I plan my trips detail by detail. Part of it is to find all the good spots to eat! Ahead of our Cornwall trip, I’ve marked myself all the food spots I want to go to and now I share my experience with you, to help you plan yours 😉
Being vegan is a choice, and as such it helps me shape what I’m looking for when I plan my trip food-wise. But fear not: the recommendations below would suit non-vegans and vegetarians! There are all the reasons in the world to go out and try something new, may it be a dish or a whole new cuisine. Part of exploring the world is exploring culture, and food is a great way of doing so!
With the pandemic going on, planning a trip has proven to be more important than ever. Before each trip, we now book restaurant reservations where is possible to secure a relaxed meal.
So, shall we dive in? 👇
Porth Beach Hotel, Porth
Porth Beach Hotel is where we stayed for our vacation in Cornwall. It is a family run hotel with friendly staff always there to help (literally, living the life spending it on a bar decking in the front of the hotel!). They have been fortunate enough to secure the highly established chef Andrew Durham who was a MasterChef semi-finalist and won various awards – this was all the more reason to see what the chef could serve up for us as the menu provided didn’t have any vegan dishes on it, but can be catered upon request.
For a starter we each had a Sweet Potato Satay which tasted incredible and full of flavours. This lined us up for our mains where I had the Thai Green Curry with Soba Noodles, Will braved the Puy Lentil Ragu with Beetroot Polenta and Sour Blackberries which took him by surprise. The verdict of each dish was a huge thumbs up from us both, we especially really enjoyed the mix of flavours coming from the Ragu. There is no doubt that Chef Durham knew how to get those taste buds of ours tingling.
Key features
Family run hotel, unique opportunity to eat exquisite food made by a MasterChef, cosy atmosphere with a nice view, parking.
Address: Porth Beach Hotel, Alexandra Rd, Newquay TR7 3NB
The Stable, Newquay
Located at one of the UK’s most famous beaches, Fistral Beach known as the surf capital, is a stunning place to visit. We were there in the evening when the sun was setting in the horizon of the sea.
The Stable is a pizza chain with branches all over the country, all pale in comparison to the location they secured here in Newquay. Once seated at our window seats blinded by the sunset light, we soon noticed the menu had changed from our previous visit and had narrowed down to 2 types of vegan pizzas. Coincidentally, we’ve been quite full from having pasties during the day (look out for our upcoming post about it!). Luckily enough we weren’t overly hungry and shared a Side Salad & a Vegan Cheeze Pizza with Pineapple (cue the “pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza” haters 😜).
The thing is, Will can’t call it a day without a dessert so we ordered the Vegan Brownie, which comes with cider (alcoholic) berry coulis and vegan vanilla ice cream 😍A very special dessert for The Stable, as they specialise not only in pizzas – but in cider as well.
Key features
Stunning beach view, live music certain days, dog friendly, kids menu, cider tasting
Address: The Stable, Fistral Beach, Headland Rd, Newquay TR7 1H
Belushi’s, Newquay
Continuing the beautiful views theme, this one is a favourite. If you’re lucky enough to sit in one of the booths near the window, you get a stretch of several beaches all along the coast. The most scenic one being Towan Beach that has a house on an isolated cliff, possibly the most photogenic scenery Newquay has to offer.
Each time we’ve been to Belushi’s, they have constantly reworked their menu keeping it fresh and exciting each season. Who knows what they might come up with next? 🤔
We decided to get a messy generous amount of the Hippy Nachos that came with vegan cheeze, guacamole and all the usual good stuff that comes with it. Along with the nachos we ordered Chick’less Louisiana Burger and a side of Cauliflower Wings. The atmosphere was great, the barmen were singing and dancing to every song that came on which kept us entertained until the food arrived. The food was absolutely delicious!
