Barnaby’s | Padstow, Cornwall

Barnaby’s is a cosy and super relaxed restaurant in Padstow owned by Rick and Katie Toogood, an inspirational couple who have two other successful restaurants under their belt. The story all begins with Rick Toogood. Born on the Channel islands, his mother trained at Cordon Bleu and her passion for food (particularly fish) was most certainly passed on to her son. Ricks’s immense love of fish and his same enthusiasm for food, resulted in managing various different sites for fishworks until he and Katie embarked on their joint dream of owning their very own restaurant.

Rick and Katie poured inspiration from all avenues including their own travels. Working for free at various fishmongers before finally opening their first restaurant – Prawn on the Lawn in Islington – in 2013. Katie and Rick have since opened two further restaurants in Padstow, another Prawn on the Lawn in 2015, followed by Barnaby’s (also in Padstow just up the road) in 2018. The opening of Barnaby’s actually coincided with the couple’s first cookbook – ‘Fish and seafood to share’ available to buy here.

Barnaby’s is without a doubt one of our favourite restaurants in Cornwall. Set in a former Victorian tearoom, it’s a cosy and super relaxed restaurant situated in the heart of Padstow, lovingly named after Rick’s grandfather, George Barnaby. Katie and Rick were keen to explore something different with Barnaby’s, therefore buying a wood fired oven called “Bertha” to cook in. Rick and Katie created a menu built around local seafood with the addition of meat and vegetarian options to choose from and lots of really interesting middle eastern influenced flavours!

At Barnaby’s you can expect to see mouth watering dishes such as hake with charred hispi cabbage, chraimeh, saffron yoghurt and pine nuts or wild prawns with zhoug and pistachio…Meat eaters will love the mojo rojo chicken croquettes, roast chicken mayo – but honestly the whole menu sounds incredible! The setting, the service, the flavours – it’s just all perfect.

If you are in Padstow, Prawn on the Lawn really is also really worth a visit. The restaurant is also a fully licensed fishmonger which is ideal if you are self-catering and fancy purchasing some fresh fish. Since moving to Padstow, Rick and Katie have formed even greater relationships with the local fishermen and fishmongers, allowing them to make the most of the freshest seafood Cornwall has to offer. The fresh flavours really come into their own here though as they are mostly cooked over a charcoal grill.

Prawn on the Lawn Padstow features in the Michelin Guide, and has been listed in The Sunday Times ‘100 Best Places to Eat in the UK’ 2018, as chosen by Marina O’Loughlin and Giles Coren. For more information on Prawn on the Lawn Padstow visit the website here.

Barnaby’s is open Tuesday-Saturday 12pm-11pm, to make a reservation or to find out more click here.

Images: Barnaby’s & Prawn On the Lawn, Sally Mitchell.