Where to Eat With Kids in St Ives: A Family Dining Guide
Last updated: June 2026
The best places to eat with kids in St Ives are harbour-front spots with kids' menus and room for prams, like The Huband Hub Box, beach cafés with high chairs and all-day children's menus such as Porthmeor Beach Café, and relaxed family pubs like The Old Forge in nearby Lelant. Most restaurants in St Ives welcome children, but a handful go further with dedicated kids' menus, activity sheets, and genuinely flexible service.
Eating out with children in a small, steep, very popular seaside town isn't always straightforward — narrow pavements, limited pram access, and restaurants that fill up fast in peak season all add friction that doesn't exist at home. Having navigated St Ives with kids in tow across a few visits (prams, fussy eaters, and all), this guide sticks to places that actually make family dining easy, not just tolerable.
| Restaurant | Best for | Kids' menu | Highchairs | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Hub / Hub Box | Burgers, harbour views | Yes, dedicated kids' menu | Yes | Not taken in peak season |
| Porthmeor Beach Café | Beach-side, sunset dining | Yes, available all day | Yes | Recommended, walk-ins possible |
| Porthminster Beach Café | A proper "occasion" meal | Yes | Yes | Essential, £15pp no-show charge |
| Blas Burgerworks | Quick, casual burgers | Small portions available | Limited seating | Strongly recommended |
| The Old Forge (Lelant) | A relaxed pub meal, big garden | Yes, meat & veggie | Yes | Useful at weekends |
| Beer & Bird / The Firehouse | Older kids and teens | Not dedicated, but flexible | Limited | Recommended evenings |
At a Glance: Family-Friendly Restaurants in St Ives
RestaurantBest forKids' menuHighchairsBookingThe Hub / Hub BoxBurgers, harbour viewsYes, dedicated kids' menuYesNot taken in peak seasonPorthmeor Beach CaféBeach-side, sunset diningYes, available all dayYesRecommended, walk-ins possiblePorthminster Beach CaféA proper "occasion" mealYesYesEssential, £15pp no-show chargeBlas BurgerworksQuick, casual burgersSmall portions availableLimited seatingStrongly recommendedThe Old Forge (Lelant)A relaxed pub meal, big gardenYes, meat & veggieYesUseful at weekendsBeer & Bird / The FirehouseOlder kids and teensNot dedicated, but flexibleLimitedRecommended evenings
Hours, menus, and booking policies checked against restaurant websites as of June 2026 — always worth a quick call ahead in school holiday weeks, since capacity in St Ives gets tight fast.
Best Restaurants for Families in St Ives
The Hub / Hub Box — the easiest harbour-front option
Right on the harbour front, The Hub (the original site, branded Hub Box across its other locations) is the most dependable family pick in town. It's been doing burgers since 2003, has a proper kids' menu, and the harbour-view seating means children have something to watch — boats coming in, the lifeboat crew, gulls causing chaos — while you wait for food.
It's also genuinely dog-friendly and serves breakfast from 8.30am, which matters if you're trying to get ahead of a toddler's hunger window rather than behind it. The downside: during peak summer weeks, The Hub doesn't take reservations, so you turn up and wait — though they'll happily seat you at the bar with a drink while a table clears.
Worth knowing: It can get loud and busy in high season, which is either a feature or a problem depending on your children's tolerance for noise. If you've got a child who needs a calmer environment, aim for an earlier sitting (just after the 11.30am lunch opening, or before 6pm for dinner).
Address: The Wharf, St Ives, TR26 1LF
Hours: Mon–Sat 8.30am–11pm, Sun 8.30am–10pm (main menu from 11.30am)
Booking: Not taken in peak season — walk-ins only
Price: Burgers and mains roughly £12–18; kids' menu separately priced
Porthmeor Beach Café — best for a relaxed beach lunch with little ones
Sitting just below the Tate, overlooking Porthmeor Beach, this is the spot for a family lunch where kids can dig in the sand between courses. The children's menu is available all day (not just at traditional lunch hours, which matters when a toddler's schedule has other ideas), and high chairs are provided as standard.
The setting does double duty: it's genuinely one of the best sunset views in St Ives, so it works equally well for an early family dinner if you want the kids fed before the evening crowd arrives. Dogs are welcome on the terrace too, so it covers most combinations of who's coming.
Worth knowing: the café is seasonal, open April through September only, and you reach it via steps down from the car park at the bottom of Porthmeor Hill — manageable with most prams but worth knowing in advance if you're navigating with a buggy and a beach bag.
Address: Porthmeor Beach, St Ives, TR26 1TG
Hours: Seasonal (April–September); check current times before visiting
Booking: Recommended via the website, phone, or in person; some walk-in tables held back daily
Price: Tapas-style dishes £6–14, mains £14–22
Porthminster Beach Café — for a proper family occasion
This one sits at a different price point and pace — more "special family meal" than "grab a quick lunch" — but it's worth including because it manages both seafood-focused fine dining and genuine warmth toward children at the same time, which isn't always a given at restaurants this polished. High chairs are provided, and reviewers consistently mention staff being accommodating with kids even on a busy evening service.
Worth knowing: this is a proper booking, not a walk-in spot, and they take card details to secure your table — a £15-per-person no-show charge applies if you don't cancel at least 24 hours ahead. Worth factoring in if you're booking with young children whose plans can change at short notice.
