Seven Seasonally Led Cornish Restaurants To Book This Summer

Seven Seasonally Led Cornish Restaurants To Book This Summer

From forage-focused eateries to “sea-to-spoon” spots on the shoreline, we’ve picked the county’s finest addresses for local, seasonal dining



Heading
down to Cornwall this summer? The county has never
lacked fresh, locally sourced or multiculturally influenced seafood
dishes, but its restaurant scene has never looked fresher. Grab
quick seafood bites from beachside shacks and dine on harbourfront terraces
with our pick of the county’s best places to eat.

Seven restaurants in Cornwall to book this summer

One Fish Street, St Ives, Cornwall

restaurant

One Fish Street

St Ives

Part of St Ives’ growing roster of hipsterfied food and drink
spots (wine bars Little Palais and St Eia are straight out of Hackney), One Fish
Street takes diners on a globetrotting food tour from the comfort
of its diminutive first-floor dining room. The tasting menu might
start with turbot and brill aguachile loaded onto tiny tacos,
before sriracha-doused tempura kale and Indian-inspired tandoori
gurnard arrive at your table. Despite Chef Bradley Monk’s
wide-ranging culinary influences, the heart of the matter is fresh
fish sourced from small, inshore dayboats. Sommelier Charlotte
ensures each course is perfectly paired, whether with some English
sparkling wine by Gusbourne, a cucumber martini or umeshu plum
sake. A simpler grillhouse menu is served on selected weeknights,
too.

Address

1 Fish St, St Ives TR26 1LT

Crabs, The Hidden Hut, Cornwall, UK
Photo credit: Danny North

restaurant

The Hidden Hut

Portscatho

Not a restaurant per se, this gourmet update on the beach shack
is a foodie mecca for seafood savants. Follow the coastal footpath
out of Portscatho to reach the buttery sands of Porthcurnick.
There, you’ll find a pale green hut where walkers are rewarded with
hearty, seasonal soups (say, a smoked haddock, bacon and clam
chowder topped with sourdough croutons and dill), pasties and
tempting cakes. From May to September, it also hosts phenomenally
popular Feast Nights – firelit, al fresco supperclubs where diners
tuck into vats of seafood paella or barbecued lobster as the wine
flows.

Address

Porthcurnick Beach, Portscatho, Truro TR2 5EW

Emily Scott Restaurant, Watergate Bay Hotel, Cornwall
Photo credit: Daniel Scott

restaurant

Emily Scott Food

Watergate Bay

Step aside, Rick Stein; there’s a new star on the Cornish food
scene. Emily Scott’s nostalgic, unpretentious flavours are a breath
of fresh Atlantic air, served in a light-flooded dining room atop
Watergate Bay Hotel’s seawall. Dishes such as ray wing with brown
crab hollandaise, truffle-laced scallops and a “seaside days”
dessert of toasted-hay soft-serve and rhubarb sorbet are pure
crowd-pleasing perfection. Around running this wildly successful
restaurant, the chef has also managed to pen two beautifully
illustrated cookbooks and cater private events, from the G7 summit
in 2021 to a new wellness retreat at nearby Atlanta
Trevone
.

Address

Watergate Bay Hotel, Newquay TR8 4AA

Terrace, The Idle Rocks, St Mawes, Cornwall

hotel

The Idle Rocks

St Mawes

After a tenure at Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons,
Cornishman Dorian Janmaat has gone back to his roots and taken up a
coveted spot on St Mawes’ harbourfront. His sustainability-focused,
hyperseasonal menu shows that one needn’t look far afield for
opulent ingredients, such as a touch of Cornish saffron on Newlyn
cod, or the Exmoor caviar adorning distilled gin-cured local trout,
with plenty of delicacies foraged from the seashore or Roseland
woodland. Riviera chic ripples through the dining room, especially
come summertime, when the French windows are flung open onto the
terrace and yachts gently bob beside the tables.

Address

Harbourside, Tredenham Rd, St Mawes TR2 5AN

Dining room, Ugly Butterfly, St Ives, Cornwall, UK
Photo credit: John Hersey

restaurant

Ugly Butterfly

St Ives

Talk about a sea view… Adam Handling’s food waste-fighting,
fine-dining restaurant seemingly floats above Carbis Bay,
floor-to-ceiling windows flooding the space with St Ives’ famous,
artist-attracting light. Each item on the tasting menu is a
miniature masterpiece, too. Take the enigmatically named “all about
the crab”, which sees dainty tartlets of white crab meat and
horseradish nestled in a pebble-filled shell alongside a quenelle
of brown crab butter for slathering onto sourdough crumpets – a
seafood classic taken to new heights. An Asian or Italian accent is
often discernible, in dishes such as nori-wrapped cod or barbecued
squash agnolotti in a dashi broth. Be sure to sample one of the
fiendishly creative cocktails, which make use of seeds, peels and
pulps from the kitchen.

Address

Carbis Bay Estate, Carbis Bay, St Ives TR26 2NP

Falmouth, Cornwall, UK

bar

Verdant Seafood Bar

Falmouth

Linger in the cosy taproom of this quayside brewery to sample
just how well craft beer pairs with seafood. There are eight brews
on taps, but the small plates served by the talented team are no
mere sideshow to the drinks. Instead, they dexterously dip between
Middle Eastern, Mexican and Asian influences to bring big flavours
to the freshest catch. Think pulled skate wing with romesco and
dukkah, southern fried monkfish with corn queso, or katsu skate
wing with sesame and pickles, plus some veggie and vegan options,
too. Walk-ins only.

Address

Quay St, Falmouth TR11 3HH

BBQ, The Standard Inn, Portscatho, Cornwall, UK

bar

The Standard Inn

Portscatho

Don’t let the name fool you – there’s nothing run-of-the-mill
about this hilltop gastropub, whether you’re holed up beside the
fire or grazing the outdoor buffet barbecues in summertime.
Live-fire cooking is The Standard’s speciality, imparting
wonderfully woody, smoky flavours to everything from Roseland
Peninsula padrón peppers to cod with crispy leeks. Its legendary
Sunday lunches, recently named one of the UK’s best by The
Guardian, arrive topped with Yorkshire puds the size of your head
and family-style sides of cauliflower cheese and seasonal greens.
You’ll likely see locals hoovering up leftover roast tatties
alongside their pints – a sure sign that, despite its current
incarnation and ownership only starting in 2021, this 800-year-old
inn remains a village stalwart.

Address

​​Treloan Ln, Gerrans, Portscatho TR2 5EB

Main photo credit: The Hidden Hut / Ed Schofield. This
article contains affiliate links, which means SUITCASE may earn a
small commission if you click through and book.

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