Mermaid Alley in Cornwall, Isles of Scilly

Lovely local restaurant and the food was delicious!

We went there based on the recommendations in the travel guide and Google. The ambience is unusual, but not as quaintly cozy as most pubs. A little clearer and cooler, a little like the sea. The staff was incredibly friendly and very competent. The gurnard was very tasty, buttery soft and seasoned with a wonderful sauce. The cheeseburger with fries was presented a little unusually and was particularly spicy because the fries were drowned in hot red sauce. Overall, still a nice stay.

Fantastic service, Outstanding staff,, utterly amazing food, mermaid Alley is simply brilliant place to eat and drink,,,

Food was amazing, cocktails were amazing, staff were very attentive! Would recommend and go again. Thanks 😊

Takeaway box was delicious and great value for money, also had some side with it. Will definitely be in again

Spur of the minute as we walked by - the menu looked lovely, plenty of veggie options and they had room. We weren’t disappointed- the food was delicious, really interesting dishes, well cooked and so tasty. Service was quick and friendly. Definitely recommended and we will be back. Thank you!

Omg amazing, lovely place, the food and hospitality was great, but we already knew as it’s our second visit and it didn’t disappoint. We will make it a regular feature when we visit Cornwall again. Best place in Penzance by far, Mauritian cuisines were delicious

Very lovely place food is banging . Quick service to

Just had the £5 takeaway box it was delicious.

Food is lush, prices are incredible affordable..

Really nice food even better cocktails 🍸 highly recommend

DJ was definitely on my Spotify playlist! 🥳

What a lovely evening! Date night with the wife and tried this place for 1st time and it won't be last! Food and service was top notch! Thank you very much for a lovely evening!

Absolutely amazing food, very welcoming team and lovely environment! Called in on the off chance they could fit us in, and they luckily could. Witnessed exceptional service while there, to ourselves and others. The food was incredible - best meal I have had for some time! Book ahead if you can, as we were lucky to get in!

Lively atmosphere, lovely staff, generous portions of delicious food. The kind of place I would want to go to on a daily basis. Just awesome. Had a fantabulous time ,thanks team xxxx

What a find! We’re regular visitors to PZ for work and leisure but never made it here before now. This is straightforward home cooked soul food, served with passion and a great vibe in a family business- we loved it! Nice wines and cocktails , great food and plenty of chat if you want it. We probably outstayed our welcome but ended up talking about music and travels etc and the time ran away but we felt as if if we’d made new friends……great value and firmly on our list when we’re next in PZ.

The food was OK, but the service was really lovely…

Wow! This little gem of a restaurant is a favourite of my sister and her husband. My first visit did not disappoint. The staff were so welcoming and friendly giving the restaurant a real homely feel. Indulged in a cocktail - oh my goodness - I guarantee you won’t find a better cocktail anywhere else - it was amazing!!!! The food was just superb and plenty of it! This is truly one of the best dining experiences I have been fortunate enough to partake in. This beautiful little restaurant has quickly become a firm favourite! Can’t wait to visit again!

Wonderful food, great atmosphere and really helpful staff. We hadn’t booked, and knowing it’s quite small we weren’t hopeful, but found us a table and had a really great meal.

Amazing Mauritian food, service was excellent and is the best place we have visited in Cornwall, will be coming again

Brilliant food, full of flavour and portion sizes very hearty. Staff are great and friendly. Restaurant is quite small with a very nice atmosphere.

Delicious food and very courteous staff I would recommend this lovely restaurant . I had Mama Mary’s biriyani and a homemade honeycomb cheesecake.

Great service but very average food.

I came here with my husband while visiting Cornwall. The food (I'm a celiac but they have plenty of gluten-free options) and the service were excellent. Would definitely recommend!

Great food, quickly served. Very attentive service. We had the ‘Alley’ curry and squid and chips. Both big portions and delicious.

My wife is very choosy and had spent ages on Trip Advisor doing due diligence to find a really great family run, family friendly restaurant and she came up with this place, Mermaid Alley. And oh my goodness we really hit the jackpot. It's a great little independent restaurant with a terrific, wide ranging menu to suit everyone, including fussy kids!! We highly recommend the Mauritian fish and chips. A great ambience, timely service and super friendly staff (especially Lennox) at a reasonable price. Genuinely don't go anywhere else. The next time we're in Penzance, we cannot wait to return.

The food was super tasty, especially the Thali! Staff was incredibly nice and welcoming. Fantastic cocktails. A really lovely place to go

This family run business is homely, welcoming and relaxed. They go all out to make you welcome and the food tastes like delish home cooked food with a twist! Defo recommend if you are looking for a nice meal in Penzance.

