Polreath Tea Room in Cornwall, Isles of Scilly

the only place open on a Sunday on St Martins! So glad it was open, it was absolutely heaving but we got there in time to get seats and what was left of the cakes and drinks.

My friends and I went there a few weeks ago and we had an extremely unpleasant experience. While taking our time to decide what to order at the table the manager rudely came up to us and instructed us that we had to order.Also the majority of us all ordered food and we were told rudely by two other staff that everyone had to order and they made us feel very uncomfortable and unwelcome to the point we had to leave our table and sit in the rain. We were extremely surprised as we were sharing some bits of food.Do not recommend at all.

Delicious cake, friendly staff and very pleasant garden and indoor area. The downside is that the coffee is filter only, and weak. Would be ideal to have an expresso machine for coffee lovers.

As always the visit was lovely. Served with a smile, and the Frangipane Cake was available, which is delicious, and gluten free. Tea and coffee were good, although if you want a cappuccino they don’t have those, only filter coffee. Lovely garden to sit in.

Possibly the best carrot cake in the world. But more important was the genuine warm welcome and friendly conversation with the owners. This is a small island with day trippers and only a few places to stay or eat. If you are on St. Martin’s the tearoom is a wonderful place to pop into; freshly baked food and reasonably priced.

An absolute delight. We were made extremely welcome by the owner (who actually had a smile and a sense of humour, which was much appreciated) and enjoyed a pleasant afternoon tea. The cream tea was delicious and good value. I am very fussy about drinking tea as so many times it is not well made, but this was just fine. The scones were very good and the local cream was thick and delicious. Highly recommended!

A lovely old fashioned tea room with table cloths, outside and inside tables and a lovely garden and greenhouse to admire. The scones and cream and jam were stupendous! Our first cream tea in the Scillys for 19 years. Well worth the wait.

We always spend time at Polreath when on St Martins and this year was no different. We had a very good piece of cake sitting in the glasshouse under the vines.

Food was fantastic views great garden perfect. Weather was so good whilst we was there. Well worth a visit warm welcome by owner👍

Excellent time at this property. Jason and Sarah were so attentive and went above and beyond. The accommodation was lovely, gardens beautiful and the food was spectacular. A very warm welcome also given to our two additional members (guide dogs). Thank you.

Having a wheat-intolerant wife the prospect of a gluten-free focaccia was too good to miss. It proved to be outstandingly good, as was my own olive bread with hummus. For a light lunch this place is hard to beat, and it was great to discuss bread making with the chef. Thank you for a memorable meal.

Thank you so much for an amazing lunch last week. I am so pleased that the place I was going to was shut or I would never have discovered your beautiful tea room. I had the most amazing mackerel pate with absolutely gorgeous bread. Am not sure what you did with the bread but keep doing it, delicious😁 my friend had one of your fantastic focaccia sandwiches. I have talked about our lunch so many times since we came last week and you will definitely be the place I have lunch when I come to St Martins. See you next year 😍

Fantastic setting, great food my daughter said best sandwich she had ever had, takes a lot to impress her. Service was friendly and quick

My wife and I shared the mackerel pate (extra toast) and had a cake each with coffee and soft drinks. Date slice was amazing and the Irish brack was very good too. The tea room is set in lovely gardens with plenty of outdoor seating to enjoy the fantastic views.

I highly recommend Polreath as a pit stop when visiting St Martins. I’ve been to Polreath many times over the last 40 years but.today I had the best tasting home made tasty focaccia cheddar & cider chutney sandwich! Generous in size and enjoyed outside in their beautiful sunny garden.

My partner and I had a delicious curry along with amazing service. Felt very welcome Thank you for such a lovely evening

Very welcoming with beautiful relaxing garden area. Tomato & Basil soup with freshly cooked (and still warm) focaccia bread was superb, and very revitalising after a long walk! The owners are taking great care to ensure Covid secure measures are in place.Highly recommended - but do check opening hours/days if you are planning a visit.

