Restaurant in St Austell, United Kingdom
Michelin-flagged. Family-run. Good value.
Two consecutive Michelin Plates and a 4.9 Google score make Edie's the strongest case for Modern British cooking in the Carlyon Bay area. Chef Nigel Brown brings Le Manoir-trained technique to a relaxed, family-run room at ££ pricing — a combination that is harder to find than it should be. Book as far ahead as your plans allow; the room fills faster than the low-key setting suggests.
If you're comparing Edie's to the handful of other Modern British restaurants along the south Cornwall coast, the answer is yes — book it. Most places at this price point in the Carlyon Bay area trade on location rather than cooking. Edie's trades on both, and the cooking is the stronger argument. Two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024, 2025) and a 4.9 Google rating across more than 500 reviews put it in a different category to its immediate neighbours, and the ££ price range means you're not paying a premium to access that quality. The harder question is not whether to book, but when: given the restaurant's size and reputation, leaving this to chance will likely cost you a table.
Edie's sits above Carlyon Bay at one end of a parade of shops and cafés, behind a stretch of off-road parking that does nothing to hint at what's inside. That gap between exterior and interior is part of the point. Walk in and the room reads immediately as a neighbourhood restaurant — brightly coloured chairs against whitewashed brick walls, shelves crammed with cookbooks, an open kitchen generating the kind of background warmth and movement that makes a room feel alive. Chef Nigel Brown runs the stoves while his wife Kelly manages front of house, with their daughter Edie lending the place both its name and part of its character. This is a family operation in the practical sense, and the service reflects it: attentive without being formal, familiar without being slack.
Brown's résumé is worth knowing because it explains why the cooking sits above the neighbourhood-restaurant register. He has cooked at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons , Raymond Blanc's two-Michelin-starred property in Oxfordshire , and at the late Bill Granger's Sydney restaurant. That background in technically demanding kitchens shows in the construction of dishes: the flavour combinations are considered rather than casual, and the execution has a clarity that takes real skill to produce consistently. This is not the cooking of a chef coasting on a coastal postcode.
The menu format is practical for the diner: a fixed-price option sits alongside a more adventurous carte, giving you the choice between good-value certainty and something with more range. Dishes on record include a salad of Isle of Wight tomatoes with pickled shallots, pangrattato, whipped feta and basil oil; Comté soufflé with spinach and wild mushroom fricassée as a starter; soft gnudi with spring vegetables in lemon butter and crumbled sourdough croûtes; halibut with brown shrimps and saffron potatoes in curry sauce; fillet steak with hand-cut chips, watercress and Café de Paris butter. Desserts include elderflower panna cotta with yoghurt sorbet and lemon curd, and a raspberry soufflé with rum anglaise and vanilla ice cream. Soufflés , both savoury and sweet , are a noted strength, which tells you something about the kitchen's technical confidence. The wine list is short and helpfully annotated, with glasses from £5.25 and reasonable mark-ups throughout.
For food and wine enthusiasts making a broader trip through Cornwall, Edie's belongs on the itinerary alongside a visit to the Eden Project or the coastal walking routes nearby. It is the kind of find that rewards planning: the cooking has the depth to anchor a meal rather than just accompany a day out. For context on where it sits relative to the wider south-west dining scene, [Gidleigh Park in Chagford](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/gidleigh-park-chagford-restaurant) operates at a higher price point with more formal service; [hide and fox in Saltwood](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/hide-and-fox-saltwood-restaurant) offers a comparable Michelin Plate standard in a different coastal setting. Edie's is the more relaxed, more accessible version of that calibre.
On the question of late dining: Edie's is a restaurant that runs to its own schedule, and with hours not publicly confirmed, planning ahead is essential. This is not a venue you arrive at on spec after a long evening elsewhere. The buzz from the open kitchen and the warmth of the room make it the kind of place where a meal extends naturally into the later part of an evening , but you need the reservation in place first. Given the modest size of the room and the strength of the reputation, booking as far in advance as your plans allow is the sensible approach. Easy to book relative to starred London restaurants, but that window closes faster than the low-key setting might suggest.
For a fuller picture of what's available in the area, see [our full St Austell restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/st-austell), [our full St Austell bars guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/bars/st-austell), [our full St Austell hotels guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/hotels/st-austell), [our full St Austell wineries guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/wineries/st-austell), and [our full St Austell experiences guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/experiences/st-austell).
Booking difficulty at Edie's is rated easy relative to comparable Michelin-recognised restaurants , but that is a comparative score, not an invitation to leave it late. The restaurant is small, family-run, and in a location that draws visitors across a long season. Book as soon as your dates are confirmed. No online booking details are publicly listed in our current data; contact the restaurant directly to confirm availability and current hours before making travel plans around a visit. Address: 10 Beach Rd, Carlyon Bay, Saint Austell PL25 3PH.
