The Ruin Beach Cafe in Cornwall, Isles of Scilly

Superb venue a warm friendly atmosphere excellent food stunning views . Molly the waitress was excellent -best margaritas ever!

We came across this by chance walking round tresco and had the seafood sharing platter. So fresh and lovely environment. The pizzas on the next table looked really good too and we later heard lots of locals rating the pizza. Fresh seafood hard to beat

We had a great lunch here to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary. The food was fantastic, I had the fish of the day which happened to be the same as what we had for our wedding breakfast. The service provided by the staff was really good, especially by Molly and Joel. Oh and the location is perfect. Thanks for enhancing our anniversary.

Lovely views and great staff. My wife chose something that turned out to have a lot about it she didnt like, so they gave us desserts free.

Expensive. That's the keyword for here. The food was pretty good, the atmosphere is nice, as is the location. However you will pay for it. It felt a bit uncomfortable paying £3.50 for two slices of toast. Expect to pay at least £20 pp for a small lunch.

Absolutely fantastic. Amazing location, fabulous food and lovely staff.

During our stay on Tresco , we visited The Ruin Beach Cafe on various occasions. The sharing seafood platter was a great hit as a light(not so light!) late lunch. Our evening meal experience was excellent with a warm welcome and great food. Still probably our favourite eating/drinking spot on the island for great atmosphere and a view to die for. Can’t wait to go back. P.s. It would be great to see some locally reared beef on the menu. On a previous visit I had a ribeye steak which, to this day, is the best beef I have ever tasted!

the goats cheese pizza was so good. drinks were nice and atmosphere was busy and welcoming. the view from the decking of the sea was lovely, although it was raining a little bit it was still nice.

the goats cheese pizza was so good. drinks were nice and atmosphere was busy and welcoming. the view from the decking of the sea was lovely, although it was raining a little bit it was still nice.

We really like the Ruin. The food was excellent and the staff were friendly and efficient. It’s great to be blessed with such a wonderful setting but you have to back it up with an equally good dining experience and the Ruin people manage that brilliantly.

Amazing location and atmosphere

Must admit this was one of our highlights of our recent holiday. We shared a meat and cheese dish we sat in a lovely little alcove in glorious sunshine with a fabulous view. The girl that served us gave us hope in the youth of today, after poor service from teenagers on St Mary's, she was so pleasant and helpful

I think I’ve just had my last visit to the Ruin. We’ve always accepted it’s pricey, but the view, food and service have always made up for this. Once again the view and the service were exceptional but the food made us feel as if we were being taken advantage of. Pizzas were wonderful, no complaints, but the sea food platter was far smaller than last year. The panzanella with burrata was actually 4/5 tomatoes, a ball of mozzarella and a few croutons. It was more of an expensive starter than a main, a few croutons do not a panzanella make. If you are serving mozzarella, sell it as mozzarella. This was not a one off incident either as a friend who visited earlier in the season made the exact same comment. As I was still hungry I ordered dessert. The orange polenta cake. Thank heavens for the clotted cream, it was as dry as dust and once again disappointing, and sadly, not the only thing to leave a bad taste in my mouth. As always, fabulous attentive service but the kitchen has really let it down.

Delicious food and cocktails. Really lovely and welcoming staff and absolutely unbeatable veiws!

Very busy so glad we could get a seat, great views, friendly staff but very expensive… captured audience though so for a treat it was nice

A stunning location, really lovely food, fantastic pizzas especially! The kids played and made new friends on the beach whilst we sat in the sunshine overlooking from the cafe. Lovely cocktails too!

The Ruin is not cheap but worth it for that sensational view, lovely fresh food and extremely staff. Highly recommended for a special treat or a coffee outside. Very laidback, casual atmosphere, with feeling of luxury nonetheless.

Magnificent view, very friendly service. We only had one drink but it was really great!

In good weather the outside tables on the beach front terrace are best to enjoy the views. The atmosphere is relaxed but staff and service excellent. Lunchtime pizzas and salads were well prepared and presented. A lovely place.

Best pizza ever. Location and service ditto.

The cafe is very nice. Very good food. Something very commercially run. Not all places have a nice view.

An extremely beautiful place. We were warmly welcomed and looked after. Thank you for the nice time with you.

View is beautiful but the prices for what are skimpy, mediocre dishes are too high. Had a very disappointing fish sharing platter for £35 that consisted of 2 prawns (yes, just one each), a small spoonful of mackerel pate each, a small square of trout each and less than a desert spoonful of crab to share between us with lettuce and bread. It feels like they are openly mocking their diners. It was empty inside during half term which might indicate that it’s fallen out of favour. Honestly, next time I’ll get the boat to Bryher. Pick up a whole dressed crab and loaf of bread there for half the price and picnic on the beach.

