Cool Place of the Day: Tolcarne Inn, Cornwall

Every day, a new place to discover or explore from coolplaces.co.uk

Food festival season is almost upon us, and there’s one big foodie event that is authentic through and through: the Newlyn Fish Festival, which takes place in this undeniably fishy town on Bank Holiday Monday.

It’s a great, if crowded, time to come, but whenever you visit Newlyn be sure to stop at the Tolcarne Inn, where local celeb chef Ben Tunnicliffe presides over a cosy pub that just happens to serve delectable, affordable seafood sourced from the fish market on the doorstep.

The menu changes daily – what’s on the blackboard is what’s been landed by Newlyn’s fishermen – and if you’re not into seafood it’s not the place for you (although other dietary requirements can be catered for if you contact the pub in advance). The menu is concise (there were just four mains when we last visited), which means you don’t waste too much time making a choice and you can rest assured that every ingredient comes freshly cooked.

There’s no separate kids’ menu but all dishes can be served half-size for half the price. With live jazz on Sundays, real ales on tap and a log fire, this is also the perfect place to stop off while walking the easy stretch of coast path between Penzance and Mousehole. It’s just a shame that it can’t cash in on the sea views as it’s tucked behind the harbour wall.

Cool Places is a website from the creators of Rough Guides and Cool Camping, suggesting the best places to stay, eat, drink and shop in Britain (coolplaces.co.uk)