The Golden Lion in Cornwall, Isles of Scilly

The golden lion pub in St. Ives, Cornwall is a big golden lie. The only semi accurate portion of their image is the lion. All of the food tasted as if it was found inside the rotting, months-old carcass of a poached lion. The onion rings were wet and pustular, they tasted as if they were fried in the neck oil of the surly bartender who took our order. The testicular mushrooms were the best thing we ordered even though the garlic mayo on the side resembled a tepid bowl of curdled man-milk. The burgers were obviously cooked on a griddle that hasn’t been cleaned in years. The food had remnants of meals from years past. Giving it a vintage, nostalgic quality. The chicken was shriveled and flavorless with enough mayonnaise goop on it to feed a family of 4. While waiting waiting for the fhood, we had time to take in the odor of unwashed children and great-grandpas ashtray. The table we sat at had a stickiness that I’ve only felt on the gummy underside of a second graders desk. 3 hours later, while writing this review, we taste these rancid flavors once again through accursed burps. This truly remarkable combination of disgusting furniture, surly servers, and god-awful food has truly cemented this place into our hall of shame.

Atmospheric pub.. what I would call a old time pub.. loved it

Pub split into two halves (bar and lounge), with a central bar serving both sides. Small beer garden out back that’s over looked by the town church, no sea view due to the pub being located in the town centre (nice spot on a sunny day). Pub shows sport on a few tvs and has a typical selection of drinks on offer. The place could do with some TLC to bring it back to life a bit, as it does feel a bit soulless if it’s quiet.

Friendly staff, good beer but a bit rundown, back bar is a bit grim, draughty and dark.

Popped in for a pint to get out of the sun. Small outdoor seating area at the rear, but they've made it nice. Recommended.

Great pub staff are very welcoming reasonably priced will definitely go back

Top Pub friendly staff good Beer 🍻

The roughest pub in St Ives, & that takes some doing. Ignorant bar staff, filthy dirty premises, aggressive intoxicated manager, smoking inside the pub. When challenged regarding the earsplitting music being pumped out at 11:30 pm in a residential area, he became threatening & agressive. Police have been informed. Filth all over the pavement outside. Absolutely hideous place & a public nuisance.

Excellent pint of Guinness, lovely bar man

We were served by a lovely barmaid who was very welcoming, we had a lovely time and good beer. For a Saturday it’s the best place for a really good atmosphere and a holiday sensation.

Amazing service by Harrison wonderful food. Good quality. Enjoyed the whole pub experience. Very lovely and professional landlady. Going back for sunday lunch.

Absolutely loved their food! Great menu, that St Ives needs for something different. I had ribs, wings and loaded fries. That was 1 meal! only £19.99! 😅🥰 Very reasonably priced, you get big portions 😋 Also Harrison was amazing, very attentive and so good with our children which was so nice. He made an effort to talk to each of them on their level and they really took to him. Even the chef came out to check how the food was. All round great and we've booked for Sunday roast already! THANK YOU SO MUCH 💓

Nice pub to drink one or more real ales: nothing seems to have changed in 59 years, the bartender is silent, fortunately there is no music, quiet customers and a large amount of beers and ciders on tap.

Nice pub .miserable sod serving behind the bar

Fantastic couple of pints. Great staff, and a real local sort of feel.

Staff first rate very friendly and welcoming. Traditional pub so fair bar prices. Good to be able to get a proper britvic orange with the alcohol for friend's as I am a non drinker. Most pubs have gone too fancy with their non alcoholic range. Could even get a decent still water served looking as good as my friend's G&T. Thank you. TV shows sport, Manchester fans can see their teams. Could do with some TLC in terms of decorating but don't let that put you off. Pool table in back and small beer garden.

Great little pub. Really Enjoyed it. Watched the game then met the family and did some shopping

Centrally located traditional bar and local beer available.

Called in twice on my recent visit to St Ives, the beer is much cheaper than most over pubs here, with a good selection on tap. Bar staff were friendly on both visits, and managed to get chatting to locals and tourists alike in the cute beer garden.

Sat in the very quiet lounge. A bit old and unkempt but service was great!

Unspoilt character pub thought the £10.50 for the 2 carling would have put a bit of a smile on the unwelcoming miserable landlords face tho

Watched Hull fc beat the Saints

Lovely pub, nice to meet up with old friends and have a laugh.

Proper Cornish pub in St Ives. Sky Sports to watch the footy

Great pub 👍 good beer selection Nice bartender can only be recommended.

Very friendly, especially to my dog

its a pub with sport on... very rare

Good back bar, great for watching sport - staff friendly and good !

