The Lifeboat Inn in Cornwall, Isles of Scilly

Fabulous location in St Ives! Good points - good location, serve food, sky TV, Staff are hard working it’s a busy place. Not so good points - the food is prepared so when it’s brought out they bring you piping hot gravy to warm the food up -veggies are re heated and actually some of them were hard. In St Ives everyone has a dog as do we, they have the smallest area in the pub for owners & dogs 4 tables and a bench area. There were lots of us waiting to eat but not enough tables for the dog owners - lots of empty tables elsewhere in the pub - i feel that they should extend the seating area to dog owners. It’s a shame that they are not more friendly to dog owners as it really is the only place you can get a roast dinner on a Sunday in St Ives.

Great food, friendly staff, quick service

Great welcome friendly staff and good value

Only came in for a drink because of the great location. Nicely decorated with a good selection of beers. No was at the desk on entering so ordered a drink from the bar and took a seat. Was then advised we should not be sitting where we had chosen as we had our dog with us. I did not notice any signage. Offered to move as the table next to ours was refused service as there were too many of them sitting at it so they could use ours. Then sat at a table that we were allowed to and witnessed a couple with a dog being turned away as there wasn't a table available. There was one just the other side of the invisible line that they were not allowed to cross and within a few minutes others had vacated and left tables free that they could have used. A more productive and friendly approach would have been better.

Delicious lunch freshly cooked. Just made the 2 o'clock cut off had to ask the chef if they were still ok to cook.

Always come here when we visit St Ives , the staff are fab and it’s dog friendly , really shocked to see how much the prices have increased though it’s crazy and I don’t understand how it’s justified :( It also needs a good deep clean.

Good choice of beer and a nice pie, mash and gravy 👍🏻🍺

Really lovely food ,friendly staff and great location to watch people .

Friendly service and a good selection of drinks and food

We went for Sunday Dinner, service was fantastic, place was lovely food was very tasty but a very small portion of meat, for both chicken or beef. Shame it's only a small portion.

Had food here and it was lovely. Lovely harbour side pub with nice views over the harbour of St Ives. We ate small fish and chips and lite bite scampi. Then popped in again with Family. Would definitely recommend dining here or just popping in for a drink. Thankyou team. X

Food options are brilliant as well as the drink options, friendly staff and amazing service. If you sit on the opposite side of the pub away from the bar, there is an amazing view of the beach, pier and ocean

We ate here on our first night in St Ives. Th food was very good but our waitress was awful (blond lady with a ponytail in her mid 20's). She brought us our starters but we didn't have any cutlery so we asked for some and were answered with a sigh! She brought us our cutlery, slammed it down on the table and said 'this is to be used for your main course as well!'. Strange attitude to have particularly as most of the other tables were equipped with several sets of cutlery and an array of sauces!

We are local and have tried to get a table here for so long but never can as it is always busy. So on the one occasion we thought we were finally getting to eat here as we were told yes there is space, told to sit on some stools while the table will soon be ready was then told after 20 minutes that oh ‘hopefully one will become available’! After more waiting we left as people were just drinking at tables not eating so unlikely to get a table. If there is no space please say as wasting 30 min of my time on maybe is ridiculous. Won’t try again.

Can't beat the Lifeboat, been coming here since I was 15 (!) 31 years later....great food great atmosphere 👌

We visit here several times every time we are in St Ives ( twice a year). The staff are very friendly and efficient, the food is good and the views are amazing. We must make a special mention for Katherine, she is so accommodating, kind and professional. She is a real asset to the pub.

Popped in for lunch today 16/10 the young lady front of house greeted us had to check if dogs where allowed and yes they are , she told us where we could sit and explained to us to order at bar, food came out pretty quick, and was lovely. The young girl front of house was brilliant she made sure everyone was seated as well as clearing tables immediately after people had gone you have a great little worker there. Lovely friendly atmosphere will definitely come back when we visit St Ives again.

Service was quite slow but it was very busy so maybe that's not the normal. Didn't stop in the rooms, only had food in the pub.

Popped in to watch the football and to be honest wasn't expecting great food. I was very pleasantly surprised. Everything was really good, particularly the rose harrisa hummus. The staff are so friendly and the view of the beach is stunning. Well worth a visit.

Beautiful room and a the perfect location right in the seafront. Can’t wait to book again next year.

