Those who’ve worked their way through Cornwall’s micro-breweries know that nothing beats a frosted glass of ale from Harbour Brewing. You’ll find this stuff on tap at Cornwall’s most discerning bars, but it’s worth checking out Atlantic Bar and Kitchen, Harbour Brewing’s own clifftop bar on the rugged coast of New Polzeath. It bravely opened just as the UK started emerging from lockdown and you’ll find crispy-bottomed pizza made from scratch on-site and the full complement of Harbour Brewing’s beers, of course.

Anyone who has pulled up a seat at Hackney’s Jolene, Westerns Laundry or Primeur will know what Fitzroy is all about: premium, sustainably sourced ingredients (in this case, hyper-locally sourced) whipped into small but delectable little sharing plates. Similarly to its sibling restaurants, the menu changes weekly. Think deep-fried sole with curry mayo, velvety crab soup with chilli and croutons and a glut of vegetarian delights such as spelt, courgette and basil with Cornish Gouda. Fans of Jolene’s rustic-chic aesthetic will be pleased to know that the interiors here are no less deliciously pared-back.

Erm, this one’s another outpost from the folks behind Jolene, Westerns Laundry, Primeur and Fitzroy. We would apologise for the lack of diversity, but we’re huge fans of their work. Picture the scene: ramshackle wooden tables, a ceiling strung with fairy lights, distressed duck-egg blue floorboards and an open kitchen populated by a handful of apron-clad chefs shucking freshly caught oysters, ready to be washed down with local brews. It sits in an old boatshed which opens out directly onto the River Fowey and is so DIY that it doesn’t even have a website so you’ll need to check the New Street Kitchen Instagram page for opening hours.

No prizes for guessing this place’s speciality. At Prawn on the Lawn (or POTL to friends), meaty seafood plucked straight out of the Atlantic is served in a neat menu of elegant, Asian-inspired dishes. For starters, try its tempura courgette flower with crab or the Sri Lankan black curry with cod. Those with big appetites shouldn’t hesitate in ordering the POTL fruits de mer – a majestic mosaic of all its best bits. It’s currently seeing out lockdown at Padstow Kitchen Garden, just south of Padstow town centre. Come November, it plans to be back in its harbourside restaurant.

If you’re someone who despairs when tasked with cooking for large parties, allow yourself to be dazzled by Canteen, an expert in dishing out hearty, seasonal and downright lip-smacking dinners en masse. You might have seen some of its work on Instagram – long, banquet-style tables laid meticulously in areas of outstanding natural beauty – but you can grab a slice of the action, quite literally, by visiting its base in St Agnes.

Hayle is not on the average tourist’s path so this hole in the wall tends to pull a loyal crowd of Cornish locals. If you’re passing through this town in West Cornwall, make sure you stop by to pick up some food for the road. It’s fast food without all the added nasties, such as nachos with homemade salsa and flatbreads engorged by multicoloured veg and hummus which squishes out the sides. It also serves Yallah coffee, itself a local enterprise run by a team of hardcore coffee enthusiasts.

The subaquatic scrumptiousness on offer at Mussel Shoals in Porthleven needs to be tasted to be believed. Each dish comes spinning out of what can only be described as a glorified shed on Porthleven’s harbour wall. It’s seafood, obviously, but done in French-bistro style. Beyond moules frites, expect salt-and-pepper squid with lime-and-mango mayo or a juicy hake-fillet burger. Whatever fish or crustacean is unlucky enough to get caught that day determines the menu so each visit brings new splendours. With swoon-worthy views out over the harbour and a bar which teeters over the water’s edge, it’s also a terribly romantic place to sink a few drinks as the sun sets.

Surfer or not, this workshop-cum-café on the shores of St Agnes is a guaranteed people-pleaser. Its shaping sessions – during which professional craftspeople teach surf enthusiasts how to saw and plane their own boards – will mesmerise those who enjoy catching waves. If you’re one of the more vertically challenged surfers among us, stop by for a coffee at Open’s bleached white café, which looks like the sort of stylish joint you might expect to find in Malibu, California.

You might have spotted the Origin Coffee shop in Shoreditch or at The British Library, but it doesn’t have a patch on The Warehouse, a minimal but homely conversion slap-bang in the centre of Penryn. While it has scored some big-shot locations in London, this independent coffee roaster remains small but mighty – which brings us on to its espresso. Provenance is the buzzword at Origin. Not only do all its beans come from small-lot farmers, but Origin is deeply involved in the sourcing process and release annual environment reports to see how it can reduce its carbon footprint year on year.

This finger-on-the-pulse café/restaurant and local store is somewhat of an anomaly in the cutesy village of Bude. The primary focus here, from the menu to its charming shop, is providing a platform for local creatives – on weekends it regularly hosts “Temple Takeovers” during which fledgling Cornish chefs are given the opportunity to serve their own custom-made menus. Its all-day brunch menu is a cluster of drool-worthy temptations such as Temple kimchi grilled cheese sandwich, while a two-course set menu made from Cornish bounty and designed to reduce food waste is served for dinner.