Artist Residence, Penzance
20 Chapel St, Penzance TR18 4AW
With a gorgeously chic bohemian inspired interior, and a groovy backyard dining area, Artist Residence, on Chapel Street in Penzance, is your perfect place for a Friday sundowner, and a dinner of dreams!
Open as both a boutique hotel, and a charming restaurant right by the sea, Artist Residence has always left me in a delightful foodie daze after every visit. Coupled with their awesome food menu, their eclectic selection of cocktails are absolute lip-smackers, and makes for a posh evening out! Having visited on a few occasions over this summer, I have completely ravaged the tapas portion of their menu, and will delve into some highlights in this blog.
With a menu as lush as this, we simply couldn’t resist wetting our palates with a little cocktail to soak up the decision making process. Oooo so scrumptious!
And it really was – with a Tommy’s Margarita in the foreground, and the Cornish Caipirinha in the background, this devilish duo started our meal off just right! The Cacahaca, Twin fin pineapple & pink grapefruit rum, and served with lime, had a divine balance of sweet fruit and a subtle bitter finish; while the tequila, lime, triple sec, and agave, made for an unbeatable Tommy’s marg. And of course – since a bar snack is an absolute must – the smoked almonds were a moorish no brainier that barely saw the light of day!
Arranged in somewhat of a ritualistic demi-clock, my first trip to Artist Residence consisted of a salty, fishy, and carby spectacular. A heavenly pairing!
Starting off strong with these two mighty dishes, we dug straight in with the whipped feta dish, served with chilli oil, olives and pine nuts. Now this number quite literally took creamy to the next level. With its salty and tangy flavourings, this felt like such a treat of a dish, and worked perfectly with the doughy garlic flatbread that accompanied it.
With crab a favourite fish of mine, I was beyond excited to get stuck into these Cornish crab nachos, with corn chips, pickled peppers, chilli, sour cream and avo. While the picture can surely speak for itself, this dish certainly did not disappoint on the quantity of crab, while the quality was equally utterly delicious. Blown away, this one might have piqued the post as favourite of the night!
Moving on, we enjoyed some mackerel so good it must’ve had a mind of its own. Dressed up in pink onions, crème fresh, apple ketchup and crostini, this local mackerel fillet was sublime. I loved the way that the tartness of the apple cut straight through the gorgeous fishy flavour, and to top it off, the wonderful concoction was served on some crusty, grilled sourdough! Bleedy ansum!
Sometimes you just can’t beat a roast potato, and these little bad boys doused in butter and chives really made me happy. Perfectly crusty, each bite offered the tastebuds some seriously fluffy and warming goodness.
Talking of potatoes, if you’re a sucker for fries like me, the Artist Residence truffle fries with Parmesan and garlic aioli are a must-try! I got through these like it was nobody’s business, and with the aioli serving as the perfect dip, my top tip would be to order an extra few pots of these for the ultimate chip smothering.
The house baked focaccia was also a winner for me, and while slightly on the chewy side, laced with rosemary and coated in an olive oil and balsamic dip, it was a respectable edition to our tapas selection.
To conclude the review, I must mention the beetroot arancini. Presented in a beautiful bed of dairy free Parmesan and a smoked leek mayo, these little darling are both vegan, and gluten free! I would defiantly recommend adding these to your tapas selection for a unique flavour disco in the mouth- one that’s cheesy and smokey in flavour, and crispy and tender in texture. Furiously good.
I really have been wowed after each visit to Artist Residence and simply cannot recommend the cozy restaurant enough. So gowan and get down to Penzance to grab an early evening spot at the Artist Residence for a meal you won’t forget!
