The name doesn’t lie – the Cabin Café, by the beach at Perranuthnoe, is indeed just a cabin. It’s not, as is fairly common in Cornwall, a case of a restaurant trying to inject some laid-back beach vibes into its name (The Beach Hut at Watergate Bay, say, or the Porthminster Beach Café in St Ives…). This is a common or garden wooden shed with a hatch, and a handful of picnic tables and garden chairs alongside – no pretension, no silly prices, no rain cover.
But against the odds, it just happens to be serving some of Cornwall’s best beach food – and, after years of word-of-mouth recommendations, I finally made it over there for lunch. Along with no shortage of others…
The menu Deceptively varied for a garden shed: soups, cakes, dhal & naan bread, Middle Eastern food, as well as lollies, hot chocolates, teas & cakes.
The look Cabin; blackboard; lovely sea views.
The bill Hummous and salad pitta £3; large slab of cake £1.50; tea/coffee £1
The highs Excellent, from-scratch food at incredibly sensible prices (the hand-crafted pitta was in a different league to the shop-bought version); friendly, on-the-ball service; neat takeaway packaging (a simple white paper box and wooden disposable knife and fork).
The lows I had to queue five minutes, then wait 15 minutes for our food, which wasn’t ideal for a quick beach takeout. But, what with everyone getting overexcited about the first sunny weekend of the year and the total kitchen surface area being about the size of Gordon Ramsey’s cooker, no reasonable complaints can be made here. Expensive carpark next door (£3 per stay, any stay).
The location 20 metres from the beach at Perranuthnoe, nr Praa Sands; note that the sand and pebble beach is tidal.
The Cabin applied for planning permission earlier this year to demolish the cabin and rebuild as a restaurant – a request which met with some opposition in the village. You can follow the debate on the local blog here.
I have to say I like the Cabin just as it is. Cornwall has a lot of beach restaurants but it has scarcely any places serving food this good in a casual, affordable way.
Perranuthnoe Beach, Cornwall TR20 9NE (07907 691639). www.peppercornkitchen.co.uk
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June 7, 2010 at 10:05 am
ismay atkins
Thanks for the update Jenny & Lisa. Look forward to trying the new incarnation of the Cabin!
June 7, 2010 at 9:58 am
Jenni
Hi tregothnan- sur-fal,
This is to let you know that The Cabin at Perranuthnoe is not to close- it is being taken back by the original owner who plans to redevelop it at some stage.
Meanwhile Jenni and Lisa have been offered the opportunity to have their own cafe – Peppercorn Kitchen Cafe -built about 100yards up the road at Lynfield Yard.
The build has started and should be ready by the end of September-ish (our website will have all the news as it happens! – peppercornkitchen.co.uk) and will have both indoor and outdoor seating.
Until then we’ll be providing a slightly modified but nonetheless delicious menu from a trestle table beneath a very large umbrella in the yard!
We leave The Cabin on June 20th and open in Lynfield yard on June 26th.
There will be tables available for customers to sit at, and of course all our food and drinks are available to take away in our biodegradable containers.Picnics and take aways can be ordered in advance if required.
We always aim to make as much of our own produce as we can and to source locally wherever possible. We always have vegetarian and gluten free foods on the menu and also provide a catering service for functions within Cornwall.
We are also soon to be selling our spice blends online or from our cafe (look out for Peppercorn Kitchen Spice).
We look forward to seeing old customers and new!
We can be contacted via the website or by telephoning us on 07907 691639.
love Jenni and Lisa
May 31, 2010 at 12:04 pm
tregothnan-sur-fal « pasties + cream cornwall blog
[…] a similar note, I heard that the wonderful cabin at Perranuthnoe, previously featured on pasties & cream, is to be closed and replaced with – you guessed it – a beach restaurant. […]