English beach at Its best…read more Situated in the shadow of the iconic Tate St Ives gallery, Porthmeor is a sandy, safe beach, popular with surfers and swimmers alike. It's in an ideal location just a stone's throw from the centre of St Ives, where you'll find ancient pubs, trendy cafes and lots of art galleries the town is famous for. A perfect place for a beach picnic - you can easily get all you need from the town, the beach is busy in summer with families who enjoy the easy access, and in winter the surf brigade from the town have all those rollers right on their doorstep. Porthmeor is one of only eight beaches in Cornwall that hold the prestigious Blue Flag Award 2021, given in recognition of water quality, safety, environmental management and education. Lifeguard cover from Easter until the end of October (2021). Parking - the car parks in St Ives get full very early in main season, and the large car park at the top of town can bit a hike back up. Why not try parking at St Erth station or Lelant Saltings and enjoy the scenic branch line into the heart of St Ives. Please note: Dogs are welcome on this beach except between 15th May and 30 September (10am - 6pm) when a seasonal dog ban is in place (2020).

After driving down from Newquay, managing the narrow roads through St. Ives, my sister-in-law…read morewanted nothing more than the pancakes called out in the Guardian's recommendation of this place. We only had to wait a few minutes at the car park just up the hill, and we were seated almost immediately, though we were told that the kitchen was quite backed up (10am on the last Saturday in August, beautiful morning), so we'd need to wait about 10 minutes to order. No bother, we started with hot chocolate and a carrot-ginger juice (made in house). Drinks were great. Unfortunately, when we did get to order, we were told that they were out of pancakes. So both J and J ended up with poached eggs and toast. Jimmy got the side of chorizo. I got the scrambled eggs, cornish crab, crème fraiche, lemon and rocket. Though the kitchen was backed up, the food came decently quickly. My eggs were delightful and mixed quite well with all the other toppings. The views of the beach and surf school were entertaining, as were the menus with the clippings mentioning the historic shipwrecks and even the subsequent capsizing of a lifeboat during the rescue. It's a charming spot, but you'll need to get there early if you want pancakes.

Fantastic lunch quiche delicious and a very varied salad. Great service nothing too much trouble…read more topped up the tea pot 3 times for us. Staff very friendly. Would highly recommend.

The scones in this cute and cozy cafe are warm, dense but cake-y as scones should be. The tea is…read morewell strong and the server was very accommodating and served my friend soya milk for her dietary needs. The cakes were hard to resist and the the apple ginger cake did not disappoint. The flavour soaked thoroughly in the cake and chunks of apple were present at practically every bite. The staff are very friendly and helpful and make this place a gem. I saw one give directions to a little old lady who wandered in from the street and even equipped her with a map before sending her on her way. Another staff member kept an eye on the children who were sat outside while their parents were inside and reported on the boy shenanigans that were going on. Even a young solo backpacking foreign diner was made to feel comfortable and at home. The Cafe's also displays local art works on their walls which are available for purchase. Stop by and visit Olive's Cafe. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Fab, fab, fab!…read more Rustic but modern decor, right on the front at St Ives. Even on a rain lashed Friday, it was cosy and welcoming. We couldn't get a table right away but staff ushered us in so we could wait for our table and shelter from the rain. Food options look lovely - the menu board was so tempting and appeared to be very Cornish in flavour by combining options composed of lovely local produce. I came for the proper Cornish cream tea - even gluten free and it comes with authentic Cornish tea (tea made in Cornwall) - yummy! Seriously, a great place. I found it on google after searching for gluten free in St Ives and it was amazing. They cater for 'normal' people, but most of the menu can be catered for in gluten free form - breads, cakes, scones, quiches, pastry products which I was so impressed by. The menu is marked G which shows the GF options available. Makes a change from the one or two options - usually soup or salad... The scone was to die for - two scones actually in a cream tea with clotted cream and jam and a pot of tea - £5.95 but well worth it. The scones were the best GF ones I've come across and my mum, although not a huge scone fan, raved about her non-GF ones all day! I even had an extra scone - purely to use up my left over jam and cream of course as it was so great. The jam was lovely - clearly local and home made and definitely not from a supermarket jar - I could have ate buckets of it with my scone it was so good. If I'm in Cornwall again, I would definitely make the trip to St Ives to check out The Tea Room - there was so much on the menu I would have had, if I wasn't maximising the cream tea opportunity. Staff were friendly and helpful and certainly not judgemental about the GF girl and the three scones... :-)

A nice, simply laid out cafe on St Ives harbour, where I enjoyed a very tasty leek and potato soup…read more One of our group received something they had specifically asked not to have with their meal, but it was an easily rectified problem.

