Porthminster Beach Cafe is the best restaurant in St Ives by a comfortable margin and one of the best in Cornwall. It sits on the beach at Porthminster with views across the bay, which is reason enough to book a table, but the food matches the setting. The menu centres on fish and seafood landed locally — monkfish, crab, sea bass, scallops — cooked with genuine skill and a light Mediterranean touch.
Lunch on the terrace in the sun is one of the pleasures of visiting St Ives. The wine list is decent and the prices are high but not outrageous by coastal Cornwall standards. Book well in advance for dinner in summer; the beach cafe is one of the best-known restaurants in the county and tables go quickly.