Lobster pots stacked on Mevagissey harbour — the working fishing village that supplies Cornwall's restaurants.

Cornwall · Food & drink

Eating and drinking in Cornwall.

The pasty, the crab, the cream tea, the pint of Rattler — a guide to what's worth eating and where to find it.

Photograph — Michael Ga / CC BY-SA 2.0

The honest guide

Cornwall's food reputation has changed in a generation. Twenty years ago it was cream teas and pasties and not much else. Now it has Rick Stein, Nathan Outlaw, Paul Ainsworth, and a new wave of chefs who moved here for the ingredients and stayed for the life. But the transformation hasn't been uniform — for every excellent gastropub there are three mediocre tourist restaurants charging harbour-view prices for frozen fish. This guide is about finding the good ones, and about the things Cornwall does better than anywhere else in England.

The foundation of Cornish food is the sea. The county has more coastline than any other in England, and the day boats still land their catch at harbours from Newlyn to Looe every morning. Crab, lobster, mackerel, hake, monkfish, John Dory — the variety is extraordinary and the quality, when you find the right kitchen, is as good as anything in northern Spain or Brittany. The other foundation is the pasty — not the Greggs approximation but the real thing, hand-crimped, with the steak and potato and swede inside and nothing else. Between the sea and the pasty, there is a whole landscape of farm shops, cider barns, ice cream parlours, and harbour-side chip shops that makes eating in Cornwall one of the genuine pleasures of a holiday here.

What follows is not a restaurant guide — it would date within a year. It's a guide to the categories of eating that Cornwall does well, with enough specific names to get you started and enough general advice to help you find your own favourites.

The Cornish pasty

Traditional Cornish pasties — golden crimped pastry with the characteristic D-shaped seal.
Gvjekoslav / CC BY-SA 3.0

The Cornish pasty has Protected Geographical Indication status — like Champagne or Parma ham — which means a genuine Cornish pasty must be made in Cornwall with a specific recipe: beef, potato, swede, onion, seasoning, and nothing else, enclosed in a D-shaped pastry shell with a hand-crimped side seal. The pasty was designed as a portable lunch for miners — the thick crimp served as a handle for hands covered in arsenic dust — and the best versions are still fundamentally simple. The pastry should be firm enough to hold, the filling should be peppery and moist, and the whole thing should weigh enough to feel like a meal. Ann's Pasties in the Lizard makes the purist's choice — nothing fancy, just perfect technique. Philps in Hayle has a devoted following and a queue that starts before opening. Malcolm Barnecutt in Bodmin and Launceston is the oldest bakery in Cornwall (since 1880) and still makes them by hand. The chains (Rowe's, Warrens) are consistent. Avoid anywhere that microwaves them.

The details

Ann's Pasties (Lizard) · Philps (Hayle) · Malcolm Barnecutt (Bodmin, Launceston) · Rowe's (chainwide) · £4–6 · Eat immediately — a cold pasty is a different and lesser thing

Seafood in Padstow and beyond

Padstow harbour — fishing boats moored on the Camel estuary, the heart of Cornwall's seafood scene.
Kmtextor / CC BY-SA 4.0

Padstow is the centre of Cornwall's seafood reputation, and it earned it. Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant on the harbour has been the flagship since 1975 — the fruits de mer is still the benchmark, though the prices now reflect the fame. Paul Ainsworth at No. 6 is more inventive and equally good. Prawn on the Lawn, the tiny fishmonger-restaurant on the quay, does the best shellfish platter in town at half the price of the Seafood Restaurant. But Padstow isn't the only option. Nathan Outlaw's Fish Kitchen in Port Isaac serves a set menu of whatever came off the boats that morning — no menu in advance, just trust. The Gurnard's Head near Zennor does a crab lunch that justifies the drive along the B3306. The Wheelhouse in Falmouth is an unshowy harbourside bistro with exceptional fish. Mackerel line-caught off the Newlyn dayboats and grilled within hours is arguably the finest eating in Cornwall, and you can find it at any good pub within five miles of the coast.

