Test driving MOR, where Tom Sellers is championing Cornish seafood at the seaside

The new-look room at Mor, designed by Shayne Brady, with a backdrop like no other. 

What can you tell us about Mor?

It's the latest restaurant from chef Tom Sellers (of two-starred Restaurant Story and Story Cellar). This time he's gone way out of London, heading down to Carbis Bay in Cornwall to open a restaurant that's heavily inspired by the local produce, particularly the sea. It's actually a space that Sellers has popped up in before, but this time it's a permanent takeover.

He's also brought down his Executive Chef, Tom Anglesea (previously Dovetale and The Laughing Heart) to manage the launch - so it's an impressive partnership.

Mor is part of the Carbis Bay resort. 

Where in Cornwall is this?

He's taken over the space that once held Adam Handling's Ugly Butterfly (we reviewed that a few years back. It's now moved to Newquay). It's in a spectacular setting, one to rival anywhere else in the country, with panoramic windows looking out over the ocean.

The room itself has also had a big makeover from master designer Shayne Brady, most recently responsible for the look of the relaunched Simpson's on The Strand. He's brought new life to the space, making the massive room seem a little more intimate than before, which really is a feat for such a large room. It's a beautiful design, particularly enhanced by the fabrics hanging from the ceiling, gently waving in the sea breeze.

Where should we sit?

If you can, get a seat by the window, but even if you can't, the floor-to-ceiling windows dominate the proceedings and you can take in that view wherever you sit in the room. The bar next door also looks out onto that view, so if you're not by the window for your meal, try to get a table by it there for a cocktail.

So what's on the menu?

In its last guise as Ugly Butterfly, this restaurant was firmly in fine dining territory. That was very impressive, but we can't help but feel that the new direction is a much better fit. There are no tasting menus, and instead it's a mix of small plates to kick things off and larger sharing plates for the mains.

Starting with the small plates, these are split into hot and cold, and there are some dishes on both sides making different use of the same produce. That's particularly noticeable in the "one breath" scallops below, so-called because they're collected by a diver without any diving equipment.

Here's what we started with:

The "One breath" scallops three ways. Starting top left, there's a scallop carpaccio with Amalfi lemon, black lime and white soy (£8), then a scallop mousse inside a courgette topped with caviar and lastly with roasted chilli paste and salted butter (£18). The chilli paste mixture in the latter was extraordinary - with an almost meaty texture (but no meat was used) that was a perfect foil for the scallops. 

Cornwall Project lamb skewer with sheep's yoghurt and sumac (£13) - it's not all fish, with some dishes making the most of produce from Matt Chatfield's nearby The Cornwall Project. 

Tsumire skewer with lemongrass and ginger (£11)

MOR sashimi plate with smoked soy, young ginger and English wasabi (£34)

We definitely went a little overboard there, and while we'd easily recommend everything we had, you could probably cut down to three small plates because you're going to need room for what follows.

The larger sharing section of the menu is something that's more likely to change, based on the produce available. So on this you'll find lobsters and mussels priced at market rates, as well as whole fish grilled or steamed. To give an idea of prices, the lobster is £50/£100 for half/whole (with caviar butter an option) and seabass was £14 per 100g. Plus, if you're not in the mood for fish, other options are available which were a Phillip Warren T Bone or Cornwall Project lamb when we visited.

But there are two particular large sharing dishes that we'd point you to first. We had both of these, but think that between two, you should choose one (they are BIG). If there are four of you, 100% get both.

We'd prioritise the crab dish. That's Cornish crab tableside a la minute (£60). They'll need 30 minutes to prepare this, but that's fine given that it will take at least that for you to get and finish the starters. The tableside element is in two phases.

First, the beast of a crab that you'll be having is brought to your table.

Then, once that's cooked, it's then brought to your table and mixed into a metal crab shell. And then you bring everything together in crab/lettuce tacos.

This was an exceptionally good dish, one of the best we've had all year long. Gloriously presented crab (and so much of it!) and even the lettuce it's served in was beautifully prepared. So yes, get this as a priority.

That said, the other main sharing dish was also spectacular. This was the oven-baked crisp seafood rice, served with Coombeshead Farm charcuterie and rouille (£70). It's like a massively pimped-up seafood paella:

The crisp seafood rice. And yes, there's a LOT of seafood in this.

Is it even possible to have room for dessert after that?

After a 10-minute wait, anything is possible! And you can enforce that wait by ordering the madeleines (£12), which take 14 minutes to bake. If you just want something light, go for those, but we'd also recommend the following:

Toasted rice soft serve, wasabi & puffed rice (£14)

Medjool date & custard tart ‘Neil Perry’ (£14)

What about drinks?

MOR has a separate bar in the same building, so it has that same spectacular view out towards the sea. So a drink here before or after your meal is a must. 

In charge of the wine list is sommelier Tara Ozols, who's previously won a sommelier of the year award from Michelin. It's well worth asking her for a guide through the menu and if you get the chance, there's a wine on the list that she helped make (a chilled red) which we'd recommend. It's an extensive list, with bottles starting at £45 (a 2023 Melon de Bourgogne).

The bar at Mor, with more of that fantastic backdrop.

Turner - dragon fruit infused pisco, two drifters overproof spiced rum, pineapple, maraschino cherry, lemon & pink peppercorn and the Wallis' Perspective - oyster leaf infused Black Cow Vodka, Oloroso sherry, dry vermouth, olive, cucumber & lemon (both £18) 

Where should we stay?

Last time we visited a restaurant here, we stayed close by, but the easiest thing to do by far is grab a room at the hotel itself. And if you are staying over, you'll ideally want one of their beach lodges, suites or houses, which are the most modern elements of the property. Staying over also gives you access to the spa, and this amazing pool:

It really is a fantastic pool - and heated too!

And how do we get there?

It's a bit of a journey from London at five hours on the train, but with a short connection, you can get a train almost directly to the hotel. We'd strongly suggest paying for the upgrade to First too, it's well worth it, particularly at weekends.

Overall thoughts

The two Toms have done an absolutely fantastic job with Mor. They've taken an already great room and made it even better, and are serving one of the best seafood menus that we've had in some time. We'd travel here again for the crab dish alone, but if you're in the area, we'd say that a meal at Mor is an absolute must.