Visited for their Curry Night. A fantastic meal as always. There was real attention paid to social distancing and you felt you were well looked after. Evening meal sat out in the garden - bliss - but you can take away as well. Sarah and Jason doing an excellent job. It’s a must if you are lucky enough to be staying on St Martins. No complaints at all and anybody who does criticise should be thinking seriously about whether Scilly is the right holiday destination for them!

Very friendly staff, gorgeous garden setting and excellent soup! Would be good to have a couple more healthy options on the lunch menu but understand that this is not so easy at the moment with the extra covid pressures. Highly recommend.

This cafe has a good range of home cooked cakes and also a lunch menu. Most of the seats are in the gardens - which are attractively planted and surrounded by dry stone walls. Friendly service. We have a very pleasant morning coffee and cake.

While the cakes were awesome, this business served UHT milk with coffee and didn't mention it. Now, I appreciate that a short season, Covid, and getting goods onto an island conspire to make prices seem high. This means that one's expectations are fairly high for the price being charged, but to serve UHT milk is simply appalling if they don't bring it to your attention. What I find astonishing is that they even stocked it which suggests that they had run out of fresh milk. There are two explanations for this. 1. They don't think it matters (very poor judgment by the owner), or 2. They don't think people will notice (which tells you what they think about the customers). As I was with company, I didn't want to make a fuss and sour the atmosphere, but I suggest if they pull this stunt on you, then you should complain (pull this review up on your phone and show it to them). Don't get me wrong, they have a great garden and the cakes were superb, but no tea shop should be even stocking UHT milk, never mind serving it. If you run out of milk, then stop serving coffee & tea and explain that the kettle is broken - don't try to fool your customers.

We stayed at the Polreath for the week and not only was the accommodation lovely and perfect for seeing the island but the food was amazing. The breakfast included in the stay was great - loads of choice and all of it beautifully cooked.We also had lunch - Jason makes his own bread and the sandwiches are the best I have ever tasted. Two nights we had an evening meal - a curry and rib-eye steak and again it was delicious. Jason and Sarah are the sweetest, kindest people and looked after us all week - they just make everything easy. Love it.

What can I say First Class We visited on the first opening after lock down absolutely excellent Thanks

We love this tea room on St Martins - a must-go venue whenever we visit this wonderful island. The tea/coffee and cakes/scones are great, as are the wonderful gardens. You can sit inside if you prefer but outside the gardens are stunning with loads of interesting plants, shrubs and trees. The staff are helpful and friendly.

Excellent sea food salads and ploughmens lunches Beautiful views and location They also run Bistro and Pizza evenings Well worth a visit

Had tea and cake here after a complete walk around the coastal path of the island. Cakes home made, staff engaging and welcoming. A real pleasure to find.

Wow! This place is fantastic and the gardens are breathtaking to say the least! We went here as much as we could and the staff and food and drink were stunning We will be back thank you

A cafe where you could have a morning coffee, lunch or afternoon tea. Sit inside or if weather is good go alfresco as the garden is lovely.

We stopped off here for a hot drink and snack to avoid a heavy shower and were glad we did. Our party of six enjoyed the carrot cake and flapjacks and the chocolate brownie was the most delicious one I’ve ever tasted.

Came to this cafe after walking across the island. We were greeted by smiley members of staff who took care of us as we ate. I ordered the garlic dough balls, which were incredible, followed by focaccia which was fresh and extremely tasty. If you’re looking for a place to eat on St Martins, you should definitely think about coming to this place - 5 Stars * * * * *!

We had a lovely lunch at Polreath, excellent food and customer service - it’s my favourite place to eat on St.Martins! They also had great gluten free options for my sister, including a gf focaccia! Would definitely recommend to all.

Very disappointing this lovely cafe was closed even though their web page said it was open on Sundays

Not to be missed excellent curry fabulous puddings all served with a smile. Book well in advance or you won't get a table. The best of home cooked food with generous portions. The hone made nan was also delicious

We were staying at the Polreath Guest House, attached to the Tea Room.

Visited twice for evening meals on our recent holiday . You need to book ahead. On Monday is curry night - there is no choice apart from s veggie option but who needs a choice when the meal is so good. We had Thai green chicken curry. There was a starter and puds - all home made. On Thursday evening we had a great rib-eye steak.