Yes agree, let dogs in but staff should wash or sanitise hands, before going straight to kitchen handling food

Had a lovely stay at the Lifeboat, staff were superb and really accommodating to my allergies, helped my parents up the stairs with their cases as they were quite steep but that was explain in the email and on the website. Food is great and thoroughly loved talking to the staff, Megan, Katherine and Amy made us feel welcomed and at home, great team members and can't thank them enough

Good food and service, highly recommend visiting

Came down from Plymouth for a day trip. Went to the Lifeboat for dinner .The staff were run off their feet but, they were still nice and polite. We had burger and chips, nice fat chips, the burger was absolutely delicious. We've been coming to St Ives from Plymouth for years and always come to The Lifeboat because the food is always good. Probably come again before the end of the year. In all probability, will come here for another burger

Sat, 14 Sept 2024. Thunder Struck ale was fantastic. Wanted to give a shout out to the hard working girls who seat people and bring the food. You're a credit to this establishment. I hope they are looking after you.

Didn't eat but the beer is quality. Try the Tribute. Lovely pint.

Lovely traditional old pub overlooking the harbour fantastic location

We booked, but we didn’t need to, st Ives is definitely quieter at lunch time than it used to be. Good quality food, good prices, but note they don’t do Sunday lunch during the summer. Edit - 2 years later - still lovely, they don’t appear to do booking anymore. Ran out of Korev which is basically a crime in Cornwall :)

Absolutely horrified by the shear unprofessionalism and ableism we were subjected to by the general manager of The Lifeboat Inn yesterday. Her discrimination and social prejudice against my husband with profound single sided hearing loss, together with her sarcastic tone and judgment as to what he could hear and what he couldn’t, (which she publicly aired), had a huge negative impact on him, myself and that of my 16 year old son with autism. My husband struggles with social settings due to his hearing loss, as his BAHA overwhelms him within crowded settings. Blatant rudeness and disregard for his disability by pointing out that he should have read a ‘sign’ if he hadn’t heard her! And comparing his deafness to that of her daughters. At its heart, ableism is rooted in the assumption that all disabled people are the same! Safe to say we will not be returning! Only gave one star as it wouldn’t allow no stars!

Absolutely horrified by the shear unprofessionalism and ableism we were subjected to by the general manager of The Lifeboat Inn yesterday. Her discrimination and social prejudice against my husband with profound single sided hearing loss, together with her sarcastic tone and judgment as to what he could hear and what he couldn’t, (which she publicly aired), had a huge negative impact on him, myself and that of my 16 year old son with autism. My husband struggles with social settings due to his hearing loss, as his BAHA overwhelms him within crowded settings. Blatant rudeness and disregard for his disability by pointing out that he should have read a ‘sign’ if he hadn’t heard her! And comparing his deafness to that of her daughters. At its heart, ableism is rooted in the assumption that all disabled people are the same! Safe to say we will not be returning! Only gave one star as it wouldn’t allow no stars!

Just had a lovely meal, both of us had the fish and chips, very quick service and very hot when served. Had very good toilets with lovely hand-wash & hand lotion, may sound trivial but some toilets I visited during the day were disgusting!!

I popped into the Lifeboat Inn for a drink during a short cruise ship excursion visit to St Ives. I enjoyed an excellent pint of Proper Job ale with a view looking straight out to the beach and harbour. The staff I spoke to were friendly and helpful. The ale wasn't cheap (compared to my own part of the country) but I suspect that price (around £5 a pint) simply represents the fact this is a top tourist location. It was a lovely spot to enjoy an ale and would certainly recommend this inn.

The Lifeboat is situated right on the harbour side with the most beautiful views. Our room was comfortable, spacious, clean and tastefully decorated. The staff were all friendly and helpful, especially Megan.

Good location but service not very good and the big girl rude and unprofessional Shouldn't be in there if she speaks to people like that. Not first time been here and friends too say same thing 🙁

Great location on the harbour. The food was good and reasonable priced. Staff were brilliant even whilst very busy, top class. While trying to enjoy our meal I counted 17 dogs in the place. I have no issues with dogs, I like them. But this is well beyond reasonable. It turned into some sort of singing / barking contest. For the sake of everyone else please sort this out guys, many positives and nice foot but this is too much. Smelt of wet dogs, not nice. And wet dogs on upholstered seats is just frankly gross.

