At dinnertime, we often found ourselves at St. Eia, a wine bar featuring small plates of fresh local fish and produce. Named for the town’s patron saint, a fifth-century Irish princess said to have sailed across the sea on a leaf, St. Eia is owned by Eleanor Vening and her husband, Mark Quick, who grew up in St. Ives. The pair, who spent a decade working in restaurants in London before opening St. Eia in 2021, met when Eleanor’s family purchased a vacation home there two decades ago.
Most restaurants line Fore Street, a quick walk from Porthmeor Beach, and Wharf Road, which faces St. Ives Harbor. Wharf Road is clogged with pedestrians in the summer, many drinking pints in front of the Sloop Inn, believed to date from 1312. Still, the town’s harbor can make for a scenic stroll, particularly at low tide, when the water almost completely recedes, leaving boats marooned and enabling long walks over what was, hours earlier, the sea bottom.