Newlyn on a plate
A former Michelin-starred chef, Ben Tunnicliffe is cooking up a storm at the wonderful Tolcarne Inn, just a stone’s throw from Newlyn harbour, where some of Britain’s best seafood is landed daily.
The Tolcarne Inn is a cracking pub. Just a stone’s throw from Newlyn harbour, it was a bit of a down-at-heel fishermen’s haunt until it was taken over by the energetic Ben Tunnicliffe, a local food hero who held a Michelin star for five years while he was chef at the Abbey, just down the road in Penzance.
Ben worked so hard during the refurbishment in the summer of 2012 that he lost a stone, but it was worth it. When the pub reopened, it was lighter, brighter and generally fresher, but still cosy and with bags of character. And Newlyn at last had what it sorely needed: a cheerful place that could do justice to the superb seafood being landed daily on its fish market.
Refreshingly down to earth, Ben has always been adamant that the Tolcarne Inn would stay a proper pub, not some kind of exclusive gastro experience. He’s had plenty of experience of that. After the Abbey, he set up and ran the kitchen at the no-expense-spared, “grown-ups only” Scarlet Hotel in Mawgan Porth. But now he’s turned his back on “fine dining”, which he thinks has “had its day”.
At the Tolcarne Inn, the food is simply chalked up on a blackboard, but it’s no less enticing for that. When we visited, choices included fillet of mackerel, kohlrabi remoulade, orange and fennel salad; pan-fried jumbo plaice, king oyster mushrooms, samphire, vermouth and capers; roast fillet of cod, Newlyn crab, new potatoes, spring onions and sauce vierge; and ray wing, cavelo nero, smoked bacon, pink fir apple potatoes and parsley.
Ben prepares his menus every morning based on his choice of the latest landings, so his food is always seasonal and local. It’s always spot on too. He has such a sure touch with seafood, which is firmly the house speciality: there are plenty of satisfyingly big and bold flavours here, but always with plenty of freshness too so they’re never heavy. And he’s very hands-on. He splits his time in the kitchen with one other chef, so it’s either him cooking or his right-hand man. The prices for this kind of quality and experience are a steal.
As you would expect from a good pub, the hand-pumped beer is excellent, including such local stalwarts as St Austell’s Tribute and Skinners’ Betty Stoggs. There’s a pleasant buzz: it’s always reassuringly busy, with plenty of locals. And outside there’s a nice terrace, with plans to install a raised deck, which would give a view over the sea wall right the way across the bay to St Michael’s Mount.
Looking further ahead, Ben has dreams of creating a string of eateries with the same philosophy as the Tolcarne Inn right the way round this beautiful sweeping bay. What a treat that would be. But with other local gems such as Ben’s Cornish Kitchen in nearby Marazion, the Lost and Found Fish popup in Penzance and 2 Fore Street in Mousehole, there’s plenty to satisfy the holidaying (or resident) foodie here already.