We had a meal here with the family last week, August 2023 and it was fantastic. Wonderful flavours and the staff couldn't be more helpful. Great cocktails too!

Food was nice but seating upstairs it gets too hot no air flow in the summer. Great staff but no atmosphere when we went

Five stars all round, nice staff, great original cocktails, delicious food at reasonable prices. Family run with relaxed atmosphere, it's a real treat.

Absolutely wonderful! The food is incredible, and the cocktails were nice and strong! Great value for money and such happy friendly service. Can’t wait to visit again!

Best food in penzance. 10/10 cuisine. Incredibly welcoming atmosphere. What more could you want?? Shout outs to my man Lenny P. Keep mixing them wicked drinks boi.

Hele goede sfeer. Hadden niet gereserveerd maar toch een plekje kunnen creëren met onze 3 kinderen. Ontvangst voelde gelijk goed. Personeel erg vriendelijk en heerlijk gegeten. Supersfeer. Kaart beperkt maar het was toch lastig kiezen vanwege de heerlijke gerechten en oke prijzen.

Always on the look out for local or regional restaurants, so we booked a Mauritian restaurant in Penzance. As you do. It was an inspired choice. Greeted like family, tthe food was both excellent but also had the feel of 'home cooking' - which, in this context, is no bad thing. Delightful meal, served with a smile. Loved the dhal, and the chicken cari. What a way to end the holiday - worth walking from St Ives for!

What a welcome. Such a lovely family, great, different food. Scallops in particular!

We had a friendly welcome from the staff and the decor and atmosphere was nice. Best pf all was the delicious food, really different to the usual and excellent quality, freshly cooked. The mocktails were delicious too. Definitely would come again. Very reasonable prices as well

Delicious asian fusion meal, served by friendly helpful you staff. The meal was fresh and very tasty, and atmosphere cosy but comfortable. All at a reasonable price too.

The food was just lovely. Different flavours. Some slightly spicy but huge variety. Plenty for vegan and gluten free folk but everyone seemed happy. Friendly staff who were running hard but found time to chat. And a nice age range among the customers. Be sure to book - they seemed to try hard to fit people in but were full. Thank you!!

YOU NEED TO GO HERE. A small & family owned hidden gem. 1) The best food. If you’ve tired of fish & chips or steak, & even if you haven’t & want an amazing culinary experience because they do serve fish & chips with a nice twist. The food is tasty & exotic - with a touch of Mauritius I believe - & you can taste the love & care they’ve put in it. They cater to both vegan, vegetarian & meat. 2) The most friendly staff. 3) And the ambiance is also so refreshing & cozy with lovely décor & artwork. 4) Their famous milkshakes & drinks? ABSOLUTELY NEXT LEVEL. You HAVE to try their shakes with roasted marshmallows… Best restaurant visit we’ve had in England. Can’t recommend this place enough. We hope to be back soon. Thanks to the MA Team! 🌟

We visited the Mermaid Alley cafe at lunchtime on a blustery June day. We have been before, in fact we make a point of visiting whenever we are in Cornwall. It is worth it! Today we both had the Mauritian fish and chips. Wow, just...

Staff were knowledgeable about the menu. Menu was different from the norm. Food was exciting and delicious. Very good value for money. Great atmosphere

What a beautiful experience- amazing Mauritian food cooked and served by a family with authentic Mauritian heritage. Flavour explosions in every dish and attentive enthusiastic service.

Really fresh tasty food, great flavour combinations, and three meals for £40 with drinks. The new chef that has taken over the kitchen can certainly cook! Fabulous!

Delicious food, amazing flavours. Lovely cocktail. Wonderful staff and service. One minor grip was the portion was a bit small. Would still choose this place again though.

I hosted my friends baby shower at Mermaid Alley and it was amazing! The food and drinks are so good I’d definitely like to go there again. Everyone was really happy with the food. It was a great space and just what I needed. The...

Went tonight for dinner with Mrs G Food was very nice, price reasonable and the service from very young staff was excellent. If you are in Penzance and want a nice evening out go to Mermaid Alley. We will definitely be going back again.

Well I have just had the best birthday lunch ever, was due to go to St Ives but the bus didn’t turn up, so decided to stay in my home town for my bday celebration. Everyone has raved about Mermaid Alley and now I know...

Very tasty food. Plentiful, colourful and lots of hints of spice, chilli and herbs. Lovely staff and a relaxing, friendly atmosphere.

