©2010Squid Ink Restaurant
Site by Creative Steam - Web Design Cornwall
Catherine and Warren welcome you to The Squid Ink Restaurant
Welcome to Squid Ink restaurant situated in the historic fishing port of Looe in South East Cornwall. Looe is a pretty seaside town and important Cornish port selling mainly day caught fish from small trawlers, netting boats and line fishing boats, where the highest EU quality level of E (excellent) is electronically `attached' to almost every box of fish. Day boats are considered one of the more sustainable ways to fish, and they also provide the freshest fish (it hasn't been sitting on a boat that has been at sea for a week or more).
We are committed to offering outstanding service our menu includes a dietary key indicating which dishes may not be suitable for allergy sufferers or those just wishing to avoid certain foods such as dairy. If however you have any additional dietary requirements you are welcome to discuss them with the chef who will endeavour to accommodate them.
SPRING/SUMMER (Easter to September)
Mondays & Wednesday to Saturday -
Dinner 6pm – late (last reservations 9pm)
Lunch (12-2pm)
Sunday - 6pm - late (last reservations 9pm)
We're closed on Tuesdays!
AUTUMN/WINTER (October to March)
Wednesday to Saturday -
Dinner 6pm – late (last reservations 9pm)
Lunch (12-3pm - by advance booking only)
Sunday - 6pm - late (last reservations 9pm)
In response to the growing number of customers with celiac disease or symptoms we are proud to include a range of dishes that are gluten free. For those sufferers new to the condition and as yet unfamiliar with what foods they can safely eat our menus are coded to indicate at a glance which dishes are suitable and which are not. We also realise that cross contamination of wheat products can be a problem to acute suffers and so can guarantee that where a dish is given the (gf) code there is no chance of any wheat having come into contact with the individual ingredients or the finished dish during the cooking process. Offering healthy eating options are also important to us and in 2009 we were awarded a Gold level award in the Cornwall Healthier Eating & Food Safety Award Scheme (CHEFS) Award. You can find further details of the scheme and the strict criteria we have met on the Cornwall Council website.
Warren Goodridge Chef/Patron was born in Barnsley South Yorkshire. He joined The Army Catering Corp in 1982 and served in several countries including Germany. During this time Warren became a catering instructor where he enjoyed teaching and sharing his skills and knowledge, finally leaving the Army in 1994. Warren then became the Head Chef at the Cricketers in Surrey/Hants borders, where his love and flare for cooking with fresh Fish developed. After three years Warren moved to the Lake District where he took over as the Head Chef at Dale Head Hall (Thirlmere). During his time in the Lakes Warren's flare, contemporary menus and use of locally sorced produce earned Dale Head 3 AA red rosettes. After leaving the Lakes Warren became Executive Head Chef at the internationally renowned Charterhouse Public School (Godalming). Here he was responsible for the production of over a1000 meals a day for both pupils and teaching staff, which had to include the provision for individuals with food allergies and special dietary requirements. Warren also provided the menus for weddings, private functions for the headmaster/house masters and fine dining events for private parties including such organisations as 'The Institute of Surgeons' and The Olympic Sports Committee.
Warren then left Charterhouse to become the Development Chef at Foodlink in Oxfordshire where he was able to use his experience and flare to develop bespoke contemporary dishes for delicatessens as well as other 'high street chain stores'. He then spent the next seven years as a catering services and a catering leisure manager, working for Edinburgh Woollen Mills throughout the UK and then the Navy, Army and Airforce Institute (NAAFI) in Germany. During this time Warren implemented new and contemporary menus and raised/managed health and safety awareness, managing over ninety establishments which catered for over a million customers a year.
On returing to England Warren became the General Manager at The Durham Emirates International Cricket Ground where he managed the catering services; providing food and beverages for to up to twenty thousand attendees at International Cricket Matches and music events. Warren also managed many fine dining events at the Cricket Ground including weddings and corporate events and society dinners.
So how did Warren find himself owning the Squid Ink Restaurant in Looe…
On his fortieth birthday Warren was sat in Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant in Padstow with his family and announced that one day he wanted to own his own seafood restaurant in Cornwall.
Four years later Warren met Catherine ( a Lancashire Lass born and brought up in the shadow of Pendle Hill ..... renowned for its witches and stunning scenery). Catherine had worked in the NHS for over 25 years becoming a Registered Nurse in Blackburn in 1987. Whilst working for East Lancashire Hospitals and The Primary Care Trust in Blackburn and later Burnley Catherine continued her studies at St Martins College in Lancaster, Central Lancashire University in Preston and at The Unversity of Bolton, gaining Degrees in Midwifery, Health Visiting and School Nursing .Catherine feels that, whilst working in at times very stressful situations, she has been able to develop excellent communication, inter-personal and organisational skills and has a very calming influence. She felt that this mixture of qualities would enable her to be a successful Front of House Manager of a Restaurant (She also has the added skill of being able to deliver a baby should any of the diners be caught unawares) Together she and Warren planned a future as restaurateurs that would ultimatly move them from their northern roots to Cornwall .
In June of this year an opportunity arose for Warren and Catherine to purchase the Squid Ink Restaurant in Looe and with the support of their families and friends their dream was born .....
The Squid Ink Restaurant was re-opened in July 2011 .....
To make a reservation please call 01503 262674 .
Squid Ink is a member of Taste of the West & SECTA (South East Cornwall Tourism Association).
