Cool Place of the Day: Rick Stein Porthleven, Cornwall

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

Rick Stein, Porthleven (davidgriffen.co.uk)

Just to prove there is more to Cornwall than Padstow, Rick Stein has taken his restaurant chain down to picturesque Porthleven, where locals must be pleased they don't have to schlep all the way to the north coast any longer to enjoy some of the county's best fish and seafood.

Porthleven itself is a historic former tin-mining port with a deep, sizeable harbour and salty, workaday air. Its broad bay is home to a fabulous beach, and these days the town is something of a foodie hub in its own right, with an annual food festival and lots of good places to eat and drink. Stein’s restaurant adheres to the group's usual formula – using great local ingredients, put together with some skill and style with a nod to international influences, and served in a cool and contemporary environment, in this case right on the harbour front.

The schtick here is a good one, with lots of tapas-style sharing dishes – grilled sardines, lemon sole goujons, Thai fish cakes – or a short menu of pricier mains if you want the more traditional restaurant experience. And until 3 July the restaurant is indulging in a full-on celebration of local lobsters, with not only a selection of fab lobster dishes on the menu but also Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve NV champagne at half-price – £35 a bottle. We reckon that alone is worth the trip from Padstow.

Cool Places is a new 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).