Looe Restaurant Guide

2023 Review: Associated with London foodie hits Primeur and Westerns Laundry, this three-year-old favourite, which occupies a former bank, continues to inspire high ratings for its food. It’s a seasonal operation, which closes each year between late Autumn and mid Spring.

2023 Review: “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”.

2023 Review: “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”.

“Without a doubt this was well and away my best meal of the year!” – “Dan Cox’s delightful, new regenerative farm-to-fork project” opened in February 2023 and is destined for great things, inspiring rapturous early reports. “You can instantly tell that he owes a lot to his long tenure under Simon Rogan at L’Enclume and then Fera”. He took over this former sawmill and organic farm on the Devon/Cornwall border in 2018 and spent five years planning and planting and raising rare-breed livestock in order to open this 25-cover ultra-sustainable restaurant with an open kitchen which occupies an old barn on the farm. The result is a “a wonderfully sparse, yet cosy and warm place” whose cuisine inspires a full-on rave: “we had the 13-course tasting menu, which was innovative and totally delicious, with everything sourced from the farm or like-minded local producers with the menu dependent on availability. The matching wines were also excellent. Well worth a journey!” – “The Lion’s Mane steak was powerful and full of umami notes, so much so that even our diehard carnivore of a daughter enjoyed it. The pork belly and leg dish was exquisite. Hit all the right notes in this unstuffy dining experience where the chef serves your food. After only three months open it thoroughly deserves its Michelin Green Star and is destined to go far”. (In his August 2023 review, The Telegraph’s William Sitwell also pronounced himself a fan: “I can honestly say this was a collection of magnificent, original and quite breathtaking food”.)

2021 Review: A “perennial favourite local relaxed foodie joint”, this ex-pub turned “bistro-cum-cafe-cum-restaurant” goes from strength to strength as a showcase for the “inventive food” of chef-owner Dave Jenkins, whose dishes “always delight, with lovely little touches and innovations that make total sense once you’ve tasted them”. They serve “great breakfasts, good-value lunches”, and “the best Sunday roast in town”.

“Excellent fresh fish” landed from day boats on the quay opposite is the mainstay of the menu at the restaurant chef-patron Benjamin Palmer opened in his hometown six years ago. “The Sunday lunch is perfect, too – so tasty”.

2023 Review: Down by the quayside, this cute pub is tipped for “fish that’s obviously as fresh as you can get, and an excellent seafood platter” from amongst its other more typically pub grub offerings.

“On a summer’s day, there isn’t a better place to sip vino!” than this wine shop/deli, which has an excellent setting with views over Sutton Harbour. There’s a selection of generous (not inexpensive) sharing platters, cheeses, and nibbles. The best bets are the Honkytonk Creole Dishes (say spatchcock chicken with fries and slaw for £25).