Where to Eat & Drink in Cornwall
Harbourside fish and chips, smugglers' inns, beach cafés, proper pasties and a glass of Cornish fizz. Here are the places worth planning a day around, each one checked so you know it's still open. Tap Add to planner to fit them into your trip.
Opening hours change with the seasons, and many places close earlier, or on some weekdays, in winter. Always check before you go, and book ahead in the summer holidays.
Restaurants & seafood
Rick Stein's The Seafood Restaurant
£££Riverside, Padstow · Best for: A special meal
Rick Stein's flagship, open since 1975, serving fish and shellfish straight off the Padstow boats. Book well ahead in summer, though the seafood bar takes walk-ins.
Stein's Fish & Chips
££South Quay, Padstow · Best for: Families
Proper fish and chips by the harbour. Eat in, or take away and sit by the water. You can pre-order a takeaway for a set time, and there's a dog-friendly takeaway seating area next door.
Porthminster Beach Café
£££Porthminster Beach, St Ives · Best for: Lunch with a view
An award-winning restaurant right on the sand, with seafood-led menus and views across St Ives Bay to Godrevy Lighthouse. Book a table on the top deck.
The Old Coastguard
££The Parade, Mousehole · Best for: Sunset drinks and dinner
A relaxed hotel restaurant above the sea in Mousehole, with fish from nearby Newlyn, a garden for sundowners and an award-winning wine list. Dogs and children welcome.
Beach cafés
Gylly Beach Café
££Gyllyngvase Beach, Falmouth · Best for: Breakfast to dinner on the beach
Falmouth's beach café, open from breakfast and brunch to evening meals of local fish, with a big covered terrace above the sand.
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Pubs & inns
The Blue Anchor
£Coinagehall Street, Helston · Best for: Real ale fans
A thatched pub that's brewed its own Spingo ales on site for centuries. It's thought to be one of the oldest pub-breweries in Britain. Dogs on leads welcome.
Jamaica Inn
££Bolventor, Bodmin Moor · Best for: A stop off the A30
The smugglers' inn made famous by Daphne du Maurier's novel, right beside the A30 on Bodmin Moor, with a restaurant, bar and museums.
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The Pandora Inn
££Restronguet Creek, near Mylor · Best for: Waterside lunches
A thatched 13th-century inn right on the water at Restronguet Creek, with a pontoon you can sit out on. You can arrive by road or by boat.
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The Gurnard's Head
££Treen, near Zennor · Best for: A meal after a coast path walk
A dining pub with rooms in wild West Penwith country, with local food, Cornish ales and a monthly art exhibition. It's handy for the Zennor coast path.
The Sloop Inn
££The Wharf, St Ives · Best for: Harbourside pints
One of Cornwall's oldest inns, reputedly dating from 1312, on St Ives harbour, with seafood and Cornish ales. It's dog-friendly.
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The Ship Inn
££Mount Pleasant Road, Porthleven · Best for: Harbour views
A historic pub perched above Porthleven harbour, with steps down to the water and lots of outdoor seating. It gets busy, and tables are first come, first served.
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The Rashleigh Arms
££Charlestown, near St Austell · Best for: Families and Sunday roasts
A big, friendly pub by the historic Charlestown harbour, serving food all day, with a huge outdoor patio and occasional live music. It's dog-friendly.
The London Inn
££Lanadwell Street, Padstow · Best for: A proper local in Padstow
A traditional Padstow pub a short walk from the harbour, popular with locals and visitors alike.
The Victoria Inn
££Perranuthnoe, near Marazion · Best for: Good food near St Michael's Mount
A good-food pub in the village of Perranuthnoe, a short walk from the beach and a few minutes from Marazion and St Michael's Mount.
Pasties & ice cream
Warrens Bakery
£St Just and shops across Cornwall · Best for: A pasty on the go
Cornwall's oldest bakery, which calls itself the oldest Cornish pasty maker in the world. It started in St Just and now has shops across the county, with traditional, vegetarian and vegan pasties.
Roskilly's
£Tregellast Barton Farm, St Keverne · Best for: Ice cream on the Lizard
An organic working farm on the Lizard making its own ice cream, with a café, farm walks and, in summer, wood-fired pizza evenings. It's open all year.
Cider, wine & beer
Healeys Cyder Farm
FreePenhallow, near Newquay · Best for: A family day out
Cornwall's largest cyder farm, now free to enter. There are tastings, a museum, a distillery and cellars, and paid tours and vintage tractor rides through the orchards.
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Camel Valley Vineyard
£Nanstallon, near Bodmin · Best for: Sparkling wine lovers
An award-winning family vineyard on the Camel Trail, best known for sparkling wine. Wine sales and tastings run Monday to Friday (closed weekends), and tours should be booked ahead.
St Austell Brewery Visitor Centre
See websiteTrevarthian Road, St Austell · Best for: Beer fans on a rainy day
Home of Tribute and Proper Job ales, with a visitor centre and shop, plus guided brewery tours that you should book ahead.
Cornish food and drink to try
- A proper Cornish pasty. Beef, potato, swede and onion in a crimped pastry case. The Cornish pasty has protected status, so a real one has to be made in Cornwall.
- A Cornish cream tea. A scone with jam first, then clotted cream on top. (In Devon they do it the other way round.)
- Fish and chips by the harbour. Even better from a place that buys straight from the local boats.
- Saffron buns, sweet golden buns found in bakeries all over the county.
- Cornish ice cream, made with Cornish milk and clotted cream.
- Local drinks: Cornish ales, cider from orchards like Healeys, and award-winning sparkling wine from Camel Valley.
Tips for eating out in Cornwall
- Book ahead in July and August, especially for dinner. Popular places fill up days in advance.
- Check winter hours. Many cafés and some restaurants close early or shut on quieter weekdays out of season.
- Lots of pubs welcome dogs. Look for the Dog-friendly filter above, and check before you go.
- Picnic tip: grab pasties from a bakery and eat them on the beach. Watch out for the gulls!
- Plan a designated driver or book a taxi for cider farm, vineyard and brewery visits.
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Something changed, or a favourite we've missed? Tell us.