Cornwall Restaurant Guide

With its “simple, top-quality seafood” combined with “one of the most romantic locations in Cornwall” – “who could fail to be impressed on a date at Emily Scott’s new restaurant overlooking stunning Watergate Bay?”. One of four restaurants in the Watergate Bay Hotel, it followed a 2020 beachside pop-up from the Cornwall-based chef whose profile has been on the rise. On the downside, there are those who feel the experience is “lovely, but overpriced”.

2019 Review: “Delicious breakfasts” and lunches come “in very cool surroundings” at this chilled, ultra-vibrant café, handy for Fistral and Towan beaches, and they “also do great cake and coffee!”

2021 Review: “Windows overlooking the vineyard” afford views onto this peacefully located spot – run by Andy Appleton (a graduate of Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Cornwall) although the “huge barn” it occupies can feel a tad “quiet” at less busy times. Numerous “excellent” meals are reported last year from its Med-slanted modern British menu.

This “modern spa hotel with views out to sea” from its clifftop vantage point is fully geared-up for the eco tourist, with a solidly rated kitchen serving up sustainable meals from breakfast via lunch and afternoon tea to dinner, when there is a choice of tasting menus including vegetarian and vegan. Non-residents are now welcome to book, but it remains child-free.

“Never fails to bring joy to my heart” – Paul Harwood’s “lovely, intimate, high-quality seafood restaurant” right “by the sea” on Fistral Beach again wins a big thumbs-up in reports: “super fresh fish” is the big deal you’d hope, for somewhere with top views of the surf and sands.

2022 Review: “Good burgers, excellent fries and tasty shakes…should be easy but so often done badly” – fortunately not the case at this West Country fast-food chain. This branch benefits from a “lovely cosy atmosphere in an old church and cheerful service” to boot.

2022 Review: “Interesting food in an intimate dining room” makes Nigel Tabb’s former pub a “favourite local fine-dining venue”, making “great use of local Cornish ingredients”. It also helps that there’s a “small but well-constructed wine list which offers exceptional value”. It’s “a little difficult to find, away from the centre of Truro, but worth the effort”.

This “hidden gem just outside Truro” from husband-and-wife team Ben & Sam Harmer features “impressive” cooking, “exceptional service” and a “splendid outdoor eating area” for warmer weather. Ben’s classical training took in the kitchens of The Savoy and Le Gavroche – hence “the soufflé is impressive”.

“A gorgeous spot to eat tasty food while watching the sea”, this former Victorian lifeboat station has been transformed under Sam Sixton, who launched his local dining empire at the age of 17, back in 1988 (his son Noah is now part of the team). The “casual” menu runs from “wonderful fresh fish and seafood” to “tasty pizzas with both traditional and unusual toppings”.

2019 Review: Those who have “watched Bridge Bistro go from strength to strength” over the years – and expand next door, doubling in size – proclaim the husband-and-wife team’s “amazing knack for finding brilliant staff” and “great menu options” that are “simple and quite delicious”… “long may they continue!”

2021 Review: “At last a decent… well, actually quite a bit more than decent, Thai restaurant in North Cornwall!” – this “pretty tightly packed” café “lives up to its name, but this just adds to the fun” and its spicy scoff comes highly recommended.

“A small and intimate restaurant” – opposite an old church in Cornwall’s antiques capital – Graham Cuthbertson’s wood-panelled spot “serves great modern European and local dishes and the dining room is really comfortable”. “I went there with all my family and they were really accommodating with young children”.

The Stein empire’s village pub has been much-extended over the years and nowadays feels much more restauranty and professional than when the family first took it over in 2009. Results in prior years have been up-and-down, but ratings were good this year – “had mixed expectations for this, but the food was enjoyable, and pretty reasonably priced given its good execution”.