The Mariners Public House in Rock — Restaurant in England

Such a shame. This is my irk with these big shot chefs, swinging in and buying up all these classic seaside eateries, leaving something with no soul and no clear fingerprint sucking opportunity from local chefs. Ainsworth and Stein have colonised Padstow and Rock, leaving little choice but their own eateries, which are overpriced, snooty and drastically underwhelming.

We ate at the Mariners as a family celebration, but we won’t be returning. Our first disappointment was the parking - or lack thereof. An arrangement needs to be made with regards to patrons’ parking, it’s a long way to walk from the nearest public car park, and you’re looking at another £5 to park for a couple of hours, which leaves a sour taste. If you’re going in the evening, the ferry and public transport has stopped by this time so driving is unavoidable unless you’re in Rock.

The food was steeply priced for the portion size - all bar the fish and chips seemed incomplete meals. The monkfish was literally just a piece of fish - no sides at all. None of the meals came with a single vegetable, which felt cheap but also just unbalanced, leaving the plate with a distinct lack of freshness and lightness to lift you up. Sure, you can order a small side of cabbage for about £9 but adding that and a carb dish to every plate takes your main course up to £50 or over. The shepherds pie was just shepherds pie, the burger just a very basic burger. Pub classics are the cornerstone of British eateries, unfussy crowd pleasers leaving you feeling satisfied and contented. However, when other restaurants are offering excellent classics at half the price, including the basics such as a potato side, a salad or fresh vegetables, one needs to up one’s game.

The food tasted over seasoned and we needed a lot of water, which wasn’t readily available as our polite requests for refills were regularly forgotten. However the service staff were attentive to dietary requirements and allergens so this is a positive.

Overall, for one drink, some shared starters, a main course, and shared desserts, we spent about £60 each and went home slightly hungry, craving some vegetables or salad.

It’s clear Ainsworth hasn’t stepped foot in there for some time and doesn’t have a finger on the pulse, but rather both hands in...

Underwhelming.

We are gutted to say it, but massively underwhelming. We booked 3 weeks in advance and struggled to get a table at a time suitable to us. We'd looked online and thought we were booking an upscale place.

On arrival, we found the restaurant half empty. We were met by friendly staff and shown to our table. We made our choices and were looked after by a very attentive member of staff, who is a real credit to the restaurant. However, things were disappointing from here on.

I had the chicken to start, which was overcooked and and more batter than chicken. It tasted fine, but wasn't impressive. I had the goan curry for my main course. Sadly it was like an over flavoured microwave curry. There was little balance in the meal, as it was full of coriander, which was totally overpowering. The chicken was nice and plentiful, but the naan bread was soggy and heavy. The braised rice was really enjoyable. I finished on the trifle, which was a pleasant surprise and tasted good.

My partner had a similar experience, with an oversized whitebait starter, braised beef which was well cooked, but served with a jus and cauliflower cheese that was far too rich and distracted from the beef. She then had a disappointing dessert with the very heavy apple crumble which featured more sultanas than anything else.

The wine menu was great, and plentiful in choice.

We didn't complain about anything, as everything was edible and cooked, but for a Michelin starred chef to put his name to it, it was disappointing. We'd looked forward to this for weeks, and we're left feeling disappointed given how much we'd spent. We were surprised to see people walk in and get a table without booking, from 6:30 til 9:00, despite our issues getting a table. And we were also surprised to see people sat around in flip flops, beach shorts and wet hair. It just didn't add anything to the experience or the ambience.

Given the great reviews of Paul Ainsworths other restaurants, I wouldn't recommend going...

First time we have visited The Mariners since it has been run by the Ainsworths. It is still a great location and the terrace was packed/buzzing on a sunny BHW Sunday. We had booked and were seated inside downstairs next to a large terrace facing window - it was a lovely (dog friendly) table.

I had the roast beef and my wife and daughter had the vegetarian roast (it was great that a child’s veggie roast option was available). Followed by the Spotted Dick dessert for me (set roast menu) and the trifle for wife/daughter. The food was absolutely delicious. The beef was tender and perfectly cooked (would have loved just a little bit more of it!) and the desserts, especially the trifle, were outstanding. Hats off to those working in the kitchen, which must be an extremely well-oiled operation - the number of high quality plates of food being served up was very impressive.

It is not cheap but offers good value and the cask beer was especially well priced (£5 a pint). £100 for two course beef roast, veggie roast and dessert, child veggie roast, two pints of beer and a non-alcoholic cocktail. The only negative was that the service was not quite on point. We were left standing awkwardly at the bar when we arrived - this really is a pet hate and is so easily avoided (‘good afternoon sir - I’ll be with you in one moment’). The waiting staff in general looked stressed/unhappy and an order for another pint with dessert was forgotten about (it did arrive immediately with apology when reminded). I get it - it was busy and there was a lot going on, but maintaining top level service in those conditions is what sorts the wheat from the chaff. Will we go back? - absolutely. Hopefully when we do the front of house will have been sharpened up sufficiently to elevate the whole experience from ‘very good’ to...