Falmouth Restaurant Guide

“A cheap and cheerful well run local fish restaurant with a provincial bistro vibe and a simple wine list (red or white… or slightly more expensive white!)”. It’s a simple one-room spot with blackboard menu and candlelight at night and a “rapidly changing menu to reflect that week’s catch”. It’s rated on limited feedback that says it’s “worth a visit and entirely unpretentious”.

2023 Review: This “glorious spot” by the sea, close to the SW coastal path and with a front-conservatory to take advantage of sea views, was taken over by high-profile chef Michael Caines of Lympstone Manor in 2020. Quell hopes of any culinary fireworks, though – reports here didn’t hit the heights this year, with the experience too often “let down by chaotic service and pedestrian food”.

“The combination of informality, fantastic location, superb discrete service and excellent food makes this a winner” – Olga Polizzi’s flagship in St Mawes has established it as perhaps the most famous and stylish hotel in Cornwall, although it was a run-down mess when she bought it 27 years ago (she cheered herself up by watching episodes of Fawlty Towers!). The “lovely dining room is well served with top seafood” although it is fair to say the culinary level achieved does not quite match the “exceptional” setting.

“Such a beautiful place to dine with great views over the harbour” – this stylish coastal retreat (a Relais & Châteaux property) occupies a “stunning” position above the beach. “Service is smooth, friendly and typically Cornish and new chef Carla Jones [in post since late 2024] has steadied the ship” with cooking that’s uniformly enjoyed. Its ratings were undercut this year, though, by quibbles, even from fans – for example “good but overpriced”; or, “if there was a complaint, it’s that some dishes were overdone – for example fish is delivered from the quay 200 yards away fresh as a daisy – why then jazz it up in a strong sauce… otherwise a great dining experience”.

2022 Review: The “lovely riverside setting” – complete with moorings and showers for passing yachties – is the main attraction at this inn, parts of which are believed to date back 800 years. But the low volume of feedback tells you something given the stunning position – it’s well-rated by reporters but doesn’t have to strive that hard given the place’s other virtues.

“The food is always tasty and hearty” at this picture-book, 300-year-old inn, named for its situation, just yards from the Helford estuary and its foot ferry across the water. Perhaps “it’s a shame the specials menu doesn’t vary a bit more”, but you do receive “good pub food done well with a formula that seems to work” and it’s “a safe pair of hands for a great meal in a beautiful setting”.

A “lovely setting” is the obvious draw to this New England-inspired hotel on the Roseland Peninsula, overlooking Gerrans Bay from its clifftop location. Praise came this year for the “well-presented and prepared fine-dining” offered by its restaurant, but change is afoot, hence we’ve left it un-rated for the time being. In July 2024, after our annual diners’ poll concluded, owners for the last 22 years, Paul & Fiona Robinson retired, selling the property to an investor. Plans are afoot for an upgrade with 20 extra bedrooms, improvements to the bar and dining room and the addition of a spa.

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”.

“Popular West Country burger chain” offering “simple food, well served from committed staff” – after rapid expansion from its origin in St Ives, the group collapsed into administration in 2024. A rescue package saved most of the jobs, and it now has nine branches as far afield as Cardiff and Portsmouth.

2023 Review: 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”.

“This place is very popular and delightful”, according to fans of Jude Kereama’s harbourside restaurant with rooms, whose interesting menus reflect his Kiwi/Asian heritage. One or two reporters tip its cheaper sibling though (“Kota Kai is better value… and has better views!”)

Cornish-born chef Stew Eddy and wife Anna run this diminutive harbourside bistro in a former fishing village with growing foodie cred; there’s some “excellent eating” to be had that makes the most of the local larder, and “menus are being further developed”. The pair also run the adjoining deli and ice-cream shop if you feel like changing location for dessert.

Jude Kereama’s second venue – sister to nearby Kota – occupies the top floor of Celtic House with views across Porthleven harbour from most tables. Its menu is well-rated and mixes ‘Mini Kai’ of smaller bites (such as Duck bao bun or Tempura Porthilly oysters) with main plates of items such as Seafood Laksa or Panko Hake Fillet.

2022 Review: A “fabulous location with stunning views of the Fal Estuary” remains the main draw to this smart quayside brasserie, though its “good, varied menu” is “well presented and precisely cooked” too. Getting a window seat is something of a challenge – as is getting a spot for breakfast and brunch, so think of booking ahead.

“Fantastic beer bar with great small plates” (“the constantly changing specials bump the food up a notch”) from Penryn-based craft brewery Verdant. “Walk-in only”, its “buzzy and generally crowded” – which might explain why Verdant added the nearby Seaview Inn to their roster last summer.

2022 Review: This large harbourside chippy is well-liked locally owing to fish “so fresh it makes me want to go back again and again”. (For the fish-averse they also have a line in burgers, pies and sausages).

A “fantastic small restaurant” – Falmouth’s first recipient of a Michelin Green Star, which it won in 2023, two years after opening, for its “hyper-local, impeccably sourced food” (the furthest farm they work with being just an hour and a half away). Dishes are “expertly cooked by chef-owner Hylton Espey”, who runs the operation with wife Petronella, and “the menu takes you on a journey across Cornwall and beyond”, whether you go for the five-course, £60 per person ‘Discovery’ lunch or seven-course, £85 per person ‘Journey’ supper.

On the site that was formerly included as Hooked on the Rocks (RIP), this cliff-top property is now in the same ownership as The Harbour House in Flushing and opened in its new guise in February 2025. No feedback as yet in our annual diners’ poll, but its all-day offer of local seafood, cocktails, drinks and takeaway snacks looks promising, and it’s a short walk from the well-known Gyllyngvase (‘Gylly’) Beach. It seats 100 covers inside, with a further 200 covers outside on the terrace.