Places to eat in Newquay

There are some incredible fish and seafood restaurants in Newquay where the catch of the day makes its way from the harbour to your plate in next to no time. The Fish House Fistral on Fistral Beach is one of our favourites. The head chef cooked for Rick Stein for over a decade in Padstow. The irony is that his Newquay restaurant is next door to Rick Stein’s Fistral – which is well worth checking out if you want some top-end fish and chips.

What might surprise you, though, is the range of other cuisines available for you to tuck into in the surfing capital of the south-west. If it’s Italian you fancy, then Little Italy on Tower Road is a good shout. It might not look like much from the outside, but inside you’ll get some of the nicest pizzas in Newquay. That’s definitely not to say that they’re a fast food joint, though – everything is made fresh to order and their specials are written up on the board every day.

Sometimes when celebrity chefs put their names to restaurants, it can all be a bit for show and you pay more for relative mediocrity. We’re glad that that’s not the case with Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen. The views across Watergate Bay are tough to beat, the restaurant’s stylish, and the food is very, very good. Every day, the head chef concocts a menu from the fresh ingredients that come to his kitchen, so we can’t really give recommendations, but it’s always guaranteed to be delicious.

If you’re looking for something a little different, make your way to Bush Pepper – an Australian-inspired restaurant that combines the finest ingredients from our county with exotic options, such as kangaroo sausages and crocodile meat. There’s nothing to be afraid of though; it tastes great!

To find out more about the best restaurants in Newquay, visit our dedicated page.

In a lovely spot just up from Newquay harbour is Café Cloud. You can sit back and relax amidst their vintage decor, enjoy cream tea from their china tea sets and watch the world go by. If you’re hungry, their all-day breakfasts and cakes are sure to hit the spot – we’ve got a serious soft spot for the fresh waffles though.

With a name like The Cod End Fish & Chip Shop, there are no prizes for guessing what kind of cuisine you can tuck into here. This fish and chip shop is one of our favourites in Newquay. Portions are hefty, the fish is fresh from the harbour and the prices are decent. Plus, they serve Doombar, so you can wash your meal down with a good swill of Cornish ale.

On the other side of the river, in Crantock, The Cosy Nook Café is worth a visit. People have been coming to this little village tearoom from the town centre for over 100 years. You can take your pick from guilty little pleasures, such as handmade scones, to great big slap-up breakfasts. We heartily recommend the eggs Benedict. And we suppose we ought to tell all you chocoholics out there that the owners reckon they’ve got the best hot chocolate in Cornwall. We guess there’s only one way for you to find out...

Other honourable mentions go to Sea Spray, who’ve set up shop on the south end of Fistral Beach. The coffee’s almost as good as the view; meanwhile, they have a menu that ranges from granola yogurt breakfasts to Goan fish curry. And we can’t forget about Fern Pit Café on the Pentire headland, where you can enjoy a cream tea on the sun-facing terraced gardens that overlook Crantock Beach. It’s also home to what we think are the best crab sandwiches in Newquay.