Good beer friendly and efficient service well placed

Nice friendly pub on the edge of town .has sport on tv if you want to watch it .

Perfect place to watch the football. Nice friendly atmosphere 👌

Great pub and brill staff ☆☆☆☆☆

Had a meal here and I enjoyed it. Good selection of beers aswell. Bar staff friendly.

A fun traditional pub. Decent Sharps ales. No coffees. Recommended

Husband and I needed to kill some time, we opted for this pub just purely because we were passing. The back room is where we went, perhaps wrongly as the table we sat at was sticky, no real banter or conversation from barman, food was ok, nothing special apart from the chips. The locals sat near us were foul mouthed and one even belched loudly whilst we were eating, all but sawdust on the floor - glad not to be visiting again and a poor choice by us, my advise, don't always go by reviews, have a drink first to gauge it.

Went for lunch, sparse and could almost see the sawdust on the floor, regulars there included one foul mouthed woman and a younger lady with a baby in a pushchair, our burger was ok, chips better. Whilst we were eating another lovely local decided to belch loudly. Good job we won't be coming back again, bad choice by us.

Packed to watch the football. Which was great as there are very few pubs you can watch a game.

Stopped for drinks, enjoyed the ambience and the friendly locals. Reasonably priced. Friendly staff.

Came here after walking past and seeing they had free tables. Ordered the prawn Sandwich and it was soo delicious! Nicer than any crab Sandwich or dish that i had elsewhere during our visit to cornwall and half the price. Loaded with giant prawns and lashings of mayonaise. Ive been craving it ever since. Staff were really nice too. Will definitely be back in future!

The barman, owner(Dominic)is fantastic with everyone such a friendly pub , well done to all the staff,absolutely fantastic service lace , so welcoming

Always liked this place and visited every night during a recent holiday. Liked the atmosphere. Bar staff are great. Good pint of Doom bar, got a pool table and live footie on the tvs. Perfect!

Always good service and great food.

Friendly welcoming staff. Tasty food, reasonably priced and generous portions. Traditionally styled pub in the heart of St Ives. Definitely recommend 👌

Great atmosphere Great range of drinks

Good pub for locals and tourists alike.

Good beer. Excellent value and good quality pub grub. Friendly welcoming staff.

Came across this pub by chance on the first day of our holiday. Couldn't fault it at all. The bar staff are super friendly and very welcoming, especially one barman in particular who was very funny and had many talents, including balancing a stool on his chin. We went in every day of our holiday and can honestly say me and my family felt like locals.....even our dog was offered a bowl of water! Can't comment on the food as we didn't eat there but it did look rather nice. The place itself is slightly run down but everywhere was clean and tidy. Hopefully if we visit St Ives again(although it's a 6 hour drive away),this will be one of our first stops!!! I don't normally write reviews but thanks Golden lion staff for making our holiday extra fun for us😊

Good pub above average on prices

Asked for a pint of Ghost Ship. The pump said Ghost Ship. The beer I am sure was Doom Bar. YUCK.Never to return.

Top quality beer and cheesy chips that filled a corner

What a lovely place. Great management. Just started doing lovely food 😋

Fantastic, manager and staff very friendly and helpful.

Good service friendly welcoming atmosphere

What an unpleasant, unwelcoming dump with ignorant bar staff. Making up rules as they go along, Saturday night and last orders at 22.40! Only found out when went to buy a round. No bell or anything but 10 minutes later last order bell rung and people being served. I'm not surprised it isn't used as a regular bar. Well done to bar man being able to balance a bottle and a glass on your chin, great talent, pity your people skills werent as good. Should have been serving customers. Whoever manages this pub needs to have a good look at what is going on.

Enjoyed our Thursday Grill nights here while on holiday. Where can you get buy one get one free £15. Mixed Grill or Sirloin Steak, beautiful. Yes the pub could do with a face lift. The Barman is a great bloke so welcoming. We will be back

Called in for a drink when the football was on. The game finished and around 10 people left, leaving my wife and me the only customers in the bar, there were people in another room, We had only just been served but without any explanation the barman started to clean the tables and put all the chairs, except ours, on the tables. If they wanted to close the room, then just say, don't behave like morons. Left our drinks and went elsewhere

Called in here at lunchtime. First impression a bit scruffy but good range or beers so ordered. But no food (except Thursday evenings) which was unexpected. Landlord unfriendly and couldn’t wait to get back to his mates in the back bar. Beer garden advertised but just four tables crammed into a small uninviting space. Beers well kept but this was the only good thing about this place.

Great little pub in the heart of Ives, good selection of beers big screen and friendly locals and staff A++++

Best value locals boozer of the few pubs explored in St Ives. Struck lucky as 2 mail meals for price of 1 Thursday evening £15 bargain.

