Food Review: Mount Haven Hotel, Marazion, Nr Penzance

Lunch with a view at Mount Haven

Just a few miles outside of Penzance in Cornwall is Marazion. It’s a picturesque village with views out to St Michael’s Mount, which is joined to the coast by a narrow causeway. If you want to see the sights, but in a more relaxed way, then follow us to Mount Haven Hotel for lunch with a view.

The cloud hadn’t cleared by lunch, but that didn’t stop us taking our seats outside on the terrace, with a Cornish beer of course (They had a selection of beers we hadn’t tried before)!

The St Austell Baobab beer is inspired by The Eden Project in Cornwall. A refreshing wheat beer which despite being brewed with baobab isn’t tart or citric but has a more typical banana aroma and taste.

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Food

Porthilly oyster & potato tempura, seaweed tartare (£3.50). If the thought of raw oyster doesn’t grab you have you ever considered tempura oyster? We actually both prefer oysters when cooked and we also both love tempura so this was a double-win really! The tempura was excellent, crisp and well-executed and the oyster tasted great too. FYI Porthilly is opposite Padstow on the north Cornish coast.

Smoked mackerel doughnuts, crème fraiche & avruga caviar (£4.50). These sweet and savoury canapé-size morsels were soft and light but surprisingly not too fishy.
Salt & Pepper squid, radish, chilli, coriander, lemongrass and kaffir lime (£7.50). With a potent dose of chilli, lemongrass and coriander mixed with the freshness of the lime, this was full of flavour. We love deep-fried squid/calamari and this was a fine example. Cooked correctly so it wasn’t overly chewy or rubbery. Squid dishes often don’t have much contrasting textures, but some radish had been added here for crunch, which is fairly neutral tasting so didn’t detract from the main flavours.

Mr Foodie had to wash down the spicy squid with another beer, this time a Eureka APA, again from nearby St. Austell, which is a dry, light, mildly bitter American pale ale with a pleasant tangerine aroma.

I picked the crab sandwich. Fresh crab on fluffy bread served with brown crab mayonnaise.

This was the best crab sandwich I’ve ever had – really! So soft and not overpowering. I could add as much or as little of the stronger brown meat as I wanted. I’m sure this sandwich would convince a non-crab eater to love it.

Dessert

We had time and room to share a pudding so opted for the roasted pears, molasses sponge, milk jam, soda bread ice cream, chocolate granola, yeast caramel, whey (£8). I must admit that it looks a bit unusual, but had all the constituents of a satisfying dessert – delicious ripe pear, soft sponge, ice cream, chocolate and sweetness. Mmm!

The verdict

Service was friendly, swift and helpful. The unisex toilet clean and well presented, however there seemed to be only one, or only one which I and others noticed beside the bar and restaurant so there was a small queue!

The terrace at Mount Haven Hotel is surely the place to sit for a leisurely lunch if you are in the area. Delicious fresh food and an astounding view. The town of Marazion also looked pretty and surprisingly lively so it’s a shame we didn’t stay for longer. Mount Haven is also a hotel and possibly offers the best views of any in the area should you wish to stay! Ample parking is available in a private car park. Note that some of the parking is on the hill above the hotel/restaurant.

Ross Sloan’s set menu is available for lunch and dinner, 12-2pm and 6-9pm, priced at £20 for 2 courses, and £25 for 3 courses.

TL;DR

+ The quality of the food
+ Good drinks selection
+ Superb view
+ Polite staff

– More toilets at the bar/restaurant would be beneficial