Local Food

Things have really changed on the Cornish food scene, and the good news is that you will find a range of fantastic options for eating out and in, to suit all purses, and many of these places base their menus around the best, freshest and tastiest Cornish food and drink.

Dining Out
There is something to suit every budget from Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant in Padstow and the Jamie Oliver inspired Fifteen at Watergate Bay and talented Michelin starred Chef Nathan Outlaw at his new Seafood and Grill at St Enodoc Hotel, Polzeath to a wealth of other dining opportunities

For a more rustic experience Trevaskis Farm near Hayle and Carruan Farm near Polzeath are both farm restaurants that major on simple, affordable food, cooked on the premises using as much grown or reared on the farm as possible.

Home-grown drink is very much a part of the Cornish food scene. Visit Camel Valley Vineyard and try its award winning wines after strolling around the beautiful vineyard, while for beer drinkers Skinners and the St Austell Brewery welcome visitors. The county is, quite literally, flooded with fascinating microbreweries – many of their beers served as guest ales in a growing number of pubs that have tuned into the renewed interest in real ales. And a visit to Cornwall would not be complete without cider. Once produced on almost every farm, only a handful of cider makers remain, but one worth visiting, for both cider and apple juice, is Andy Atkinson’s Cornish Orchards in south east Cornwall.

No holiday is complete without ice cream. Cornwall has some superb ice cream makers, ranging from Roskilly’s on the Lizard, where you can watch the cows being milked, enjoy a cream tea or walk around the farm,  Treleaven’s award-winning artisan-style ice cream to be found in ice cream parlours in Looe, Polperro and Tintagel. 

The old favourites are still here though – pasties, saffron buns and heavy cake – but the contemporary Cornish food scene is a cornucopia of riches that just a decade ago would have been unimaginable.

Dining In
Good food in Cornwall is not just about eating out. Anyone wanting to cook for themselves is spoilt for choice with the range of foods available. Pop into a farmers’ market – there are at least 14 in the county – to find mouth-watering artisan breads, local cheeses and meats, smoked fish, fruit, vegetables, yoghurt and, of course Cornish pasties, the ultimate fast food.

There are excellent farm shops offering a range of products, often but not always organic, and frequently lovely foods produced in such small quantities that they are not widely available. Visitors to the Lost Gardens of Heligan, for example, cannot miss Lobbs Farm Shop, which is immediately next to the gardens. In addition to stocking meat and vegetables from the farm, complimented by one of the county’s best ranges of Cornish and regional produce.  Other farm shops to look out for include Gear Farm Shop on the Lizard, the Padstow Farm Shop, where many of the herbs, salads and vegetables come straight from the owners’ walled garden.

Fish lovers have plenty of options too.  Fishmongers in most of the coastal towns will offer ready prepared crabs and shellfish and a huge range of the freshest fish, landed that morning, to choose from.  Look out for oysters from the Fal and Helford and mussels grown on the rivers Fowey and Fal.

On your next trip to Cornwall there’s no need to do a massive supermarket shop before setting off. Everything you need is available here, and plenty of other things you didn’t know you wanted, for scrumptious breakfasts, relaxing lunches, perfect picnics and divine dinners.