The Cracking Crab in Cornwall, Isles of Scilly

This place never fails to impress, friendly staff and the food is outstanding. A real treat eating at The Cracking Crab and I have been a regular for the past 4 years. Look forward to my next trip next yhear.

We booked our drinks via the QR code and reminded the staff a minute or two later that we’d booked. Twenty minutes later we still hadn’t received our drinks and had to go inside and tell them. They hadn’t looked at the orders. They gave us a feeble apology. Very poor service. Won’t go again.

Excellent seafood lunch. It’s always busy, but their online ordering system makes it hassle free - no waiting for your order to be taken and nobody can jump the queue! We were a family group of six - 1 year to 70 - and we all enjoyed our meal. Staff very friendly and helpful. Great views over the beach.

Dropped in to the Crab n Go van this afternoon, and it turned out to be a little gem. We had loaded fries and mac & cheese bites, and a couple of local Bluntrock Brewery beers. All delicious and a pretty reasonable price for the area. The tables and seating looking over the beach and surf made it a really great spot to relax and feed. Thanks Rocket Frank and Crazy Pete for the super friendly service, hopefully we'll see you back next year!

Disappointing dinner, watered down draft beer & rubbery fish, felt like it had been sitting around, I had to remind them to bring our main course? Felt forgotten, even when a lot of people had finished and left. Always a treat for us, not sure we will go again. maybe just tired and end of summer.

Excellent crab sandwich from the charming man running the Cracking Crab offshoot van on the cliff path. Highly recommend.

Called in without a booking on Sunday lunchtime. We were seated quickly and service was really fast and friendly. We had the half cracked crab, scallops, baguette sandwiches and the chips as sides. All were delicious, prices in line with eating out everywhere now and the views of the bay beautiful. Glad we called in!

LOVE. Staff very friendly. Great atmosphere. Amazing food. I recommend the popcorn shrimp 🦐. Definitely coming again

Utterly dreadful. Steak sandwiches were chewy and inedible. £6 for some crappy frozen fries. Online ordering system - which I dont mind however the delivered order was then incorrect and also the widget asks for a tip which is a piss take. Run down air. Nonchalant staff. Lovely location but can’t trade on that only. Plus the awful comic sans on the menu hurts my eyes. AVOID

What a shame, set in a wonderful place. Staff didn’t care, food mediocre, frozen prawn cocktail. Just didn’t match expectations, a shame

Absolutely phenomenal! This seaside restaurant offers breathtaking views, exceptional service, and a delightful menu of fresh, locally sourced seafood. Every dish was a masterpiece, and the wine pairings were superb. A must-visit for an unforgettable dining experience. Five stars!

First time here for Dinner. Situated on the cliffs above Hayle bay ( Polzeath ). Service and food you could not fault. Waiters were young but very good and did not rush us. The food was cooked perfect and the vegetables were still crunchy, not overcooked like many places. The sweets delicious and good job there are nice cliff paths to walk the calories off and to take in the amazing sunsets. I will be back.*****.

Great spot although very unorganised on arrival. We arrived from walking the coastal path from Rock and walked down through the car park. You can’t see the sign saying entrance and wait to be seated from there. So we casually walked in and sat down on an empty table. To then be rudely approached by who seemed to be the manager on duty to say he had two people waiting for this table. Although he then said to stay there and he would be back. He didn’t come back so we ordered off the app choosing lunch to the value of £60 and were ignored throughout the whole of lunch other than when the food arrived. Not even a thank you or goodbye at the end! It felt like we were being punished for not reading the sign and no one was actually even waiting! Also a glorious sunny bank holiday weekend and only five tables available outside in the sun! Real shame as we visit the Winking Prawn and love it!

We stopped at The Crackington Crab for some lunch after a walk from Rock along the coastal path to Polzeath. It’s a beautiful spot here; we sat outside and the view across the beach and coastline is stunning! I can imagine how busy they must get during the summer months! The waitress who greeted us was really friendly and explained the scan/QR code to order; she did give us the option to take our order but the scan/QR was fine with us. The lunch menu mainly consists of salads, baguettes, light bites. I had a really tasty Cajun chicken salad which was packed full of chicken, plenty of salad and was bursting with flavour. The ingredients are all fresh and it was a good size portion. It is a little pricey here, but I guess that’s everywhere these days and perhaps reflected in the location too. We would definitely stop by again if visiting Polzeath.

