While in Cornwall we visited the Nathan Outlaw Restaurant at the St Enodoc Hotel in Rock (eponymously named for its occasional TV chef). Strangely there are two Nathan Outlaw restaurants at the hotel: a two Michelin star restaurant only serving a tasting menu; and a no star al a carte seafood grill. Preferring choice we booked at the grill.
We first noticed the restaurant was completely empty. Of course a rainy Monday night at the end of November in Cornwall is about as off-peak as it is possible to get. Still it was surprisingly to see it was just us and a single waitress. Needless to say the staff were attentive, but they were also professional yet friendly. Two hours later when we left, there were 8 other diners in a place that could easily handle four times that number.
I had the onion soup for starters - fine but nothing special. My partner had the largest and most flavoursome mussels I have ever tasted (but I only got a small taste). We both had the char-grilled Gurnard fillets as our main course, with crab sauce (as recommended by our waitress). I had never even heard of this fish before, let alone tasted one. However, I can proclaim it tasty! The beautifully cooked fillet had a quite solid texture (for fish) and had a very slight earthy/gamey taste. It went well with the sauce. Dessert was a delicious chocolate sponge. It all came to around £130 with a bottle of wine and service charge - not bad by London standards. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.