Culinary Adventures in St Ives - Part 1

Surrounded by crystal waters and beautiful countryside, the chefs of St Ives’ restaurants are lucky to be able to have access to some of the finest and freshest produce around to create some of the fantastic dishes on offer for diners visiting the town.

We seem spoilt for choice in this little seaside town so we thought we would let you know a couple of our favourites to get you started on your culinary adventures when staying with Carbis Bay Holidays.

The Black Rock Restaurant, the Market Place

Sophisticated, well cooked cuisine and fantastic fresh farm house bread. The Black Rock has a small but exciting menu offering tasty treats made with quality local ingredients. Coupled with a stylish interior scattered with works from Michael Leech, The Black Rock makes for stylish dining.

• Try the fresh crab claws dripping in wild garlic and butter or the Thai style slow roasted pork belly with noodles.

 

The Porthmeor Beach Café

This beachside terrace in front of Tate St Ives offers a kind of cool but casual alfresco dining experience with incredible views across the beach. Watch the sunset and if you’re lucky you may see a school of dolphins pass by. Fresh Produce is offered in an exciting tapas style menu and has gained itself quite a reputation over the years.

•  Try the Cornish duck breast, apple & fennel, beetroot caramel or the Cornish seafood bouillabaisse, toasted sourdough and saffron aioli

We suggest you ring to book a table in the busier summer months and during school holidays.

Cosy Places for a Winter Hot Chocolate

      Blue Bar – Porthtowan – TR4 8AD
A fellow Green Tourism Business Scheme member, Blue Bar is located right next to Porthtowan beach, a great little place to storm watch.

Sunset Surf Café – Gwithian – TR27 5BT
Sunset Surf café offer really yummy hot chocolates, with lashings of cream on top.  The views from the café are spectacular, looking right across St Ives Bay to Godrevy Lighthouse.

      The Logan Rock Inn - Treen – TR19 6LG
A 400 year old, proper Cornish pub set a few minutes walk off the coastal path near to the Minack Theatre at Porthcurno. Low beams make for a cosy hot chocolate, next to the open fire.

Sand Bar – Praa Sands – TR20 9TQ
Another great beach side café, which is dog friendly! Watch the children playing on the beach whilst you sit back and relax. 

The Balcony – St Ives – TR26 1LF
The Balcony bar is located above the harbour, making this a great place to watch the comings and goings in this beautiful seaside town.

Alfresco – Cornish Style
Fill up a flask of your favourite hot chocolate and find your own special little place to watch the tide ebb and flow.

English Wine Week...Cornish Style

When you think of wine I’m sure most of you think of France, Australia, Chile and many of the other superb wine producing countries, but watch out, England is now hot on their heels.

Cornwall in specific has two fantastic award winning vineyards.  Camel Valley have been producing world-class wines for over twenty years and the relatively new, but superb Polgoon Vineyard.

Camel Valley produces award-winning wines in an idyllic setting on sun-drenched slopes near the famous Camel River; with excellent grapes that perfectly suit the soil and climate; a respect for traditional vineyard practices combined with a modern approach to wine making and, most importantly – a passion for creating wines that provide pure pleasure.

Polgoon Winery is based in Penzance and successfully produce a range of new classic rosé, white and red wines, Sparkling Aval (Cornish for apple) Elderflower Fizz and sparkling fruit cider drinks.  John and Kim Coulson, Polgoon’s owners, have developed the Vineyard from a derelict farm and outbuildings to create a flourishing vineyard and orchard producing their award winning Cornish drinks.

To celebrate English Wine Week, Polgoon are holding free tastings and tours at their vineyard and orchard.  There's something for everyone with 16 acres of vines and apple trees, the shop and winery to explore. To find out more and to book a place visit the Polgoon Winery website.      

Guests staying with Carbis Bay Holidays will find a gift from us to celebrate English Wine Week with our compliments.  Tell us what you think!