THE FACTS ABOUT NUMBER 6 RESTAURANT AND ROOMS

England Cornwall

With Rick Stein's trio of restaurants, the Michelin-starred Ripley's down the road in St Merryn, and the Black Pig (also Michelin-starred) moving across the water from Rock this season, Padstow has become a haven for gastronomes. And at the heart of the small Cornish fishing port, two doors from Rick Stein's Café, is Number 6 Restaurant & Rooms. Brenda and Paul Harvey bought Number 6 two years ago, having previously run a children's nursery near Wokingham; transforming the restaurant and its three rooms was clearly a labour of love. Brenda, a fan of interior design ('especially Terence Conran and Philippe Starck', she says), gave the place a fresh, Elle Deco look. She re-covered the mini chaise longue in the blue bedroom herself, made all the suede pouffes and even rustled up the rudimentary art on the walls. The interiors are pared-down, but not too cool for comfort: there are white IKEA armchairs and pumice-stone balls set on a suede rug, plus black-and-white chequered floor-tiling in the sitting room; and the bedrooms have white cotton sheets, satin bed-throws and Conran teddy bears (plus, soon, DVD TVs). Both the Harveys cook, and enjoy it enough to conjure up something tasty at short notice for their guests. The menu changes regularly: when I visited it featured crab cakes, Thai chicken on spinach and green beans and meringue with fresh berries. Breakfast is a delicious spread of fruit, muesli and natural yogurt, croissants and a range of cooked options including smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. It can be eaten inside or out: there is a little courtyard planted with bay, bamboo, box and sedum where, says Paul, 'buckets of rosé' were consumed in the evenings last summer. THE SEASIDE A two-mile-long sandy beach starts 200 metres from the harbour. The entire coastline between Padstow and Newquay is stunning, with dramatic cliffs, wide sandy beaches and Atlantic rollers. Watergate Bay and Fistral Bay are big with surfers, as is Constantine Bay - which also has rock pools and grassy dunes, making it a great all-round beach. Walkers also love the Bedruthan Steps stretch, with its slate outcrops. WHEN TO GO Off-peak. Padstow is a picturesque port with fishing boats, quayside pubs and surfwear shops. It's a nice place in which to potter about, except on spring bank-holiday weekends and in the summer holidays, when it can get unbearably crowded. Its popularity means that Number 6 will probably be booked when you want to stay, but it's worth waiting, especially if you go with enough friends to have the place to yourselves. BOOKING DETAILS Number 6 Restaurant & Rooms, 6 Middle Street, Padstow, Cornwall (01841 532093; www.number6inpadstow.co.uk). Doubles £130 including breakfast. Three-course dinner £29 per person. Minimum two-night stay at weekends