Alba Restaurant

House in the former Lifeboat House, the restaurant takes its name appropriately enough from the SS Alba which went down off St Ives in 1938, and whose boiler may still be seen at low tide. Two local lifeboatmen were lost in the rescue, a grim foretaste of what was to happen the following year when the Coxswain and six crew members were lost in another incident at sea. Now the old lifeboat house has been converted and is cashing in on "the Tate effect" and any other effect that comes along and helps Cornwall to make economic sense of itself.

The cooking owes something to Italy and an awful lot to the surrounding sea which yields first class ingredients straight off the boats with a freshness that most, ironically enough, have never had the good fortune to taste until they venture into somewhere like Alba and savour such delights as line-caught seabass with baby fennel, girolles and a langoustine broth. Italy may emerge through a dish like grappa pannacotta served with roast strawberries. The wine list also has plenty of interest at prices that that will not cause you to seek shelter from the financial storm, with house wines starting at £11.50. It's a pleasant place to dine, full of memories, modern art and with stunning views out to sea.