We went as a family , Every one had different dietary requirements , But for the staff member and the chef wasn't any issue at all. everyone love the meal. I will be back in June

YOU HAVE TO VISIT HERE IF YOU'RE IN POLZEATH!! Myself and my partner stopped here for a delicious dinner after a long day's adventure around Cornwall. We had the Popcorn Shrimp and Honey Garlic Chicken Wings for starter, a sirloin steak and grilled sole for main and finished off with a chocolate orange mouse for dessert, all of with were so tasty! A perfect meal to end the day that left us extremely satisfied and full! The best bit is this restaurant also comes with a sea and sunset view, with the option for outdoor seating. It was so nice to watch the waves whilst eating dinner, with an extra bonus of it being a dog friendly restaurant!

Delicious fresh seafood lunch with fantastic view of Polzeath beach - return visit - one of the nicest places for lunch in Cornwall- dogs welcome inside and out

Alas - good greeting from staff but took 30 mins or so to receive food, even after I checked 20 mins in - no apology. Tables that had arrived after us had finished before our food was received. You order via internet and choose to add a tip - call us old fashioned but we usually choose to add a decent tip based on the service received, not when we order - thank goodness we did!

We loved every detail of our family lunch at the cracking crab! The food was delicious and in awe of the stunning views. The staff were super attentive and personal which made us feel very well looked after. Best impressed and highly recommend the vibrant space and joyful atmosphere for everyone to experience.

Very underwhelmed. The menu was basic and the system over managed, leaving it feel as though costs were being cut and customers were a bit of an inconvenience, despite it not being busy. Beer at London prices and better places to eat near the beach

This looked lovely online - don’t rely on the website open or closed info as this was closed the day we walked from Padstow to it. Website clearly saying it was open.

The location is stunning, food was very good too but sadly it’s way overpriced, the cracking crab is taking advantage of tourists and punching way above its weight

Great place - very acommodating for our person with a garlic allergy - willing to make changes to suit Good, well presented seafood and sensibly priced wine to match.

Extremely poor (and slow) service. Only one person doing any work. Everyone else looking like miserable teenagers. Avoid

Fantastic food. Made us feel really special. Great service. They even played our choice of music. Leah was brilliant. Spending time chatting with us.

We had a superb meal at The Cracking Crab! Really delicious food, friendly helpful staff, very accommodating to the needs of our party - thank you! 5*+ highly recommended l! Thank you

We have been wanting to visit the Cracking Crab for a long time and had a chance today to pop in for crab and prawn sandwiches. Sadly underwhelmed, bread was stale, no garnishes, staff didn't seem bothered. Lovely view but food bog standard and we wouldn't visit again. A real shame, a little effort goes a long way when paying almost £30 for 2 sandwiches.

It is expensive… you’re paying for location and view. Which is great. Very family orientated So …completely fine as long as you know this… it’s average family food fodder. We paid over £200 crazy…! For 5 of us .. 1 starter and 1 kids main mo pudding … Just piles of prawns. Poor. It’s very mainstream… but hey … that’s ok … so long as you know! Great view! ❤️

Never fails to deliver…the Fruits de Mer is just sublime. Brilliant service delivered by a passionate team. Never visit Polzeath without at least one visit.

Originally told they were full but helpfully managed to squeeze us in at 5 pm as long as we left by 6:30, which is generally what we expect anyway. By the time we left there were only two other tables taken. The view was great and waitress very friendly. I asked if I could have the monkfish without the bacon as I don’t eat red meat. The waitress checked and confirmed this wouldn’t be a problem but I had to send it back as it it was brought out with bacon on anyway. Mine didn’t taste of that much and was expensive for what I got. My friend had a different fish dish and said hers was tasty.

Wow, what a find! We loved our visit to The Cracking Crab. It was one of the highlights of our holiday. The staff were so friendly and the food was fab and great value for money. My daughter loved the Po Boy 😋 We can’t...

Lovely atmosphere, decor and food. Staff were great and attentive with good humour on a busy night. Not rushed at all. Seafood platter was great value with a large portion.

Went with a group of friends and had a great evening, staff were extremely accommodating with young children, food was simple but great tastes, totally recommend the fruits de mer platter to share, incredible value for money!

Tiresome. Just tiresome. Trading on views and acceptance of DFLs (Down from …) paying crazy high prices. Rope to enter with empty tables? Oh come on! Boring, boring, boring. Limited beverage choice. Oh, and the faff and rigmarole to not co-mingle the ‘outlet’ and main...

