Falmouth Food

Presenting the first in an occasional guide to eating out. And we’re not talking post-pub kebabs. This is cuisine, mes amis.

Food With A View

Though I am sure there are in Falmouth many fine restaurants, the only one I can recommend by experience is the Harbour View Café situated on Arwenack Street.
The Harbour View provides all the usual café food - jacket potatoes, baguettes, sandwiches, soup, etc. It is worth visiting for the homemade cakes alone, but it is the vegetarian breakfast that is the piece de la resistance, seeing as they have actually considered their herbivorous customers and have provided a non meat alternative, rather than simply skimping on the bacon. The portions are gastronomically enormous, such that they would render even an American tourist comatose.
This is your traditional English at its best, without the greasy spoon, and if you sit outside on the patio, recommended for the view, you will be shaded by an umbrella so vast that it could transport an entire family, Mary Poppins style, although that patio is a windy place to be in the winter.
I must say the only disappointment I have had there was when the sugar dispenser, which on previous visits had been a ‘turn upside down and release a spoonfuls worth’ job, turned out not to have this marvellous adornment. This is not strictly a criticism however, as on this visit, my cup did indeed overfloweth.
Vanessa Hiller.

Feeling Blue?

My typical Saturday morning is one of ritual. I collect my newspaper, usually a suitably large broadsheet to hide behind, and head into Blue South with a friend or two for a cup of well brewed earl grey tea (black please, one sugar).
From the outside Blue South invites one inside, with chalk boards outside letting passers by know just what they are missing if their feet don’t carry them inside. Not only the perfect atmosphere for a Saturday morning cuppa, Blue, as it’s colloquially known, also serves up a diverse menu of various delights. The house burger, the Blue Burger, is recognized throughout Falmouth for its quality and also its quantity.
If you feel the need for a good feed and crave something a little more exotic then Blue South delivers here too. With such a variety of dishes, from pork and leek sausages with mash, red current jelly and onion marmalade to Thai red fishcakes with the best sweet chilli sauce in town on the menu, you’re guaranteed to find the perfect stomach pleaser.
From time to time you can find large groups of students propping up the bar causing all kinds of congestion whilst queuing for the premium sofas to watch the world go by. You have been warned.
Blue South. 35-37 Arwenack Street, Falmouth.
Sara Morris

The Boathouse

Looking for a reasonably priced bite in a unique location? Try The Boathouse, situated at the very top of the High Street on Trevethan Hill. Revitalised with a new chef (formerly of the excellent Hunky Dory restaurant), it offers a wide range of home made and local produce (including freshly caught fish) and several vegetarian options. Eating at The Boathouse, you can expect straightforward and wholesome grub in a modern and friendly atmosphere. Food is available every night of the week between 6:30 and 9:30, and throughout the weekend, including a very filling Sunday roast. There is no Sunday evening menu, as a live jam night takes center stage, but after eating the roast dinner, you won't need feeding for at least a couple of days. In the summer months, the balcony area and it's panoramic views of the bay compliment the excellent service and cold beers. Tel. 01326 315425.
David Preece

© Substance Magazine 2005