Food and Drink in Cornwall

We enjoy visiting Cadgwith for the food as much as anything else. Here are some of our favourite places to eat and sources of good food.

• Pasties
• Eating Out
• Ice Cream
• Fudge and Chocolate
• Herbs
• Fish
• Delis and Farm Shops
• Drinks

Pasties

• Ann's Famous Pasty Shop in Lizard gets the highest rating from friends and family and Rick Stein: Ann was featured in Rick Stein's Food Heroes for her passionate devotion to making the perfect pasty. Because these are handmade right in front of you, there can be some variation in the quality. They are never less than very good but on their day, especially when Ann herself is at work, they are absolutely the definitive pasty. Rick Stein may praise the seasoning but we think Ann's pastry, combining the best of shortcrust and flaky, is what sets her apart. It is best to order ahead by ringing in the morning since she can run out or be left with cheese only, or not have any until an hour after you want them. There is always a vegetarian option: we all enjoyed the cheese and vegetable pasty. Perhaps we're greedy but we usually order 1 1/2 medium pasties per adult. We often split a medium pasty between the children but they prefer to get a small one each. Be warned — it's very difficult to pick these up and keep them in the car until lunch time! On one (in)famous occasion, Anne's pasty didn't survive the journey to St. Ives; in fact, it didn't make it out of Helston. And Anne's cousin Diana got lunch here five times during a one week period... (August 2004)

• The Horse and Jockey on Meneage Street in Helston or on The Harbour in Porthleven gets the second place nod. Their pastry is good and they have the best filling. Make sure you order "skirt steak" for the authentic pasty filling. The standard size is rather large and should satisfy most adults. While shortcrust may be the proper choice, we often prefer their flaky pastry. (August 2003)

• Mother's on Coinagehall Street in Helston also produces a fine pasty. They are handmade in the shop window which increases the feeling of authenticity. These are larger than Ann's: one medium pasty should satisfy most adults for lunch. The shop made no distinction between shortcrust and flaky pastry so we had both in our first order. (August 2003)

• Philps Pasty Shop in Hayle also supplies other restaurants. The ones we had at Paradise Park were good but not stunning — the genuine article does not use mince! We need to visit the shop to see the full range... Friends who have tried a genuine skirt pasty from this source say that it holds its own against the competition. (September 2001)

Eating Out

• The Cadgwith Cove Inn is literally a hop, skip, and a jump from anywhere in Cadgwith. It is decorated with old photographs and memorabilia which evoke the old days when Cadgwith was full of fishermen, rather than tourists. The beer selection is very good for a pub of its size and there is always a real ale on tap. The menu contains all the standard pub fare and then goes beyond that with some interesting main dishes and daily specials, many using local produce. The food is very good and the service is warm and friendly. Children are welcome in the lounge (and the patio outside) and Elisabeth and Perran were happy with the rather varied children's menu. They also encouraged us to check out the dessert menu and we recommend that you do the same! There is singing and live music on weekends in season. (June 2004)

• The Old Cellars in Cadgwith, next to the pub, is open for lunch and teas, and dinner in the summer. The lunch menu is the standard offerings of baguettes, salads, etc. but distinguished by the availability of local crab. Elisabeth and Perran were impressed by the children's menu: it had five choices to go with the inevitable chips and beans. The dinner menu, displayed on a blackboard at lunch time, is far more extensive and is dominated by local fish. If it's open for dinner and you want to go, it's best to book. It's also a nice treat to stop in for a coffee and homemade doughnut and the cream tea is generous but undistinguished. (August 2003)

• Sue's Cream Teas, at Eglos Farm in Ruan Minor (opposite the Lizard Cider Barn on the A3083), was recommended to us by two sets of friends before we visited. Cream teas aren't our thing — they are ideally timed to ruin Elisabeth and Perran's dinner — but this one may have converted us. The tea was good and the scones were excellent, with plenty of quality jam and clotted cream. The children enjoyed raiding our scones and were also pleased with their choices: Perran highly recommends the homemade strawberry milkshake. And the service was very friendly and personal. (August 2003)

