The Rum & Crab Shack

You head upstairs on Wharf Road and suddenly you're in a room that actually feels like somewhere locals want to be. The Rum & Crab Shack has that rare quality in St Ives—it's unpretentious without being sloppy, busy without feeling rammed. The seafood is straightforward and honest: proper crab, fish that tastes like it came off a boat this morning, not a supplier's lorry. The rum list is genuinely interesting, and the cocktails don't pretend to be something they're not. Prices sit at the comfortable middle ground, so you're not paying Padstow money but you're eating better than the pasty shops down the street.