Key features
Stunning beach view, entertaining staff, seasonal menu changes, surf/rock vibe, cocktail menu
Address: Belushi’s, 35 Fore St, Newquay TR7 1HD
The Heron Inn, Malpas
The Heron Inn can be found at a quiet local community, far away from the hectic and busy touristy spots of Cornwall. We pre-booked an outside table and thankfully the weather was perfect for the occasion, overlooking the river where you could see Heron birds flying on the opposite side.
The Heron Inn has a fully dedicated vegan menu with some very interesting choices which we knew ahead of coming there and the reason I wanted to pay them a visit. I ordered the Paella which came with chargrilled vegetables and a side of bread roll because I was super curious to what it might be like, can you believe I’ve never had one before?😱Will went for the Mediterranean Tart, another interesting solid choice. The choice I made was perfect – something so different from the usual vegan burgers and curries. The Paella was full of flavour and for a second there I felt like I was in Spain😄! The Tart tasted very nice with balsamic glaze that really added the flavour, however it was more of a puff-pastry style than a crumbly tart-like texture.
The Heron Inn quickly became one of my favorite spots in Cornwall, it was absolutely calming to sit there and feel the soft summer breeze while eating such flavourful, unique food.
Key features
Separate vegan menu, kids menu, stunning river view, dog friendly
Address: The Heron Inn, Trenhaile Terrace, Malpas, Truro TR1 1SL
Beer & Bird, St Ives
Straight from our visit to St. Michaels Mount we headed to St. Ives, my first time being there! Before exploring the sea front of this beautiful town, we stopped for lunch at Beer & Bird after doing some research that showed us some great vegan options.
There is a section on the menu for vegans & vegetarians which includes 3 burger variations done in 3 ways – Seitan (fried “chicken”), Sweet Potato or Chickpea Patty. We both decided to choose the Seitan option, my husband Will is a big fan of BBQ flavour so he went for the Smokin’ Seitan Burger while I like to turn up the heat and ordered the Raging Seitan Burger that was marked x4 chilis 💪🌶! Along with fries that come with the burgers, we also decided to add a side of Crispy ‘Shrooms because it sounded different, and we like it different!
Once getting my mouth around the burger it wasn’t long until the heat really hit, with Jalapeño poppers, Sriracha slaw and Habanero hot sauce it really came as no surprise. However, even my love for spicy food was not this loving, it was too overpowering and I was soon defeated. Will absolutely loved his choice, and surprisingly enough loved the side of Cripsy ‘Shrooms and mayo dip which left me in shock after his usual disregard for mushrooms – win in my book!
Key features
Unique fried style, vegan milkshakes, portion and price, close to the beach, kids menu, extensive bar
Address: Beer & Bird, 18A Fore St, Saint Ives TR26 1AB
Honourable mention goes out to The Boatyard Cafe in Gweek.
Each visit to Cornwall wouldn’t be complete without getting my fix of seals at Cornish Seal Sanctuary which is usually followed by The Cornish Vegan which at the time was unfortunately still closed due to the pandemic.
With a quick search of the area we stumbled across this little cafe on the lake side just opposite, which currently operates as takeout only at this time. As an Israeli, I have a high standard for Falafel and seeing as their vegan option was a Falafel sandwich (that I had in a panini as they ran out of the usual bread) with Hummus, pickles, tomato and rocket.
I was very delighted with the choice made as it tasted surprisingly great! This is another family run business in a very small and quiet village, they seem to be doing well during their reopening as we were one of several groups waiting for our order at the time of arrival. It was great to see they were doing well in these circumstances!
Address: The Boatyard Cafe, Gweek Boatyard, Helston TR12 6UF
Got room for dessert? 🍰
Make sure you pay a visit to Minkiemoo Bakery in St Columb Major. For Will’s Birthday I treated us to the tastiest vegan cake treats! I had the Snickers flavour and knowing Will, I got him the Triple Chocolate cake and a little extra treat, the Crème Brûlée Croissant. It was all so sweet and seriously delicious, everything is vegan and home-made! 😍
Address: Minkiemoo Bakery, 46 Fore St, St Columb Major, Saint Columb TR9 6AL
Yummy!! everything looks so good!!