Dan Dan - The Lobster Man in Cornwall, Isles of Scilly

We have the medium seafood platter between the three of us £100 great food.

I had the lobster salad it was very tasty , hubby had seafood platter 🦞 Friendly staff x

I visit Dan every year, travelling from Cumbria. He is always cheerful and courteous. The food is always fantastic. I really hope he will be there for years to come!!!

Terrible value for money. Over £100 for a seafood platter which I don't mind paying if the quality and quantity is there. I asked the guy if it was enough for three people and he said it was. Once I got back home and opened the platter there was only two slices of bread (for three people), three half tomatoes, a tiny pot of watery prawns, small pot of mussels, six king prawns, anchovies, a small amount of crab and lobster. To add to the insult the brown crab meat was not brown crab meat but crab roe which I do not like and is also illegal under the trade description act. We ended up having to cook some more food after finishing the rip off platter as we were all still hungry. This was my third visit here with the first good, second was ok and this one being an absolute joke and rip off. I will now just go to Harvey's at Newlyn where all the seafood on one of Dan's Platters can be bought for about £35

Amazing food, great cider and friendly staff.

A quick visit to buy a foot pump (camping in Cornwall) we found Dan’s place. Had a lovely seafood platter. Friendly staff and good seafood. A bit pricey but worth every penny. Thanks.

Amazing seafood restaurant in Porthleven. The lobster & crab is hours fresh, dressed and beautifully presented by lovely staff who go the extra mile to make everyone's dining experience one that will keep people coming back for more. Set on the Quay, alongside the harbour and a firm favourite with locals, by keeping the prices reasonable everyone is able to enjoy & experience the best of Cornish produce & cuisine. Will be recommending & frequenting Dan Dan's seafood restaurant again & again.

Friendly staff. Extremely disappointed with the £26 cooked lobster - tasteless like frozen watery seafood. Didn’t help when the guts were washed with water which may have washed away the flavour but the meat the claws didn’t have much taste either. Such as shame 😕. There is definitely a market for cooked lobster but it failed to deliver on this occasion. Would however recommend their tasty king prawns for £6.50. UPDATE I was visiting Porthelevan and purchased the lobster and prawns to takeaway for dinner later that day because just had lunch from a nearby restaurant. As I stayed approximately 1hrs drive away and on a group holiday itinerary, it would be difficult for me to return the unwanted lobster to the store for a replacement or refund. My recommendation is that if you don’t live locally and just passing by, then try their food there and find out yourselves. If there are any problems with the food, then do not hesitate with the friendly staff. Bon appetit!

Food was pretty good - well worth giving it a try. But probably won't choose this option next time. Not a fan of having a service charge pushed on us for 'street food'.

Belated but I came here last year with my wife after a long run from Penzance and this was impromptu date spot was incredible. The food was amazing and the guys who run it are cool as hell

Just a cozy and very well-kept outdoor kitchen with wooden benches. Pure and fresh composed dishes of fresh crustaceans. Top!!

Just terrible tacos crab was covered in mayo and the best bit was it was just at the very top of all the lettuce better calling it lettuce tacos with crab and mayo. The tiny pot of cockles at £6 works out to around 50p a cockle in vinegar.

A lovely place for a seafood lunch. We had Fish Tacos and Mackerel Pate, which were lovely.

Hours need updating. No idea when actually open but doesn't seem to be mid week at all.

Not open. Made the effort to come here. 14.30 on a Thursday. Says open on Google Maps. Ain't open!!!