Celtic vs Rangers....what more could anyone eant

Dog Friendly pub. Clean and welcoming.

A very traditional pub with friendly service.

I don't understand why a pint of Doombar costs £5-20p, absolutely disgraceful 😕.

A pub with character. What's there to say, The Golden Lion is a must visit for a taste of Saint Ives. Full interesting characters such as Treebeard you'll be kept entertained, also a super friendly and helpful barman as well. Plus a Pool Table at the back for only 50p!

Great traditional pub, staff friendly, drinks reasonable, rugby on telly, and great atmosphere. Would recommend.

Lovely food brilliant service and pleasant staff and also reasonable prices many thanks

This is a proper locals pub.. We stopped for one drink one the way back up the hill! Good selection on draft! Staff and locals were friendly. Downsides were Decor could use a little updating and the tables were a bit sticky. Luckily there was a cute dog there for distraction

We had our works' Christmas do at the Golden Lion on Fri 10th Dec in the Cromwell Suite (?) and we had an excellent time. The staff were really attentive and helpful and the food was delicious, highly recommended, hope we return next year.

Had a lovely evening And staff were friendly as we're the other customers

Love this pub, great for the footy, lots of banter. I must if in Cornwall and looking for a place to follow your team

Great friendly locals made us feel welcome

Very good and staff great who like a good laugh

Cracking local boozer, popular with locals, less so with tourists.

A nomal pub frequented mainly by the locals, good to watch sport

Great pub with fantastic atmosphere good beer and Cider really friendly customer service

Traditional pub with great beer. Welcoming and relaxed atmosphere.

Friendly local, bar staff really nice.

Called in on a wet day,ordered 2 traditional pasties,they hadn't got any so had two others instead. Had to ask for our change. Other people with us got burnt food, the other one was cold. People next to us got overcharged and their order was wrong. They should stick to being a pub not serve food.

Could not get food order right, very few items on the menu were available, hot food was barely warm, forgot to give me my change.

Cracking place, great atmosphere

Great little pub. Had 2 lovely days in there watching the football. Not for the purist but a proper pub pub.

I know that it's very hard to make a living in the pub trade but I would consider moving onto something that doesn't need your staff to bother clearing or cleaning tables or bothering to engage with new customers. The euphemistically named ' beer garden ' was a filthy dark concrete pit that was possibly a satirical homage to ' dismal land' by Banksy. I felt like I'd stepped back into the 1980s where pubs where full of angry drunk locals annoyed that anyone who wasn't local might wander in without prior permission. Very grim! I would give no stars if possible.

Good to see a traditional two bar pub that hasn't been knocked through to one massive bar. Skinners Betty Stoggs was well kept. Nice mix of locals and tourists. Good luck to the new member of staff who started today.

Visited The Golden Lion in the afternoon of a lovely day with husband and friends. Atmosphere was lively as well as relaxing to enjoy a nice drink with mates. Staff was friendly and made the place that much more friendlier. I would definitely visit again when I travel down to St. Ives.

Lovely local. Dog friendly. Feel welcome.

Nice friendly pub and dog friendly

We.went for a drink one night as everywhere.else was full the pub looks nice from the outside with all the flowers it is very old and shabby inside their were midges flying about when we sat in the front bar It could be made nice whilst still retaining the oldie world look as it had some nice pictures of St Ives on the walls Didn't have anything to eat. or see any menus My other half enjoyed the beer!!

Good variety of beers at seaside prices. Nice little outside area, shame the WiFi is broken at the moment and poor signal meant we moved on to the next pub

Friendly staff but not much beer

Would like it better with food on again

Reasonable prices, a traditional English pub in St Ives

Just popped In for a pint. Very friendly pub😁

Great pub had the game on Great atmosphere

What a great traditional type pub, .... loved it. This isnt a 21st century samey type pub, this is a proper old boozer, great staff, we had a good laugh with all 3 of them on. Its warm, good beers, good prices, they have board...

Boozers, boozer … Atmosphere great !! Just had a week and had a beer or 7 in here most nights .. Couples and families alike seem to enjoy the place so never a bad thing … Staff incredible and locals give you a warm welcome...

It's a pub, it has a beer garden. Very nice staff, good range of local ISH (St Austel) beers. Can imagine spending a day here with buddies drinking, or just a glass or 2 with the family.

Stopped in for a couple of pints. Proper pub and good laugh.

A lovely quaint village pub just back from the harbour so it doesn't get too busy

A good old fashioned pub. We got a table here for all the family when everywhere else seemed to be full so enjoyed sitting down chatting and having a few gins

Real ale served with a friendly chat .