Feasting on glorious food in St Ives

It’s not just the stunning beaches that make Cornwall’s St Ives such a desirable holiday destination, the food scene is pretty spectacular too.

We visited in late September to soak up the very last drops of summer sunshine before the rain clouds rolled in and hoped to dodge the high season crowds. Sadly though, St Ives’ secret appeal is long out of the bag.

We’d been forewarned by a neighbour about the summer queues for restaurants, so booked well in advance and, I fear, if we hadn’t, would definitely have missed out on our favourites.

In a holiday first for us, we travelled down on a Friday, with fish at the top of our foodie agenda.

We’d booked in to Beck’s Fish & Chips in Carbis Bay and were amazed by the length of the queues for the takeaway - there must’ve been at least 30 people patiently waiting. The (huge) car park was gridlocked.

Haddock and chips at Beck’s Fish & Chips

Luckily there was no waiting for us and once inside the homely restaurant, we were pleased to see the place packed out with the older generation.

Media reports of terrified elderly folk, hiding away at home in fear of Coronavirus, happily doesn’t apply to the cheerful diners in Carbis Bay.

We tucked in to hot, crispy tempura prawns to start and while I enjoyed a perfectly cooked classic chunky haddock and chips, my chap wolfed down a spicy Goan fish curry with great gusto.

It proved the perfect cosy start to the holiday and with a great menu and friendly staff it’s a must visit if you’re in the area.

With sunshine on our side, we kicked-off our first morning at our firm favourite brunch spot - the beautiful Porthminster Beach Cafe. I’ve yet to visit another cafe with more stunning views.

While watching turquoise waves roll into the golden bay, we sipped wonderfully strong coffees, and ordered a full fry up (£9.50) for him and a vegetarian breakfast (£8.50) for me.

The wonderful view at Porthminster Beach Cafe

Out came two fried eggs, rashers of bacon and grilled tomatoes for Matt. With a little purple bucket full of baked beans, he made short work of the potato cake, perfectly cooked sausage and huge mushroom that filled his enormous plate. It was proper fuel for a full day of beach wandering.

My veggie offering doubled the potato cake and mushroom and trebled the tomatoes. It was a flavoursome delight that left me without a hint of food envy.

The only thing to note here is you don’t get toast with your fry up! You’ll pay an extra £1.75 if you want two slices of (excellent) sourdough and Cornish butter.

Our Saturday night stunner of an evening meal was at The Searoom, overlooking the boat bobbing bay in St Ives.

Owned by Saint Ives Liquor Company, this moodily stylish spot features bright seaside prints against dark grey walls, with historic diamond leaded windows affording glorious sea views.

We started with glossy marinated mixed olives (£3.50) served in colourful crockery, which was quickly followed with a wonderful tapas selection brought out to the table as soon as it was ready from the kitchen.

It’d be tricky to pick a favourite but the plump garlic prawns (£8) would be up there, as would the red wine soaked chorizo (£8). The meaty little scallops (£4.50) came a close second and there’s no way any diner should miss the Cornish crab chips (£7.50) which are to die for.

Beautifully bitter Padron peppers (£6) offset the sweetness of the scallops and went really well with hot, meaty fish goujons (£6.50).

This place is a real gem and with just five tables inside (there’s more outside) you definitely need to book. You’ve been warned!

One of the highlights of our stay was the spectacular Sunday lunch at the utterly beautiful 1894 restaurant at Carbis Bay Hotel.

You’d be hard pushed to find a more captivating outlook for lunch than this impeccable restaurant. With floor to ceiling windows drawing your attention outside, the space is flooded with light, and continually calls for your gaze to lift from the sublime food to the spectacular coastline. Every passing cloud and rolling wave is framed to perfection here.

G&Ts with a spectacular view at Carbis Bay Hotel

Carbis Bay has to be one of my favourite coastal spots in the UK and staring out on the waves fills my heart with enormous joy. With the opening of this restaurant, it’s a visual feast that has definitely met its match with the London level of food finesse here.

Out came a very generous bowl of juicy pink prawns, topped with finely sliced avocado, drizzled with glossy balsamic vinegar and a good wedge of lemon to start. The flavours were outstanding and we made a note of every ingredient that tantalised our taste buds to recreate back home.

