Porthminster Beach Cafe — Restaurant in Great Britain

We booked lunch in advance, as we always do, since our son is non-verbal autistic and sensitive to noise. The restaurant was told, and to their credit, we were seated in a good terraced spot with a beautiful view of the beach. A lovely start, and the waiter who served us was polite and friendly.

The menu looked lavish, the starters arrived promptly. Bread and three oysters, nothing complex, but fine. So far, so good. Then came the mains… or rather, then didn’t come the mains. We waited an hour. Yes, an hour. During that time, we watched other tables who had arrived after us sail through their orders, plates appearing as though by magic. One couple even managed to change tables three times and were eating dessert before our mains touched the table.

When we politely asked about the delay (three times, no less), the excuse offered was almost laughable: “We didn’t want to rush you.” Really? Sitting at an empty table for sixty minutes while everyone else eats looks suspiciously less like fine dining and more like being forgotten.

Having managed restaurants myself for ten years, I can make a fair guess at what happened. Our mains ticket was never opened when we finished our starters. It sat there on hold, unnoticed, until we reminded them again and again. Only then did the kitchen start cooking. Mistakes happen. They happen in every restaurant. As a business owner myself, I can appreciate human error. What I cannot excuse is the distortion of truth. Offering a flimsy line instead of an honest admission is, frankly, insulting. It treats your customer as if they are unintelligent. In my own business, if my staff tried to fob clients off with such excuses, I would lose those clients. Simple as that.

This is also where management should step in. When you take a booking, and a customer advises that someone in their party has additional needs, it is down to management — or whoever handles bookings — to make sure the team is briefed and prepared. The same way you’d pass on an allergy note, because if you failed to follow procedure, you’d be sued. Why should it be any different when it comes to a child with autism, where a long delay could trigger a meltdown? The duty of care should be equal.

Thankfully, our son held it together and didn’t melt down, which was our biggest worry. We weren’t rude, but by the third reminder, we were annoyed and frustrated. We don’t want special treatment, just to be served like everyone else. And here’s the kicker: the restaurant wasn’t even busy.

When the food finally arrived, it was… fine. Pretty enough for Instagram, but taste-wise? We’ve had better. Attractive dishes, average flavours. The star of the show was the view, not the kitchen.

We did get an apology, but no acknowledgment of the real mistake. No offer of goodwill either, which we weren’t expecting, but some honesty would have been refreshing. Is it really so hard to say, “Sorry, we messed up”?

So here’s the truth: if you’re going for the scenery, by all means book a table. The setting is stunning. If you’re going for the food and service, lower your expectations. And if you’re dining with someone who cannot wait an hour for a main course, approach with caution.

Porthminster Beach Café photographs far better than...

What has happened?!

My partners family and I visit St Ives every year in April and historically Portminster Cafe is the first place we book to visit. When people ask me what my favourite restaurants are, this is well and truly up there.

However, this year was miles off. From the moment I sat down I knew something had changed simply by looking at the menu, far fewer options and much more uninspiring. The waitress then came over to take our drinks order and informed us that they have a new chef and suddenly it made sense. We tried to order a bottle of Champagne only to be told minutes later that they no longer sell it.. well why is it still on the menu then? Where has the attention to detail gone? We were then left with 2 options for sparkling, Prosecco (Overpriced) or an £85 bottle of Pol Roger. Again, a bit strange, where's the middle ground?

Onto the food, the staple of this restaurant is the 'Monkfish Curry', however when we sat down all we found was 'Fish Curry'. We had to ask if it had changed and what fish was in it. We were told, it's still the same dish but the fish sometimes varies depending on what they can source, tonight was Monkfish and Hake. Okay, that's fine but again, you need to tell people what's in it.

Two of our party had the Asparagus to start and said it was nice, 3 of us had the curry fishcakes, they were mushy and the dish as a whole was bland and tasteless. I had fishcakes the previous night at the Carbis Bay hotel which were out of this world compared to these. The 'Fish Curries' came and let me tell you they were not the same as previous. Completely lacking quantity of sauce to be a curry, rice just plonked on the plate, and the curry sauce was watery and absolutely tasteless! I presume this was the same curry sauce used in the fishcake starter. One of our party had Fish and Chips which looked very sorry for itself and at £26 for fish and chips is just a rip off. Having felt utterly underwhelmed and ripped off to this point, we left desserts and asked for the bill. Furthermore, later that night 3 of us had very upset stomachs and struggled to sleep.

My partners parents have been coming to this restaurant for two decades and are now reluctant to return next year and I feel the same way. They did eat at Porthminster Kitchen later in the week (sister restaurant) and thoroughly enjoyed it however.

I'm not sure whether it is a new chef finding their feet, or the restaurant trying to cut costs (absolutely can not at the prices charged), but something needs to change quickly at Porthminster Cafe before they drive...

UPDATE: Forget this place. We had a wonderful wedding dinner at The Loft St Ives instead, where the fun and welcoming owners were so accommodating and kind to our small wedding party. There are so many great restaurants in St Ives; I would highly recommend giving them your money at an important time, rather than supporting a business which seems to treat customers and other restauratuers in the town with indifference. I'm really sad to say they've let us down with some poor customer service. I'm told the owners are known for being rather self-important, which certainly came across to us. We always used to make a pilgrimage to the restaurant because it once held a special place in our hearts. Last year we visited to toast the fact we'd got engaged so we decided to ask whether they would accommodate ten guests for our wedding dinner this December. They replied saying they don't usually cater to larger groups but they would get back to us. They didn't. In fact, we were completely ignored for weeks in spite of many emails and calls and my poor fiancé started to feel rather sad and disappointed; not just because we couldn't celebrate in a special place but also because the owners or management were seemingly so neglectful towards two loyal customers. There's no reason a busy restaurant should necessarily wish to cater for large groups and we totally accept that the cafe didn't feel able to accommodate us but a kind reply would have been both considerate and professional. Best customer care would have been to say something along the lines: "We're very sorry but we cannot accommodate your wedding lunch but we'd love to invite you both for dinner following the wedding day if you're staying in St Ives so you can celebrate your happy day." A complimentary glass of prosecco would be a smart touch but hey no freebies necessary, just a polite acknowledgment. I feel put out that I promoted the restaurant many times on social media and trusted that my partner would be treated with a degree of professional attention, politeness and respect. I hope our poor experience is down to a busy summer rather than arrogance or bad attitude, though our impression of the restaurant has for now...