Delicious food, great location, friendly staff

Absolutely gorgeous crab and king prawns worth 200 mile trip 🦀😎😎💖💯

We visited here today, and I can honestly say the food was fabulous and really well presented and the flavours were amazing

Absolutely delicious and all wrapped up to take away with salad and Marie Rose sauce

Braved a windy day to sit outside and enjoy a seafood mini mezze! Too early for lobster sadly but we loved the fresh seafood and friendly service

My friends and I were really looking forward to eating at Dan's, having read the hype, we left our sunny coast walk early to eat here on the way home. Started ok, ordered our food and waited...and waited. Other people ordered after us and were served plates of food. Still we waited. Now mistakes happen but the benchmark of good hospitality is how they are dealt with. It appears our order was overlooked but when after 45 minutes we asked about progress of the order, we were told that yes it was on it's way, but still we waited. At this point we thought they would apologise and priotise our order. Others were served and still we waited. We had ordered a lobster platter and a ploughman's lunch, no cooking required. After an hour we became so frustrated that we decided the food wasn't worth waiting for and asked for a refund. Our concerns were met with poor excuses and no desire to see us leaving as satisfied customers. An apology and perhaps a free drink would have helped to put things right. Instead we left angry at the way we were treated and how we wasted over an hour of our precious time. You may wonder how Dan gets all good reviews on his website? We tried to follow up on our experience and give Dan a chance to make good. However his reaction was negative and he removed our review and blocked us! We live nearby and will not be returning.

Dan Dan could not careless man I had followed social media posts and thought this eatery looked like a lively happy place to eat. It could not be further from the truth. Everything is happy and gay until there is a problem. We were met with aloof denials, petulance and bitterness. Food was ordered and did not arrive despite other customers ordering and receiving there food in the interim. After 45 minutes I politely asked how much longer and was greeted with 'we are only 2 staff and we are very busy." At 50 minutes a member of staff approached us to ask what we were waiting for. When the 60 minute marked passed I decided even if it did arrive I wouldn't enjoy it owing to the staff attitude. I asked for a refund and again was greeted with no customer care, huffing deep breaths and eye rolling. The 2 staff could not/did not know how to refund from a card machine. They paid me back in cash. When I got home I checked my bank statement and was short changed by £6. I emailed Dan Dan and asked if a person in charge could call me to go through the problems - I had no response. 10 days later I messaged on social media and had numerous messages from undisclosed people being curt and unhelpful. To the point I just don't want to deal with them. This is how they treat hardworking locals. I won't be going there and to all our friends and visitors I certainly will be warning them of our experience. When there is a problem they just do not want to know and will go out of there way to obnoxious.

* I also posted this review on Dan's fb page, it was deleted and I was blocked! * Myself & 2 friends visited on the 6th of October. We ordered 1 x seafood platter and 1 x ploughman's. The cost of the platter rose from the advertised price of £75 to £90 as that corresponding size lobster was sold out. Why not just alter the chalk board menu? The advertised price should have been honoured. Tips are requested at the time of ordering, we thought this was quite bizarre so declined. We sat down with our drinks (mine was a plastic cup of ice with a dash of coke) and waited expectantly for our lunch. 45 minutes later there is no sign of our meals and to add insult to injury we could see several people who had ordered after us munching away on theirs. We inquired and were told "we are very busy and there's only 2 of us". My question as to why later orders had been fulfilled was ignored. 15 minutes later still nothing and the kitchen was closed for cleaning. It had now been an hour and we'd had enough so requested a refund. Refund was given minus the cost of the drinks (£6 odd). I thought this was unfair as we'd been a 'captive audience' for the last hour. The 2 staff were hostile, unhelpful and had no interest in trying to rectify the situation. They denied the order had been missed, but what other explanation could there be? We left very stressed and hungry. What a waste of a precious hour on a lovely hot day. Dan was emailed 12 days ago regarding this fiasco but has chosen not to respond, hence the review.

Absolutely amazing seafood platter. The lobster was very tasty and cooked to perfection, so were the prawns and crab. The ambiance was very friendly and chilled. We were served by Marco and Paul, who looked after us and made sure we were happy with the food. Amazing guys! Highly recommend and will definitely be stopping at Dan's shack once we're in Porthleven again.

What an interesting place, I can recommend the crab tacos probably the best way I eaten crab as the taco shell does not hide the crab. Even if you do not normally drink cider, give a half a go you may change your mind. My wife doesn’t eat shell fish, she doesn’t like most fish so she sat and had bread and butter, which is probably the weirdest thing they’ve had to serve, the bloke took it with very good humour! Speaking of which the guys there are very friendly and patient. Good luck and I hope everything turns out OK for next season.

