Category: Food and drink

The Best Places to Eat Alfresco in Cornwall

Squeeze every last bit of outside time into your holiday. It’s fine dining with even finer views; chic beach-side chilling or perfect picturesque picnicking.

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The Hidden Hut

Essentially, it’s a wooden beach-side shed serving simple fresh food and drink from March through to October. In theory, everything is to take away, but there’s an outdoor seating area to the front with uninterrupted views out to sea and across the bay to Portscatho should you wish to sit down and relax.

Pandora Inn

When you visit the Pandora Inn, it’s easy to forget you’re in the 21st century. Its spectacular setting on the edge of Restronguet Creek is timeless. Parts of the Inn date back to the 13th Century and, with its flagstone floors, low-beamed ceilings and thatched roof it’s not difficult to believe that little has changed since that time.

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Lewinnick Lodge

Good food, good views all you need to bring is good company. ‘The Lodge‘ is open for breakfast from 8am and serves food throughout the day until 10pm (10.30pm in the summer), every day of the year.

The Basement

In Padstow. The Basement is set back in a courtyard, with views overlooking the harbour from its alfresco restaurant area. The Basement has been voted the 2nd best restaurant in Padstow by customers on Trip Advisor

Porthminster Cafe

Nestled beneath the steep slopes of Porthminster Point, right on the beach with unbeatable and uninterrupted views across St Ives Bay to Godrevy Lighthouse. Now open all year round for morning coffee, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner.

Discover the best places to eat and drink by the sea, exploring coastal dining spots that offer delicious cuisine and breathtaking views in Cornwall.

Pubs with Music and Comedy in Cornwall

driftwood spars

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The Driftwood Spars on the coast in St Agnes has a more traditional pub feel and has been putting on live music for almost 50 years. With everything from folk to reggae, the Driftwood Spars have hosted bands that went on to become household names, such as Reef and Feeder – so you may well be seeing the next big thing as you sip your pint. The food here has a good reputation, too – and they’ve even got their own microbrewery so real ale fans will be happy.

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Driftwood Spars, St Agnes

Driftwood Spars
Trevaunance Cove, St Agnes, Cornwall, TR5 0RT, Tel. 01872 552 428

 

Less formal still are Thursday evenings at the Bowgie Inn near Newquay. The weekly jam session is a lucky dip of style and quality, but you might just be treated to a real gem. It’s a venue that’s popular with locals and visitors alike; a pint at one of the garden tables overlooking Crantock beach always makes a good sundowner.

Bowgie Inn, Newquay

The Bowgie Inn
West Pentire, Crantock, Cornwall, TR8 5SE, Tel. 01637 830363

 

The Blue Bar, on the beach at Porthtowan, holds regular comedy nights throughout the year, usually on the last Thursday of the month. The acts can be edgy, so it’s definitely an over-18 door policy. The Blue Bar is relaxed and friendly, there’s a good menu, an even better view and tables outside if the weather is being kind.

Blue Bar, Porthtowan

Blue Bar
Eastcliff, Beach Road, Porthtowan, Cornwall, TR4 8AW, Tel. 01209 890 329

Looking for a fantastic restaurant in Cornwall? Check out some of our favourite restaurants with stunning sea views.

Food and Farm shops in Cornwall

Fish often hogs the limelight when it comes to Cornish food, but the county produces noteworthy foods across the spectrum. The growing interest in local, seasonal produce has been a godsend to Cornish farmers and many of them have developed swanky farm shops that are a far cry from the rough-and-ready, barely-converted barns of times past.

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One of the most exciting is Lobbs, next to the Lost Gardens of Heligan. This farm shop is so inviting and attractive it can make your average supermarket look tired and shabby. A big proportion of what’s on display comes directly from the farm next door. The meat is reared here, on feed grown on the farm too. The vegetables have that just-picked quality – because that’s exactly what they are. You’ll find a lot more than the essentials here, everything from biscuits and home-made cakes to Cornish cheeses and real ales, pies baked on the premises to classic hogs pudding. If you’re visiting Heligan, don’t leave without dropping in to Lobbs.

On the north coast is the equally worthy Padstow Farm Shop. There’s something about the fact that the vegetables here were grown in a Victorian walled garden that seems to make them taste better. Beef comes from Ruby Red Devon cattle and the pork is often from a heritage breed such as Saddleback or Tamworth. And you just can’t leave without a pack of the Padstow Pasta, made with durum wheat grown on the farm here, milled at the Cornish Mill and Bakehouse near Newquay and then made on the premises in Padstow – where you can watch it in progress.

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Supermarkets tend to be much the same wherever you go – it’s a chore whether you’re at home or on holiday. The Kingsley Village Food Hall, a few miles outside Newquay, is stocked with enough novel produce to make a weekly shop a tad more interesting. A proper butcher, a fishmonger with seasonal seafood landed at Newlyn and an incredible bakery and patisserie section are the stars of the show, but don’t miss the wide choice of Cornish wines and beers.

While we’re on the subject of alcohol, the Camel Valley vineyard, between Wadebridge and Bodmin, has been putting the noses of French champagne makers out of joint with their multi-award winning Camel Valley Brut; you can buy this delectable fizz by the bottle or the case from the vineyard’s cellar door, but even better to make an afternoon of it with a vineyard tour and a tasting session on the veranda overlooking the vines.

Experience the true flavours of Cornwall with our guide to eating local on your self-catering holiday, indulging in fresh, seasonal delights straight from the source.

Explore further

Lobbs Farm Shop
Heligan, St Ewe, St Austell, Cornwall, PL26 6EN, Tel. 01726 844411

Padstow Farm Shop
Trethillick Farm, Padstow, Cornwall, PL28 8HJ, Tel. 01841 533060

Kingsley Village
Penhale, Fraddon, Cornwall, TR9 6NA. Tel. 01726 861111

Camel Valley Vineyard
Nanstallon, Bodmin, Cornwall, PL30 5LG, Tel. 01208 77959