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Why is St Ives best restaurant so quiet?

Monday, June 23, 2008



I really like St Ives in Cornwall. I first went there in the 1960s and it's still relatively unspoilt and the stunning quality of the light still attracts numerous artists.


You can still sit in a restaurant on the edge of the sea watching them bring today's fresh catch straight off the boat into the kitchen whilst eating fresh crab and sipping white wine.
The walks along the coastal path are still stunning.


I've just returned from a few days there and I'm puzzled. According to the guides there are about 6 really good restaurants in St Ives. This year and last I've sampled them all - three of them twice. In my opinion , one is outstanding, one is very good, one is good and the others I wouldn't go back to.


Five of the six were busy this year. The outstanding one was quiet. It's not the most expensive and it's not in the worst position.


Here's what a guide has to say about it:


The whole feel of St. Andrews Bistro just sets you up for a good meal. The bohemian selection of Objets d'Art, the antique tables and mismatched chairs, the huge black board reminiscent of the whole gastro pub movement. The candles, the greeting and of course the food. A well thought out menu of modern Brit classics with a hint of the Middle East. What an evocative mixture .
I loved the food there and I loved the ambience even though it was quiet.
If it was in Camberwell it would be famous and packed. It's possible it hasn't got the right product for the St Ives customer but I don't think so. Looking around the Alba (the very good restauarant) you could see and hear people who you thought would love the St Andrews.
No the product is perfectly aligned with the audience and the delivery is superb- what a pity the young guys who are running it do all of that hard stuff so well and don't pay any attention to the easy stuff. A little bit of attention to brand , marketing and promotion would do wonders.
Here's a couple of clues;

1.Of the dozen of so St Ives guides I looked at it gets into two - the other restauarants are in them all.
2.Of the six St Ives restaurants I'm talking about it alone doesn't have a web site- come on guys your sort of customers are going to want check out your website!
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