There was no faulting the sublime beef roast that arrived with a towering yet light as a feather Yorkshire pud perched atop of creamy mashed potatoes and a scattering of crispy roast potatoes.

We had individual bowls of carrots, broccoli, mashed swede and peas to dip into - so neither of us could accuse the other of being greedy which, frankly, we both are.

If we could’ve squeezed in dessert we would have, but an ice cream on the beach outside finished the meal beautifully for Matt, while I let wandering in the waves walk off some of my excess. Heavenly!

A pasty and traditional Cornish lager at Oggie’s in Falmouth

Falmouth was our destination for a day out to start the week on Monday. While our colleagues beavered away at work, we tucked into hearty pasties at Oggie’s, before hopping on a boat to enjoy refreshing pints at the welcoming St Mawes Hotel. A note of caution on a trip to St Mawes, both The Idle Rocks and Hotel Tresanton require prior booking for a visit. You can’t just wander in for a drink, which for a fan of them both and looking forward to a visit was something of a disappointment.

A spot no good foodie should miss is The Gurnard’s Head, just outside of St Ives. The drive there offers a glorious, winding, scenic view of the coastline, and on arrival at the bright mustard yellow pub with rooms, you’re greeted with the warmest of welcomes.

This unpretentious, bear hug of a pub, makes you feel right at home as soon as you set foot inside. And on a Tuesday evening, it was packed with fans of its exceptional pub grub.

Plaice, samphire, brown shrimp and caper butter at The Gurnard’s Head

A wooden chopping board with slices of complimentary soda bread and butter got our mouths watering, as we enjoyed the most carefully crafted dishes, greeting us with plateful after plateful of pure joy.

It’s hard to single out anything for extra praise - it was all so good, but my chocolate brownie, topped with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream and flanked with chunks of caramelised banana and a nutty crumb was a pure delight.

We all left with beaming smiles on our faces. The old carol rhapsodising ‘'comfort and joy’ could well describe this place - wonderful!

Espresso martini at the Portminster Kitchen

Back in town, a firm St Ives favourite of mine for a drink with a dazzling view is the Porthminster Kitchen.

Even in the vaguely drizzly weather we have to endure at this time of year, we were determined to sip on the most fabulous espresso martinis on its little balcony, while gazing out to sea.

I suspect this is where I developed my devotion to the cocktail. Here, or after my sister once whipped up the most spectacular espresso martini birthday cake a few years’ ago. Either way, these are the best I’ve ever enjoyed and with one of the best St Ives views too.

Roasted squash risotto at The Old Forge Bistro in Lelant

It’d be easy to miss The Old Forge Bistro on the drive into St Ives, but that would be a real shame as this humble roadside foodie spot in Lelant is a little gem.

My roasted squash risotto (£14) was outstanding. Every mouthful of creamy rice, punctuated with tangy blue cheese, a cube of perfectly cooked golden squash and crunchy honeyed walnut was a delight.

Matt’s crab linguini (£16) was faultless. The only minor grumble was that it could’ve been bigger. But the combination of Cornish white crab meat with dill, lemon, chilli, cream and white wine was sublime.

Being the solid food fans that we are, we couldn’t leave without one last hurrah and One Fish Street provided the final flourish in flavoursome style.

In this dimly lit, tiny St Ives hideaway, with little more than 10 tables, we feasted on delicate crispy Dorset oyster dotted with wasabi seaweed followed by freshly caught day boat red mullet adorning an earthy brown crab risotto to start.

We had a brief interval with a selection of breads which I lavishly loaded up with lashings of heavenly whipped Marmite butter before the stunning main of Thai coconut curry completely blew us away.

Made up of hake, pickled cabbage, brown shrimp salad and puffed rice its texture and flavours combined to create a masterpiece.

A tonka bean panna cotta, topped with raspberries, passion fruit and roasted ruby chocolate was an indulgent joy and a pair of macarons served as a surprise ahead of the bill (£79 for two without wine). It was a wonderful way to round off a fantastic meal and holiday to St Ives.