Porthminster Beach Restaurant

The Café has got there early and bagged itself a prime spot on the beach at St Ives, beneath the towering eminence of Porthminster Point, the better to look out over the crashing waves breaking on spotless sands. It's a classic contemporary seafood venue, with chilled-out staff, the tiled interior opening onto outdoor decking, where you might sit and set about a dish of crisp-fried salt-and-spice squid with citrus miso under the Cornish sun. An Australian chef ensures there's a lot of knowledgeable fusion thinking going on, as in a main course of baked pollock with smoked pancetta, celeriac, almonds, salsa verde, a razor clam and truffled parcel of egg yolk. Or go with the much simpler crab linguine with Fowey mussels, dressed in chilli, garlic, parsley and lemon. There are good vegetarian dishes too, and sweet treats such as coconut rice pudding with mandarin sorbet, mango and peanut brittle.