Cornwall’s Finest Dining Experiences

Godrevy Café, Gwithian, Hayle

This busy café serves up delicious dishes and tasty treats. The menu offers a good choice of breakfasts, sandwiches, wraps and salads, and there are healthy options for kids and adults as well as some dangerously irresistible cakes, cookies and flapjacks!

Trained baristas serve the kind of brew that other cafes aspire to, while their hot chocolates are perfect for thawing out after swimming or surfing nearby.

The café has seating indoors and out, and you can choose the shady area around the building or even climb steps to its terrace with amazing views of the surrounding dunes and water.

If you’re just passing through and don’t have time to linger, don’t despair, takeaways are available. These are served in biodegradable packaging, in line with the café’s commitment to reducing its environmental impact and preserving the beauty of Cornwall.

Rick Stein’s restaurants, Padstow

Padstow has become a real hotspot over the years, and that’s largely thanks to the efforts of the UK’s most famous fish fan, Rick Stein. The mild-mannered celebrity chef now has a collection of eateries in this busy and charming little town, each one offering the kind of quality, passion and attention to detail you would expect.

‘Fresh fish, simply cooked’ is the mission behind The Seafood Restaurant. Its statement is lived up to in classically flavoured dishes featuring fish and shellfish often caught locally and served fresh. Rick Stein’s Café does excellent breakfasts, cakes and coffee as well as lunches and evening meals, and here you’ll find internationally influenced dishes like cod curry and pad Thai noodles.

St Petroc’s Bistro has a snug bar and lounge, and serves mouthwatering steaks including a 28-day aged Chateaubriand. Last but by no means least, Stein’s Fish & Chips needs no explanation, except to say that the quality is superb and you can eat in or take away.

Porthmeor Beach Café, St Ives

As well as occupying a stunning setting at a deservedly famous beach, the Porthmeor Beach Café offers a lovely combination of a great atmosphere and delicious food.

The menu here includes tapas dishes both savoury and sweet, and you can try mouthwatering creations including crispy fried monkfish with chilli caramel, halloumi with crushed beetroot and orange dressing, or even salted chocolate and olive oil tart!

In a spot like this it would be criminal not to have outdoor seating, and here there’s lots of it. Best of all, the café has special ‘pods’ complete with blankets and heater – a great way to get some sea air and enjoy the gorgeous views if the weather takes a turn for the worse.

Nathan Outlaw restaurants, various

Nathan Outlaw is another big name in Cornish parts: a well-known chef with a great reputation and a string of seafood restaurants devoted to quality. Although each restaurant offers something slightly different, the emphasis with Outlaw is always on dishes with incredible freshness and flavor.

Menus are determined by the best catches of the day, and there’s close attention paid to seasonality and sustainability. Restaurant interiors are suitably tasteful, and great service and a relaxed atmosphere add to the overall experience.

Pride of place in the Outlaw portfolio is Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, a wonderful 2 Michelin Star restaurant in Port Isaac. Inspired tasting menus feature dishes like cured monkfish with ginger, fennel and spring onions, or gurnard and Porthilly sauce. Meanwhile, Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen is a celebration of small yet original seafood plates, also at Port Isaac.

At St Enodoc Hotel in nearby Rock, Outlaw has a fine restaurant with an outdoor terrace commanding beautiful coastal views. Also overlooking the Camel Estuary is The Mariners Rock pub, an exciting collaboration between Outlaw and Sharp’s Brewery, serving more delicious seasonal food.