• The Patio Café in Mullion was recommended by friends who enjoyed the warm and friendly atmosphere created by Sandra Cazeaux, the Jamaican-born chef, and her staff. The food is what you would expect, although the specials board has some more interesting choices, particularly for vegetarians — and the dinner menu was even more extensive. The food was good and freshly cooked and the cake selection was varied and tasty. There is a sign saying "Children Welcome" and our children always get friendly and personal attention. Sandra prides herself on remembering repeat visitors and can even recall which table you were sitting at! It is worth checking the opening times because they change during the year. (August 2004)

• The Old Inn in Mullion is just opposite the car parks. It's a nice old-fashioned pub with lots of nooks and crannies. The menu was spread across three blackboards: a children's menu, a lunch menu (we found the sandwiches thick and satisfying), and a full menu. The last was divided into columns: fish, vegetarian, steaks, and chicken. (August 2003)

• Halzephron Inn in Gunwalloe is about a mile from the cove. It was recommended by friends who said it has two menus: the regular daily menu was "well cooked but dull" and the daily specials were "exceedingly good." We went for lunch and would agree with that summary. But we should add that that dessert menu was very nice and we didn't get close to the cheese menu! There was also a children's menu which covered the familiar standards but had the intriguing offer to do smaller portions of the daily specials as well. Perran and Elisabeth appreciated the selection of toys in the family room and were well entertained between courses. (August 2003)

• The Grange, on the Gweek road near RNAS Culdrose, offers one of the widest selections of "light lunches" we have seen. We actually came to pick some berries but were too late in the day and settled for a very good cream tea. Elisabeth and Perran played hide-and-seek in the garden with some new friends while we enjoyed the fantastic views. We also bought fruit, local clotted cream, and local cheeses at the farm shop and had a pleasant walk through the nursery. Elisabeth and Perran insist that we are going back to pick fruit ourselves ... but we'll have to wait for the right season. (August 2004)

• New Yard Restaurant at Trelowarren, near Helston was the site of one of our most enjoyable dinners out in recent memory. The menu offered a small range of choices with the daily special being a surprise appetizer — for us, foie gras and scallops. But this was one of those occasions were the food that arrived exceeded expectations both in taste and presentation. And the service was equally good: prompt without being hurried, discreet but personable. The manager, Vincent Goyenche, is quite a character and friends who are regular patrons happily recount their conversations with him! This is a proper bistro and there was no children's menu. We consider Elisabeth and Perran to have quite wide-ranging appetites but would have been hard-pressed to find something on the menu that was guaranteed to go in them. That said, there was a party with seven(!) children on the night we visited; the children mostly played outside in the courtyard and the staff handled them well.

  We can also recommend afternoon tea. We were offered the basics of tea and scone with clotted cream and jam but it was very good. A child-friendly waitress recommended the strawberry juice to Elisabeth and Perran; they were so pleased that they suggested we go back! (August 2004)

• Roskilly's in St Keverne is best known for its ice cream. The meals are hearty and excellent: we like the toasted baguettes but we always check the boards to see what the daily special is. And they serve quite a decent pasty. It's very welcoming to children and you can usually find a nice wooden toy for entertaining a toddler.

  Friends tried the evening barbecue and recommend the marinated barbecue chicken, farmhouse sausages and bacon with chips. (August 2004)

• Trengilly Wartha is a pub in Nancenoy, near Constantine, about 5 or 6 miles from Helston. They have overnight accommodation, a restaurant and a family room. The friends who recommended it chose to eat in the bar because they felt the "bar menu was more interesting and better value". We agree that it was "simply fabulous" with a very nice menu and a full range of daily specials. Even better, there was an imaginative kids menu: Elisabeth and Perran may have chosen the standard sausage but we know they got farmhouse sausage with onion gravy and mashed potato. When they are older, they'll be able to take advantage of the "smaller portions for smaller people" versions of many of the daily specials. (May 2002)

• Harris's in Penzance, just off Market Jew Street at Humphrey Davy's statue. Continental cuisine in an elegant (but not stuffy) environment. We go for lunch, when the limited menu is always superb; dinner would be a real treat. (September 1997)

• The Logan Rock Inn at Treen near Porthcurno is Elisabeth's godfather's favourite Cornish pub. It has a decent pub menu which caters for adults and children. (September 2001)

