Revival Restaurant

New times, new uses for old places. So when spare space became available in the Rashleigh Fishery it was not long before a restaurant was installed, looking out over the square rig sailing ships, often glimpsed in period films. St Austell is on the fringe of the lunar landscape created by the extraction of china clay, but nowadays with the revived economy in Cornwall headed up by the Eden Project, those places that survived the wasting of the land are doubly significant.

Sat amongst the evidence of past industry, one surveys a menu that covers a multitude of culinary endeavour, starting with a tomato and mozzarella pizza, works its way through half a kilo of Cornish mussels cooked in chorizo, garlic, red onion and tomato concasse, though that is not something everyone would wish to do to Cornish mussels.

Main courses of roast fillet of cod, pan-fried John Dory or sea-bass, and grilled fillet of beef or roasted breast of guinea fowl are all popular dishes and come with a good array of traditional vegetables. The Cornish take - and make - their cheese quite seriously and Revival has a good selection to appear with the hot chocolate fondant and Christmas pudding ice cream with white chocolate sauce.

All this largesse arrives in helpings that would bring gladness to the heart of a Cornish miner and there is a good range of wines, beers and champagne from which to choose.