Personally I didn’t have many food options but what I did have was nice the soup was fresh and the goats cheese and apricot was tasty! I do think the prices are a bit high for what you get but friendly service and quirky restaurant...

We had Good food , good service, and good views of the surfers. There is a Fun quirky decor. Lots of choices on the menu.

Awesome views. Food fine but prices now ahead of where they should be. Relying on the view I would suggest to bump prices up

Great view…… that’s about it. The absolute faff to order drinks via an app rather than just order at the bar. Email , address etc just for a couple of beers …. Ridiculous

We was looking forward to coming here as the location and food looked amazing. I already knew what I wanted having looked at the menu before hand and we was able to get a really nice spot inside to eat and look out the window....

This is a lovely spot for a nice meal with a view. Not cheap but good food and we always visit when we come to Cornwall. 4 stars as the croutons weren’t fresh and were spongy & nobody asked us if our meal was ok,...

What a fabulous place. The food was phenomenal and the service too. Ok it’s a little expensive but for the quality of food totally worth it. This is an absolute gem if you like seafood and I would highly recommend it. It’s not ‘posh’ and...

We had an exceptional meal on our last night of our family holiday in Polzeath. There were 15 of us and all the dishes were delicious. Great service from a really friendly team with the most beautiful view of the bay.

This was not our first visit to the Cracking Crab and as ever the food was really good. We all had fish and it was cooked really well and much enjoyed. I can't comment on the non fish dishes this is a restaurant that has...

Second visit in a month, and it didn’t disappoint . Great setting, unbeatable views. Good service and excellent fresh well cooked sea food. Great evening

The food was good but not exceptional. Quite expensive but you pay for the stunning setting with views of the sunset. The staff were friendly enough but not the most attentive unfortunately.

Great location. Rather raggedy building. Food nothing does oak. Overpriced but then everything in Polzeath is expensive if your not from London.

We couldn’t ask for better service, friendly, efficient and very speedy. Our salads were full of fresh seafood, veggies and salad ingredients, plus some added extras like croutons, grilled aubergine, butter beans and dried cranberries. Delicious fresh-baked wholemeal baguette and skin/on fries completed our meal....

We were served by a younger waitress who took the time to chat to us as we were paying and really bumped the review up by a star as to that point the service hasn’t been great for the prices. We had crab and steak....

Fabulous food and great service. Nothing negative to say. Mostly seafood based menus, and all beautifully presented.

Visited twice for lunch while holidaying in Polzeath . Great spot to sit outside & enjoy the view over the beach. Food was great as was the service. We all enjoyed the fries . Did find the app ordering a bit long winded to use...

Absolutely wonderful, the crab was delicious, as was the lovely fresh bread, the staff could not do enough, I will definitely be going back.

Fantastic crab and prawns. Beautiful location too and great coffee - highly recommended. The cream tea was very good too!

A reasonable meal, but high prices considering it is basically a shack on the beach. We had the hake and sea bream. Both were fine. Lovely view and a pleasant walk from our hotel ( the St Moritz).

£9 for 2 halves of generic lager is unjustifiably expensive. Yes, it has a nice sea view, but 4 other establishments in Polzeath have equal, if not better Atlantic vistas and don’t feel the need to fleece their customers. Only for the super rich :)

Lots of roe on prawns in half bucket of prawns also contained X2 heads with our the rest of a prawn attached no cutlery napkins salt/pepper etc no way to wipe hands after peeling prawns. Crab sandwich ordered crab baguette arrived. 99% cure fries are...

The decor and theme of the restaurant is great with a nice view but the food didnt live up to my expectations, considering the price . The duck baguette still hasn’t returned after being told to “watch this space” . The food gave off the...

Best coffee and view in Polzeath. Only slight criticism, were asked to use QR code to order but wasn't an issue when we said we aren't into apps etc (an age thing). Bar man couldn't have been more helpfull.

Walked in for lunch today. Was looked at by staff but no welcome. Sat at a table after getting our own menus. Noticed on the menu that you can order online. Didnt explain whether there was a server option. Tried the online menu and asked...

We came here for lunch after recommendations from several friends. We found the process of ordering by QR code somewhat frustrating. It took a long time as it failed several times. We would definitely prefer to have our order taken by a real person, though...

Absolutely delicious food and such friendly efficient services. We had the hake, monkfish and surf n turf - all

Food was delicious. Great for seafood lovers! The steak baguette was lovely and the meat was really tender. Would definitely recommend this place for sea food lovers. Beautiful location and great view of the cliffs and sea!