Highly recommend the mackerel pâté served with gorgeous focaccia, beetroot and green salad leaves!

Lovely gardens, and location, v nice for coffee stop. But really £10 for lots of toady, a small fist of salad toast& small jar of mackerel pate ?? I live in London and even by those standards that is just,well a bit greedy! . Only place on St Martins island open on Sunday explains.... stick to coffee & weekday visit

Sent in Higher Town this lovely tea room has beautiful gardens and amazing home cooked food . I had the goats cheese tart accompanied by a cold glass of the local St Martin's wine . Not cheap but the quality was excellent ( food and wine ) and the service so friendly . The gardens are simply beautiful. A great stopping point on a hot Scillies day !

Popped in for lunch after walking round most of St Martin’s. Our order was taken by a lovely South African girl. My homemade mackerel pate and salad was perfect if a little pricy. (£9), although it filled me up nicely. The outside garden is split up into little areas creating sheltered seating areas and all full of wonderful exotic plants. Would definitely go back.

Nice garden and overall feel to the establishment. Staff very nice and friendly...

Sat in the wonderful gardens with just each other, the dog and the sparrows for company. A great afternoon tea in delightful gardens.

On arriving at St Martins, this was our first port of call for morning coffee!

Visited St Martins on a Sunday, having walked around there were few eateries open close to the quay for the return sailing. Fortunately the owners of Polreath had anticipated the need for a Sunday service - great homemade food including luscious looking cakes served in a fabulous garden setting. Thanks for being open guys!

Would love to have a breakfast their but nice tea could have more coffee choice along with a option of hot chocolate but good selection of teas, cake and ice creams.

Lovely tea room, nice welcome friendly staff. Lots lovely cake, good selection of teas and coffee. You can sit in the beautiful garden in the front and out the back.

Always visit here when I go to scillies .delicious cakes and tasty light lunches .After 2.30pm the serve amazing cream teas with warm scones ...yummy

My Wife, 2 Children and I visited on a Sunday morning for some coffee and cake.

Rolled up at the counter to order our mid-morning coffee and cake (having got off the tripper boat some 10 minutes previously). Choices of tea bread, meringues with clotted cream and carrot cake all proved to be excellent.

A very pretty restaurant with helpful and friendly staff. Lots of tables in the lovely sheltered garden. Nice choices of food and drinks. Enjoyed the filter coffee, nice change! The ice creams were delicious.

A perfect retreat if caught in a storm (as we were!) with a good range of homemade food and cakes. We had the soup of the day with the local bread (delicious) and stayed long enough to have fresh scones and afternoon tea - which were worth the wait. Staff were friendly and it was a lovely bright place to while away a quiet Sunday during the rain.

I have had many a cream tea all over the world , and I judge this as ok . Nice setting , friendly staff . Potion control a little tight, and the scones , yes homemade but I’ve had better . And value for money , well if you go down the road you will get a pair of scones for nearly the same price.

Good food, good location. Sit outside and enjoy the views and weather. Friendly service and nice food

A classic tearoom in a perfect island location - and simple, but completely gorgeous food, that we enjoyed every day we were on St Martin’s.

Poor French family in front of me got a shock when their afternoon tea of sandwiches and drinks came to over £60 wow ! Now that takes some beating for a garden cafe even if it is on the Scilly Isles. I recall paying less than that in Monaco for steak n chips for 4 !

Extensive gardens, full of exotic plants and curious birds. Oh, and lovely cup of tea too, of course.

It was great to sit in the gardens to eat an excellent lunch. A brill range of lunches and cakes etc. This is a traditional Scillonian tea room. I do miss the old kettles on the hob though!!

Unfortunately they've stopped offering their homemade baguettes at lunchtime, instead replacing them with a seeded bread (very doughy) which fell apart if you tried to cut it to make a sandwich. The presentation was poor and there was a complete absence of any side salad (at £8-50 per plate I would have expected some). All in all, well over priced and very average quality. A big come down from last year's excellent offering.

A group of us stopped here for lunch on our visit to the island. We had homemade bread with soup and a cheese plate, with coffee and elderflower cordial. It was busy at lunchtime, but they coped very well. They keep the menu simple and were well organised in the kitchen. Prices were reasonable.