Address: Porthminster Beach, St Ives, TR26 2EB
Hours: Open year-round, lunch and dinner
Booking: Essential — 01736 795352
Price: Mains £20–35+; this is a higher-spend option than most on this list
Blas Burgerworks — quick, no-fuss, and reliably good
Already a favourite for vegan options (see our vegan and vegetarian guide to St Ives), Blas also does small portions for younger kids alongside its main burger menu, and the quality is high enough that even fussier eaters tend to come round to a plain burger and chips.
Worth knowing: the seating is tight — long communal benches rather than family tables — and waits of 30–60 minutes are common in the evening. This is a better fit for families with kids old enough to sit through a wait (or happy with a takeaway down to the harbour wall) than for very young children mid-meltdown.
Address: The Warren, St Ives, TR26 1EE
Hours: Daily from 5pm (check seasonal variations)
Booking: Strongly recommended — 01736 797272
Price: Burgers roughly £10–15; small portions available for kids
The Old Forge, Lelant — the easy out-of-town pub option
A short, scenic branch-line train ride from St Ives (or a drive if you'd rather), The Old Forge is a proper family pub with a big garden, a play area, and a children's menu that covers both meat and vegetarian dishes — including a kids' carbonara that gets specifically good reviews. It's also one of the more relaxed venues on this list if you want somewhere children can roam a little after eating rather than staying glued to a table.
Worth knowing: Sunday carvery is popular here and does get busy, so book ahead if that's your plan; the rest of the week runs on classic pub-grub timing and is more flexible.
Address: Lelant, near St Ives (reachable by train from St Ives station)
Hours: Standard pub hours; Sunday carvery available
Booking: Useful at weekends, especially for the carvery
Price: ££, classic pub pricing
Best Spots for Older Kids and Teens
Younger children and teenagers want fairly different things from a meal out, and St Ives has a couple of venues that lean toward the older end of "family-friendly."
Beer & Bird, specialising in fried chicken, big burgers, and ice cream shakes, is the kind of place a 12-year-old will actively request to go back to — and the menu has enough variety that the adults won't feel like they're eating purely for the kids' benefit.
The Firehouse, just across Fore Street, covers a broader menu of pizza, steaks, and seafood, which makes it a useful pick if your family group has a wider spread of tastes to satisfy in one sitting.
Both work well for larger groups and don't require the same careful timing around younger children's nap schedules or meltdown windows.
Takeaway and Beach Picnic Options
Sometimes a sit-down meal with kids on holiday is simply too much admin. St Ives has solid takeaway options for exactly that:
Blas Burgerworks does takeaway with advance ordering — call ahead or email, but note they don't accept email pre-orders after 2pm on the day.
Hub Box / The Hub offers click-and-collect, with the same kids'-friendly menu available to take down to the beach.
Warrens Bakery (two branches, Tregenna Place and Wharf Road) is the easiest grab-and-go option for a pasty-on-the-harbour-wall lunch — including vegan options if needed.
Moomaid of Zennor at the harbour does proper Cornish ice cream, which functions as either dessert or essential bribery, depending on the day.
Practical Tips for Eating Out With Kids in St Ives
A few things that make a real difference once you're actually there:
Book ahead wherever possible, especially in school holidays. St Ives is a small town with limited restaurant capacity, and the genuinely family-friendly spots fill up first. If your plans change, a quick courtesy call to cancel is appreciated and keeps the relationship between visiting families and local restaurants a good one.
Earlier is easier. Arriving for the start of lunch service (around 11.30am–12pm) or early dinner (before 6pm) means shorter waits and a calmer room, particularly at walk-in-only places like The Hub and Talay Thai Kitchen.
Beach cafés solve the "kids won't sit still" problem better than town-centre restaurants. If you're anticipating a difficult sitting, choose somewhere with outdoor space and sand nearby — Porthgwidden and Porthmeor both work well for this.
Most kids' menus include a drink and a dessert or ice cream, which is worth knowing if you're budgeting, since it usually means you won't be asked for extras five minutes after the main course arrives.
Prams and St Ives' steep, narrow streets don't always mix. Harbour-front venues (The Hub, Porthminster, Porthmeor) tend to have easier access than venues up the hill toward Tregenna Place.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best restaurant for families in St Ives?
The Hub on the harbour front is generally the easiest all-round choice, with a dedicated kids' menu, harbour views to keep children entertained, and a relaxed atmosphere. For a beach-side option, Porthmeor Beach Café's all-day children's menu and high chairs make it a strong alternative.
Do St Ives restaurants have kids' menus?
Most St Ives restaurants offer some accommodation for children, but dedicated kids' menus are most reliably found at The Hub, Porthmeor Beach Café, Porthminster Beach Café, and The Old Forge in nearby Lelant.
Do I need to book ahead when eating with kids in St Ives?
Yes, particularly during school holidays and peak summer months. Some venues, like The Hub and Talay Thai Kitchen, operate walk-in only at busy times, so arriving early in the lunch or dinner service window reduces waiting.
Are there high chairs available at St Ives restaurants?
High chairs are standard at most family-oriented restaurants in St Ives, including Porthmeor Beach Café, Porthminster Beach Café, and The Hub. It's worth confirming when booking if you have a specific requirement, especially during busy periods.
This guide is based on a combination of first-hand visits, current restaurant menus, and verified contact details as of June 2026. Restaurant hours, menus, and booking policies in Cornwall change seasonally — we'd recommend confirming directly with the restaurant before a special trip, particularly outside peak summer months when some venues reduce their days of opening.
