Holidays in West Cornwall are, for me, synonymous with fun times and delicious food. It’s the place Jimmy and I learned to surf in our 20s (I’m still learning…) and ate fish and chips on various harbour walls, we got engaged on a windy beach and enjoyed the finest seafood, we’ve taken our newborn babies to Fisherman’s cottages and have devoured countless crab sandwiches. In recent years we have really enjoyed the growing foodie scene and I wanted to note some brilliant places that we have discovered or that we keep coming back to. Read on for some culinary capering in Cornwall.
Newlyn
I absolutely love Newlyn, partly because it has great food options and partly because of Newlyn Art Gallery AND an adjacent community sauna, Rising Embers, what could be better?
Our favourite place here is Lovetts, a small cafe and wine bar selling low intervention wines and craft beer. We go for the smoothies, we go for the snacks and dishes that appear out of nowhere and the wonderful wine that never fails to disappoint..
A relatively recent addition to the Newlyn food scene is Argoe, a contemporary restaurant literally in the mix of the harbour boats. It serves local produce, and you couldn’t get much closer to the action here. I love the realness of the location twinned with divine modern cooking. Sit outside in the summer for the full experience or cosy up inside for photographic exhibitions by the local fishermen.
The nearby Seafood Shack - part of the lovely Mackerel Sky Seafood Bar - do fab takeaway fish and chips which we like to eat overlooking the sea. Noted no mushy peas, so wouldn’t work up north.
Mousehole
The next village along the coast is nearby Mousehole - a picture perfect village where you can kayak, paddleboard and - when the tide is right - jump off the harbour wall.
We have been visiting 2 Fore Street here for a long time now. The menu is good, often with really interesting specials that you know have just arrived from the boats and awesome puddings that you need to have ALL to yourself. The food is consistent and delicious, in a very non-pretentious way. We love it, our children love it, there’s a garden to welcome well behaved dogs (Coco loves it too).
St Ives
St Ives is a dream to visit, with the beautiful Porthmeor Beach, the smattering of contemporary galleries, shops and cafes, it feels like a joyful place for everyone. This small fishing village was made famous in the early twentieth century by a group of British artists. One of these artists was the potter Bernard Leach who, with fellow potter Shoji Hamada, set up the Leach Pottery, establishing a new movement of British studio pottery. Thanks, Bernard.
Our favourite place was St Eia, a wonderful restaurant named after the Celtic Saint who gave the village its name. This is a magnificently Cornish place (also a wine shop - how brilliant), AND it was was the most delightful food of our stay, seemingly simple dishes taken to another level. We wanted to taste everything on the menu, it was such a lovely calm environment to be in.
We also had a delicious dinner at Brine, overlooking the harbour, which was tucked away on a side street, up a flight of stairs. It serves great oysters and has the feel of a relaxed bar in which you can meet your friends and get a bit carried away. The nearby Harbour View House is a lovely modern family hotel which, we discovered, has a chilled vibe and absolutely perfect brunch menu.
Helford
Whilst we normally stay down in Sennen Cove, a beautiful and remote spot close to Lands End, we found ourselves staying near Helford a couple of years ago. Helford is famous for it’s estuary which is very quaint indeed, an equally intriguing place with forests full of wild garlic etched happily in my memory.
Whilst we were here I came across Flora, on the Trelowarren Estate, which turned out to be one of the nicest restaurant experiences I have ever had. The food was impeccable, and it had the kind of attention to detail that makes you want to go back again and again: thoughtful relaxed linens, hand-picked flowers, beautiful stained glass windows and hand-written menus. Everything was sourced locally, and I could’ve stayed forever. Also - look at the generosity of the clotted cream with the chocolate caramel tart. Epic.
Sadly we haven't been close to the Helford area again but Flora lives on in my dreams - with the wild garlic - of places I’m going back to for food heaven.
