Archie Browns in Cornwall, Isles of Scilly

I have used this shop several times & even though I live in Dorset, have had items shipped to me as the products are very good generally & staff very helpful & friendly. Today we purchased the homemade salad box & a homily pie . Excellent salad with lots of crunchy & tasty salad & veg in a nice dressing . Mostly organic & local products too . Great range Would recommend & will use again

We popped in to Archie Brown's ( an absolute instution in Penzance) for a fabulous vegetarian lunch on Saturday. We had a selection of dishes off the specials board and enjoyed them all thoroughly. I was aspiring to go low on carbs and the cafe team came into their own in terms of menu and ingredient knowledge. The cafe has a great buzz and loyal following. Thank you Team Archie Browns.

I come in here to buy essentials as I’ve just moved in on the same street and it’s close and convenient to me. I have an anxiety disorder so I tend to keep my headphones in as it stops me spacing out in public but the staff are usually really nice. Today I was picking up a few bits for the week and I got CAN I HELP YOU MADAM shouted across the shop at me and I turned round to the dark haired cashier looking at me. I said I was ok and just picking up some bits. I felt like I had to ask her if that was ok as it was then silent and everyone in the shop was looking at me including customers and she agreed. I saw her glance down at the items in my hands so I can only think maybe she thought I was stealing or something as my back was to her station as I was stood by the fridges? But I’m a regular customer and always spend a good amount in there. I felt embarrassed so I went up to the counter with the £40 worth of items I wanted to purchase and she remained cold and unfriendly. I felt very called-out. I used to work in retail so I completely understand you have to watch out for this sort of situation, I’m aware I’m quite spacey and I tend to walk up and down the aisles a lot as my disorder tends to make me forget things. But I usually chat to the staff and they’re normally quite friendly with me so I was surprised and caught off guard. It’s a shame as this shop was convenient for me as some days I feel I can’t walk down the high street to further shops, I also loved the refill shampoos and the salad boxes. The items I purchased are great as always.

Very small portion. Good standard of good Homity pie and salad but went home hungry Good have eaten it again

*I'm updating this review to say I'm really pleased with the response I've had from the management of the shop and it doesn't sound like this is typical of the shop and definitely not endorsed by management.* Very unimpressed by the lack of ethics and the pseudoscience being pushed in here. When I'm specifically looking for a vegan product and the shop worker is trying to convince me that cow farming is ethical? Not a good impression. I also overheard them peddling the alkaline body theory which is dangerous and absolute nonsense. I took my money elsewhere.

I love Archie Browns. I use their refill service and buy products in sustainable/reusable packaging. The staff is friendly, helpful and knowledgable.

Negozio di articoli naturali, ben rifornito, dai cosmetici alla frutta e verdura. Tutto quello che può servire per un’alimentazione sana. Ho trovato diversi prodotti vegan interessanti che in Italia ho difficoltà a reperire. Al piano di sopra si può anche mangia, peccato non aver avuto tempo per provare qualche piatto. Personale gentile. Straconsiglio.

We decided to go to Archie’s for lunch and coincidentally went back 1st day they were open since covid and had their special of quesadilla’s with tortilla crisps salad and dressings 😋 lovely friendly staff as usual and well stocked shop downstairs with healthy food 👍will be back very soon!

1st day open after lockdown 👍 my partner had the special and said it was lovely 😊 and they doing vegan homity pie now!

Best veggie & vegan food in town!

Popped in for coffee and cakes. What a delightful little cafe. The staff are friendly and the place is lovely and clean.

Great staff, great service friendly and knowledgeable, thank you for staying open!

Popped in for a hot chocolate and a white chocolate and raspberry blondie just happened to jump onto a plate too. Both yummy and just what was needed on a cold January morning. Quick, friendly service and will be back again soon.

Great service. Nicely priced with some great snacks. Vegan options available. Chilled and cozy with nice art on the walls.

Not exactly inspired food, in fact lazy and overpriced for the quality the only good things are the homity pies and the pitta now that they actually stick humus in side them, from the downstairs takeaway bit the menu is just boring and whoever is running it is not pushing themselves and could do a lot better my salad had hair in it and the water glasses are filthy

We have been to this lovely vegetarian/wholefood cafe several times in recent months. The food is always delicious and filling with enough changes to the menu and specials to keep things new and making it easy to go back. It is always busy which I think is a testament to the quality of the food.

Absolutely amazing breakfast, varied, lots of different milk options for tea and coffee, friendly helpful staff, local and national papers available, downstairs has a Holland and Barrett type feel to it, fresh bread from local bakers.

