Blue Fish - St Ives

The Blue Fish is a fairly recent opening in St Ives, and has quickly established itself as one of the leading fish restaurants on Cape Cornwall. Incredible how ingenious people can become when faced by a buoyant economy and changes in trade, in this case the falling off of the fishing industry, leaving large, spacious fish net lofts looking for a new purpose in life.

Skilfully renovated beyond any hint of what they may have been, these same spaces house a marble bar, fresh flowers within an elegance that combines Cornish charm and Mediterranean chic.

Chef/Proprietor Dino Opificius regards seafood as his speciality, so no surprises when the menu kicks off with scallops wrapped in Parma ham, baked with cognac, cream and Parmesan, or moules marinière steamed in cream, tarragon and Italian parsley.

The luxury shellfish platter for two offers a whole lobster, giant prawns, crevettes, tiger tail prawns, scallops oysters, clams, cockles, calamari, mussels and crab, roasted in lemon, garlic, vermouth and tomato pesto. A traditional Valencian paella for two draws on bacon, chorizo, monkfish, mussels, prawns. Clams, calamari and scallops and contains that right degree of moistness which a good paella must have. Cornish sea bass fillets, crab crusted are served with a red rouille.

Nor are the determined carnivores overlooked and an 8oz fillet steak is topped with a breaded Dolcelatte crouton and a pink peppercorn and Madeira sauce.

The bread and butter pudding sacrifices tradition by the addition of hot toffee sauce and ice cream, and you can be sure that Cornish Yarg will be on the cheese board.

Some agreeable surprises grace the global wine list with a Puligny Montrachet Latour 1998 amongst the Burgundies, and a 1996 Chateau Leoville-Barton St Julien chasing a 1995 Mouton Rothschild for most interesting of the Bordeaux.