Excellent, friendly service but food disappointing & expensive, the most impressive thing was the view.

Disappointing to note that the shredded crab served as part of the fish sharing platter is the same crab served with the crab linguine for main course. Shame. Appreciate the common crab theme but feel they could do something more imaginative with it. Overall could do better. Location and view is excellent.

Wonderful staff and fabulous food. We enjoyed 2 evenings during our stay on beautiful Tresco

Everything about it was exceptional.

Great mixed seafood platter. Fantastic

Fantastic lunch and service with a wonderful view of the beach.

Absolutely gorgeous surroundings and super tasty pizza 😍

Worth the walk around Tesco to get here, lovely food friendly staff. Almost on the beach itself! A lovely place for a nice meal and a few drinks. In summer there is a little pop up drinks hut next door too!

Fantastic lunch for 6 of us! We chose lunch rather than evening to Make the best of the views and also to be offered the sea food platter which fantastic for 2. We had it as a shared starter and followed it with a shared pizza. We knew from previous experience that 2 mains would be just too much! Great staff / friendly and knowledgable. This venue just goes from strength to strength. Such lovely weather for late October -,we were able to sit outside after for a drink.

Really disappointing (and expensive) evening meal. I’d been looking forward to crab linguine (£30). It arrived in a dessert bowl, small portion, overwhelmingly linguine, raw tomatoes and chilli . I couldn’t taste crab at all! It’s presence was felt however by shards of crab shell. Come on Ruin, Buck your ideas up. I know it’s the end of the season but if you’re going to drop your standards to this level then drop your prices too. Any yes, I did inform the waiting staff. And no salt and pepper on the table, we had to ask for water and Parmesan. A really poor show.

Visiting on a windy day, we sat indoors and just ordered tea as there was only a choice of two cakes. While we didn't dislike it, we felt it was not living up to it's reputation.

I had been to the Ruin Cafe a year previously and had the crab linguine that I had heard about. It was the most delicious meal and the restaurant was lovely and the evening a high spot of our holiday. I had been looking forward to the same again this year but I was so disappointed when it arrived - the first one was made with lemon grass, spinach and cream but this second one was in a tomato sauce and completely different and nothing like as special, especially served on rather overcooked linguine. I have looked up the original recipe published online by the cafe and will be making it at home for myself.

Staff were friendly, the views and weather were just perfect and we all had a lovely coffee whisky on a walk about the island. I loved all the decor inside with the shell art. So pretty and unusual. The coffee was lovely and very welcome Perfect visit and we had fun watching the little sparrows eating crumbs as well.

Excellent coffee and soup for lunch...they have an extensive lunch menu....we only needed a snack

What an incredible find, superb cafe serving an incredible seafood platter. Make sure you come here whenever you visit Tresco

It would be hard to find a more stunning location to stop for a coffee than here. On the edge of a white sand beach, looking across turquoise waters to rocky islands, the cafe bathed in sunshine, what more could you ask? Tables are dotted about on the terrace and in cosy nooks in the garden or there’s plenty inside too with equally good views. Relaxed and charming young staff. Most enjoyable coffee. Wish we’d been there at a more appropriate time to sample the lunch menu.

This is a fabulous place for an evening meal. We always end our stay on Tresco with a meal here. The choice of food is exceptional. The service is spot on Lovely setting right by the beach. Be prepared to book well in advance

I’ve been many a time. While it is expensive most likely due to the import costs, the food is still very nice, the drinks selection is varied and the staff in particular Demi, the Latvian lady and the Portuguese dude are lovely. I will continue to visit for the future. The views you cannot beat.

Absolutely fantastic, great for lunch or evening meals. The location is superb, being right next to the beach, providing a fab view of Old Grimsby & the bay. I had the Scallops as a starter followed by a woodfired pizza 👌 The staff were super friendly. The atmosphere is casual & chilled, basically a place where you can relax.

Fab stop half way round island walking. Beautiful position, great service and coffee. Booked for supper too!

