Reviews in Cornwall

Another superb meal at S.Dicks. We didn't realise how big the portions were last time so we simply ordered a few starters this time between us! Staff can make or break an evening and they are so pleasant and not constantly interrupting your meal here. Couldn 't manage a pud but saw some huge ones appearing from the kitchen. 40 30 mile round trip for us but as Wadebridge is so dire I don't mind driving. 10 out of 10 everytime!

OVER PRICED AND EMPTY AT 8PM ON A SATURDAY NIGHT...SAYS IT ALL

My fiancee and i were visiting family in Penzance in February 2010. We ended up having our breakfast here every morning for a week. The food was amazing, the staff always friendly and the hot chocolates were the perfect thing for a cold morning. We both look forward to the day when we can come back.

We visited St. Mary's earlier this year for the first time, and enjoyed a visit to The Deli where I purchased a shopping bag with "Scilly Old Bag" printed on it. My daughter was upset that I didn't bring her one back!! I was just wondering if it is possible to buy one from you over the Internet in time for a Christmas surprise for her. Await your reply with fingers crossed.

We first came here after diving at Porthkerris and were recommended by our coeliac friend who had found it the evening before. The 4 of us returned and had a wonderful meal , great wine , exemplary service and very reasonable price. Our coeliac friend watched us munch the fresh bread and oil enviously and was delighted when a corn tortilla was brought out for her. Much appreciated.Our next trip to Porthkerris was cancelled due to bad weather but we drove to the Lizard from Warwick to keep our Saturday night reservation . Again the food was excellent , we shared a fresh mackerel to start , then I had Sea Bass and my husband Pork . Delicious.We overheard the next table saying that the fishcakes were the best they had tasted and we believed it. Wish we lived closer...

Ok but rather chilly atmosphere. Main course chicken was very ordinary and polenta not very nice. Deconstructed millionaires shortbread fab.

I was visiting Bude last week and could not wait to revisit this restaurant as I have so many happy memories from previous occasions. As I was staying for two weeks I did manage to visit on three occasion and while I cannot complain about the food - the crispy duck is just superb - I have to say I was quite annoyed about the quality of service to customers. When you advertise an opening time of 1730, why must a group of us stand outside in the pouring rain until 1745 even though the staff could see the remaining two of us dripping wet (two of our friends gave up and left). Knocking on the door and pointing at my watch brought one member to half open the door and ask if we had booked - we felt it seems, reluctantly let in and there was no interaction for the rest of the evening. To be honest, this was appalling and spoiled the evening. On the same evening a lady came in requesting a table for one and was told they were fully booked, at the same time bookings were still being taken on the phone for later and we were the only table eating. One hour later, still only two tables were taken and I am sure this lady could have sat. Aside from one Chinese lady who was brilliant, I believe some staff training is needed and less emphasis placed on anticipated delivery orders. Great food, very poor customer service

THE BEST MEAL AT GOOD PRICE I HAVE HAD THIS YEAR.GOOD FOR DOG WALKING AND A PINT AFTERWARDS

Fantastic! Portions are simply enormous and so reasonable. I agree entirely with another comment that Rock/Wadebridge would do well to follow where Senor Dicks leads on a good night out with smiling knowledgeable staff.

Returned here with family after visiting a couple of months ago. We came for lunch on a beautiful October day and sat outside in one of the converted beach huts wrapped up in cosy blankets. The staff on all three of my visits have been fantastic - helpful, knowledgeable and friendly with toys to entertain the little ones. We had delicious tapas - the haloumi really is amazing and we will be back again soon. There is only one tiny thing I would change - we ordered a children's humous which they usually love but they wouldn't touch as it was bright green. It was delicious but children and green food don't really work (in our house anyway!)

We popped in after a blustery walk on the beach and sat down on the comfy sofas by the fire. We had tasty burgers and chunky chips. The staff were friendly and helpful and it was a great place to take kids as we played pool and air hockey. It's also dog friendly which is great.

I have eaten at this restaurant many times and until my last visit have been very pleased with the food and service. However my last visit with my wife was on a busy Saturday in late August. Perhaps too busy. The starters of mackerel & soup were very good. However that was followed by a one and a half hour wait until the main course arrived. My wife had the steak which was well done rather than medium but more importantly was so rubbery that you could have bounced it. It was accompanied by a mushroom jus which had been over reduced and was very bitter. My own slow roast Pork was also accompanied by the same appalling jus. Presumably that was all that was left. I may try the restaurant again on a non-busy day but I am unsure about that.

Terra Nova is a truly stunning little bistro. The staff are extremely friendly and efficient. When i saw the prices, i expected the food to be mediocre at best, but when it was served it was nothing short of superb!!! Ive been to many top restaurants where the food hasn't been a patch on this, at ten times the price. I really cannot recommend it enough!!!

The best restaurant in whole Cornwall . service excellent reasonable price friendly atmosphere. and main thing food is really really delicious. I love Bash Baagan .