Great to find a vegan friendly cafe in Penzance - there’s not much else to go to Penzance for these days - but we will certainly be frequenting Archie Browns a lot more - great fresh food - lots of vegan cakes - a few more vegan main options would be great - friendly helpful and knowledgeable staff. Looking forward to our next visit soon.

Had a nice vegan breakfast here. Thanks

Good selection of vegan products. Separate room for supplements. Booja Booja ice cream, raw treats, vegan cheeses and mayo, pâtés, crisps, crackers, also personal care products. I intended to return and eat at the café but was caught in the ferry breakdown.

Excellent choice of foods to eat, really different from a lot of other places in town. Fairly priced and also has a shop.

We've shopped in Archie Browns quite a few times but never eaten there before. Today we ventured in for lunch and we wasn't disappointed. The food is typically aimed towards vegetarian or vegans, which we are not, but was all fresh and locally sourced. A real pleasant lunch. Only downside was that the food was served slowly and we had to wait awhile, though it was a little busy.

A good place. Busy but fast service. Decent food. Drinks ordered were not quite as delivered but that sometimes happens when busy. Reasonable value.

So nice to have many vegan options and the ones I've tasted have been delicious. Just wish there were more branches.

Ten out Ten. Wonderful vegetarian & vegan restaurant, huge variety with interesting combinations. We loved this restaurant.

I love this cafe, with a full vegan and vegetarian menu. I enjoyed a delicious avocado, friend egg, rocket and spicy tomato salsa sourdough toast.Washed down with a great decaf flat white and date flapjack. Tops.

On arriving I checked whether the cake I wanted to try was available, & was told it was just now being iced. As a notice said to sit down & await table service, I duly sat to await the cake’s availability, & assumed a waitress would come to take my order for coffee & cake when it was ready. I waited patiently, reading a Kindle book.. & waited & waited. After 20 mins, what looked like the raspberry GF cake was now sat on a counter. I waited for it, it waited for me... we waited & waited. All this time, neither waitress took any notice of me, or updated me on the cake’s progress, or asked if I wanted coffee, or even looked at me. I finally gave up & walked out, & instead, got some delicious raspberry GF cake & coffee from the Honey Pot in Penzance, & was done in ten minutes flat & actually able to commence my 250 mile drive home. Archie Brown, I have purchased many items from your shop over the years, & really enjoyed my visits. This was my first time in the café, & quite frankly, I am affronted, upset, & inclined to never darken your doors again. Zero customer care! What would it have taken for one of those girls to just come over & talk to me? I had assumed they would do so when the cake was ready, but it now seems apparent that I could have sat there until the Last Trump sounded for all they cared!

Glorious vegan food. Desserts to die for. Staff very knowledgeable about the supplements etc.. Amazing bread. Great choice of glutenfree

Whenever I come back to visit my old home of Cornwall I always want to come here. We all as a family love to the food and fresh smoothies of Archie Browns. Lovely as ever today, I had a special salad which was delicious. The reason for not giving a five star review is there is very little choice for children and noted today that all meals now £5 which for a child is expensive, especially when no meat and basic meals like a jacket potato and pitta plus humus. This for us and me in particular took away some of the enjoyment which is a real shame. The children's meals on the website were shown as being more varied and more choice. I looked last night and was going to order pasta for my Son but sadly no longer available. Anyway I wanted to put this constructive criticism on here. Thank you for the lovely food.

I think it would be fair to say, that Archie Browns is a place where you'd go for a alternative snack/lunch given the healthy/veggie menu options, and perhaps not a cup of espresso coffee.

Second visit for lunch at this friendly café with fun artworks. Delicious food, mainly veg and vegan. We had butternut squash, sweet potato and sage farinata and sweetcorn fritters with chilli sauce. Both were accompanied by superb mixed salad and homemade salad dressing. Penzance is lucky to have such a great veggie café.

Impressed by the salads here - the best I’ve ever had!

I love Archie Browns and this one is much better than the Truro one. The noise is better managed, the menu is very varied and always delicious, the staff are great, the atmosphere is always convivial and the food is great. Many GF/whole food/clean eating/vegan options. This is a veggie restaurant so don’t expect fish or meat- but you won’t miss it. Free WiFi too.

Bit of a gem tucked away in Penzance. Great cafe with superb food, good choice, nice staff. Plenty of tables. Health food shop also worth a look. Good visit.

I went in for advice about a skin condition and had a very in depth consultation with a helpful member of staff. My budget was taken into consideration as well as my over all health. I love Archie Browns, everything in there is wonderful, including the gorgeous food.