This was a quick pre-lunch visit to Polreath. Time for a couple of coffees and a shared slice of delicious carrot cake. Sat outside in the sunshine, sheltered from the blustery wind and admired the immaculately manicured garden. Food and drink great as always and the garden looking superb. Where better to visit when you’re on St. Martin’s (but not on a Saturday... they’re closed!)?

Wow, what an experience staying at Polreath our first ever visit to the Isles of Scilly, the hosts Sarah, Jason and Neil where so welcoming from the start and nothing was a problem as far as they were concerned. It was a home from home atmosphere, cosy and very relaxing. the fresh food every day was amazing from bread to all the cakes and other savories. We definitely will return to visit the this lovely family and guest house. Thank you all xx

A lovely welcoming tea rooms just a gentle stroll from where the boat from Tresco arrived. Delicious cakes, coffee & tea served in the beautiful gardens.

Once again we visited here if only for the ginger biscuits ! No disappointment there Seer you next year,,,,

Had the nicest cream tea here. Warm scones, nice clotted cream and strawberry jam with a lovely pot of tea. Sat in a beautiful garden. Faultless.

We were staying at the st Martin's campsite and we booked into the polreath.....we had a thai green curry and we have to say it was stunning....friendly staff greeted with a smile ....we sat out side having a drink and the chef bought us out spring rolls great touch.

Gorgeous setting in the garden, with the birds and trees.

After walking around the island, which included a stop at the distinctive, massive white and red day mark, we had lunch at this restaurant. It is very poplar so expect some delay at the ordering counter. However, the food is wonderful and worth the wait.

The Polreath's famous Monday Curry evenings are a must when staying on St Martin's - but do be sure to book well in advance, or you will not be able to get a table. Delicious light lunches, too. Quality personal cooking and service with a smile

Aa usual we had a fantastic reception from the team. They catered brilliantly with our unorthodox method of ordering, and paying! But we love it there, and they seem to too. Cream teas - got to be done.

The ham plate was absolutely delicious followed by barm brack. Perfect. Lovely tea room in a fantastic garden with friendly...

Visitors to St Martins will probably know about the curry night at the Polreath Tea Room so unless you are...

Good cakes and tea. All the food looked good. Staff were friendly. Tearoom was very clean and the garden was...

The friendliness of the staff at the Polreath tea rooms made us feel instantly at ease as they helped us...

We were so impressed with the patience and consideration of the young lady behind the counter. This is a quality...

The polreath tea room is a delightful family run tea room with indoor seating and a beautiful secluded garden with...

Dies ist ein interessanter kleiner Tea Room mit einem sehr netten Garten. Wir wollten nach einem längeren Spaziergang eine Kleinigkeit essen und landeten hier. Wir versuchten die angebotene Tomatensuppe mit Brot - die war echt super lecker! Auch das Brot dazu war toll. Das hätte ich den Engländern gar nicht zugetraut. Sehr empfehlenswert!

The garden setting of this tea room is so beautifully maintained. If the weather is poor (does that happen on Scilly?!) it was a pleasure to sit undercover in the glasshouse where a beautifully tended grapevine hangs tantalisingly above your head. Really yummy bakes and such nice, attentive staff.

Have been feeding my cream tea addiction at Polreath for the last 20 years and the experience never tires. Simply the best. Even if you don't like cream teas the journey and accompanying view will be unforgettable.

This cafe/restaurant serves very good food well worth a visit the eating area is very nice and staff /Management very pleasant and helpful just one tip : make sure if your tall you stoop to gain access to the greenhouse the grapes are lovely too

Visited with family on a sunny day. We ordered cream teas and they were fabulous. The garden setting is a real attraction of this tearoom.

Nice tea room with lovely cream tea and ice cream. The garden setting is simply gorgeous! Beware: closed on Saturdays!

Got off the ferry from St Mary's and wandered up the hill to come across this picturesque tearoom. A good selection of cakes and coffees in a very pretty garden make this a pleasant stop off.