Fans of the very talented Michelin starred chef, Mr Paul Ripley, will be pleased to learn that after a battering in the stormy gastronomic waters of salty St Merryn he has beached, gently, in the prettiest of Cornish villages – St Kew. Here in a romantic 16th century inn of the same name he has set up his cooking pots to deliver joy and jubilation to all who wash up in this sleepy outpost of northern most Kernow. On a strong recommendation from one who knows we took a long Sunday morning taxi ride from Tintagel to see what was cooking. Dropped at the door we discovered the kind of idyllic pub that is fast disappearing from these shores. Here, tucked behind a waving crowd of colourful cosmos, in the most delightful of villages, is the best pub venue in south-west Britain. This is the English pub stripped of 20th century pretension – it’s like stepping back in time- and then you notice the pretty waitresses whipping in and out to serve on the guests in the garden opposite. The tiny pub restaurant is sparse, bordering on Spartan – stripped pine table tops and white-washed walls, nothing here to distract from the business in hand. This is as non-Michelin as you can get – this is a canapé free, foam free territory, stripped of all ponce and nonce to deliver the very simple, honest essence of good cooking. Service is relaxed to the point of insouciance. The brief menu, cockily confident, four starters, four mains and four puddings and the prices were too good to be true. One course £10.50, two courses £15 or three courses £19.50 – what can you deliver for that you might wonder. We chose creamed leeks, smoked haddock with pickled walnuts and chicken and duck liver terrine. Both dishes could have graced any Michelin restaurant table– simply delicious and oozing craftsmanship and precision. We enjoyed a large glass each of Sauvignon Blanc Montauberon. The headline acts were top side of Cornish beef and roast chicken. Top side of beef, usually to be avoided can be tough and tasteless – not at the St Kew Inn, here one large generous tranche of unctuous rose-tinted, melt-in-the-mouth beef came with heady-scented, home-made, creamy, aromatic horse radish sauce – simply sensational – crispy Yorkshire pudding and beautifully cooked fresh vegetables. Sounds ordinary – well it usually is – but here you are reminded what great cooks can do with great ingredients. This is cooking stripped to its essentials worthy of the best tables in the land. I opted for roast chicken, so this is what it should taste like, proper sage and onion stuffing and beautiful bread sauce. roast potatoes, buttered carrots. Basic and boring do I hear you say – not here. Arrogant simplicity, bold unadorned flavours aided and abetted by two delicious glasses of Rolling Shiraz that did exactly what it said on the tin, delivered fine cool elegance and peppered black fruit. This aside, if this wonderful establishment has a weakness it is the overall predictability of the wine list but for this kind of cooking I can forgive that and a lot, lot more… This is Paul Ripley at his best and if you can eat better Pub food than this in England, at prices to match, book me a table. I live in deepest, well-heeled Cheshire and we have nothing to match. We finished with a cheese board and a raspberry trifle. Heading back to Tintagel, purring like a pair of Cheshire cats, in a taxi which cost us more than lunch for two including wine, we unanimously agreed that this lunch in all its glorious simplicity will prove one of the highlights of 2010. Paul Ripley take a bow.

If Stein’s Padstow is the food lovers mecca then St. Ives is unquestionably Cornwall’s cultural capital. Apart from its historical artists colony the town boasts two beautiful beaches at Porthmeor and Porthminster, the latter had the additional attraction of one of Britain’s best seaside cafes. Until recently only Porthminster could claim a café fit to match the location. The Cinderella Porthmeor, with its unique location directly below the famed Tate Gallery, now makes a bid for the tourist catching headlines. We never visit St. Ives without visiting The Tate. Britain and Europe have many superb art galleries but none can match the location of the St. Ives Tate. This former gas works, with its breathtaking views of the rolling surf, stands a scant roads from the golden sands. On a recent visit we were delighted to discover the Porthmeor Café. This little glazed, sun-filled conservatory wonder, was packed on the day we visited offering, as it does, a fascinating view of the ever-changing beach activity below as a continuous side show. We took the first window table to vacate and chose, slightly tongue in cheek, to try the Tapas menu. Our experience of this Spanish speciality in Britain has been dire to date – what a lovely surprise. Priced from £2.50 to £5.95 a portion we settled for chilli squid, spicy prawns, ham & cheese crocquetas and some organic bread with balsamic and olive oil dip and a couple of glasses of inexpensive white wine from the excellent little wine list. We finished with a couple of absolutely perfect espressos. The bill totalled £28.80 and represented the best value for money lunch we have had in many a long British year. St. Ives has become increasingly popular with the southern English townies and the whole of Cornwall is jumping at the moment, amongst the invading hordes there are clearly enough discerning diners to demand more than the usual dodgy British fodder and the town has taken up the challenge. Seasiding Brit style is a low expectation activity (the weather doesn’t help). St Ives looks determined to change all that with the twin stars of Porthmeor and Porthminster cafes leading the way to a new seaside experience. If it rains you can always nip into the Tate.

Having eaten here many times before, and having been proposed to here, we were very disappointed with the measly portion of the seafood medley to 'share', and the extortionate price that accompanied it. Half a piece of fish, half a bowl of chips - can't they stretch to 2 bowls or a piece of fish each?? Wanting to contact them by email, there is no opportunity to do so, unless you want to apply for a job. Just walking along the seafront, there are many good restaurants where you could get 4 decent sized meals for the same price! The food is delicious, but if you want any greenery on your plate, it's an additional cost - come on seafood cafe! Don't be tight!

First class food served here. Chose selection of tapas with our friends then shared the seafood paella and lamb tagine. Bursting with flavours, great service, good choice of wines and great atmosphere. Hard working staff and delicious food a credit to them. If we had gone at the beginning of our week in St. Ives, we would have returned (it was that good!!). Thank you.