Fantastic shop, groceries, toiletries, household, alternative medicine and cafe serving amazing homemade food

Lovely Vegetarian and Vegan food

Fantastic coffee shop with lovely turmeric latte and lovely healthy things to buy.

Interesting. Lovely cafe inside

Nice burger 🍔, if you vegetarian you have to try.

Delicious healthy vegetarian food

Fan shop with wide range of goods and delicious vegetarian cafe with range of food. Wedges, fritata, soup, burger, hummus, olives were all lovely. Service was friendly and we loved the ceiling clouds.

Great coffee, cakes and main meals. Always have a enjoyable time when we visit.

Lovely shop, friendly helpful service from staff.

Good Vegie and Vegan food. Informed staff, friendly atmosphere. I always enjoy stopping here when on our regular holiday visits.

Absolutely love this cafe...I have the plain jacket potato which comes with a varied generous salad. Very healthy n all vegan, good value for money. Highly recommend. 💚💚💚

A good find and a cute little cafe. It made great coffee and a comforting Hogarty Pie. The staff were polite and welcoming and the menu had an awesome variety of veggie goodies. 👍

Had the vegan quesadilla and the 5 a day juice. I am stuffed fat and happy. Great food great service will be back in the future.

Fabulous as ever. Generous portions, delicious food, excellently prepared, lovingly cooked.

Love Archie Browns. Great vegan and veggie food, fab shop, lovely staff. A must if you are in Penzance or Truro!

Proper old skool hippy Wholefood shop and cafe. Salads are incredible, test of food amazing and prices are good especially as quality of ingredients so high. Well worth a visit even by confirmed carnivores.

Always visit here every holiday. Its a Mecca for vegetarian/vegans . Love it . Great innovative menu

Archie’s never fails to satisfy, whether the Penzance or Truro branch. They’re excellent for GF, veggie and vegan whole foods and the associated beveridges are also good. They go for ethical options when possible and shop local and support local businesses.

Had coffee here years ago but this was our first visit for lunch - now regretting that we didn't try it before. Staff were friendly and mixed fruit juices were superb, We had quesadilla - tortilla with refried beans with cheese, sour cream, guacamole and a generous topping of mixed salad/cole slaw - and baked field mushrooms on garlic mash with cheese, cherry tomatoes with balsamic vinegar. Everything was delicious and reasonably priced. Will most definitely be visiting again.

Very good food but little bit expensive

A lovely selection of food for the non meat eater … I thoroughly enjoyed the quiche with smoked Cornish cheese. The accompanying salad was a refreshing change from the "norm"; an interesting and tasty selection of beans, grains, slaws etc rather than some limp leaves!

We found this by accident when browsing the health food shop! Nice cafe and the first that I have come across to offer alternatives to ordinary coffee (eg dandelion coffee or barley coffee). I had the barley coffee which was delicious. What spoilt it for me though was the addition of chocolate (without checking first) and although the little biscuit on the saucer was delicious too, no doubt this was loaded with sugar. I note that there are various 'syrups' on offer to add to coffee. I think that there is far too much sugar in food these days which I feel does far too much damage to our health - and as it is so addictive, it is very difficult to steer clear of! Still, all in all, a good cafe.

A health food shop that's not being trendy for the sake of parting you from your money. Good and in depth advice available.

Visited with family this week for lunch: very good Homity pie, delicious home made quiche and fresh and tasty salads with flavoursome dressing. Coffees a bit hit and miss, but the cakes looked delicious - we just didn't have room for them!

Archie Browns is like an oasis in Penzance - a great place for a nice sit-down vegan lunch. The menu is a combination of vegetarian and vegan, but there is plenty of choice for vegans. Their salad selection is especially good! Enjoy.

Great veggie place to eat. Its so good to have so much choice of what to eat. Lovely main meals, snacks, yummy cakes and wonderful smoothies.

Very good variety of stock and very informed and friendly staff

They do all the hard work of making sure that your food,both downstairs in the shop and upstairs in the cafe is safe and free from stuff none of us want. A great range of household goods,creams lotions and potions in the shop and a very friendly and helpful workforce in the cafe. You can trust Archies 100%. St Ives bakery bread too,perfect. Knowledgeable advice too if you're looking for help with alternative therapies. A haven of health on Bread Street.

Brilliant choice for vegans, super super tasty cake, smoothies and chai latte. Lovely helpful friendly staff, brilliant health food shop underneath! Has everything you could ever need!!

Amazing shop & cafe. Great range of food and products. Knowledgeable staff

Archie Brown's is a gem. Delicious healthy vegetarian food in a place where otherwise it's solid fish or expensive high-end dining. Sadly only breakfast, brunch or lunch, not evening meals, but after lunch at Archie's you're pretty well set up for the day.

