Michael Caines, the chef behind the Michelin-starred Lympstone Manor in Devon, has scaled back his West Country footprint, having sold one of his Cornish restaurants and put the other one on the market.
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Caines announced in Autumn 2022 that he would be closing The Harbourside Refuge in Porthleven over the winter due to the twin perils of soaring costs and staff shortages. In summer 2023 Caines announced that the closure had been made permanent and the restaurant was for sale.
It has now been reported by Cornwall Live that his other Cornish restaurant, The Cove, near Falmouth, is now on the market as well for £1.25 million. At the time of the sale of The Harbourside Refuge, a statement shared that The Cove would “continue to operate”.
Caines took over The Cove in 2020 from Arty Williams and Annette Rickard (the restaurant was first opened more than 20 years ago, with the building constructed in the 1980s), with the Michelin Guide calling the beachside restaurant “delightfully located” and praising its “complex, colourfully presented, modern dishes with carefully judged combinations of flavours”.
At present, The Cove’s website just says: “The Cove is now closed for an extended winter break, please note enquiries and reservations are also closed during this time.”
SBC Property is overseeing the sale. On its online listing for the restaurant it notes its “idyllic waterside location”, “175+” cover capacity, “al-fresco dining space” and ” fully decked beachside sun terrace”.
Caines is yet to comment on the sale of The Cove, though can be assumed that the restaurant has faced many of the same difficulties the hospitality industry as a whole is experiencing. With its closure, and the sale of The Harbourside Refuge, he currently has no operating restaurants in the county of Cornwall, though he still has a beach bar and café in Devon, as well as Lympstone Manor. The latter recently released its first sparkling wine.
This article originally appeared on the drinks business.
