Nathan Outlaw: "I'm confident this is the right direction for what we do"

This would appear to be a U-turn...​ ​

We changed the name of the restaurant and how we approached things over the first lockdown because – like everyone – we didn’t know what was going to happen. To get through if there were further lockdowns, we needed to get as many people into the restaurant as possible. A simpler offer and two sittings worked in summer 2021​​ because nobody could go abroad. We’ve been down here for 20 years, and it was the busiest summer we ever had. But 12 months later it is a different situation. There’s still demand but it’s not like it was before. We need to give people a reason to make a special journey here.

At the time, you said you'd had enough of tastings menus and wanted to do something more inclusive and accessible? ​

I felt that what I was doing at Restaurant Nathan Outlaw had become stale. We were cooking by numbers. We were playing a defensive game rather than an attacking one. Before lockdown I was going to London and before that Dubai. I had to create a menu and put systems in place to ensure we hit that two-star standard when I wasn't there. But now I’m back in the kitchen all the time we can be creative and consistent. The menu changes every day according to the ingredients we can get.

Do you want your two stars back?​

It's dangerous to think about it in that way. If you make that your goal it puts pressure on the team that doesn't need to be there. What I'm interested in is creating a menu that is as good as it possibly can be and that shows Cornish and British seafood is world class. I want to give people the best possible seafood experience.

You're a month into this new regime, how has it gone? ​

It's been great. The biggest challenge has been getting the amount of food right. A lot of our regulars who only came in once last year have already booked in again for later this year, which is a good sign. It's given me confidence that this is the right direction for what we do. We're filling the dining room more consistently than we were before, but we are getting to that time of year when there aren't many people around in Cornwall. This winter is going to be scary given all the uncertainties the industry is facing but hopefully the new approach will put us in a strong position as we go into 2023.

Presumably the new guest house will help...​​

Yes. We didn't have rooms when we had Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, which was a problem in the quieter months. We've seen less of a drop off than we have in the past. We've run restaurants in hotels, but this is the first time we've done rooms ourselves. Outlaw's Guest House has been brilliant but hard. My wife Rachel and I did it all ourselves from scratch. I often cook the breakfast and talk to people as they check out – we’ve found we get much better feedback that way as people have had a chance to think about the overall experience.

Were the changes designed to create more of a point of difference between your flagship and Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen?​

Sort of, although Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen has a different style because I don’t cook there, although we do use the same produce. My head chef Tim Barnes and his wife Emma Meech (who oversees front of house) are brilliant, and they crack on. It's an unassuming little restaurant that rarely gets talked about but we're always busy. We'd be in trouble if we didn't have it, put it that way! 

What's keeping you up at night the most?​ 

It’s been a tough few years but I’m not too concerned about energy as that hasn’t kicked in yet for us and staffing has not been an issue for us – we didn’t lose anyone at all over lockdown and most of my guys in the kitchen have been with me for a long time. Ingredients costs have been a bit of an issue. Believe or not, our previous price point of £95 made getting the very best produce on the menu a bit of a struggle. The new menu has taken the pressure off in that regard – we really are able to offer the best seafood you can possibly get. My biggest worry is that we’re a remote restaurant. If we can get people through the door the rest will hopefully look after itself.