Managed to fit in a lunch here between ferries on a day trip (when the main aim was to visit the Abbey Gardens) SO glad we did, the setting is beautiful, the food was amazing and the service was perfect. Highly recommeded

Lovely spot, excellent service and fantastic food, what more can i say! We had the charcuterie sharing platter which was fabulous

We just returned from a two weeks stay on Bryher and the food highlight was definitely the ruin cafe on Tresco !! So grateful that they make the best gluten dairy free pizzas in the country ! The staff are so friendly and kind . We went back 3 times and had other things which they accommodated into gluten dairy free for us . I’d give them ten stars if I could . Well done to everyone it’s so appreciated that you are so adaptable

The food was good, but the menu was quite limited with only 'modern' dishes. I would have liked one or two more traditional choices, perhaps pasta carbonara, marinara pizza, caesar salad, burger etc

Although expensive at £18 per pizza the food is outstanding and so is the atmosphere will definitely come here again

Ruin Beach café on Tresco island

We cannot recommend this cafe enough, the staff were great, the food was excellent and they made my wife feel really special with the Birthday surprise dessert. Thank you to everyone at Ruin Beach Cafe.

We had a terrific time at Ruin Beach Cafe for my wife's birthday , the staff were very attentive and the food was excellent . The atmosphere is relaxed just what you need when on holiday.

The setting is idyllic! Who cares about the food.....actually the food is really good. Had a lovely lunch here which we really enjoyed. Portions are very generous. Lovely pizza and chickpea salad which we shared between us. Staff are really friendly and helpful. There is a really good vibe about the place.

Friendly and polite staff A lovely pizza which we shared and 2 medium size glasses of wine and 2 coffees £45 As there are only 2 restaurants to choose from they can obviously change these extortionate prices

Always a treat. We had a delicious lunch here with great views and good service. The only reason for not giving full marks was the constant very loud clanking from staff throwing empty bottles in some kind of receptacle behind the bar, which we were seated next to.

A special setting - well worth the walk - a very tasty salad and excellent service spoilt by the overpriced and pathetic dessert - lemon meringue pie was a small piece of lemon tart with a very thin layer of meringue that had just been blow torched plus a spoonful of mixed berry’s - and that cost £12 - you need to do better

Shame we went on a wet and windy day, however the views from the cafe are spectacular. Food was excellent (from a limited menu), but pricey. Worth a visit if your passing by.

Originally had lunch booking but we changed to breakfast on the day, staff were accommodating. Quiet when we got there. Limited breakfast menu, we had the shakshuka which was good. Stunning location, great views from outside tables.

Lovely vegan pizzas, much deserved after a long walk. Large wine selection and good local Cornish beers! Didn't have dessert but they looked great :) service was friendly and the views are predictably wonderful! My one note would be, perhaps chilli oil for the pizza? Tad pricey but hey ho :)

The setting was breathtaking. You can easily mistaken you were in the Caribbean! The food was delicious and reasonably priced. Will definitely make a trip there when back in isle of Scilly next year.

Gorgeous food and perfect location.

The perfect spot. Lovely little cafe with terrace looking over the harbour, beaches and islands towards St Martins. Enjoyed a pizza and a beer in the sunshine served by polite and friendly staff. A must if you visit Tresco.

Spectacular view, outstanding food and service. Highly recommended

great food and location. A visit here is our treat when we come to Tresco Spoilt by poor service. We gave up on having coffee and dessert having sat in front of empty plates for a least 30 minutes and been ignored.

Discovered this hidden gem by accident. It was well run and had a fantastic menu, seating and location. I wish we could have returned for a meal that evening, but time was against us!

Beautiful views Great food Great drinks and a very nice friendly crew . Sitting outside in the open had its own charm . One of the favorites amongst all islands around

Fantastic setting great food and quality service. Certainly recommend the seafood sharing platter and the pizzas were amazing

Perfectly situated over looking the beach fabulous views. Food was lovely had one of the pizzas and was blown away. The staff was very helpful and always there if we needed anything. Can’t recommend highly enough.

Well, this is certainly one of our favourites. Found on the Island of Tresco. It is situated right on the beach with a spectacular view of the bay. If you are coming by boat; it is a short stroll from Old Grimsby Quay. Great food...

Lovely setting with seating inside and out

We stopped for lunch on our day trip to Tresco and managed to get one of the outside tables as the weather was gorgeous. The views across the beach and bay were lovely and the service was friendly and quick. We shared a pizza and...

Best pizza on Isles of Scilly!!

Beautiful location, beautiful food , great service. Pricey unfortunately, is the only negative

We dined here twice during our week stay on Tresco and would highly recommend this restaurant. Not in the least bit a cafe! Booking is essential as soon as possible. I had the market fish on both occasions which was Hake cooked beautifully. The staff...

