[Disclosure: We were invited for a complimentary dinner at The Rosevine for the purposes of this blog]
You don’t have to go far in Cornwall to find decent places to eat, they’re pretty much everywhere you turn. Which means plenty can slip through the net. Especially if they happen to sit a stone’s throw from one of the big names in the area. The Hidden Hut on Porthcurnick Beach pops up on pretty much every list of beachside venues to visit, with tickets for its feast nights selling quicker than Glastonbury.
But just a few steps up the lane sits The Rosevine, a boutique hotel and restaurant with glorious grounds and views down to the beach and beyond. You could be forgiven for walking right past, as we have time and time again. But duck in through the entrance and you’ll find yourself in its extensive grounds, gazing up to the Georgian family house that’s been transformed into a seaside bolthole.
We visit for dinner, but as we wander up through the gardens it’s easy to imagine staying here, lazing around on one of its loungers, the sound of the waves in the background and sweet floral fragrances from the flower beds in the air. If we were to stay, it’s the right kind of place for us – an apart-hotel with 15 apartments and studios, as well as a four-bedroom self-catering house for bigger groups.
There’s an indoor swimming pool if sea swims aren’t your thing, as well as a drawing room to relax in and a children’s play area making it family-friendly too. It’s dog friendly too. The perfect coastal retreat in the best of spots.
Even if you can’t stay, you can soak up the Rosevine vibes from its dining room. An inside-outside spot with picture windows looking out over those gardens down to the sea. The menu has broad appeal – a ‘something for everyone’ mix with local produce, including seafood, the star of the show. We can take the dogs into the restaurant, though you don’t get front row seats by the window, but they’re big enough to still soak up the views from further back.
Service is relaxed and friendly, as is the atmosphere. Soon after our arrival, the dogs are settled under the table and we’re getting started on a nice bottle of rose with some fresh bread and a quenelle of fragrant basil butter.
Our visit is towards the end of summer, so dishes are a mix of light, fresh flavours and a few more hearty choices. My starter of burrata with tomato and basil is clean and bright. Yes, the tomatoes aren’t quite up there with those ones you get in the Med, but they’re fat and juicy. The burrata is all the sensual creaminess it should be, and the basil adds a pop of flavour.
A bowl of steaming mussels somehow escape a picture – perhaps because they’re pretty darn good. A departure from the classic Moules Mariniere, the broth pepped up with a curry flavour and more of the herbs that are becoming a running theme of our meal, not that anyone is complaining. It’s light and fresh, but warming and moreish.
I stick with the fishy theme for main course, opting for hake with tomato sauce and gnocchi. The fish is well cooked, the gnocchi not quite as life-changing as the stuff you get in Italy, but it’s got a rustic, wholesome feel that hits the spot.
Jamie has steak which is decent quality and the chips are up with the better ones out there, their crunch the kind that makes you close your eyes in delight, then keep them closed for that light fluffiness inside. They’re enough to make me wish I’d ordered the steak – or the half lobster I spot on the table next to us that apparently you have to order 24 hours in advance if you fancy. But handy to know for next time I go, providing it comes with those chips.
As we eat, the vista turns from a watercolour view of sky-meets-sea, frames by flowers and foliage into a more dramatic nightscape that’s enough to tempt us into the gardens to soak up the setting. There, the view back up to the Rosevine is a pretty magical one too, the gardens bathed in the warm light from the dining room and the silence punctuated by the odd sound of people having a good time, from the pop of corks to laughter and chatter.
We’re too full for dessert, but decide that’s okay because we’ll probably be back at some point. The food’s pretty good, it has to be said, but the setting is the icing on the cake, and it’s quite simply stunning. So whether it’s a bit of lunch, dinner, drinks on the terrace, or a cosy coastal break, this could be the place you’re looking for. And certainly not somewhere you should walk past without popping in.