The details

Padstow: Seafood Restaurant · No. 6 · Prawn on the Lawn · Elsewhere: Fish Kitchen (Port Isaac) · Gurnard's Head (Zennor) · Wheelhouse (Falmouth) · Book in summer

Farm shops and delis

The Farm Shop on the quay at Looe — a Cornish harbourside shop stocked with local produce.
Mutney / CC BY 4.0

The farm shop is where Cornwall's food economy is most visible. These aren't the over-designed destination farm shops of the Cotswolds — many are genuinely functional, selling what the farm produces plus a curated selection from neighbouring producers. Trevaskis Farm near Hayle is the largest and most impressive — a working farm with a pick-your-own, a butchery counter cutting meat from animals reared in the fields you can see from the car park, a deli, and a restaurant. Lobbs Farm Shop at Heligan is smaller and more personal, with a focus on heritage vegetables and a cafe that does excellent cake. Gear Farm near St Martin on the Lizard sells raw milk, clotted cream, and butter made from their own Guernsey herd. In the towns, Archie Brown's in Truro is a wholefoods deli with a strong vegetarian kitchen attached. The rule of thumb: if the farm shop has a car park full of locals rather than tourists, the produce is probably good and the prices are probably fair.

The details

Trevaskis Farm (Hayle) · Lobbs (Heligan) · Gear Farm (Lizard) · Archie Brown's (Truro) · Self-catering essential stop · Good for picnic assembly

Gastropubs

The Gurnard's Head near Zennor — the gastropub that set the template for Cornwall's food-pub scene.
Mutney / CC BY 4.0

Cornwall's gastropub scene is strong and getting stronger. The template was set by the Gurnard's Head near Zennor and its sibling the Old Coastguard in Mousehole — both owned by the same team, both doing a short menu of carefully sourced dishes in buildings that feel like pubs rather than restaurants. The Gurnard's Head crab sandwich at lunch and the fish pie at dinner are as good as any formal restaurant in the county. The Pandora Inn at Restronguet Creek is thatched, waterside, and thirteenth-century — the food is solid pub cooking in a setting that makes it taste better than it has any right to. The Rashleigh at Polkerris sits on the beach and does crab and chips on a sunny day that is hard to improve upon. The Plume of Feathers in Mitchell is a roadside pub with a chef who would be running a Michelin-starred restaurant anywhere else. The Crown at St Ewe does a Sunday roast that draws people from Truro. In general, Cornwall pubs are better at lunch than dinner, better at fish than meat, and better in the villages than the towns.

The details

Gurnard's Head (Zennor) · Old Coastguard (Mousehole) · Pandora Inn (Restronguet) · Rashleigh (Polkerris) · Plume of Feathers (Mitchell) · Crown (St Ewe) · Book for dinner

Mevagissey harbour — fishing boats moored against the quay with the village rising behind.
The harbours are where Cornwall's food starts — day boats landing crab, lobster, and line-caught mackerel for the restaurants that serve it the same evening. Photograph · Simon Cobb / CC0

A pasty from a good bakery, fish and chips from a harbour shop, and a tub of Roskilly's ice cream from a farm shop is a picnic that beats most restaurant lunches. Eat on a harbour wall. This is how the locals eat in summer.

Cream teas

A classic cream tea — scones, clotted cream, and strawberry jam at a garden tea room.
Andy Li / CC0

The cream tea is Cornwall's most exported tradition and its most argued-about. The rules are simple and non-negotiable: two scones (warm, not cold), clotted cream (not whipped cream, not butter), strawberry jam (not any other flavour), and a pot of tea (not coffee, not herbal infusion). The cream goes on first in Cornwall — this is the opposite of the Devon method and the source of a rivalry that has outlasted actual wars. The scone should be split, not cut, and eaten immediately. Beyond the mechanics, the quality of a cream tea depends on the scone — a good one is light, warm, and barely sweet — and the clotted cream, which should be thick enough to stand a spoon in and faintly yellow on top. Trewithen Dairy and Rodda's are the two main Cornish cream producers; both are excellent. For the full experience: the tea room at Lanhydrock House (National Trust) is set in the Victorian servants' corridor. Dwelling House in Fowey overlooks the estuary. Any proper tea room will do — just avoid anywhere that serves the scone cold.

The details

Everywhere · £8–12 per person · Cream first (this is Cornwall) · Scone must be warm · Lanhydrock tea room · Dwelling House (Fowey) · Afternoon, not morning

Cornish cider and beer

Two glasses of golden cider — the drink you'll find in every pub in Cornwall.
Jenna Post / CC BY-SA 4.0

Cornwall's drinks scene has two pillars: cider and craft beer. Healey's in Penhallow (home of Rattler, the cider you see in every pub) offers free tours and generous tastings — the Pear Rattler is worth trying even if you think you don't like cider. For something less commercial, Cornish Orchards near Lostwithiel makes small-batch ciders that are closer to French farmhouse cidre than anything from Somerset — the Cornish Gold is crisp and dry and better than most white wines at the same price point. On the beer side, Sharp's Brewery in Rock (Doom Bar, Atlantic) is the largest and runs a decent visitor experience. Skinner's in Truro (Betty Stogs, Lushingtons) is the locals' favourite. Verdant Brewing in Penryn is the craft end — their pale ales and IPAs are nationally rated and the taproom is worth a visit. For cider in a pub, ask for a local scrumpy by the half-pint first — it's often 7-8% and the second pint is the one that catches you. Rattler on draught in a harbour pub on a warm evening is one of the simple pleasures of a Cornish holiday.

