For me, it has it all- great places to eat (a must!), narrow
cobbled streets with quirky shops, beautiful beaches, great coastal walks, not
to mention the Cornish pasties and clotted cream icecream.
It has a great atmosphere with bustling crowds and lots going
on.
Tom and I stayed in The Sail Lofts apartments, which I would
thoroughly recommend. They are beautifully designed spaces with loads of room
and somewhere you can spend a lot of time whiling away the hours.
On the first night we ate at the amazing Porthminster Beach
Cafe. It is absolutely stunning as it sits just under Porthminster Point and
you can look out across the bay towards the lighthouse. It really made me feel
as if I was on holiday.
The staff were great and it was really busy.
I went for the special of sea bream with tempura scallops in
a crab bisque. It was incredible- the sea bream was soft and tender and the
scallops were to die for- the perfect constituency in a crispy coating. Tom
went for the monkfish curry, which was also superb- fragrant, creamy and well
presented.
For dessert we shared a chocolate crème brulee, which rather
unusually was served in a slab. It was so rich and delicious, and a great end
to the meal. If you go to St Ives, coming here is a must.
The next day we sampled the local pasties and then for
dinner we just couldn’t decide as there are so many places to go to. In the end
we opted for onshore, on the harbour front.
It was ok- it was a bit quiet at first and the waiter seemed
fond of seating the few people who were there very close together.
But besides that, the food was good. I had the seafood
linguini (£13.95). It was a mix of king prawns, mussels, scallops and fresh
squid in a cream sauce. The sauce was great and the pasta well cooked. My only
criticism was the squid was a bit tough, although strangely it tasted great.
Tom went for the sharing platter (£11.95) which was a mix of olives, sunblushed
tomatoes, roasted red peppers, halloumi
cheese, Parma ham, sliced chorizo, sliced salami and flatbread. All the
products were fresh and a good quality.
The next day we were a little fed up of eating out so went
for the fish and chips and pizza combo! But there are so many other places to
eat out and a huge selection.
St Ives is a beautiful place to spend a weekend
away and worth the long car journey.
