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THE JOURNEYMAN, MELLINGEY MILL, ST ISSEY, NR PADSTOW. ‘East is East, and West is West, and
never the twain shall meet’, wrote Rudyard Kipling. Well,
they do at The Journeyman in the small Cornish village of St. Issey in the form
of an innovative and interestingly balanced menu. The Journeyman is
not an Indian restaurant, and sensibly makes no pretence to be (although it is
mentioned in the Good Curry Guide - a rare accolade for a non-Indian
restaurant). However, it does offer a
wide range of curries, both Indian and Thai/Oriental, on the menu. Therefore, although I don’t usually report
on non-Indian restaurants I’m
happy to make an exception in this case as it is well worth visiting. The restaurant is
situated in a picturesque 17th century mill house cocooned in the
countryside up a narrow lane in the hamlet of Mellingey near the village
of St Issey. The chances of attracting casual passing trade are therefore
marginally less than zero, so it must attract custom by reputation, repeat business
and advertising in order to survive. Steve Lloyd
originates from Birmingham, and although not a professionally trained chef, he has travelled and worked extensively in the Far
East and lived for
a while in Hong Kong and India, where he developed his love of their cuisine and
cooking. Therefore, although not previously running a professional kitchen, he
has the essential ingredients of ability, enthusiasm and dedication to make
it the success that he has. He is not the first person in to
successfully start in the restaurant business in this way in the Padstow area! In fact, like his
more famous counterpart in Padstow, Steve now offers cookery courses
specialising in curry (rather than fish), which I'm told are very successful. The dining area is
fairly small, seating about 20 in an intimate atmosphere. It used to have the rather twee
'cottagey' ambience of the old English country ‘tea-shoppe’ that
it originally was, complete with chintzy blue and white china and ornaments in
the window. However, in early 2008 it underwent a refurbishment, although I am delighted to say that it hasn't lost its
'olde-worlde' charm. I understand that there is further
seating downstairs which can accommodate private functions. It is closed on Sunday. The menu should
satisfy all tastes, as in addition to quality English dishes (superb Steaks,
Beef Wellington, Lamb Shank, Salmon, Duck etc.), there are Thai dishes (Thai
Red Curry, Thai Lemon Chicken, Thai Duck), Chinese (Peking King Prawns,
Szechuan-style Sweet & Sour Chicken) and, of course, the large selection of
Indian dishes, which is the
reason for this
report. There are a number of
the chef's specialist Indian
dishes that reflect different facets of Indian-style cooking, as well as a
selection of the curries more common to standard Indian restaurants. Steve makes his
own base curry sauce of the usual onions, garlic, ginger, tomato, plus his
‘secret ingredient’ (he did tell me what it is, but I’m not telling) and
roasts/grinds his own spices to create his masallas. The menu
indicates the level of spicy hotness for each dish by chilli symbols: 1 = very
mild to 4 = very hot (and 5 = ‘make the chef’s day!). I first visited in 2005, almost a year after they opened. Over the years I (together with my wife) have experimented with various starters and mains. I've tried the home made Thai Fishcakes (served with a sweet chilli sauce), Chicken Tikka (served kebab style with raita and salad), Lamb Kebabs, and the King Prawns with Ginger and Coriander and served on a puri among the starters. All have been very good, particularly the King Prawns and Ginger, which is my favourite and absolutely delicious. For the main courses I have tried Chicken Karahi (no longer on the menu, but the chef will oblige if you ask), Balti Chicken Dhansak, Achari Chicken, Nepalese Lamb, Minted Lamb Mirsch Pathia, Lamb Tikka Methi, and this year the Chicken Rezzala as main curry dishes. I won't go into detail of each one, but suffice to say that all have been excellent, and my wife was very impressed with her Chicken Rezalla this year, which I have to agree was wonderful. While some of the curries, particularly the Dhansak and Achari, can be found on most Indian restaurant menus, all are very much the chef's creation or slant on the dish. For example, the Nepalese Lamb is described as 'a fusion of the spices of North India and China with the Southern Indian influences of coconut and fresh herbs'. It is marked at a two-chilli strength (although I prefer it upped to three chillis, which for me is just right). It is very flavoursome, with chunks of splendidly tender lamb in a rich, mellow aromatic sauce with the flavour of coconut redolent of the dishes of Sri Lanka and Southern India. I was told that it is one of their most popular dishes, and I'm not surprised as it was delicious. This year's Chicken Rezalla was also superb, so along with all the others it's really difficult to know which curry to choose. On each visit I've accompanied the
