R Bar St Ives

You'll find R Bar tucked into Fore Street, where it's become the sort of place locals actually choose over the seafront tourist traps. It's got that sweet spot between relaxed and refined—the kind of bar where you can roll in for a pint or settle in for something more considered. The drinks programme here takes itself seriously without being pretentious about it, and the staff clearly know what they're doing behind the bar. Come evening, it fills up with a proper mix of people: locals catching up, visitors who've stumbled onto something better than average, and couples who've abandoned their hotels for somewhere with actual character.