Marco and Griff absolutely make this! Fantastic food, the cider is far too good and the banter.... thank you both 🤣🤣 our quiet afternoon out was definitely made with the entertainment from you both! Being in hospitality too, I really appreciate the end of season. You two are absolute gold, look forward to seeing you dreckly!!!

Amazing crab in the salad, even better in the tacos, super fresh prawns and beautiful cider. So good infact we had to buy a 3L bag of it. The service was great, laughing and joking, do not miss this place if you are in porthleven, even if you aren't it's woth the detour! Gunna come back for the lobster!

Loved this place. Amazing location, friendly staff, lovely food. Thank you

I cannot tell if the food was better or the service. Excellent dinner! Do not miss out, you have to try their menu!

Great fresh seafood and nice selection of ciders.

Mega! Proper prawn and crab sandwiches. Decent beer, quality atmosphere and staff that love it! Lobster on next visit! 😍

Last day of the hol - we went for a run and headed to the harbour for a morning dip. Sensational Sam, of Dan Dan the Lobster Man, beckoned us in and showed us some freshly caught lobsters. This set us up for the day. Tea time rolled around and Sam welcomed us back. We had our hearts set on half a lobster, but when we came to order he told us about a fresh batch of crayfish that was worth considering, especially as it’s served with hot butter. We’d never had it before and worried if it was worth the hype but Sam reassured us that it was delicious - we even met fisherman Dan Dan!! We all locked in and ordered 3, alongside a sensational bottle of Prosecco and deadly delicious cider. Not to mention 3 crunchy crab tacos! Golden hour sun topped the whole experience off. The evening was made by Sam’s infectious positivity, a worldly man, living off grid. We shared tales of the hol, finished off by drinks on the slip way.

Visited this venue on multiple occasions over our two-week stay in the area. It helped to save our holiday. The Storm Damage cider is the best I've ever tasted (like the best stewed apple in drink form). My wife and I bought 5 litres to bring home. The rum is also gorgeous (bought a bottle of that too), and the food! All of it is top notch, and we even splashed out on the sharing platter. Best seafood I've ever had!

Incredibly fresh seafood! Super recommended

Amazing food and super welcoming owners!

Excellent crab sandwich comes with salad and Marie rose sauce. Reasonable prices. I would come here again definitely.

Went to get some lobsters for a special occasion,plus ended up getting the crab tacos that was just incredible! If you go there and they suggest trying the crab tacos go for it,you won't regret it. The perfect crunch from the hard shell taco and the sweet sweet crab meat,plus the thiny bit of the wasabi makes a perfect bite ! So happy that we tried them, if I'm totally honest ,could have had at least 10 of them if not even more 🦀

The worst meal I have had in Cornwall in my time here, I never write reviews but had to for this. Salad had no dressing and not even a little olive oil, it was dry and bland. The lobster had no seasoning, no butter no parsley .. nothing! It was chewy and extremely bland. My first experience of trying lobster and it’s ruined.

We have been visiting the lobster shack since it first opened but were very disappointed on our recent visit. The £17.50 lobster roll had the smallest "micro" layer of lobster eat, no big chunks at all, just looked like off bits from the tiny legs. I reckon it would not have weighed even 15g such was the miniscule quantity of lobster meat. A decent lobster roll should be packed full of nice juicy lobster meat, not from Dan. Perhaps popularity and greed are the issue here. Sad.

Crab sarnie went down a dream! Freshly caught seafood, top grub

Two young girls were lovely and friendly and the food was amazing Highly recommend

Sensational food. I had the lobster tail plus some king prawns, and the guys were testing out some new items on the bbq which I hope they decide to keep doing! My only regret is not trying more, but I’ll be back for sure

Had the medium lobster and salad from here twice in a week. Fresh and decent value for money… salad mix had a slight Asian kick (spring onions and coriander?) which was fantastic! Great as a light meal for one or even better to compliment the fries-heavy street food from across the harbour at mussel shoal 🔥🔥🔥

Eat here as soon as you possibly can!!

Crab. Tacos. Get them, go and get them again, and just before you leave get one more order.

