St Ives is an easy place to build a holiday around food. Fresh seafood, Cornish pasties, pubs, cafés and restaurants with Atlantic views give you plenty of reasons to take long lunch breaks between beaches and galleries.
Start with seafood
With a working harbour and the sea surrounding much of the town, seafood is an obvious choice. Look for locally landed fish and shellfish on menus and do not assume the restaurant with the biggest sea view is automatically the most interesting.
Sometimes a smaller place one street back is exactly what you want.
Have a Cornish pasty
You cannot spend much time in Cornwall without encountering pasties. They make an excellent portable lunch if you are heading to the beach or setting off on a coastal walk.
Just keep an eye on the gulls. They are considerably more confident around food than many first-time visitors expect.
Cream tea in Cornwall
A traditional cream tea is another classic. In Cornwall, the usual approach is jam first and clotted cream on top. Whether you consider that an important cultural rule or simply an excuse to eat more cream is up to you.
Pubs and evening meals
St Ives has traditional pubs as well as contemporary restaurants and bars. In summer, popular places can become very busy, so booking dinner ahead can be sensible if you have somewhere specific in mind.
Eat with the day, not the clock
My ideal St Ives food day would be simple: coffee near the harbour, a pasty for lunch, something sweet in the afternoon and seafood in the evening.
Do not spend the whole trip chasing famous restaurants. Part of the pleasure here is finding somewhere because you happened to walk past it while hungry after a day by the sea.