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Holidays in Cornwall, United Kingdom

Boutique hotels

Self-catering properties

Cornwall Eating, drinking and dancing

We've tracked down the best seaside cafés, the liveliest lunch spots, the most accomplished restaurants and the freshest seafood in Cornwall. All you have to do is make sure you've packed your appetite…

Restaurants

(+44 (0)1872 580644)

Driftwood Restaurant

At the divine Driftwood boutique hotel, chef Chris Eden (formerly at the Square) uses fresh, local and organic ingredients when available to produce his Modern European menu; highlights include wonderful fish and seafood and home-made bread. The restaurant is always open to non-residents, but it's a good idea to book a table.

Driftwood, Rosevine, near Portscatho, Cornwall TR2 5EW

(+44 (0)1637 861000)

Fifteen Cornwall

The views over Watergate Bay, between Padstow and Newquay, are as rip-roaring as the food cooked up by Jamie Oliver’s band of 15 local trainees. Here, quality Cornish produce – yarg, wild venison from Bodmin Moor, and funghi foraged by the restaurant’s own mushroom hunters – is transformed into imaginative Italianate dishes on a weekly changing menu. Booking essential (www.fifteencornwall.co.uk).

On the Beach, Watergate Bay, Cornwall TR8 4AA

(+44 (0)1726 833866)

Fowey Hall

Perhaps as you’d expect from the hotel that inspired Toad Hall from Wind in the Willows, family dining is the order of the day here at Fowey Hall, part of our Smith & Kids hotel collection. The grown-ups’ menu centres on good seafood and shellfish cooked simply, with flavours stretching from the Mediterranean to Asia.

Hanson Drive, Fowey, Cornwall, PL23 1ET

+44 (0)1326 562407

Kota Restaurant & Accommodation

This Porthleven eatery and B&B serves up idyllic harbour views and fresh seafood cooked with Asian flair. Try the tempura oysters with wasabi tartare, or the lemon sole with soy ginger, pak choy and jasmine rice. There’s also an impressive wine list and a relaxed bar area, where you can sample some local beers or linger over postprandials. Owner Jane comes with impressive credentials, having previously run Bistro One Ninety at The Gore and De Cecco restaurant in King’s Road.

Harbour Head, Porthleven, Helston, Cornwall, TR13 9JA

(+44 (0)1726 833302)

Q Restaurant

One of the best places to eat in Cornwall, this city-sleek venue overlooks the beautiful Fowey waterfront. Chef Ben Bass gives that overtired concept, ‘Modern European’ food, a Cornish spin using local meats and seafood. There’s a solid wine list, too (www.theoldquayhouse.com).

The Old Quay House, 28 Fore Street, Fowey, Cornwall PL23 1AQ

(+44 (0)1208 863394)

Restaurant Nathan Outlaw

This twice Michelin-starred chef has made a splash in Fowey with his delicious, expertly crafted yet unpretentious menus; there’s a well-stocked wine cellar to complement the rich stocks of fresh fish and seafood.

St Enodoc Hotel, Rock, Cornwall, PL27 6LA

(+44 (0)1726 832273)

Sam’s

A cosy, diner-style bistro that’s a lively lunch spot, with great burgers and no-messin’ seafood. No reservation required, either (www.samsfowey.co.uk).

20 Fore Street, Fowey, Cornwall PL23 1AQ

+44 (0)1841 540255

St Ervan Manor

The fine dining restaurant inside this grade-II listed former rectory in Padstow focuses on Cornish produce and fresh seafood, with ingredients often sourced from the manor’s own vegetable garden and orchard.

St Ervan Manor, near Padstow

(+44 (0)1326 270055)

The Hotel Tresanton Restaurant

An excellent terrace restaurant with superb views over the bay at St Mawes and all the way to St Anthony’s lighthouse. The menu expertly combines fresh seafood with delicious organic vegetables (www.tresanton.com).

Hotel Tresanton, 27 Lower Castle Road, St Mawes, Cornwall TR2 5DR

+44 (0)1872 501322

The Lugger

This restaurant in Portloe does excellent seafood and has tables overlooking the tiny harbour.

Harbour Head, Pothleven, Helston

(+44 (0)1726 833636)

The Other Place

The more upmarket sister restaurant to Sam’s, overlooking the river and handy if you're a guest at Fowey Hall, a member of our Smith & Kids hotel collection. Upstairs, there’s a genteel dining room serving local seafood and game, and a ground-floor café for ice-cream and cappuccinos.

41 Fore Street, Fowey, Cornwall PL23 1AQ

+44 (0)1841 532700

The Seafood Restaurant

Thanks to this peerless restaurant, café and bistro – with a fish ’n’ chip shop to boot – Rick Stein reigns supreme in Padstow. No wonder locals have taken to referring to it as ‘Padstein’.

Riverside, Padstow, Cornwall PL28 8BYRiverside, Padstow, Cornwall PL28 8BY

Bars

(+44 (0)1736 799199)

Isobar

St Ives’ nightlife revolves around this popular late-night hangout, a cocktail bar and club with regular DJs and live music (www.theisobar.co.uk).

Street-An-Pol, St Ives, Cornwall TR26 2DS

Cafés

(+44 (0)1726 67421)

Charlies Coffee House

Chilled, family-run café in a converted post office, with leather sofas, all the daily papers, and countertop cakes the size of LPs. As well as a warm welcome, you’ll be treated to fresh Cornish ingredients served up in traditional Cornish-sized helpings; the catch of the day is plucked from a bay just 300 metres away.

79 Charlestown Road, St Austell, Cornwall PL25 3NL

(+44 (0)1872 263706)

Charlotte’s Tea House

The building is grade II-listed, the staff wear black Victorian uniforms, and the cream teas are perfect; this Truro tea house is about as traditional as it gets.

Coinage Hall, 1 Boscawen Street, Truro, Cornwall TR1 2QU

(+44 (0)1326 290889)

Lizard Pasty Shop

Made by Ann Muller – daughter of renowned Cornish pasty expert and food writer Hettie Merrick – the pasties sold here are reckoned to be among the finest in the region.

Beacon Terrace, The Lizard, Helston, Cornwall TR12 7PB

(+44 (0)1726 832512)

Pinky Murphy’s Café

With its ramshackle beach-hut stylings – stripy director's chairs, salvage-chic furniture, beanbags for kids – this laid-back hangout is a good bet for sating savoury cravings. Plump for the goat’s cheese bake (www.pinkymurphys.com).

19 North Street, Fowey, Cornwall PL23 1DB

(+44 (0)1736 795352)

Porthminster Beach Café

A great option for a seafood lunch in St Ives, on the edge of Porthminster Beach overlooking the surfing beach. Choose from the day’s specials menu – most of which have a pan-Asian twist – or try the excellent soup of the day.

Porthminster Beach, St Ives, Cornwall TR26 2EB

(+44 (0)1288 331251)

Rectory Farm Tea Rooms

Set in a 13th-century farmhouse near Bude, this is the place for freshly baked scones with jam and clotted cream. You may like to take the spectacular clifftop walk afterwards to burn off all those extra calories.

Rectory Farm, Crosstown, Morwenstow, near Bude, Cornwall EX23 9SR

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