M. Attard (2 September 2009)

It is a superb restaurant that we stumbled upon one evening. I think it’s one of the best in St Ives and has a set menu which offers incredible value for money. The variety of food is very good and service is attentive. We went for the set menu which had a very good choice but the regular menu looked appealing as well. The staff were very good with children. Thanks for a nice evening out.

Lee M (11 April 2009)

After looking for somewhere to eat in St Ives on Good Friday we stumbled upon this restaurant tucked away in the cobbled streets near the sea front. From the front aspect the restaurant seemed quiet as there was only one visible table full of diners and the staff stood by the bar chatting. Upon entering I had to engage in a conversation with a waitress - normally the other way around! After asking if we could have a table for two and informing her we hadn’t booked after she asked, we were shown around to the other room 'out the back' if we gave the table back by 20:30. There were a few tables of families and children who were all casually dressed and seeing as I was in an informal polo shirt and jeans I can see why we were marched into the back room out of sight from passing trade. The back room was light, airy and relaxed with over priced blue pictures all around. The canvases were available to buy from £120 and for a 5"x5" little picture with splashes of blue paint it seemed a little over the top - granted it was being displayed by a local artist and therefore nothing really to do with The Wave - but still a lot of money to part for not much.

The waitress arrived with menus and I ordered a beer - my partner ordered what was in the menu as a 'pago juice' and the waitress obliged and took the orders. One minute later she popped back to inform us that there was a choice of the type of juice she wanted - something that should have been asked at the time of order. I am not a fan of fish and have never ordered fish from a restaurant first - but hearing good things about the restaurant and locally sourced produce I opted for sardines with rosemary and red onions for starters and Parmesan crusted haddock fillet of the 2 course set menu. My partner ordered the Thai duck fishcakes and artichoke tagliatelle again off the set menu. Upon ordering my main I asked the waitress what the haddock came with and I got a blank expression. I asked her if it comes with any carbohydrates and again I got a blank look - maybe my Bristolian accent had something to do with this - so I ordered a portion of mixed vegetables just in case I just got a plate of fish and nothing else! My sardines were perfectly cooked and melted in the mouth and the garnish salad was dressed well. I was not however overly convinced how well rosemary and fish go together though as the flavours didn’t seem to work - but I’m not a chef and no expert however on the whole the sardines were very good. That cannot be said however for my partners Thai fishcakes - I did try some and the texture was quite rubbery and no flavour of the mentioned 'Thai' variety - in fact there was not much a taste of duck either.

The mains however were a different story and served to a very high standard. I had reservations on how well two distinct flavours of chorizo and haddock would go and they worked perfectly together and produced a fantastic main course. The tagliatelle looked great and I am reliably informed that it definitely made up for the disappointing Thai duck fishcakes. Two of us ate the 2 course early dinner set menu and two rounds of drinks and came to £40. I was pleasantly surprised at the price as I was expecting a lot more for a 1 star rosette restaurant. The a la-carte menu however was a little heavier on the wallet and I don’t think I would be going back to sample that menu. On whole, the service was disappointing, the venue was great, the location was fantastic and minus the Thai fishcakes the food was very good.