The view was gorgeous, very central, good breakfast.

Very nice and clean rooms. We had a very nice sea view room. Breakfast was included and it was very tasty and big portions. Thank you for the great atmosphere and service!

Nice little bar and good bar food

Majorly disappointing for a nearly £17 burger.. arrived cold and barely cooked. No flavour besides the gem lettuce (says it all really). Fries were the best bit of the meal for me. Been coming here for years but this is the first time I've felt I've had to leave a review. Staff never come round to check how the food is either or else I would've sent it back.

Lovely pub to visit and relax definitely worth visiting

The banana blossom is not fish as we expected thinking it was a flavoured batter , when asking staff about the dish they said they had a lot of customers who thought the same … might suggest the menu needs adjusting as it did spoil our experience which was a shame

We visited on a rainy summers day with a dog, and were so impressed by the dog station they had! Good food and momentary shelter from the rain!

The best place in St Ives. Room 1 is the best with sea views. The windows have excellent noise insulation.

Didn’t stay, just had some food. The whitebait and king prawns were AMAZING. View of the sea from our table indoors 😎

I can't even book a table it just keeps coming up with Christmas bookings. When euros was on it just kept saying can't book a table for euros. This is shocking!

Visited twice & had a great meal both time's, excellent service

Only called in for a drink and was unceremoniously ousted from my seat for a quiz night where every table was reserved. Probably never going back.

Very clean, only one of the staff a young girl was very rude. We came into the pub for a drink and something to eat 9 guests in total. My 4 year old grandaughter was very upset as she had just been attacked by a seagull outside trying to pinch her ice cream. She came into the pub with my family, I understand you should not bring food in but she was so upset and just finishing her ice cream off, when a staff member came over and said she needs to go outside and eat that but it was her attitude and the way she said it, even though we were about to order food for 9 guests. I really think she needs some customer care skills as she could lose you business. But still a very clean pub.

Fabulous interior and wonderful service especially from Ruby. Gorgeous view from the windows, nice holiday atmosphere, and well worth it prices. Would highly recommend to all local and far xxx

What a fabulous pub. Located right on the waterfront in wonderful St Ives, its steeped in nautical history. You couldn't pick a better spot, with the windows looking right over the turquoise St Ives water. The pub gets super busy over summer. So... eye eye captain, ye better batton down the hatches!

Very nice food, staff are so welcoming. Would definitely recommend

Lovely clean pub. However the fish wasn't great and the peas appeared watery. From ordering to table was slow. The deteriation of this is quite vast over the years

Me and my wife paid a lot of money for one pint and one halve of lager shandy, which was all lemonade and a smell of lager very much appalling, paid for large cod and chips all chips and hardly no cod all batter and tough, highly disgusting and disgraceful, the staff are so quick to take your money. I complained to the manageress about a partial Refund or full refund there was no compassion she just did not want to know and quickly disappeared into a back room. In fact the staff seemed miserable boring did not know how to treat customers with a smile food terrible as much use as an ashtray on a motorcycle. And as for the chef is he qualified or not? Stay well clear unless improves. June 2024 Manageress and staff need to go on a course on how to deal with customers. STILL WAITING FOR A REFUND probably a long wait Keith

St. Ives is a popular seaside resort in Cornwall. With many day trippers and nice shops, eateries... beautiful sandy beaches with small marinas. The extra topic is Tate's own gallery/museum. The Lifeboat Inn is super cozy and very traditional and the meals are original and delicious! The staff is super attentive, super professional and friendly. No question is too much. The rooms are spacious and well furnished. With also some kind of apartments as an extra asset. The prices of the rooms and meals are reasonable and certainly not too high. Great experience!

On holiday for the week and came in for a pint of Tribute on Weds 26th June 2024, with my better half a speciality lager. Both were served in plastic, due to a dishwasher malfunction. At first, I was told no, until my insistence brought the manager over, as the barman was about to offer a refund. Admittedly, I was grateful to be offered a pint glass, so accepted it, but I don’t understand why a dishwasher malfunction determines how your drink is served. At £5.30 per pint, I don’t expect any pub to serve drink in a sub-standard vessel. It tasted far better in glass than the plastic Korev vessel.

Katherine and Sophie are lovely behind the bar, very enjoyable evening watching the euros.

Many dog customers here!! So cute!