Had a cream tea which was delicious, pleasantly surprised, local sourced jam and cream. Service was good, the only snag was you have to order via scanning a QR code to place the order

We have been here several times on trips to Cornwall and usually get the fruits de mer (seafood platter) which has been great on previous occasions. This time the place just felt 'off' (change of management?) and the platter was disappointing, the crab didn't seem...

Very enjoyable meal in dog friendly restaurant with great views of the surf. Service acceptable when very busy. Have already booked for later in the year.

We went for the platter, it’s a do it yourself platter and come with picks and crackers for the crab and lobster, everything is cold apart from the scallops, it would have been nice if the mussels were hot in a sauce, I think cold...

Great welcome and great food. Friend and I had the platter to share and ladies had fish. Service and food were excellent. They have a childrens menu which was useful for our son but isn’t mentioned on the website. Good value and will be back...

I used to love this place but ever since the duck baguette has gone off the menu this place has gone downhill the staff were lovely and really willing to help but the food was another story instead of the duck baguette I ordered a...

We had a fabulous meals, staff friendly and helpful, great seaviews Plenty of seating inside and out. Booking recommend for inside.

Visited on a busy Saturday evening mid-school holidays. Service was fabulous and the food outstanding in fact the fruit de Mar was that filling we sat an extra half-hour as we hate wasting food.

We had a family meal at the Cracking Crab. Each of us had something different and all the dishes ranging from lobster to dover sole were excellent. Service was brisk and friendly and our children were well catered for too. Definitely one to recommend.

Went twice to the Cracking crab with my family while on holiday. Very confused about the bad reviews, we had full table service for dinner both times and it was very good and very friendly. Given all the staffing shortages across Cornwall it's not really...

Dinner for 7 , good service , 2 courses each and wine, bill £300 so about £40 a head. The views are spectacular so you pay for that on a summer’s evening but we felt the chef produced flavoursome food and the staff were very...

No table service . Beware there have been changes since last summer and you have to order via an app. We have always come here to eat : we were a large group and struggled to find our choices and then pay. Having been refused...

Visited the Cracking Crab yesterday had to order everything via an App. You are offered an option to add service before you have experienced any service. My order on the app was not showing so the staff asked me to order again. This resulted in...

We went in a little walk from Daymer Bay to Polzeath as it was a beautiful day. We fancied some food so stopped here. We ordered the crab baguette to share and some cheesy chips. Our food was quick to arrive but it did arrive...

Beautiful location for a sunset meal, very romantic but ask for a window seat. Spacious beer garden overlooking the beach. Food is really nice, great service. What's not to like?

O this seems to have lost its way......food average, service is poor and its really very expensive for an average meal. Been here many times in the last few years visiting the area, safe to say it will be not on the list next time....

Just ate here as 2 adults and 2 children for the evening of 5th June. The overall experience was a let down after we were all really looking forward to eating here. The service was frosty and unfriendly. They kept forgetting things we had asked...

Really welcoming place, great staff. Love the app ordering. Food/drinks amazing, exceeded our expectation. Want to go back for lunch!

Came here for dinner with Jasper, our canine chum. Very dog friendly. Staff are welcoming. The food is amazing! we had the Fruits De Mer, which consisted of mussels, clams, prawns, shrimps and a large crab, with salad and chips. This was at the price...

What a lovely place. Really friendly, welcoming staff and in a beautiful location overlooking Polzeath beach. Food was amazing and came really quickly, all ordered on the app so was straight forward. Nice and dog friendly and would definitely come again.

A wonderful evening we had here. My partner had the duck salad to start followed by the lobster both courses she said were excellent. I had the scallops to start followed by the Hake, first course was lovely, main course Hake was over done but...

After reading the review from the day before, we were a little unsure about stopping here for lunch whilst on holiday in the area. But the menu was clear with its pricing - and seemed perfectly reasonable. We both had the whole crab with fries...

We decided between the local fish and chip shop or the Cracking Crab and believe me when I say we chose the wrong place, only visit if you want to feel financially violated afterwards, a very limited menu with exceptionally high prices, £107 for 2...

We stoped off for lunch it was very tasty 😋 will definitely come back to eat soon when we are next down in Cornwall

This beachside cafe has been advertising locally so we thought we give it a try. The entrance to the cafe was very confusing. Although there was a sign pointing to the entrance there was a black rope blocking it so we went to another entrance...

