Counter Culture

Chef Ben Harrison spent his formative years with Marco Pierre White, and went on to cultivate his own style while working in private service, away from the glare of the UK food scene. Now he is cooking in Cornwall, offering diners a relaxed small-plates experience that marries Basque-inspired cuisine with modern British ways – a dynamic reflection of seasonal produce and his own creative flair. 

Counter Culture is deliberately informal: the room is stripped back, rustic and split in two, with a bar on one side serving mostly organic and orange wines as well as organic real ales from nearby Atlantic Brewery. On the other side is a small dining room, looking onto the kitchen pass – with further seating outside, on the street.

Expect a playful and inventive approach to familiar ingredients, with the focus on bold, clean flavours presented with understated elegance. Exquisitely prepared pintxos might feature delightfully tangy Cornish rarebit and mushroom duxelles or equally robust cured trout – caught just along the coast at Boscastle – on a sourdough base with a zesty apple salsa and a dollop of caviar. Effortlessly executed ray wing with samphire, rainbow chard and brown butter pointed up with pickled wild garlic buds further showcases the freshness of local seafood. As for meat, a dish of beef shin, mash and Aral Farm spinach is given depth and deliciousness with the addition of anchovy brown-butter sauce, while plump lamb faggots are elevated with turnips, girolles and a pungent devilled sauce. Desserts are real crowd-pleasers, too – be sure to leave space for an outstanding Basque cheesecake. 

With Newquay going through something of a renaissance at the moment, Counter Culture is a vibrant tribute to the town's evolving restaurant landscape, all driven by a chef with a rich and varied background.