Great food we had a love meal here and will definitely be coming back it was delicious, I highly recommend it

That was one happy choses i've done,i'm so tired about the "same things,same food,places and the marmeids make me dream.Awesome food,something different but absolutely amazing.The guy that help me chose was so lovely and kind,make everthing special,unique. Fresh,tasty..Highly recommended.

Excellent food amazing place with great staff highly recommend

We were do delighted by the wonderful food and people. We had lovely seafood, Mauritian style. So fresh and delicious. This is a quickly, little gem of a restaurant. The staff and owners are so proud of their cooking. Very friendly place. The team anaged...

OMG....the menu looked great but actually the food was awesome....amazing flavours, fantastic combinations, ample portions....just great meals all round....one of those occasions when everyone wanted to share every dish with everyone else. Perfect service....Good prices....all in all a restaurant worthy of putting PZ on the...

Wow wow wow, we have always loved this place and always gave it 5 stars..... So with a change of chef it surpassed our expectations food was out of this world. Beyond expectations truely the best food EVER. taste were out of this world, service...

Went with my son and was blown away with the food and service. Well recommended with some tasty dishes . Beautiful

My wife and I were blown away by the quality of the food and the really friendly service. The food was based on a Mauritius theme. We chose off the "specials board", and they were. And to add to that they do the most amazing cocktails. Thanks for a fab evening 😀 😊 😘 Martyn & Alie

My wife and I were blown away by the quality of the food and the really friendly service. The food was based on a Mauritius theme. We chose off the "specials board", and they were. And to add to that they do the most amazing...

Great customer service. Thats it. Food was bland, boring and dryyyy. Menu made everything sound wonderful yet when it came out it was immediately disappointing. Bland boiled rice. Chips clearly bought from the shop around the corner. Spicy ball things anything but. Needed sauce to...

Incredible family-run restaurant. Super cute decor but the things that really blew us away was 1. The personable, joyful service with top food recommendations. 2. The incredible food! So many great vegetarian and meat options.

We had a fabulous evening, amazing food with an excellent selection of vegan options and my partner described the upside down pineapple cake as quite possibly the nicest dessert she’d ever had. We’ll be back, thank you so much.

Absolutely delicious meal! Haven’t stop telling people since we’ve been! Highly recommend the Dhal, slaw and basically everything else on the menu! Beautiful vegan food, relaxed atmosphere and a wonderful friendly team! Highly recommend a visit! Run by a local family ❤️

Thank you so much for hosting our staff Christmas party. The food was fabulous. The cocktails were amazing. The service overall was brillant. We really appreciate all the effort you went to. We will be back !

Had a great meal. Fish perfectly cooked. Not too expensive. Staff were lovely and explained all parts of the menu. Will definitely book again and would recommend.

Incredibly good service- the young man was charismatic and helpful when asking for dish recommendations. The menu had quite a lot of choice considering each dish had been very well thought out- plus there was another full list of specials which all sounded amazing. The...

The best food! Something for everyone! All foodies catered for! What a talented kitchen and chefs. And the front of house are so delightful..... such a lucky find! Why didn't I know about it sooner! Thank you for such lovely food and service!

Absolutely nothing to fault. Lovely people, amazing food, great setting. This has to be one of the best places to eat in Penzance, we will return.

Love eating at this place. Lovly food. Great for a daytime catch-up with a cocktail. Friendly staff and a generally lovely little joint.

Food was absolutely divine! The pulled pork and jalapeño scotch eggs are amazing!! Great staff and some fabulous cocktails

Just had one of the best and most flavoursome meals at this little restaurant. We absolutely loved the kung po / bang bang broccoli (they had run out of cauliflower) and the hake and chicken dishes were amazing too. Staff were lovely. So glad we...

Really quirky options here to delight the tastebuds. Super friendly staff and nice, relaxed atmosphere. Portions quite big.

Delightfull staff, absolutely delicious food, so much so we returned one week later. Very resonably priced menu considering the quality of the food. If you visit, you must try their Scotch egg starter. Just wished we lived locally so we could work our way through everything on their menu. Thank you Mermaid Alley.

A very relaxed atmosphere. Friendly staff . Delightful food reasonably priced considering the quality. Just had to go there at the start and end of our holiday.

Great, local,well cooked and well presented food. And you definitely get plenty of food for your money. Great, attentive staff too. Recommend.

Dam tasty food, very friendly sercice

This is rated the number one restaurant in Penzance. Quite simply it isn't. It's in a good position, the staff are lovely, the interior is nice. But...The service is dreadfully slow, and the food was distinctly average. We mildly complained, but it was noticed that...