We stopped here on a rainy day for a cream tea. It was a difficult choice, as the cakes and meringues are too tempting! They have seating in a conservatory as well as outside.Monday evening is curry night.

Thoroughly enjoyed the cream tea is these tea rooms,The scones were fresh and crumbly the way we liked them with plenty of crem and jam applied.Scrumptious along with a pot of quality tea,A very enjoyable treat especially hen eaten in the garden on the raised decking.

Dropped into Polreath to try to keep my toddler happy, he was focused on getting "coffee" which normally means for him, "cake" as he's not one we would ever let have coffee, he's too hyper for that. He enjoyed a lovely chocolate hob nob biscuit and we had cofee and tea. Lovely relaxed atmosphere, great service and likeable staff. Enjoyed my visit and would recommend.

Perfect place to lunch after walking up from snorkeling with seals!Sat on the decking outside - lots of cheeky little sparrows, blackbirds and thrushes hopping around! The tea room gardens are beautiful!We had tea and ordered ham and cheese plates. We shared the ham and cheese between us, the piccalilli is awesome! Really tasty and filling, fresh warm bread with proper butter.Really friendly people run the Polreath. Recommend this tea room for a visit, you can't go wrong. They slso serve local ice cream.Many thanks we will be back! :-)

Enjoyed cake and drinks here on our recent visit to St Martins, we sat in the Garden which is a wonderful place to sit and pass the time of day!

We stopped here for lunch and what a good decision that was. We both had a Ham ciabatta which was good value and had the thickest hand cut ham I've seen in a long time along with a tasty side salad. The cakes are melt in the mouth and the apple juice really refreshing. Friendly efficient staff. Overall a great lunch which we'll look forward to repeating in the future.

Really ended up here for "pudding" after finding the Seven Stones linchpin menu rather restricted. Very nice home made cakes.

Love this relaxing place, beautiful gardens and good food. Spent a number of chilled out afternoons soaking up the sun and enjoying lunch or a cream tea.

Lovely location and nice spacious garden though not very sheltered. Vastly overpriced food - for example, £9 for basically one and a half slices of bread and a small pot of mackerel pate. Service poor, for example would not bring a refill of hot water for tea. The one loo was working overtime.

A lovely spot for tea, coffee (filter) and cake! Friendly service and quality home made food are the hallmark of the tea rooms. The light lunch menu includes an excellent mackerel pate and hummus plate, also The Monday curry evenings are well worth a try to! A pretty sheltered garden makes for a lovely place to enjoy a break from your exploring of this beautiful island.

Welcome stop while enjoying the fabulous walks around the island. Friendly welcoming staff/owners. Lovely lunch choices too. Especially the soup on a cooler day. The carrot cake is so good I had to go back again. Nice garden to sit out in on a nice day. The curry night is must.

Stopped for coffee and cakes​ and sat in a lovely garden with shaded areas. Clean and tidy cafe thanks

Good food, good location and friendly staff. What not to like? We had a very pleasant lunch and thoroughly enjoyed it too.

We have visited Polreath many times over the years and always like to visit. The gardens are beautiful to sit awhile and have a bit to eat. There is ample places to sit outside and the place is very popular. On this occasion we visited mid afternoon. The food was over priced. For example it was £5.50 for tea for one, one small scone with small pot of jam and cream. We know on Scillies you pay more than the mainland but felt this was too much.

certainly worth a visit for a snack lunch or a cream tea or just a glass of wine.. no disappointment here

The second time we've been here. The food is very good and it has a lovely garden. We had a long chat with one of the owners this time which was great fun. Highly recommended.

Tea for two £5. I was aghast when my wife returned with the tea. I asked her if they were wearing masks, because she had just been robbed!!!!

This is perfectly situated if you take a leisurely walk around St. Mary's, being about mid-way.I've stopped there 2 or 3 times, and there is always a fine selection of light lunches , charmingly served.Weather permitting, sit outside.

Went here on both our trips to the island. Tea is lovely, beer good and the food we had was delicious. The garden was great for letting the baby crawl about to chase the lovely friendly birds too. Only reason four stars is due to limited choice but understand the reasons why, and what they have is lovely. Thanks for two lovely lunch stops.