Had our first meal of our holiday and our last meal a week later, both for Breakfast.

Loved the soups, really nice to see more vegetarian options available and the little shop downstairs is fantastic!

I love Archie Brown's the shop, the cafe but I've visited the cafe a few times lately and whilst the food remains great the service really lets them down. The staff in the shop are great but it seems to change as soon as you get upstairs. Where is the welcome, the smile, the thank you. It all seems to be placed in front of you and that's it.

What a wonderful unexpected lunch we had. Great food. Lovely drink options (cordials, cafe, tea, smoothies, etc). Clean bathrooms. Lovely health shop downstairs with the most helpful young man helping us find what we were looking for. Plus travel tips. Thank you!

Even as carnivores we always have a lunchtime trip here. Foods amazing and the downstairs shop always has wonderful ingredients to buy for home cooking. Soups.. different each day..are warming and filling whilst the salad selection leaves me speechless. Only downside we have is the steep stairs up to us as my husband has mobility problems but he's happy to tackle them for the food!

First class fresh veggie or vegan food, and one of the best salads I have eaten, nice health food shop downstairs too, and newspapers and sofas to pass the time, kids catered for too. Very ethical local owned business with happy friendly staff, great to support this one, and it deserves it!

Great veggie cafe tucked around the back of Penzance. Excellent shop downstairs and good sized cafe upstairs. Good quality.

Walking around Penzance and popped into the health shop , only to find the coffee shop above. Well it was a great find , great service , and great coffee. I am looking forward to eating here as the food looked great !!

Didn't stay for lunch, though I wish we had as the food looked yummy, as did the cakes. The decor was 'wacky' and interesting, the atmosphere was very relaxed and the staff very smiley. The cafe tables were set out with space around them. The health food shop downstairs was wonderful as I'm sure was the supplements section of the store. Will definitely have lunch next time we're in Penzance.

We are holiday in the area and found this lovely café with a health food shop downstairs. Our meals were delicious! beautiful tasty salad, partner had homity pie and I had some sort of vegan pie which was lush. Also had smoothie and juice. Kids meals were nice too and toys for them to play.

Sometimes you feel you might have to give up all the "traditional" dishes you want to experience as a vegan when you travel. I was so excited to learn that Archie Browns offers a full English Breakfast catered for vegans. With vegan sausage, tomatoes, beans,...

The restaurant is set above a health food store and is light, quite spacious and airy. When we visited at about 1pm the restaurant was buzzing but we got a table. The menu is biassed to Vegetarian and Vegan choices, but nonetheless the dishes all sound interesting. We both chose the Goat's Cheese stack on a bed of tomato polenta. The dish came accompanied by a very generous and interesting salad composed of grains, nuts, seeds, grated veggies and leaves. Couldn't eat it all, but it was delicious. Staff are very pleasant and helpful... order at the bar then the food is brought to the table. Children seem welcome and no one rushes you to leave the table even though it's busy. The two salads, a large sparkling mineral water and 2 coffees came to a very reasonable £24.10.

Stumbled across the health shop with a cafe on the top floor. Had the most amazing organic coffee and a piece of rose and raspberry cake which was so good. Good health food/supplement shop too.

So glad we found this place. After a long run on the south west coast path the day before, we woke up ready for a big breakfast.

Veggie and vegan heaven.... .we ate here Tuesday for the first time and were very pleasantly surprised. From the friendly vibe of the cafe, to the huge selection of food, to the wonderful staff it just could not have been a better experience. This was the best jacket potato and salad I have ever had...and trust me as a vegan for over 16 years I have had many. The quality and variety of the accompanying salads was outstanding. The salad was so good I bought another one for takeaway. It was very reasonably priced and the tub was crammed to bursting. The prices were reasonable too which is always an added bonus. My husband had the burger and halloumi which looked like a work of art....and tasted gorgeous to I am reliably informed. Although busy they all took the time to speak and be friendly. As tourists we asked for recommends of what to do and where to go in Penzance and Rebecca went over and beyond in giving help and advice.... I don't know if the establishment runs an Employee of the Week or Month but if they do then Rebecca has our vote :). We loved here so much that we are coming back today. When you have never been to a place before you end up judging a town/city on the people you meet and because of the staff here we loved Penzance and are coming back again and we are only in Cornwall for a shirt time. A huge THANK YOU.

On a recommendation my girlfriend and I went on the search fit Archie browns and had a feast!