main curry with an Aloo Gobi (a pleasantly, if
mildly, spiced
combination of lightly cooked cauliflower and potatoes), or a
Vegetable Curry, again well prepared and in keeping with the overall
standard of the food. The Pillau
Rice is fragrant with cinnamon and clove flavours, and one portion is ample. The curries are
generally served sizzling in an iron karahi, and the service is welcoming, friendly and attentive without being pushy. Mrs
Old serves and looks after the restaurant, but
Steve appears from his kitchen from time to time bearing a sizzling dish and to have a chat
with customers if
time permits, which is a nice touch. As one might expect for the
type of restaurant and location, at first sight prices of the Asian dishes might
appear marginally above
your average high-street Indian or Chinese restaurant across the country, although broadly
comparable with the more up-market Indian restaurants in Cornwall. Having said that,
however, this is not your average high street Indian or Chinese restaurant - it
is much more comfortable and serves a better standard food. On top of that the portions are extremely generous –
the
karahis hold much more than meet the eye - and the quality of ingredients first rate. The prices for the English food
are extremely competitive, even on par with some of the more pricey pubs in the area
(some of which are ambitiously above their station in prices for a pub
meal!), and provides marvellous value bearing in mind the style of restaurant,
comfort and top notch quality of ingredients. Even the house wine - an
Australian Shiraz Cabernet - is
very palatable and extremely reasonable at £12.50 a bottle. And the prices
include complimentary tea or coffee, which is another nice touch. Taking everything
into account, therefore, it represents excellent value for money. (IN fact last
year I commented that at such
value the prices must surely rise before long, but they seem to remain steady -
realy excellent value). Curry
aficionados, which is who this report is aimed at, will certainly not be
disappointed. On fact, despite the excellence of the steaks etc., most diners
appear to order one of the curries. As a final comment on the food, I repeat that the menu covers a much wider range than simply curries, which makes it an ideal place to visit if your dining companion(s) don't like spicy foods. In fact, although my original attraction was the curry dishes, my wife, and now myself, always order a fillet steak on one of our visits (we now visit more than once when in the area, which illustrates our appreciation of the food). Although I don't usually comment on non-Indian foods on this website, I have to say that the matured fillet steak (Simply Steak on the menu) is superb, as have been the other varieties of steak dishes we have tried. In my first report I commented that "I was sure the restaurant will continue to thrive, and I looked forward to eating there again when next in the area". Well, it is thriving and I have enjoyed eating there on many subsequent visits - I wouldn't miss it now - which is not surprising given the quality of the food and ambience in which it is served. Indeed, I always listen to the observations and comments of other diners, and on each of my visits, every comment I overheard was of praise and approval, whether it be for the Indian or English food. In fact, unlike most restaurants, virtually all customers do express their approval and praise in some form. On my most recent visit I heard another diner comment that "this was the best lamb curry I have ever had", while on three separate occasions during my recent visit I heard diners (presumably first-timer holiday makers) asking if they could book again during the week. It's not often you hear that. It
is worth mentioning that in
addition to the Journeyman I have eaten in
Jamie Oliver's 15 at Watergate Bay, Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant, Margots and
Paul Ainsworth No 6 in Padstow. All have been good to varying degrees, but I
have to say that for a balance of ambience (the best), quality of food (superb)
and price (the most reasonable), then the Journeyman is well ahead. For
anyone thinking of going, they have an excellent and comprehensive website -
www.journeymanrestaurant.co.uk
- that includes details of the restaurant, the menu, and directions how to get there.
Believe me, both restaurant and website are well worth a visit. Malcolm Wilkins – September 2011
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