The details

Healey's (Penhallow, free tours) · Cornish Orchards (Lostwithiel) · Sharp's (Rock) · Skinner's (Truro) · Verdant (Penryn taproom) · Rattler on draught everywhere

Fish and chips by the harbour

Fish and chips on the beach — golden battered fish with chips, eaten by the sea as they should be.
Amakuru / CC BY-SA 4.0

Fish and chips in Cornwall should be simple: a piece of fresh fish (haddock or cod, though hake and pollock appear on the better menus), battered and fried to order, with chips that are crisp outside and fluffy inside, eaten out of the paper on a harbour wall with the seagulls circling overhead. The best fish-and-chip shops in Cornwall use fish landed that morning at Newlyn — if the menu tells you where the fish comes from, it's usually a good sign. Stein's in Padstow is the most famous — a Rick Stein operation on the quay that does excellent fish at prices that reflect the name. Harbour Fish and Chips in Newquay is unpretentious and very good. Becks in St Ives has a queue round the corner in summer for good reason. Fraser's in Bude is the locals' choice. The rule is the same everywhere: eat it immediately. Fish and chips that have sat in paper for twenty minutes while you walk to a scenic spot are fish and chips that have steamed themselves into something disappointing. Find a wall, sit down, and eat.

The details

Stein's (Padstow) · Harbour (Newquay) · Becks (St Ives) · Fraser's (Bude) · £10–15 · Eat immediately · Seagulls will try to steal yours — turn away from the wind

Ice cream

An ice cream shop in Lostwithiel, Cornwall — the kind of place that makes its own from local dairy.
Mutney / CC0

Cornwall takes ice cream as seriously as it takes the pasty, and for the same reason — the dairy is exceptional. Roskilly's on the Lizard is the benchmark: a working organic farm that makes ice cream from their own Jersey herd and serves it in the farm cafe with a view of the cows that produced the milk. The clotted cream flavour is absurdly good. Callestick Farm near Truro is the other major artisan producer — their honeycomb and sea salt caramel are the ones locals buy by the tub. Moomaid of Zennor, made in West Cornwall, does smaller-batch flavours including a brown bread ice cream that is the most interesting thing in any freezer cabinet. Jelbert's in Newlyn has been making ice cream since 1935 and sells from a window on the harbour — the queue on a summer afternoon is a landmark in its own right. For commercial scale, Kelly's of Bodmin is the county's biggest producer and genuinely good. The principle is simple: Cornish cream makes better ice cream. Buy it from anyone who makes it locally and you won't be disappointed.

The details

Roskilly's (Lizard) · Callestick (Truro) · Moomaid of Zennor · Jelbert's (Newlyn) · Kelly's (Bodmin) · £3–5 per scoop · Clotted cream flavour is the one to try first

Eating well in Cornwall

The single most useful piece of advice for eating in Cornwall is to avoid the obvious and ask a local. The restaurant with the harbour view and the A-board on the pavement is rarely the best option — it doesn't need to be good because the location does the selling. The pub a hundred yards up the hill with no view and a handwritten specials board is almost always better. Cornwall's food economy rewards curiosity: the farm shop on a back road, the bakery that doesn't advertise, the pub where the chef moved from London five years ago and never looked back.

Self-catering is the other secret. Cornwall's raw ingredients — the fish from the harbours, the meat from the farm shops, the vegetables from the roadside stalls, the cream from the dairies — are better than what most restaurants do with them. A self-catering cottage with a good kitchen and a trip to Trevaskis Farm or Gear Farm is the makings of the best meal of the holiday.

A cottage with a kitchen

Farmhouse near Padstow, sleeps six

Stone floors, an Aga, and a kitchen table that seats the whole family. Five minutes from the harbour, ten from Trevaskis Farm, and close enough to Prawn on the Lawn that you'll go twice.

From £595 / week shoulder season · £1,195 peak

See dates on Sykes

AllCornwall may earn a commission on this link — it never affects the price you pay.