The Rocket Store

Formerly home to the coastguard’s horse-drawn rocket-firing equipment, this cute, single-storey Victorian building brings a unique energy to the handful of retail and café outlets lining the Boscastle estuary as it flows into the sea. There is modest seating inside and a surprisingly generous all-weather courtyard, thanks to huge, heated umbrellas, and the red-brick property provides a contrast to the centuries-old, whitewashed cottages for which the village is known. A daily changing blackboard menu features fish-led sharing plates using local catch, lamb that roam the pastures above the restaurant (gently braised Trebiffen lamb shank with a spicy Shanghai pepper sauce is typical), with room for excellent local vegetables to play a starring role too. Puddings make less of an impression, but local and artisanal cheese are worth a punt. A bijou drinks list includes wines, cocktails, beers and non-alcoholic tipples to suit all pockets.