Been to penzance many times,tried booking mermaid alley before ,fully booked!! Now I know why!!,fabulous food,and service,cannot fault this restaurant!! a must when in penzance

Ordered pretty much the whole menu for us all to share - faultless. Highly recommend - the deserts were a particular treat. Ask to see the drinks menu. Lovely.

Worked around our ferry times and found us a table. Excellent food and delicious margaritas. Friendly staff, good atmosphere. A perfect way to end my birthday!

Lovely food, friendly people, interesting menu.

Friendly warm welcome. Lovely service. Excellent tasty food and great cocktails. The Mac cheese with pork cheeks was gorgeous. Smoked mackerel pate with fresh salmon was delicious. Husband really enjoyed his falafels followed by brisket burger.

Wow! We find it really hard to find a restaurant where the menu really does offer some unique creations and tastes at a really reasonable price. Mermaid Alley achieves this and some. Genuinely lovely people looking after you. The chef is a gem with some...

Amazing meals, starters blew my mind and my partner had the an incredible burger. Staff were really nice, couldn't recommend it more

I prebooked Mermaid Alley for two of us for a Friday evening from the consistently good Tripadvisor reviews, and we were not disappointed. We loved the Mermaid themed novel cocktails we had to start. The tomato and basil soup starter had a lovely flavour with...

We stopped in Penzance last Friday and Googled the best place to have lunch. Oh my word was it a good choice! The ambience is lovely and the owners very welcoming and friendly. But the food and beverage are amazing. We had passionfruit coolers, the brisket burger, macaroni cheese, affogato and another dessert which involved deconstructed cheesecake... everything was delicious, beautiful to look at, and packed with thrilling flavours in every single mouthful. We believed the Google Reviews and you should too. We will be back!! Thank you so much to Mum and all your team for a lovely spontaneous lunch!

Small restaurant in Penzance with a menu that is just a bit different from most others. Then executed very well to make a series of dishes packed full of taste Good example - offered an affagatto for desert but this was not just a coffee...

Amazing as always, I love it here and everytime I visit Penzance I always book at least 1 visit to mermaid alley! Staff are always attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. I honestly can't fault a single thing. Make sure you book a table to avoid disappointment!

What a fabulous restaurant! We found Mermaid Alley purely by chance, and expected an ok cafe experience, but were blown away straight off by the exciting menu, friendly staff and super-cute Mermaid-theme atmosphere. The fish chowder is the best we’ve ever had, and both our...

The staff was very friendly and welcoming here and the food was fantastic! The cocktails were also excellent, would recommend and definitely come back!

There is only one place to eat in Penzance.....Mermaid Alley. The food is crazy good .... Soooo good.... I cannot fault anything!!! plus possibly the most impressive kids menu I have ever seen! To add to great food... there is an atmosphere that you can't...

In the catering and hospitality industry it is hard to find a triple threat... 1. consistency in outstanding customer service 2. food seasoned to perfection 3. enticing top drinks selection Well!!... Mermaid Alley has it all. We were very lucky to get a table at...

Had an amazing meal here during a busy service in sunny August 2022. The service was attentive, helpful, friendly and efficient and their creative use of ingredients is a pleasure to read and then eat! I would recommend this restaurant again and again.

Amazing food and the cocktails were amazing. Staff were lovely would defiantly recommend but advice booking a table in advance

The many good reviews for this amazing little restaurant are all deserved. The service and staff were brilliant and friendly and the menu is extremely clever. The food - which came exactly when we wanted it to -was beyond delicious. We have never had better food anywhere. Simply cannot recommend this place enough, it isn't even expensive, absolute gem of a restaurant!

Off the hook! Absolutely beautiful food and drinks, great service from Lennox, can’t fault this place it’s top notch. Highly recommend!

The food at Mermaid Alley is simply superb. The chef needs to go on The Great British Menu. Sensational.

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal here, both the mains and pudding being absolutely delicious. A special shout-out to the churros and the special which was a chowder. The staff were so friendly and helpful and our family agrees this was one of the best meals...

The restaurant is a very friendly place, good atmosphere, and beautifully decorated through out and food is absolutely delicious.

Staff were really friendly and the food was absolutely delicious! I cannot recommend this place enough (make sure you book in advance to get a table!!!)

Stopped in here after a day at the Eden project. Service was friendly, quick and informative. Drinks orders were taken straight away and we were told about the day’s specials. Food was ordered shortly after and arrived in good time. Meals were absolutely fantastic- good portion size, tasty ingredients and delicious flavours. Will definitely be returning the next time we are in Penzance.