We stopped in here after a long Sunday in St Ives We wanted a Sunday roast and after searching. We settled on here. The staff were friendly. The Sunday roast and drink was delicious and a great price and the view over the bay was amazing. We'd definitely come back again

As a Cornish resident, we visit st ives at least twice a year, Saturday was one with friends, too be honest we felt like we had been ripped off, £33 for two cajun chicken buns, which we not even a chicken breast they were the tear aways of the chicken breast, a handfull of chips and no salad, my steak and chips was £16 and a rubbery steak to say the least, not value for money in the slightest. We made comments on how small and were told thats the way it is, this is the lunch menu, the evning meals are bigger..... not happy

Good beer. Friendly staff. Good atmosphere

A lovely lunch was had here with family this week. Also popped in for a drink one of the evenings too. Can't comment on the rooms as didn't stay here. Found the staff friendly and the place had a good atmosphere. Will visit again.

Decent menu right on the harbour front

Love this place, we had two meals here. The pie and mash was superb 👌 We also had the Sunday roast, it was delicious Good range of drinks. Staff were very helpful and polite. Would definitely recommend this place if you are in the area.

Very big, busy pub in St Ives. Got pisssed on Bier Morretti don't remember a thing.

Fantasic Sunday roast. Great availability.. Just turned up and got a table. .....May 2024. Great table service.. Fantastic St Austell beers. Amazing roast... Beef and Turkey

Standard fair pub with standard fair food. Amazing views elevate this pub above others if you can get the right seat. Some decent ales as it's owned by St Austell Brewery but not a great choice.

Stayed here overnight. Room was very clean and tidy. Breakfast wasn't great for vegetarians with a lot of items unavailable and very greasy.

Always visit when we're in St Ives, food is always top notch and a great selection of ales to chose from.

Pleasant staff, great food especially the large fish and chips with mushy peas and tartare sauce. Dogs allowed in part of the dining room. Toilets clean and tidy upstairs.

Well, two years on I read the reply to My review again. Is this former favourite St.Ives still a table booking machine rather than the traditional pub it used to be, when you could just walk in and enjoy a drink standing at the bar?! Will query head office about this, in the meantime, to all of My followers....DEVON!

Went in for a quick drink. Lovely buzzy pub. Nice tables with a view of the harbour.

Delicious pub meal, although it was the second choice. Great love music session too.

Wonderful spot to stay and a great restaurant also.

Nice pub on the harbour Nice sea views good food menu and reasonably priced. Plenty of choice for beers and cider and other drinks friendly staff would recommend

Lovely pub with great views! Large fish & chips was nice, although I would hate to see how big the small portion of fish was as the large wasn't that big!

Very Welcoming! We came in after a little day trip around St Ives, had a southern fried chicken wrap and some chips was lovely! Dog friendly too!

Fantastic service great people and amazing beer

First timers in here yesterday and back again today. Greeted by two lovely ladies, Abbie and Kath. A very warm welcome and nothing too much trouble, hence back again. Credit to them both.

Although our room was a tad small, the location and atmosphere was amazing. Great staff too!

Great Sunday roast. Lovely pub, staff great and had the football in the TVs. Managed to get in on Mother’s Day.

Very nice pub and very friendly. Good food and helpful service. Would have been a 5 star review but for the fact that dogs (which are welcome and catered for with water bowls and snacks) are welcome, but dog owners are not allowed to sit in the prime window seats overlooking the harbour. It’s no different to other areas of the pub with the same furniture and flooring so seems odd that this is the case. We ate at lunchtime midweek and although there were only two other tables occupied in the whole pub we weren’t allowed to watch the world go by from a window table just because we had our dog with us. Strange.

Very central position staff very polite and efficient. Room was noisy with creaky floorboards need acoustic insulation under carpets

Visited on a winter deal. Nice room, comfy bed, good breakfast. Think it would be noisy in the summer.

Rooms above the pub with nice view of the harbour. Very comfortable and clean rooms. A bit steep staircase to get to the rooms so be aware if you are not physically able to climb stairs and carry your bags. They serve a simple but very good spread for breakfast and choice of hot breakfast.

