He trained under some of the world’s top chefs and ran the kitchen at one of Falmouth’s best hotels, so just what is Nick Hodges doing opening up a burger joint?

Spend five minutes chatting to him, however, and it all falls into place.

After being tutored by the likes of Keith Floyd and Jean-Christophe Novelli he went on to become executive head chef at the Flying Fish restaurant in the St Michael’s Hotel, but has always hankered after opening his own restaurant at the Market Strand end of Falmouth, where his parents owned a sports shop, and which he believes is the “up and coming” part of the town.

Take the name: Fire Kitchen is something he has had at the back of his mind “for a long, long time” and is definitely not related to the rather |unfortunate ending of the |business before him (the frozen yoghurt shop closed following a fire in October 2012).

The irony is not lost on him, however. “It was pure fluke that the site we actually found was fire damaged,” he laughs, adding: “The premise behind it is the idea of an open kitchen cooking burgers on the |chargrill. The concept of Fire Kitchen is the proper joining of the kitchen and bar.”

It’s true, there are no hiding places, with the customers able to sit and watch their food being cooked in front of them.

For some chefs this would be a daunting prospect, but not Nick, who was a key figure behind the setting up of the Falmouth Oyster Festival and has performed countless |big-screen demonstrations.

“Those stools will be full and the interaction between the bar, the chefs and the kitchen makes that atmosphere,” he explains. “I don’t find it pressure. It just means we have got to be clean and tidy.”

So to the food. Everything comes through Nick’s tried and tested network of local |suppliers from the last 20 years and, in the case of the seafood, is often caught just hours |earlier – indeed, in the |description for the Shore Fire dish, it includes simply “fresh fish”, explaining: “We’re never sure what we’re getting, but we know it’s fresh daily.”

While tempted by the griddled mackerel fillets that come with a warm bean salad and chorizo (£9.95), I plump for the Sliders (£10.95) – a trio of mini burgers – in order to sample as much as possible.

The beef burger comes with a tasty onion chutney, while a slender breaded circle of chicken is accompanied by a chilli jam that packs a healthy kick. Completing the trio is a lamb burger – sometimes a tricky one for me, as I’m not a big fan of savoury mint; I need not have worried, however, as the flavour is subtle and the Greek yoghurt mellows things further.

A friend chooses the Caribbean Chicken burger (£8.95) – a full sized and blinged up version of my chicken |offering, with pineapple to give sweetness and bacon to add a pleasingly smokiness that really boosted the overall taste |ensemble (Monterey Jack cheese, chilli jam and jerk mayo also all playing their part, no doubt).

Portion sizes are satisfying without being uncomfortable and being lunch there was no real need to follow up with dessert – but when Nick offers to make his signature Fire Burger (a sesame seeded cocoa meringue ‘bun’ filled with |bourbon chocolate mousse, mango, cream and raspberry sauce – £5.95) it seems rude to say no.

And thank goodness we |didn’t, as this was probably my favourite part of the meal: rich chocolate mousse, with the edge just taken off by the freshness of the meringue and raspberry, while the meringue is soft and gooey enough to even please my meringue-wary lunch |companion.

If you’re reading this |thinking: “But this place sounds far too trendy for me – I have three kids under five” think again.

Nick’s aim is to make the restaurant as welcoming for families as for students or |shoppers.

“It’s the key part of what we want to do and what we’re |trying to get to. I’ve got three children.

“We wanted to put an atmosphere for families and not just students, where families can come in and have good food without feeling their children are bothering people,” he explains, proudly adding that at 5pm each day children can decorate their own paper chef hat before creating their own dessert with toppings.

With its tiled and mirrored décor think Boston more than New York – but mainly just think Fire Kitchen.

To book a table call 01326 617077 or see www.firekitchenandbar.com