My first cream tea ever.... did anyone else know there was a scone involved with tha? And a darn…read moretasty scone at that. Coasters is bright and cheery. The service was great. Tea was very good but the scone was the big star. Warm, soft, moist, really unlike any scone I have ever had. Came with a little dish of jam and clotted cream. Per local practice (after a little coaching from my UK friends and the instructions on the menu) I put jam on first then clotted cream. Delicious! When you pour your tea the proper way is to add milk to the tea cup first... otherwise it is obvious you are American.

Absolutely lovely place to try your first cream tea (as I did:). Maybe it's not the cheapest place…read morearound, but definitely offers sweet and homey atmosphere, especially on the 1st floor, where you can run away from the crowds of tourists. Apart from lovely scones with famous Rodda clothed cream and jam, the place offers salads, wraps, sandwiches cupcakes and selection of alcoholic beverages. And if you feel a need to but a souvenir to a member of family and you don't know what to choose, the place also sells selection of ciders brewed locally, packed in nice boxes. I'd give 5 starts, however the bliss was disturbed by a waitress having a private conversation about condoms with another member of the stuff, not to mention her flip flops, dress so short that we almost could see her knickers and bra strips lurking from beneath. I wouldn't mind if it was a beach bar, but from place of this class, I'd expect a bit more of taste.

Bijou and quirky, and the only place to sell gluten free Cornish pasties in St. Ives (eat in or…read moretake away) - and they are wonderful too.

Very good independent Cafe/Deli tucked away in St Ives. Very…read moreinteresting ranges of sandwiches, everything slightly different with a twist, It's licensed as well so you can have a glass of wine ith your lunch, couple of tables outside.

A recent visit was just a quick lunch of soup and bread, but it was first rate. Delicious…read morecauliflower, sweet potato and lentil soup, and nice crusty brown bread. Two excellent lunches for under a tenner. Good range of takeaway grub too, as well as pottery, local drinks etc. Popular with locals as well as tourists, and quite buzzy.

I wasn't quite sure what to make of this place, its brash exterior seems a little out of place in…read moreSt. Ives' historical street frontages; but we were assured by our local chums who had made the reservation that it was THE place for seafood, and they were right. Having got ourselves settled in and drinks ordered, we were told to go and peruse the day's catch in the counter and pick our choice of main course. There is a 'standard' menu on the tables to help you decide, and it would be much easier if they just let you choose from that instead of having to huddle round the counter; still, it's a nice option to offer. We picked the seafood medley for two, which offers a good cross-section of what's on offer, and it was just the right size to satisfy the appetite without resorting to gluttony. Everything was very tasty and well-cooked - it doesn't get much fresher than this! For dessert, I couldn't resist the chocolate, hazelnut and tia maria torte, although in deference to my dairy intolerance I had it without the clotted cream. To give them their due, the server did come and ask if I was OK with that as there was some dairy involved in the torte itself; I responded that sometimes I'm prepared to suffer a little where chocolate is involved! I'm glad I did too, it was absolutely yummy, and I love the little crunchy sugar-caramel decorations that accompany several of the desserts. I'm definitely bookmarking this place for the next time we're in St. Ives.

When we arrived our table has been given to 2 people, the team advised us we had to wait. We…read morethought it was terrible service as there was a few empty tables of two seats and the two people were holding our table. The team didn't even offer us an aperitif while waiting so we left and went to a pub next door to spend our money. 40 minutes later... our table was finally available. As a starter, a few of us had the scallops. The dish was well presented but the scallops were pretty smalls and tasteless. Two of us had the whitebait fritters, the battered was light and crispy around the whitebait, a fine starter but nothing exceptional. For main some opted for monkfish, Cornish megrim sole and sea bass. Some others had duck or chicken breast. I didn't think the main were nicely presented, they were quite simple. I had my monkfish as recommended with hollandaise sauce. It was two tiny pieces of monkfish, it was good but again I wasn't impressed by the dish and by its taste. For dessert, few friends shared a chocolate and orange creme brûlée. I didn't like it and I just thought this dessert shouldn't be called creme brûlée but chocolate mousse ! Overall I didn't think this restaurant was amazing. Maybe on this day we were not very lucky and the team was not at its best. The person who booked this place goes very often to the Sea food cafe and she was very disappointed by the night too and the lack of great service.

On the far side of the harbour is this wonderful pizza café. We stopped off for just coffee and…read morewere able to sit outside watching the world go by supping two deliciously, strong, cups of hot coffee. Service was very efficient and fast even though the young guy insisted on wiping down the chairs and table with antivirus solution. Impressive in this time of worries. It's a shame we weren't in the area for longer as I would have loved to try their Italian cuisine but, maybe, next time.

Pizza is nothing special. I would much rather have fresh seafood at other establishments. The pizza…read morewas chewy and soft- not what I want in a pizza. I will say the staff and the ambiance is great- so that was something good. I think pasta might be your best bet here, but only had the pizza.