Stayed a few nights,couldn’t fault the place,great food rooms and service and well priced..lovely staff,highly recommended..many thanks

Quite disappointing. Popped in for the perfect pint as the sign says outside. The beer was OK, but my wife wanted a latte. The coffee machine was broken, so she chose a hot water and slice of lemon. They said they couldn't do it because the coffee machine was broken. I asked if they had a kettle, they said no!! I cannot believe there isn't a kettle in the place. The wife then asked for a grapefruit juice to which the reply was "you've thrown in a curve ball there - we don't do grapefruit juice" Really shocked and disappointed with the service. The barmaid was not interesting in helping, just scoffing at each request. Won't be heading back in there anytime soon!

Great location for looking across the harbour. A sanctuary to shelter from the wind on a stormy January day. Great pub grub choices, cosy and warm and bright, friendly staff. A lovely welcoming vibe. The Steak & Ale pie and comforting buttery veg were just what was needed. Cheers!

We stayed here for New Year. Perfect stay to see in the new year. Hopefully, I will see you in the summer. Thank you.

Great location, great atmosphere, gteat staff, totally recommend.

Ate here with friends while on holiday. Service was great and we all thoroughly enjoyed our meals. I had crab croquettes and the fish of the day which was lemon sole with potatoes and salad.

We had a enjoyable afternoon/evening. Great food and choice of drinks. The staff are all friendly and Beckie the manager was very hospitable and attentive. Great location on the harbour side. Highly recommend and we are looking forward visiting again in the near future.

Really friendly man (likely manager) greeted us and showed us to a table. Nice setting we sat in the window. Served quickly and promptly really polite staff and tasty food. Lovely view of the harbour would recommend and come again in the future.

Decided to eat lunch here today with my wife. We walked in and was shown to our table by a chap and we placed our orders. On arrival of our food I let the gentleman know part of my food was stone cold not even luke warm but absolutely cold. He instantly become aggravated and unhappy with my request for a replacement meal until I insisted. No appologies at all and just shoved the replacement meal in front of me and and walked away. I must say other staff on that shift were much better.

This was the second day since Covid Restrictions had been eased so that customers can now eat inside licensed premises.It was quite busy but there were enough staff to meet the demand. Details have to be provided for ‘Track and Trace’. There was plenty of meal choices on the menu including a ‘light lunch’ menu. Decided to have a chicken wrap and a Pâté. Both were very nice. The ‘Proper Job’ bitter and Rioja wine were fine accompaniments.Our waiter was very friendly and he was kind enough to order a taxi to collect us from the front entrance.

Wanted to call in and have a few drinks. However, the over zealous employee on the door refused us due to Covid Tier regulations. We tried in vain to reason that we were allowed to be in town and weren't from a Covid travel restricted area.Very Bizarre, especially as we could hardly see anyone else in the pub. Needless to say that when all this is over we wont be coming back when all the Covid restrictions are over - particularly as other establishments were happy to welcome us while complying with NHS guidelines.

Nice little hotel. Nice view but if you want to have view , you need to book family room for £200 per night. Bed nice and big. Breakfast ok average. No parking on the side but the best parking is on the pier as you can extend through the app and it's only £3 for a day. It's a good location as it's in the middle of everything.

Have just had Christmas lunch at the Lifeboat Inn, St. Ives which was an amazing experience. The food was delicious and beautifully presented, lovely staff and stunning ambiance. Thank you Richard, chef staff for making our Christmas day so special. If anyone gets the chance to dine at this Inn please don't miss the opportunity

Went in the Life boat for lunch 10th December, enjoyed it so much went back for dinner later. The staff are so friendly and the invisible chips were sooo morish

We had a lovely room and bathroom for our 2 day stay here.The gentleman who served our breakfast was exceptionally helpful and his attention to detail was outstanding.Coincidentally we stayed at 3 other hotels in the same chain during our holiday in Cornwall and he was head and shoulders above the rest.

Came with family, and first disappointment was the reduced menu. Literally 6/7 mains to chose from none of which were that exciting - ok its a pub but we’ve been visiting this for 10+ years. My normal summary would be that this is gastro prices and good quality food. Not tonight. The chips were poor quality oven chips, made from powdered potato (yet kids meals were proper chips). Pathetic. You expect more when you’re eating out. This was whetherspoons food quality for triple the price. Also what happens when a waitress doesn’t write something down? They forget! Forgot our garlic bread but didn’t say anything as expected a tesco value baguette to come out. All in all, Iceland quality food and wish we hadn’t bothered