St. Eia for Service Works

Nestled on the coast in St Ives, St Eia is a neighbourhood restaurant founded by Eleanor Vening and Mark Quick, where local produce is served simply and with intention. Butter beans, lemon, Coombeshead sausage, Newlyn Crab on Toast, standout ingredients at the forefront of every dish.

How does being on the coast change your relationship with produce?

When we first started looking for produce to create a menu, we felt incredibly lucky to be able to build a menu around fresh ingredients that are actually sourced locally, rather than travelling across the country.

Our fish is brought into Newlyn Harbour, 25 mins away, our mackerel is from St. Ives. Meat comes from Coombeshead Farm & Warren’s butchers. The majority of our fruit and vegetables are grown locally in Porthleven and near Penzance. It really doesn't travel far, or get stored in cold rooms, so it gets to us in wonderful condition.

Simplicity seems to be at the heart of the menu at St Eia, strong ingredients allowed to shine on the plate without unnecessary additions, was this an intentional decision?

Our food is very much influenced by travels through France & Spain, eating locally, seasonally & simply. The restaurant has developed from a very simple starting point and we have built upon these foundations. With such wonderful produce available to us, we feel that these should be allowed to shine.