Guildford Restaurant Guide

“A seriously interesting tasting menu and a view to die for!” are helping to win ever-greater acclaim for Adam Handling’s (of London’s ‘Frog’ fame) “beautiful venue overlooking Carbis Bay” from a new luxury beachside estate on the fringes of St Ives. Menus start with a five-course selection for £110 per head, with the option to add oysters, caviar, truffles and wine matching. “It doesn’t come cheap”, but most reporters felt this year that “it’s worth every penny”: “from the brilliant cocktails to the ‘snacks’ you feed on faultless innovative courses (crab, turbot, asparagus, lamb, desserts) and some dishes are mind-blowing (e.g. sourdough muffin with brown crabmeat butter and a reveal of an exquisite crab tart)”. “Incredible to have this high-class restaurant in Cornwall”.

The “brilliant setting” with “unbeatable views over Porthminster Beach and across St Ives Bay” makes this long-running venue a “great restaurant” to visit. Ratings have held firm, although a number of reporters are questioning the pricing – “the PBC has been our favourite and we’re regulars on our trips to Cornwall, but the last meal we had was not up to their usual standard and prices have increased hugely”.

There’s no quibbling with the “view to die for” at this beachside café, and they also turn out some “delicious food” including “great fish ’n’ chips”; while it’s not quite what it was, having unsuccessfully essayed various formats in recent times, and is “now closed for breakfast (they do takeaway) which is the best time of day to visit”, “its location continues to be perfect”.

“St Ives has so many places to eat, but this is a favourite” – “right in the middle of the seafront, and because it’s on the first floor you have a great view of the harbour and beach”. “The menu has plenty of fish options, but the meat-eater is also catered for”, while “the food quality is good, even if the options are not that innovative”.

2022 Review: “Great views from the beachside terrace and an interesting fishy menu” have made this tapas-style venture “a definite must-go”, especially when visiting the nearby Tate. (As of 2019, they also run seasonal spin-off West Beach Bakery, on the western side of Porthmeor Beach, and serving up “great pizzas”, deli-style lunches and “even better views” than the original… and it's “less busy” too).

2023 Review: “Simply all that you could desire of a gastropub” – this attractive twelfth-century inn welcomes everyone from walkers from the nearby SW Coast Path near St Michael’s Mount to dog walkers with its enjoyable bistro-style food – “good Sunday lunch” in particular.

Set within a “beautiful sculpture park” outside Penzance hosting works by art-world stars James Turrell and Richard Long amongst others, this pleasant eight-year-old restaurant offers an “excellent selection of vegetarian dishes” (but not just) and classic cream teas. Stop in for the “lovely brunch and then walk it off” in the grounds – or else grab a takeaway from their hut, and picnic on the hill with views of St Michael’s Mount.

“Exquisite cooking, with fish straight from the Atlantic” again wins very high ratings for Bruce Rennie’s very personal 14-seater, where service is by the man himself. Seafood is the speciality here and there are lots of Japanese accents used in the preparation of the six-course tasting menu. No walk-ins, as the fish is purchased in the morning for the number of reservations.

“Jude Kereama’s blend of Asian, New Zealand and West Country cuisines never fails to delight” (with “exciting” tasting menus a highlight) at this harbourside restaurant-with-rooms – and, “despite the increasing competition for quality cooking in Porthleven, it remains ahead of the pack”. The chef (also behind Kota Kai) was due to add a third string to his bow in Carnon Downs holiday apartment complex the Valley, but the long-awaited arrival was apparently nixed by Covid.

“Amazing ramen” is just one highlight of the “lovely menu” at chef Jude Kereama’s second venue, sister to nearby Kota. There’s plenty of seafood, along with dishes inspired by Jude’s New Zealand and Asian heritage. “Fab views over the harbour just across the road” are another reason to visit.

2023 Review: “Great cooking at very reasonable cost” is on offer at this family-run brasserie with deli and ice-cream parlour from Cornish-born chef Stew Eddy (who trained under both Raymond Blanc and Michael Caines) and his wife Anna, in a “lovely former fishing village that’s fast becoming a foodie destination to rival Padstow”. Top Tip – “the memorable Goan fish curry”.

This famous dining pub-with-rooms on the wild and woolly coast between St. Ives and St. Just is part of a three-strong empire spanning The Old Coastguard hotel in Mousehole and the further-flung Felin Fach Griffin, in the Brecon Beacons. Feedback this year was generally sound, and even if it has scored higher for food in some previous years, “the surrounding coast and countryside” (not to mention “the mustard-yellow exterior”, which “pops in the landscape”) both still “make it a destination” place.

Ben Tunnicliffe’s centuries-old pub with a “lovely” terrace serves a “menu that’s almost exclusively fish and can change twice a day” depending on the catch – “unsurprising given its location next to Newlyn harbour”. “Nothing beats a great plate of fish that was landed only a few hundred yards away… if you close your eyes and picture a fisherman’s inn in an old Cornish port, the Tolcarne is what you’re seeing”.

An “impressive location” commanding sea views to St Clement’s Isle makes this seaside hotel a “great place for fish and seafood” landed just two miles away at Newlyn. It’s a lesser-known (and less highly rated) sibling to the Gurnard’s Head and the Felin Fach Griffin in Wales.

“People come for the glorious view” over the Helford estuary at this “lovely pub”, in a three-century-old building – accessible either by car, in which case you risk battling for a space, or “on the foot ferry from the other side of the Helford river”; despite the “beautiful setting”, it’s no one-trick pony, and the “above-average pub food” includes “great local fresh fish but also a superb and original take on chicken schnitzel and vegetarian choices full of originality and flavour”.

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”.

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.

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”.

2022 Review: Ben Prior relocated to St Ives after 10 years in Marazion at the highly rated Ben’s Cornish Kitchen (RIP), and in May 2021 he helped re-open the dining room at this small hotel overlooking Porthminster Beach (at whose cafe he’s now head chef) having installed Grant Nethercote as head chef. Reports please!