Untitled by Robert Wright, Penzance

Abbey Street
Penzance
Cornwall
TR18 4AR

Tel: 01736 448022

Chef Robert Wright’s Untitled adds a long-overdue injection of creativity into the Penzance scene.

Robert Wright has created more than just a restaurant. He has taken an empty shell and transformed it into a place to meet, a place to graze on tasty tapas served in terracotta dishes, to sip your way through an array of interesting wines by the glass, for friends and couples to slip away into a corner for an hour or two and put the world to rights, surrounded by quirky artwork and eclectic modernist design pieces.

It all sounds rather cosmopolitan, but there isn’t a hint of pretension or formality about Untitled, just the slightly hedonistic feeling of having discovered somewhere for grown-ups.

Robert’s time working as a chef in London had a formative influence on his ideas about the dining experience, as well food itself.

A spell at The Landsdowne, the second ‘gastro pub’ in the capital, instilled a passion for well-cooked, rustic fair, dictated by seasonality and honest flavours. Alastair Little at Frith St in Soho also played a part in Robert’s culinary coming-of-age.

Keith Floyd’s cookery books were another inspiration, and after that working with the man himself had a big impact. Robert also worked at Fifteen in London as part of the teaching and mentoring team.

“London exposes you to some great restaurants and chefs. It’s a maelstrom of influences, styles and ideas,” says Robert, who was also studying architecture at this time. This is a chef whose creativity extends beyond food.

“It was actually looking at the work of Barbara Hepworth and Naum Gabo which inspired me to study architecture,” explains Robert. Hence when an opportunity arose to work as a chef in Cornwall, he was excited by the prospect of cooking in such a creative and inspiring part of the world.

As Head Chef at highly acclaimed inn The Gurnard’s Head, Robert cultivated this rustic style, following the seasons and building relationships with local growers. “I encouraged our suppliers to grow heritage varieties like Cavalo Nero, Russian Kale and Rainbow Carrots. I used as much wild food as possible, such as samphire, pennywort and wild garlic.”

Now at the helm of his own restaurant, Robert intends to continue in this vein, serving food full of flavour, without fuss and elaborate presentation.

“My food is all about taste and enjoyment,” he says. Hence in an intimate and comfortable bar area downstairs you can enjoy a great selection of tapas; perfect for sharing with a glass of wine.

“I will be relying on fantastic local produce as always, but having a bit of fun with it.

A lot of my influence now is from Spain, Portugal and North Africa,” explains Robert. The tapas menu will change all the time but dishes like Lamb Kofte, White Bean and Pancetta Stew, Goat’s Cheese Frittata and Imam Bayaldi (a delicious oily dish of rich tomato and aubergine) are sure to feature.


Upstairs is reserved for those who want the full dining experience. Again the menu constantly changes to reflect fresh produce available locally.

You may get to choose, for example, between red mullet fillets or river Fowey oysters with Merguez sausage to start and for mains a whole Megrim sole with crab butter or roast Penwith lamb rump served with an anchovy and rosemary sauce.

Further Details

Robert has lent his artistic touch to the decor, without allowing it to become distracting or gimmicky.

The deep red, womb-like walls of what used to be The Abbey Restaurant are gone, to be replaced by white (five coats of paint were needed I am told!).

“I felt like I wanted to work with a blank canvas,” explains Robert. Artwork by iconic figures such as Terry Frost and Breon O’Casey creates interest, whilst the skull of a Texan Longhorn is joined by a wall full of quirkily-framed images, light fittings which look like iconic early 20th Century design classics, and the odd piece of taxidermy.

The bar is a great place to start, and indeed finish the evening. It would be easy to while away an hour or two with nothing for company but a dish of olives and a glass or two of Vinho Verde, Albarino, Garnacha, Manzanilla....

The wine list is refreshing adventurous and manages to cover the cannon of classics, as well as up and coming regions, experimental winemakers and quirky grape varieties.

In addition to boosting an exciting wine list, Untitled’s other specialism will be its unrivalled selection of cheeses. Robert’s partner Helen recently started her own business, Newlyn Cheese and Charcuterie.

The collaboration allows Robert to offer a greater choice of cheeses than most restaurants.

“We are going to be able to offer a ‘flight’ of around 12 different cheeses, mostly British, and of course including the finest cheeses made here in Cornwall.”

Robert will also be holding tasting events combining wine and cheese. Spanish and Portuguese dinners are likely to be regular features and there are also has plans to host live music sessions.

Untitled looks set to be a great venue to enjoy seriously good food and wine, delivered with a touch of playfulness and creative flair.

This restaurant page has been visited 15,062 times