Custard Diner, Padstow

Can a diner serving trad British food compete with Rick Stein?

You’d have to be either brave or stupid to open a restaurant in Padstow. The Cornish town, know as Padstein to locals, is home to Rick Stein’s empire. Comprising café, brasserie and restaurant, as well as a cookery school, deli and fish and chip shop, the amiable TV chef definitely rules the school and his popularity is broadcast all over town in the form of fully booked posters outside each restaurant and long queues at the shops and chippy.

Custard diner, which opened in July 2007, is one plucky newcomer. The Custard team are well aware of the competition and to give themselves a decent chance have nicked Rick’s seafood restaurant chef, Dan Gedge, to head up their kitchen. Gedge’s kitchen offers up seasonal and local traditional British food – ticking all the right boxes in one go.

The restaurant, near the harbour front, is a homage to fifties Britain with its floral wallpaper, scalloped edge mirrors and banquet seating. It’s comforting insta-nostalgia, even for those of us who weren’t even alive the first time round, with pretty chandeliers adding a touch of glamour to the room.

A plate of cured and smoked fish to start was a mixed bunch. Beetroot smoked salmon lacked punch, but soused herrings were deliciously salty and sharp with vinegar. Salmon fishcakes were light, full of flavour and a high point of the meal. Mains were traditional and well executed. We had calves liver with bacon which was tasty, if not a little rich and heavy for a summer evening. Local plaice was well cooked and served with salty shrimp butter to balance the sweet, creamy fish.

Feeling slightly traitorous, we skipped custard for pud and opted instead for posh Eton mess – a mix of meringues, strawberries and lemon cream which was delicious and zesty.

The two rooms which make up the restaurant were full and lively. The front of house staff are nothing but charming and managed to keep a rowdy group under enough control to stop them ruining other diners evenings.

Our advice? Don’t get caught up in the celebrity circus but plump instead for the courageous new upstart, which gets the thumbs up from us.

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