I just wrote an effusive, really descriptive review of our lovely time here yesterday afternoon, but then my wife somehow deleted it before posting it, so this will sadly probably end up being a less well written version. Quite simply our lunch at Ruin Beach Cafe was, hands, down the highlight of our lovely trip to Scilly. This place just got everything right, from the views and ambience, to the food, drinks and service, we had a wonderful, laid back lunch experience. We weren't even all that hungry on arrival so nearly didn't bother to pop in, but once we were told that everything could be made gluten free my options really opened up and happily we both found an appetite as we nibbled on some tasty olives with our GnT and non-alcoholic Pentire Spritz. Service from Marshall was friendly and attentive without being overbearing, and the Vinho Verde recommendation really hit the spot. Stand out dishes were the crab linguine (freshest, tastiest simple bowl of [gluten free alternative fusilli] pasta I've had in a long time, topped with handfuls of shredded white crab meat), and the chocolate mousse with cherry compote and hazelnut caramel sauce, with matched dessert wine for that extra layer of decadence. Sad that we won't be able to go back any time soon, but this place will be on our list to return to next time we visit the Isles.

Had an afternoon drink, then came back for dinner later. View is fantastic, service great and the food very enjoyable.

Pleasant, but given the surroundings it would be hard for a cafe not to be. A cup of tea is very pricey, and service isn't particularly speedy - if you are after a quick cup of tea and a cake it is probably faster (and certainly cheaper) to walk over to the abbey gardens cafe.

The pizzas, the pizzas, the pizzas. The views, the drinks. This is one hell of a spot.

We had several meals here whilst away for a week. The food is fantastic and the staff are great. Keep an eye for Marshall who’s a lovely guy and made my family feel very welcome.

The Ruin Beach for me is the outstanding experience on Tresco. The manager ,Dace,is so welcoming and makes you feel at home. The menu is excellent and the quality of the food and its presentation is 5 star. All the staff are lovely and you...

I like it.. nice menu The view is ace Helpful staff

Certainly not a cafe and what a location! Very professional with high quality. A definite must do! 5*

Excellent service , great pizzas cooked in wood oven. Had the special of garlic crevettes which were tasty but slightly over cooked. My daughter had the scallops which she said were delicious. The red Italian ripasso like wine was very good and one of the...

Fantastic location and great food! Would recommend the veggie sharing platter 👍 staff are friendly and efficient and attentive, thanks for the dog water too !

This place is fantastic. The staff are hard-working and enthusiastic, and the food is excellent . The ambience manages to strike a great balance between the “toes in the sand” informal with a serious attention to great quality food - locally sourced and sustainable where...

Lovely location, great service but let down by poor deserts. Menu said poached peach which turned out to be canned peach slices with some white chocolate ganach & raspberry sauce..£11!!! But this is Tresco, so no real surprise. Mains & starters were nice if not spectacular. Worth the visit for the venue and view alone.

We visited here just for drinks but were so taken with the place decided to stay for lunch. We had our little dog who was made a huge fuss of by the staff who were lovely. Food was exceptional, scallops cooked to perfection and the...

We booked well in advance and while we had a very pleasant meal, it was a little disappointing that at 7.30pm on a Saturday night they had run out of the specials, a fish dish that 3 of our 4 were keen to have. My...

Ruin beach café = Ruined welcome in fact I can’t give any advice about dishes served at « Ruin Beach Café » – Tresco, Scilly Islands- because we (wife and me) didn’t manage to get a table there… the junior staff in charge of réservations...

Great place to watch the world go by after exploring the island. Great attentive staff with a warm welcome whether you bring in sand on your feet from the white sand beach or just your boots and rucksack. Super varied menu. Will be back in...

Off the helicopter and straight to the Ruin on day 1! We've also popped in for coffee and drinks. Tonight we had our evening meal there. The Pork special was absolutely superb. Tasty soup to starr and we love the sour dough with balsamic....staff as...

I had an excellent pizza, other food in party was also excellent. Location was superb and the service excellent.

the staff didn't seem to be happy, I wasn't served well, my food arrived after I complained about a table that arrived after me, and the order had already been served and my plate hadn't come

What an amazing location. The beach and water are Caribbean like. The food is out of this world. Not cheap but you get what you pay for. Staff all very attentive and friendly. Dog friendly. Would recommend to all

Great location, service and food.

A fabulous place white sand, crystal clear calm sea and a shallow flat beach safe for children it is the nearest place to the Carribean in the UK

Was our wedding anniversary, what a place fantastic food and wine great service perfect location this is probably the best view restaurant in the uk , and we’ve done quite a few highly recommended booking is best bet as not to be disappointed

Beautiful food in an amazing place

Great veggie options on the menu, somthing for everyone. Amazing pizzas, greats views, wonderful staff. But expensive, and sometimes portion size leaves something to be desired.

Great spot for food on Tresco. Relaxed dining with amazing views over Old Grimsby Key. Friendly staff but don't expect a refined front of house experience. The food was very good and will definitely be back.

Excellent food, reasonably priced and first class service throughout. Highly recommended