Etwas versteckt in einer Parallelgasse befindet sich mit Archie Brown's nicht nur ein tolles Reformhaus hier, sondern im erste Stock auch ein gemütliches Café mit gesunden, leckeren Speisen. Unbedingt empfehlenswert für Veganer, denn hier gibt es eine große Auswahl an extra ausgezeichneten Speisen.

Fabulous! We had 4 different meals, the falafel burger, sweet potato burger, quiche and homity pie! And everyone gave it a 10/10 score! The sesame seeds on the salad was a great idea and will be using that at home! Once too full of pasties definitely time to seek out Archie Browns! Just what the doctor ordered. Wholesome, good vegetarian food and a fabulous shop downstairs filled to the brim of health products.

My sister loves this shop and its vegan and gluten friendly products. She gets carried away buying scones,jams,flatbread sandwiches and chocolate and all sorts. She happily gets Carried away and come out feeling nourishment and positive. They are very helpful and will talk through choices suggestions,alternatives and decisions without pressuring you to purchase anything. You could easily spend money here and they have the right attitude There is a ground floor and an upper floor with a nice relaxed cafe but it's not disabled friendly to get up the stairs to enjoy that aspect. However they do offer to help you if you would like to try and embark on the journey up the stairs but we kindly declined.

We went here for lunch again today and as always we weren't disappointed !! Lovely atmosphere , friendly staff and delicious food .....

Love eating the farinata here, a different twist on one it each time served with a tasty salad, smoothies are great too.

I eat here all the time, so refreshing as a vegetarian to have the full choice on a menu. The salads are just incredible, always hard to decide where to push the fork in first, bursting with flavour and so so fresh...and my goodness, the hummity pie is practically a piece of art!Small menu, well priced but a good one, always plenty of tasty specials on the board that change regularly, and the smoothies and desserts are lush.

Vanmiddag hier geluncht met man en kinderen. Alles vegetarisch en biologisch en de keus is ruim genoeg met een dagelijkse aanvulling waar je ook uit kunt kiezen. Ik had een linzensoep met geroosterde paprika en komijn met brood, de anderen een quiche met paddestoelen, een quesedilla en een falafelburger. Veel soorten thee, smoothies en shakes of fruitsapjes. De kinderen hadden beide een smoothie die ze erg lekker vonden. Voor veel gerechten waren er ook veganistische of glutenvrije opties. Ook op een woensdagmiddag door de week zat het aardig vol, maar we hoefden niet op een tafeltje te wachten. €37 voor vier personen inclusief drankjes, vind ik erg meevallen. Er staan kannen met kraanwater en glazen klaar die je gewoon mag pakken. Onder het café zit nog een health foodwinkel, met een uitgebreid assortiment. Kortom, best een aanrader!

As always, the cafe is well-presented and the staff are friendly and accommodating. My husband and I had a date and walnut slice and an orange cake respectively. The cakes were lovely - moist but light, with a nice balance of flavours. The price was fair, too - pot of tea for two and two cakes for £7.45. Worth the visit.

The food was excellent and the portions were large. Great selection of food on the menu. Friendly staff.

Lovely cafe upstairs in a health shop. My wife and I shared a baked potato with hummus and a falafel dish. Both were vegan and gluten free and were accompanied with a mixed salad. Delicious food and highly recommended.

Archie Browns always delivers good service and food which as a vegetarian I can trust. It's a regular for me but the salad gets even better if this is possible. So many different components and always a surprise. There's plenty to choose from for veggies and vegans and the ingredients are well sourced and reliable,fresh and beautifully cooked. Great place,superb friendly servers and warm atmosphere.Terrific value too. Thanks Archies.

We always call in at this place and have looked forward to our visit each time.The fresh salad was great, and the sweet potato wedges were excellent, the sauce being particularly fiery. they also do a very good coffee. I had the latte with extra shot.I no longer have milk now, however, having discovered the terrible way cows are treated to extract the stuff.

I had the homity pie and salad. I would have given 5 stars except that the waiter had his hand inside the glass a he carried it

Divine. Such tasty soup, served with bread and butter. Simple lunch at £6 per person. Lots of seating, some lovely food on the specials board. We had date cake and coffees too. Toilets. Lots of steps so please bear that in mind. We bought bread as we left. That's breakfast tomorrow

They basically have so little modern health care stock & are hopelessly dated and over-priced.There is nothing to recommend.

Excellent tasty healthy food. We could not fault it. Great atmosphere and helpful staff. Great for vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.

Visited this restaurant as people talk about it a lot. Expected outstanding food but I would say it's nice. Quite expensive I felt.

Good choice of menu. Very tasty and correct servings. Nice, relaxed atmosphere but be warned reserve a table if you want to eat during the main lunch "rush hour". Otherwise, you will be queing!