St Ives Food Guide
There is an abundance of good food in St Ives. The seaside town offers award winning seafood, heritage rich pubs, beach cafés and, of course, enough coffee and cake spots to fuel the scores of summer tourists.
Looking for quick bites? Make sure to grab a pasty around the harbour and check out the Cornish ice cream stores for a sweet treat. If you are wanting coffee on the go, then Yallah Coffee is one of the best options! Heading to St Ives for a weekend break? Check out our St Ives guide where we discuss the must-gos and how we spent our weekend.
Continue reading to find out about fresh tapas, snazzy pub grub and our favourite St Ives coffee spot, all with the most picturesque sea view. We did find most options on the more expensive side, however food quality and views did not disappoint.
📍Porthmeor café
Servining Afresco dining with breakfast, lunch and tapas, Porthmeor café rustles up a large range of fresh produce, sourced locally wherever possible. Their contemporary small plate experience offers innovative veggie, fish and meat dishes with an Australian twist. Located above Porthmeor beach, this café offers the best sunset and surf watching viewpoint, and if you are lucky sometimes even dolphin shows can be seen.
With three dining areas you are spoilt for choice. The cosy outside pods make the best spot for catching up with friends or a cute date night. Their is also the inside restaurant area of the outdoor terrace which is dog friendly, it does have heaters and blankets to keep away the sea breeze. Be careful as they do have an annual refurbishment period over the winter.
Our thoughts:
Drawn by the option of a light lunch, we headed to this cosy café to shelter from the icy winter winds. Sat in the outside terrace area we were kept warm with heaters and blankets as staff worked quickly to keep tables served.
We went for Crispy fried seabass, chilli caramel, asian salad, pineapple (£13.50), Soup of the day with freshly baked local bread and of course a side of Chips. Great, efficient service and fresh food is definitely a win-win! Overall an idyllic spot.
Enjoy dining here whilst watching the surfers in even the dreariest of weathers!
Porthmeor Café Review:
Price: $$$
Location: Perfect for people watching over Porthmeor Beach.
Food: ★★★★☆
Insta Worthy: ♥♥♥♥♡
Photo: Crispy Fried Seabass, Soup of the Day with freshly baked local bread and a side of Chips.
📍Porthminster Beach Café
With an ethos for fresh and sustainable food, Porthminster Beach Café serve award winning Asian and Mediterranean inspired dishes, crafted with love. Their reputation has blossomed over the past 25 years, offering one of the best dining experiences in St Ives. They claim their chefs can often be found foraging on the South West Coast Path as they add elements to their daily specials, whilst their coastal kitchen garden makes the most of their unique setting to grow seasonal herbs, salad and vegetables.
With a Prestigious blue flag award, the café offers the highest of standards with vibrant dishes all year round with a location that cannot be faulted. Set on Porthminster beach, the restaurant and terrace allows diners to view St Ives Bay, the historic harbour and Godrevy Lighthouse. A comfortable sanctuary to retreat to wash crashing waves in the in the winter, whilst in the summer there is no better spot to sip on crisp wine, enjoying fresh and creative food.
Our thoughts:
This is definitely our highlight café. Where else would you want to spend your morning coffee? We headed to Porthminster Beach café for a morning coffee and sweet treat. Sat at the heated terrace we took in a lovely and lively, yet relaxed ambiance with stunning, unbeatable views across St Ives Bay to Godrevy Lighthouse. It is on the pricier side, but it is St Ives seaside hot spot.
Pictured are the chocolate brownie served with Cornish clotted cream and sugar coated hazelnuts and sticky toffee pudding cake with three delightful coffees. Overall, great service, food and views! We are hoping to head back soon to enjoy the rest of their menu. Also check out their new Gin & Cocktail bar, offering boozy (and non-alcoholic) refreshments and light bites, whilst also being dog friendly.
Porthminster Beach Café Review:
Price: $$$ (premium coffee and a premium view means 3 coffees and 2 cakes comes in at £21)
Location: The perfect spot perched on the banks of Porthminster Beach.
Food: ★★★★★
Insta Worthy: ♥♥♥♥♥
Photo: Chocolate Brownie and STP Cake served with coffee.
