming out of the kitchen. I could choose between a small array of starters, mains and desserts for a fixed (and incredibly reasonable) price. While located in a fairly unromantic area (next to a fast food Chinese buffet and Indian takeaway restaurant in what Americans would call a strip mall), once stepping inside the restaurant it was like being in a whole different location.
I started with a fillet of bream served with fried squid and a light, lemony fregula which was perfectly prepared. The fish was salty and light and had just enough fishy flavour to taste fresh but not enough to overpower the rest of the meal. The squid was incredibly flavourful and not the least bit chewy (which I thought was a given with squid) – it cut with my fork. The grains balanced the dish nicely, adding a bit of texture to the fish.
Next I decided on the Cornish beef ribeye served with a red wine jus, sauteed mushrooms, green beans and potatoes. I don’t eat red meat particularly often at home and so it was a very special treat, even moreso in that it was perfectly done to medium rare and I polished off the plate in much less time than I would have probably done in polite company.
Finally, I finished with the hot dark chocolate lava cake, served with mint chocolate chip ice cream. Simple, delicious and amazingly chocolatey, it was the ideal end to the meal.
Overall I’m so glad I picked Austell’s for my Easter meal (even if it was a Saturday dinner rather than Sunday!). The staff were wonderful – my waitress stopping to chat with me when she had a moment as I was sitting alone and of course the fact that they squeezed me in – which really added to the whole meal and ambiance. If you can get a table, I highly recommend a visit to Austell’s if you’re ever in the area.
Austell’s
http://www.austells.net/
10 Beach Road
St Austell
PL25 3PH
Tel. for bookings: 01726 813 888
Meaghan Fitzgerald is a marketer and entrepreneur building and growing consumer and gaming products and experiences. A Silicon Valley native, she started her first company, DormWise, in 2006 which she later sold in 2009. Meaghan spent 7 years in London in early stage consumer startups, two years at Xbox as a product marketer for Minecraft, and is currently the head of product marketing for VR experiences at Facebook and Oculus. Meaghan writes here about business, technology, gaming, and marketing. She has been named a top