Porthmeor beach is a blue flag winner, and one of the best beaches in the country. The Porthmeor Beach Café sits on the edge of the beach with open views to the sea. It sits atop the sea wall, overhanging it slightly to give an elevated feeling. This amazing setting sets expectation high for the dining experience. Fortunately, it doesn’t disappoint.
The café name is a bit of a misnomer. While it does have café leanings, with coffee, ice cream and other joys of seaside life, the dinner menu is something else entirely. It is a bit of both, but the best of both worlds.
The menu is from a range of cultures, and includes dishes from around the world, as well as fresh local produce. The two chefs here work hard to keep the menu fresh and lively, and it seems to be working.
The weather was lovely when we dined there so we sat outside on the terrace. The view was amazing, and the atmosphere was almost holiday-like. It was a great start and we hadn’t even ordered yet!
Our starter consisted of chicken involtini and halloumi. The chicken was served with spinach, red peppers and goats cheese. The chicken was rolled perfectly, and tasted great. Everything was fresh and crisp and work very well on the palate. The halloumi was just as light, albeit salty as it should be.
Both starters put us in a very good mood and left us wanting more!
Main course was prawn curry and the special of the day, which was halibut. If it’s possible for prawns to taste fresh while in a curry, these did. The curry was rich, flavourful and smelled lovely. The halibut was served with more halloumi and tasted as good as the curry. I guess we shouldn’t have been surprised at the freshness of the seafood being where we were.
We just had room for dessert, which was a chocolate pot and a crème caramel. The chocolate pot was served warm with a gooey centre and Cornish clotted cream on the side. The crème caramel was also served warm and came with a delicious orange shortbread.
Our meal at the Porthmeor Beach Café was superb. The dinner menu is far from cafe fare and I would recommend it to anyone in the area.
The Bill: £27 per head
