This weekend our daughter paid us a flying visit from university. We also had two celebrations in the family so before she returned early on Monday morning, we wanted to dine out.
Much debate ensued - where shall we go? Our daughter wanted to try St Ives but I was cautious with it being the day after change over day and the beginning of half term. ‘We may struggle to get a table’, I said. Little did I know that would be the theme of the evening!
We tried a couple of places in Lelant in the hope that we would be far enough away from St Ives to grab that last minute table. We were also early, ’Surely not everywhere can be full!’ exclaimed Andrew, but we were turned away.
We decided that St Ives would probably be a non-starter and headed to Penzance. We were delighted to strike lucky with a parking space on the prom. With the sea looking like a mill pond and the most beautiful deep blue, our hopes were lifted. As we left the car, there was live music in The Lugger across the road, which further lifted our spirits and provided more evidence that things are returning to ‘normal’. We tried the Jubilee Pool cafe but it was shut and decided to head up Chapel Street.
Chapel Street in Penzance is one of the most wonderful streets in the town, with plenty of pubs and restaurants catering for all tastes and budgets. We strolled happily along, glancing at menus. A couple left the Admiral Benbow, complaining about ‘everywhere needing to be booked these days’ and we exchanged a glance, shrugged our shoulders and carried on. We tried the Artists Residence but they were fully booked, the Turk’s Head showed no signs of life and the Union Hotel had a sign out saying ‘Chef needed’.
As it began to dawn on us that this was not going to be our evening, disappointment and hunger got the better of us! We tried another couple of places but nothing seemed appealing anymore. With heavy hearts, we settled on microwave meals and took them home.
Upon reflection, it seems that spontaneous dining may be a thing of the past. With our eating habits changed permanently with the rules from COVID, booking a table seems to have stayed. It is incredibly easy to book a table online these day!
Also, the hospitality industry in Cornwall seems to still be struggling to recruit. Last year, reports of venues in Newquay struggling to employ catering staff hit the news. This seems to have crept across Cornwall and stories of no staff are true. Nearly every eatery had a sign for a team member, from waiting staff to chefs. The days of the ‘walk in’ seem to be gone as venues struggle to manage demand with staffing.
So if you are in Cornwall this year and want to pop out for a meal, our advice, ironically, would be to join the many organised families that have booked tables ahead of time. That makes me feel a little bit sad to know that I will probably not be lucky with spontaneity. After all, so much of my life is regulated and organised, sometimes its nice not to know what you are doing, be free and spontaneous but still have a good time. I genuinely hope that the days of spontaneity are not gone forever!
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