Argoe: Line to Plate, Nose to Tail

“People have to really want to find us here, and that’s by design,” says Rich, as we look out on a forest of glinting masts and rigging.

Tucked away, in the westernmost corner of Newlyn’s historic fishing harbour, Argoe is the kind of restaurant you don’t just stumble upon. Approaching through the working fishing port, lobster pots and plastic fish crates are piled high in corners and against walls, battered and scarred from years of use, yet still in service, performing their duty.

“A lot of coastal towns around Cornwall have seen change that hasn't always been good,” Rich continues, “Argoe was a passion of mine that I wanted to see happen, but I was aware that it was quite a delicate balance.”

Named for an old Newlyn-based Cornish Lugger, a type of traditional wooden fishing vessel in use here for over three centuries, the moniker is a tribute to that impressive history and the community in which Rich’s family have lived for generations. “My dad and granddad started the fish business here in the 80s,” he explains, gesturing through the wall, towards Trelawny Fish wholesalers across the street. “Before opening the restaurant, I was here working on the market – dragging fish boxes around, driving a forklift – so I'm not just someone coming in from the outside. But I think you should have to win people over a little bit... You should have to prove that you want to be part of something.”

With help from his brother, and some serious elbow grease, Rich converted two old Penlee Lifeboat sheds into a restaurant that has not only gained critical acclaim with a 2026 Michelin Bib Gourmand Award, but is also taking a different approach to running this kind of business. Their philosophy on food is simple... literally, as Rich says, “The process is to keep taking things away until you have the perfect expression of an ingredient or dish.” But when it comes to what actually goes on the menu, Rich believes that the modern commodification of fishing means we are all too fixated on certain fish.  

“I think it's about understanding the whole picture, but also how it works locally,” He explains, citing how in Newlyn alone fishermen are landing 35 to 40 different species on any given day. “It's not about putting one fish on a pedestal, that's when you get problems with overfishing and overuse of one species. It's about diversity and eating what we catch. What's on the menu should reflect what's coming over the side of the boat. All these things are great! They come from right here, and when they're fresh and the quality's there, the species is less important.”

What is underappreciated here is often celebrated in other countries, and it’s a reminder of how Europe’s coastal communities are all linked by the same seas, and the same species. “Spider crabs are a good example of that,” he remarks, remembering festivals and coastal cuisine from his travels in through Spain, France and Portugal. "We go abroad and eat it, and look back on it with this really nostalgic view, yet we've got it all right here! We buy our shellfish direct from the fishermen, and we know that they're fishing along the coast, inshore, within sight of the harbour and bring it straight back here.”  

This model of working with small scale fishermen, trust in community knowledge and a more adaptable framework that fits into nature’s rhythms, rather than trying to bend them to our own purposes, is one that Rich is determined to follow. “The traditional model for a restaurant is just to set a menu, and it's much easier to work that way!” He laughs, knowing how radically different his own approach is. "Some people don't change it all year, which obviously is not following nature in the slightest. For us, the menu has to change depending on what arrives at the door. And following what arrives at the market means we’re following the seasons, the tides and the weather.”

Rich’s passion for the sea and the incredible bounty it has to offer predates Argoe, and before opening the restaurant he started Forgotten Fish, a unique artisanal wholesaler’s specialising in parts of the fish which would otherwise be thrown away after the prime cuts have been taken. “There's a lot left on a fish after that,” Rich smiles, as he prepares us Hake Throats to prove his point, “It just maybe requires a little bit of skill, or knowledge, or imagination to know what to do."

Working with restaurants through Forgotten Fish is the perfect way to tap into that innovation, with access to chefs and customers who are more adventurous and willing to be persuaded by something new – hopefully spreading that change through the wider culture.