Jo Rees visits a new dining concept and discovers a contemporary experience delivering a hole in one
Joining the golf set never sounded very cool to me (rules about mandatory length of shorts and expensive club membership spring to mind), but a visit to Halwyn in Crantock changed all that.
Founder Will Eustice has hit a hole in one with this new concept. To be clear, Halwyn isn’t a golf club in the conventional sense. It’s a mash-up of golflite fun (high-tech driving range and mini golf), contemporary aesthetics and high-quality cooking in a super-rural spot.
We visited a week after launch and the place was already buzzing. Golfers were whacking balls in private booths on the 15-bay driving range with Trackman system, while being served pints of Sharp’s Off shore, glasses of chilled wine and snacky plates. Other punters were cheating their way around a mini-golf course that’s a contemporary riff on the format – granite rocks and swishy modern planting instead of pirates and treasure chests.
While it’s not necessary to even touch a golf club to enjoy the Halwyn experience, we had a laugh attempting (and often failing) to land a decent shot. The real winner of the day, however, was dinner. Ditch any idea that this is a clubhouse canteen; Halwyn has a seriously good restaurant run by a chef whose last major tournament was as head chef at The Idle Rocks in St Mawes.
Indeed, many visitors skip straight to the Feasting Barn, a handsome room of exposed beams, mismatched wood furniture and big rugs. A glass wall overlooks countryside that includes Will’s cousin’s farm – the source of much of the produce on the menu. On warm days, diners head outside to the lawned garden where kids can run free and dogs can snooze under tables.
Chef Matt Haggath’s menu is upbeat and full of flavour. Sharing snacks such as za’atar hummus on chickpea wafers with lemon gel, and cod croquettes with smoked cheddar, salsa verde and garlic aioli, are elegant and punchy. And Matt’s homemade greek-style bread with miso butter is a must-order.
The menu is built for grazing, so we shared starters: slow-cooked pork belly with romesco, dressed hispi cabbage and pickled rhubarb, and a barbecued sheftalia sausage (made with Eustice-reared beef) on flatbread with tzatziki, lemon cabbage, pickled shallot and parsley.
Mains comprised a deep and earthy hen-ofthe-woods mushroom dish with soy and ponzu glaze, black garlic, curried couscous and wilted Swiss chard, along with a Josper-grilled steak which arrived succulent and smoky. We added skin-on fries and (greedily) both a very good chimichurri and béarnaise.
For pudding, a salted caramel tart with cherries and cherry sauce was cool, clean and well-balanced.
Supper here is as satisfying as hitting a magnificent shot. Swing by to appreciate the kitchen’s technique while brushing up your own – and without having to think once about the length of your shorts.