Ice Cream

• Roskilly's in St. Keverne is great. We have made two visits in three days — and we know one young lady who visited three times in one day. At two, Elisabeth could, given enough time, consume an entire adult serving of clotted cream vanilla. (Perran was tucking into vanilla and strawberry before he was eighteen months old.) They have all the usual flavours and some exotic ones; have you ever had fruity-spicy-boozey ice cream?! Lloyd recommends the chocolate while Anne leans towards the alcohol based flavours; there are usually a number of these around Christmas. While the best selection by far is on the farm, Roskilly's ice cream is available at a lot of other places. We used to keep a list but it now seems unnecessary — once you know the logo, you will see it everywhere! (August 2004)

• Kelly's of Cornwall, available from the Watch House in Cadgwith and other places, is also a good ice cream. The range of flavours is more limited and traditional than Roskilly's but there are those who prefer it. (August 2004)

Fudge and Chocolate

• The Cornish Candy Shoppe on Meneage Street in Helston is a faithful friend. It's one of the few places where you can a select a big piece of fudge, have it weighed and then cut up in front of you. We particularly like the clotted cream fudge but Perran impressed by choosing ginger! The shop also has a magnificent collection of sweets in old-fashioned jars as well as an extensive range of chocolates, sweets, and biscuits. (August 2004)

• Roskilly's fudge, with a range of flavours and a good texture, is widely available. We take fudge on most excursions because it has wonderful toddler reviving powers! Sadly, Elisabeth, at four, discovered that chocolate is one of the possible flavours and rejected the delectable clotted cream fudge totally. (August 2003)

• Trenance Chocolate, based at the Mullion Meadows Craft Centre in Mullion but increasingly available elsewhere, is highly recommended. They were not Perran's first encounter with chocolate but this was the defining moment that added "choc-ta" to his vocabulary and food radar! The solid chocolates, in a variety of interesting shapes, are nice — Perran favours the bag of dinosaurs while Elisabeth likes the shells and the flowers. They also enjoying watching the chocolates being made. The adults prefer a box of filled chocolates as our treat; the chocolates are big and packed with flavour as well as very reasonably priced for the quality. (August 2004)

Herbs

Fish

• Sarah's, right in Cadgwith, is dedicated to fresh crab. The supply is dependent on the success of the local fishermen but that just adds to the fun and the flavour! You can buy it by the pound (Sarah nearly panicked when we tried to order it in metric!) or have it made into a reasonably priced sandwich for immediate consumption. (August 2004)

• Quayside Fish is right on the harbour in Porthleven. They sell a wide range of fresh local fish as well as running their own smokehouse. Elisabeth and Perran quite liked the crab but highly recommend the smoked prawns. There is also "a selection of accompaniments" so you can get a sauce or wine to complement your choice. (August 2003)

Delis and Farm Shops

• Colroger Delicatessen and Creamery is opposite the public car parks in Mullion. Its small space contains a wide ranging selection. We spotted fresh fruit and vegetables, a good choice of local cheeses, fresh local meat and fish, fresh baked goods, as well as an interesting stock of dry goods. (August 2002)

• Rosuick Farm Shop is in Traboe (follow signs from the B3293 at Goonhilly to Samvado until the signs for the farm shop). It sells their own organic meat and homemade pies as well as fruit, vegetables, organic herbs, and local craft. (August 2004)

• Food for Thought, on Church Street in Helston, is the retail outlet of Cornish Meadow Preserves. The store showcases their extensive range of preserves and herb & spice mixes but has far more. It aims to offer "the very best of Cornish foods" with a selection of cheeses, juices, jams, and chocolates. And there are offerings from foreign places like Devon, France, and Spain. With enthusiastic advice from Sarah Marsland, co-owner of Cornish Meadow Preserves, we emerged with three cheeses, lemon and lavender marmalade, and genuine Cornish pilchards. That took care of our midnight snacks as well as making some classy gifts. (August 2004)

Drinks

• Lizard Cider Barn has a range of homemade cider, local wines, and local liqueurs. Although you can taste before buying, Elisabeth and Perran were not in the right mood for us to attempt it! They were happy running around the displays outside, even on a misty, windy October afternoon. Lloyd bought the medium Cornish Blacksmith Cider while Anne went for the cream liqueur. Both were rated as good but not extraordinary. More opinions, please! (October 2002)

• Helford Creek Apple Juice is available at a number of local places, including Mullion Meadows Craft Centre. It has a subtle but distinctive taste — worth seeking out but not so strong that it will overwhelm whatever you are serving it with. (August 2004)

If you want more sources for good food in Cornwall, check out Food from Cornwall.