📍Firehouse Bar & Grill
As the name suggests, flame grilled meats are on the menu at this bar and grill. Specialised in serving Cornish seafood, chicken, and veggie options, Firehouse is a pick for dining and drinking. Their menu also has classic burgers, brick fired pizzas and flame grilled, dry-aged steaks, a homage to American and Cornish cuisine.
Focused on supplying the best and widest selection of Gin in St Ives, their bar offers a vast array of both gins and tonics. With sleek and seductive red lit designs the restaurant is classy yet welcoming.
Our thoughts:
This contemporary steakhouse has accommodating staff with upstairs and downstairs dining overlooking the harbour. A few gin cocktails and a generous meal were all we needed after a day exploring St Ives. From our table we could just see over the rooftops of St Ives catching the harbour.
We went for the Hake Laksa (£16.95), a huge, warming dish with noodles, spring onions and pak choi in a spicy laksa sauce. I’m our opinion a little too big but nothing to complain about! The classic burger (£9.25) and beef pie (shin of beef with a rich Guinness mushroom sauce at £16.95) also kept us quite happy. A recommendation for those who are looking for no nonsense dining with great portion sizes!
Firehouse Bar & Grill Review:
Price: $$$
Location: Situated on Fore Street this is a prime location for central St Ives, the perfect spot for after strolling dinner.
Food: ★★★★☆
Insta Worthy: ♥♥♥♡♡
Photo: Hake Laksa, The Classic Burger and The Beef Pie with a side of Sweet Potato Fries.
📍Scoff Troff café
In the heart of St Ives, Scoff Troff Café is a cozy warehouse café. With an extensive menus inspired by the owners trips around the world, Scoff Troff constantly evolves their menu with locally sourced produce. A reputation for coffee and innovative drinks, Andrew and Beverly pride themselves on good food with a distinct balance of local produce and international classics.
Our thoughts:
With the motto gaze, slurp, relax, you know you are in the right place.
With unique options we went for the Italian Toast, Spanish Omlette and the good old Lasagne - you can’t go wrong. The Italian Toast offered something a little different with creamy Italian whipped cheese, topped with pan fried Chorizo, red onion, & roasted cherry tomato, all served with a pickled salad. Overall a great option for lunch with friendly and helpful staff!
Scoff Troff Café Review:
Price: $$$ (mains were £10-£13)
Location: Perfect for strolling the streets of St Ives, this café is a central location.
Food: ★★★★☆
Insta Worthy: ♥♥♡♡♡
Photo: Italian Toast, Spanish Omlette and The Good Old Lasagne.
📍Pedn Olva Hotel
Nestled thirty feet above the sea, Pedn Olva offers stylish hotel rooms, a heated outdoor pool and sun terraces. Sat on granite rocks, the boutique hotel also boasts a large bar and restaurant. Your wagging tail friends are welcome at the Hotel but just note when dining to ask to be seated in the dog-friendly bar area rather than restaurant.
Moving to the food, the restaurant offers a range of fresh seafood, British classics and seasonal produce. Looking for a roast in St Ives? Pedn Olva offers an amazing Sunday roast with meat and veggie options.
Our thoughts:
Although we didn’t stay, this contemporary hotel offers breathtaking views over St Ives Bay. They pride themselves with sources local produce from south west suppliers with fresh seafood and jazzed-up pub classics.
We visited for an evening meal picking the special of Pan Fried Hake Loin with crushed new potatoes, bacon and capers, hollandaise, chorizo jam, the Morroccan Lamb Tagine with coriander couscous and minted yoghurt and finally, the Pan-fried Chicken Supreme with a wild mushroom sauce, parmesan polenta and wilted spinach. All washed down with some of their classic cocktails.
We hate to say it but the food was a bit bland, although it is worth a visit to soak up the picturesque Cornish Coast - definitely one of the most scenic spots!
Pedn Olva Review:
Price: $$$ (with mains around the £14 mark)
Location: 30 feet above the sea, Pedn Olva boasts a stunning view of St Ives Bay.
Food: ★★☆☆☆
Insta Worthy: ♥♥♡♡♡
Photo: Pan Fried Hake Loin, Morroccan Lamb Tagine and the Pan-fried Chicken Supreme.