Lovely relaxed place, views amazing, food great & staff friendly!! Went 2 nights on the trot - well recommended! Had the Sea Bream and Hake which were both lovely.

After spending the morning on the beach we went for lunch at the cracking crab…fabulous service, nothing too much trouble..and the food was just superb. We were staying on the campsite next to the cracking crab which was also perfect…will define back

My daughters and I went here for lunch on Mother’s Day. The food was delicious, and the staff couldn’t have been friendlier or done more to look after us. We felt so welcome and would not hesitate to recommend it to others. A 5* experience.

Visited here with my family on a Sunday in September and we had the lobster de mer. A beautiful feed, although I wish there were more scallops and bread that came with it. But not a problem, because there is enough of everything else to...

The service was great, the food was great, a bit pricey but I suppose they have a captive audience. I’d definitely go back!

Pretty standard nosh. London prices. Ordering via your mobile was confusing for me and staff looked at me like I had 2 heads when I asked a simple question . I also ordered some soya milk for a coffee, literally a cap full and was charged £2.75 which would most probably buy a litre.I understand you have to make a profit but marking up 1000% is greedy and all you manages to achieve is to burn a repeat customer.

My wife and I had a done a 7 miles coastal walk and we wanted to celebrate with a nice meal at the end. It was 2:15 pm on a Friday afternoon and we passed the sign at the Cracking Crab. I really liked the menu and because the sign said that service was from 11:30 am until 3:30 pm we decided to walk into the village just to take a look around. W came back to the Cracking Crab at 14:45 but was told that they were closing for the day at 3:00 pm.I told the waitress that the sign said food is served until 15:30, she said its not it says 3:00 pm.I knew what it said and she had a couldn’t careless attitude so I said back to her, we have just walked back from the village to eat here, why didn’t you put a note up saying you were closing early.I appreciate that we are in difficult times, but it is so unprofessional to have a sign up with the service hours clearly posted so that people walking past can see it but not amend it, even with a hand written note when circumstance have changed!

We arrived at 11:55, having walked from Padstow, via the Rock Ferry. It’s a pretty walk, which at low tide, you can walk a long way along the beach. You can’t book, so arrive early (they open at 12) we were there in mid Oct before school holidays and still a queue to get in, then once we were all seated, people were waiting for tables. There are plenty of tables inside and out. We had a crab baguette and the shrimp po-boy, plus the fries were super crispy… all excellent. The service was friendly and quick. Highly recommended.

We love it’s sister restaurant in Salcombe (The Winking Prawn) so have been looking forward to trying out The Cracking Crab too. We were not disappointed. Good food and very pleasant and helpful waiting staff. They happily accommodated our pudding request for ice cream and scones even though they were busy prepping for the dinner sitting (we’d had a late lunch and crab takes a while to eat!)

We came in today for lunch on our walk around the coast. Have read good reviews online so wanted to try it out for a while. Good attentive host as you came in, sat outside in glorious weather (for October in Cornwall!), ordered on the app which does need a few little bits tweaking to make it easier to use, as the dishes could do with the description on each or you have to keep flicking back between the menu and the app until you decide. Food arrived and tasted lush, good portions and filled the two of us aplenty. Dishes were slightly on the expensive side, for two baguettes, half a pot of prawns and two rattlers was nearly £38. A nice treat but wouldn't be able to afford it too often just for lunch. Would happily give a solid 4*, as I know we will more than likely be back again at some point!

Very disappointing. Food massively overpriced & arrived before the drinks. Ordered through an app. A V impersonal experience. Such a shame it used to be our favourite in Polzeath. We won’t return.

An October trip to Cornwall for husbands birthday. Table for 2 by the window so we were able to see the last of the sunset and watch the amazing view.Service was attentive and prompt. Food was as remembered, Good honest well cooked fish. Prawn and crab cocktail, generous portion, garlic prawns not over cooked, Monkfish in bacon and Hake cooked well, and came with fresh vegetables and fries.Service was prompt and the staff were working hard to look after everyone. As ever did not disappoint.

Called in here for lunch. Great sandwiches and baguettes with lots of filling. Great view too. The staff were helpful and attentive, the table clean and service very efficient.

Very busy restaurant so if you’re ordering a glass of wine, maybe order 2 as can take 20 mins or more before you get it. View of the beach is amazing. Great vibe and worth a visit but you must book up first.