Yes. At ££ pricing with two Michelin Plates and a 4.9 Google score, Edie's delivers cooking at a level well above its price tier. Chef Nigel Brown's background at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons means the technique behind the fixed-price and carte menus is genuine, not aspirational. For comparable quality in Cornwall, you would typically pay more. This is the value case for Edie's.
Yes, with the right expectations. The room is warm and buzzing rather than hushed and formal , think neighbourhood brasserie done well, not a grand dining room. Soufflés as both starter and dessert, a considered wine list, and attentive family-run service make it a strong choice for a birthday or anniversary where you want good food and a relaxed atmosphere rather than ceremony. For more formal occasion dining in the south-west, [Gidleigh Park in Chagford](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/gidleigh-park-chagford-restaurant) is the higher-register alternative.
Edie's offers a fixed-price menu alongside the carte rather than a multi-course tasting format in the conventional sense. The fixed-price route is the better value entry point and gives you access to the kitchen's range without committing to a long format. If you want a full tasting menu experience from a chef with comparable classical roots, [L'Enclume in Cartmel](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/lenclume-cartmel-restaurant) or [Moor Hall in Aughton](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/moor-hall-aughton-restaurant) operate at that level , but at a significantly higher price and booking difficulty. Edie's carte is the better call here.
The open kitchen format and neighbourhood atmosphere make Edie's a comfortable solo experience. You are not going to feel conspicuous at a table for one in a room with this much movement and warmth. The counter or smaller tables tend to suit solo diners well in rooms of this style. Confirm table availability for one when booking , the family-run front of house is noted for its ease of manner, which helps.
The menu shows flexibility , soft gnudi, vegetable-led dishes, and fish alongside meat options suggest range in the kitchen. However, specific dietary accommodation policies are not confirmed in our current data. Contact the restaurant directly before booking if you have specific requirements. Given the size of the operation, advance notice will give the kitchen the leading chance to prepare.
Smart casual is the right read. Brightly coloured chairs, whitewashed brick, and a neighbourhood brasserie feel mean there is no dress code pressure , but the Michelin recognition and the quality of the cooking mean turning up in beach clothes would feel mismatched. Think the same register you'd use at a well-regarded bistro: put-together without being formal.
Within St Austell, Edie's sits at the leading of the quality range at its price point. For a broader south-west comparison: [Gidleigh Park in Chagford](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/gidleigh-park-chagford-restaurant) is the higher-spend, more formal Devon alternative. [hide and fox in Saltwood](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/hide-and-fox-saltwood-restaurant) offers Michelin Plate-level coastal dining in Kent at a comparable register. If you're planning a broader food-focused trip, [our full St Austell restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/st-austell) covers the wider local picture.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Edie's | ££ | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | ££££ | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | ££££ | — |
| The Ledbury | ££££ | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | ££££ | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | ££££ | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Yes, at ££ pricing with a Michelin Plate to its name, Edie's represents clear value for Cornwall. Chef Nigel Brown has cooked at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, and that background shows in the precision of the dishes without a corresponding jump in price. For the level of cooking on offer, you would pay considerably more in London or even Padstow.
It works well for a low-key celebration rather than a formal milestone dinner. The family-run atmosphere is warm and the cooking is accomplished, but the setting above a parade of shops in Carlyon Bay is relaxed rather than ceremonial. If you want something more occasion-dressed, you would need to look further afield; if the food is the celebration, Edie's delivers.
Edie's runs a fixed-price menu alongside a carte rather than a formal tasting menu format. The fixed-price option is noted as good value and is the smarter choice for most tables. If you want a long multi-course tasting format, this is not the right venue — the strength here is the brasserie-style carte with well-executed individual dishes.
The open kitchen and neighbourhood atmosphere make it a reasonable solo option. The venue has a buzz to it that prevents the experience feeling awkward for one, and the carte format means you can order to your own pace. No specific counter or bar seating is confirmed in available data, so call ahead if solo seating logistics matter to you.
The menu as described includes dishes that span meat, fish, and vegetarian options — soft gnudi and vegetable-led starters feature alongside fish and steak mains. Specific dietary accommodation policies are not confirmed in available data, so check the venue's official channels before booking if you have strict requirements.
The vibe is relaxed neighbourhood rather than formal. Brightly coloured chairs, whitewashed brick, and a family-run front-of-house all point toward casual or neat-casual dress. A Michelin Plate does not mean jackets required here — come as you would for a confident local brasserie, not a white-tablecloth restaurant.
Within the St Austell area, options at a comparable level are limited, which is part of what makes Edie's worth the effort. For more Michelin-recognised cooking in Cornwall, Nathan Outlaw's restaurants in Rock and Port Isaac operate at a higher price point but a different format. Edie's holds its own for the ££ bracket and is the strongest locally recognised option in the immediate Carlyon Bay area.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