Wow what a great addition to Porthleven, we’ve eaten here twice this week already and will likely visit again before we depart. The food is delicious we’ve tried the crab and prawn sandwiches and salads which are both crammed full of seafood. The bread is extremely fresh and the mixed salad served with both plentiful! The staff are really friendly and welcoming can’t get enough of this place!

An absolutely delicious crab salad.... Would definitely recommend stopping and trying the food....

Made up our own selection of seafood and it was EXCELLENT. What you see in the photo includes: King Prawns - definitely the star of the show. They came cooked (as shown in the photo) and you need to remove the heads & shells then clean them properly, but they are well worth it! 10/10 White crab meat - we're not keen on brown meat so got the white meat, and it was fabulous! 10/10 Marie Rose Sauce - excellent and went well with everything. 10/10 Lobster - really good and well prepared so can be eaten really easily, although we did have a bit of fun digging out some of the meat from the legs. It was all great - just the prawns were a bit better! 9/10 Anchovies - if you like herring rollmops (which we do), these were similar in flavour to those - nothing like what you might get on a pizza! 9/10 Cockles - the only thing we were slightly disappointed with and that was only because they were still a bit gritty - they came as shown in the photo and as we were on holiday we weren't really set up for straining things so as to get rid of the grit but keep the vinegar. They were still OK, but a bit gritty. Overall - very happy with what we got - more than enough for a seafood platter feast followed by finishing them off in sandwiches! If you're in Porthleven and like seafood - go and have a chat with Dan and the team and give them a try - highly recommended!

Had a great salad with half a lobster; friend had crab salad. Everything super fresh and good dressing on salad. Only negative thing is there are not many tables to eat at although you can carry the food to eat anywhere. We were lucky and a table became free. Visited Porthleven as part of West Kernow Way cycle route in September and the weather was warm and sunny. Perfect spot for lunch.

Absolutely stunning food The lobster was beautiful and so fresh. Must try the hot smoked mackerel bun. Staff friendly and accommodating. With the lobster pots in the background and the sun shining it’s the perfect lunch. Porthleven heaven at its finest

Absolutely fabulous lobster, the best I’ve ever had anywhere. Freshly caught and cooked. My husband had the crab sandwiches and they also were fabulous as they use great bread and creamy butter. Dan is quite a character (you can tell) and his lovely dog swims around in the harbour alongside his cafe with a smile on his face - you can see he loves it. A must if you want no frills but great food in this pretty harbour. Wish we lived closer as we would be there every week!

Located on the harbour side in a shipping container just outside The Ship pub. Absolutely superb, quite surprised this wasn't done years ago, although Porthleven is rapidly becoming the place to go for outstanding food. Super fresh shellfish including, lobster (whole, half & tail), crab, prawns, octopus salad and a whole selection of other items. Similar in ethos to The Mussel Shoal with quality over quantity, although the portions are actually really good, and a focus on honest, simple food rather than overcomplicated stuff where the hype is better than the actual product. I had a medium lobster tail served with lemon, melted herb butter and bread and butter, it was absolutely superb. A must visit.

Amazing dinner here, we both had a half lobster here on the quayside with some fizz bought from the co-op down the road. Fantastic service to from the owner.

What an amazing find. Stopped here for some lunch and it was fabulous. 3 very large and very fresh crab sandwiches. The crab was obviously local and new off the boat. There was a bit of a queue but it was really worth the wait as they took great care prepping the meal. Will be back.

Delicious half of lobster with salad and bread, highly recommended

Had the Half Lobster today and the other half had a Crab Salad and both dishes were amazing!!! So so fresh! Highly recommend having some grub here. Just, perfect. *chefs kiss*

We ate there three times in a week, absolutely perfect fresh and delicious seafood! I loved the Lobster roll and hubby loved the crab sandwich. The girls there are super nice and very helpful. Loved it more than most restaurants. Definitely a spot I will remember for life! Thanks!

What a discovery this pop-up stall is. Lovely fresh lobster and crab. Very friendly service from local staff. Dan sells lobsters etc. all over the country so his reputation is widespread. Lobster salads are prepared whilst you wait by the skilled staff. If you want to try anything there are pots of samples on the counter. The anchovies are to die for, especially the ones in garlic. It is very important to support local industries especially fresh fish types in Cornwall as well as elsewhere. Forget McD and similar, try the healthy options and Dan Dan the lobsterman is definitely one of them. We'd never tried lobster before, we were enticed in by the friendly sales pitch and were hooked. Good luck to you Dan and your lovely staff.

We were paddle boarding in the harbour and just happened to notice Dan's business. Intrigued by the live lobsters in the tank we stopped by. Dan was very gracious and gave us a 20 minute talk on the lobsters. He explained his sustainable approach to fishing which has been part of his family since he was a boy. He let the kids touch the lobster gently and we were all impressed by his knowledge and gracious and caring approach hence this review.

Delicious seafood platter, the anchovies were to die for! Huge portion size, was more than enough for our party of 6! Will definitely be returning when we're back in the area.

Had a fantastic lunch here. Staff were lovely and so was the seafood.

Stopped for a light bite of dressed crab and king prawns. Excellent food, fast and friendly service!

Seafood platter outside on the bench last night, overlooking the harbour, bottle of fizz - awesome, awesome, awesome! This was the highlight of our stay, totally delicious.

The best crab sandwich I have ever had!!!

Fabulous seafood platter - great service and even better food. We had it as a takeaway with a bottle of fizz.

delicious fresh lobster on the coast! Incredible service, friendly staff, they went above and beyond to make my experience perfect!

Had cockles and mussles and fresh anchovies. Superb.

Staff were so friendly! Lobster and prawns were fresh and amazing. Would go back!

Amazing fresh shellfish. Had the dressed crab and pickled anchovies, pure heaven

Probably our favourite lunch we've had during our stay in lovely Porthleven! Friendly staff and the freshest seafood ever! We had the lobster roll, half a lobster and giant prawns and both myself and my husband are are in agreement that it was all delicious! Especially the prawns which were some of the largest and juiciest we've ever seen! We originally wanted to sit on one of the benches with some drinks from The Ship (it's a byob kinda place), but unfortunately the weather wasn't playing ball so we took the food back home to enjoy, but we'd love to come back at some point on a hot sunny day to wile away an afternoon drinking cider and eating super fresh seafood, doesn't get much better than that!

Dan Dan the lobster man and his daughters Jasmine and Poppy are amazing!! Dan's the go and getter and Jasmine is the service with a smile ❤️ This is exactly what Porthleven needed.. Fresh seafood on your doorstep.. And service with a smile! Real quality food and at an affordable price! I love the fact you can go to the Ship Inn get yourself a pint and sit on Dan's benches with a seafood sandwich... Orrr get the takeaway seafood platter and sit at the ship or the Mussel shoal... What a place to live!!! Thank you Dan for always making me smile and for your dedication& hard work of putting a little fishy on my dishy!! Keep being you and your little business is going to thrive..

The staff couldn't have done anymore, great service and very friendly. Lobster was delicious, the ice bucket for our wine - brink your own - was a bonus. Definitely will be going again. Thanks all.

Excellent service and very nice fresh crab and lobster.

You don't get better than that. Direct from the boat in Porthleven to the platter on the quayside with amazing views, enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff. 😋

Friendly staff great tasting fresh lobster do your self a favour and don’t walk by. Glad we chose you out of all the restaurants and eateries that are on offer down here. Really great lunch. Thank you.👍

Wonderful lunch experience in Porthleven, friendly staff and a delicious lobster salad, reasonably priced yet lots of luscious lobster! All served in recyclable containers, not fine dining just great food in a great location 👍

Bought a lovely crab it was delicious extremely please!

Staff were really warm and friendly. They had some lovely samples / tasters out and were great with the kids. Really enthusiastic about what they do. Dan got my little one to stroke a lobster and came out for a picture with a huge crab. Very knowledgeable, great products we will go back before we go home.

They should call him Dan Dan the righteous man because he doesn't listen to two sides of the story.