The Unicorn on the Beach in Cornwall, Isles of Scilly

Fantastic food and service at The Unicorn. Great location and well worth a visit.

Just had a beautiful meal at the Unicorn. Service was excellent and everyone was really friendly. Highly recommended.

Loved the food, we had half a lobster and the Unicorn Steam Pot, both were delicious, we had a couple of ciders outside and enjoyed the view. Serving staff were really friendly, the bar man was very helpful. One point, don't pay for parking at the meter, register your car inside when you order

Great friendly service and amazing food at competitive prices. The specials board inside had some amazing options too. Highly recommended.

Excellent food, very friendly staff and food delivered in good time, not too quick not too slow. Much better than other restaurants in the area. Had a couple of evening meals whilst on holiday highly recommended.

Went for a meal on the off chance after finding it while driving around. The manager who served was really lovely and welcoming, and you could see loved her job. The food was excellent, much better than we had come to expect after other restaurants we visited. I would definitely recommend

My wife and I stopped off at the Unicorn for a quick drink with our dog having walked the coast path from Chapel Porth to Porthtowan. Grabbed a seat outside and I popped inside to order drinks. Two members of staff were chatting away inside which isn't an issue at all, as I don't expect/need to be greeted the second I enter a pub/restaurant. However; when after three-four minutes of being stood at the bar neither of those two staff members has even acknowledged you, and the female has wandered off outside to continue her conversation whilst the male is still sat on his stool looking at videos on his phone...then it's just sheer arrogance and rudeness . There were only four other customers in the inside area that I could see, and a handful outside, so not even busy. Needless to say we didn't stick around, and won't ever be returning. As the old saying goes "manners cost nothing"... Date/time of visit Weds 26th June 14.21 hrs.

Went with friends, lovely place to sit in the sun, I ordered the ham terrine as I have a small appetite, it came looking lovely with an odd garnish (think the tail end of a small mouse complete with tail!) which after asking the chef the waiter told us were caper berries, anyway first few mouthfuls were delicious, then it all started to get rather fatty and full of gristle so I had to leave nearly half of it, coffee after was lovely but lukewarm as were others in our group, all in all disappointing.

Great bar.really nice food and atmosphere 👌

Beautiful hidden gem in Cornwall and definitely worth a visit. We found this spot whilst exploring Cornwall with our 4 month old and it sits on the edge of the beach. There is a free car park meters from the pubs car park that charges. The staff were so friendly and helpful. The food was amazing and the prices were great and they were child friendly. The only thing I wish was that their calamari starter didn't have the whitebait and was solely calamari as it was so tasty and I'm not keen on whitebait. But over all the meals were amazing. And it was clean and the atmosphere was sociable and happy. We will definitely be coming back.

So good we came here twice in our week down in Cornwall! Would highly recommend the mussels - very generous portion even for the small.

Service was amazing ...accommodated our dog with water and free treats.food is amazing ...may have to wait for around 30 mins but if you want fresh tasty food it's worth the wait.

This was such a fabulous Sunday lunch! A cool and welcoming team and interior. After walking across from Chapel Porth, the Unicorn is perfectly placed on the edge of the beach.The staff were so welcoming and accommodating for our family (and mischievous pup) and the food was a cut above the regular beach or pub Sunday lunch - and beautifully executed too. Interesting cocktails to boot, we all left feeling thoroughly refreshed and chillaxed.

Great food, amazing setting with a view of a picturesque bay. Only let down was the somewhat confusing service... Though all worked out in the end.

Great location, next to a playground so perfect for kids. Sadly, prices are big, orations are small. £17 for an “ok” chicken burger.

Came for birthday drinks, it was quiet but service was so slow and drinks forgotten had to go and find out where our order was twice, also a really rowdy pair of young guys at the bar who were being crude and boisterous. I felt embarrassed that I'd taken my friends there to be honest - it was a cold and hostile environment- bizarre! My partner came to collect me and stayed for a drink.. at 10pm. Now have a £100 parking fine too. Blue bar or victory instead from

A great place, friendly, welcoming and a real chilled vibe. Service and food was top notch - special mention to Cad who served us! There were 8 of us and all our needs were catered for, no request was too much - well recommended!

Went twice over the Bank Holiday weekend Good selection of food great quality and generous portions at a competitive price . Really friendly helpful staff , seem genuinely wanting to help and always have time to stop and chat .Highly recommend you drop in when you are in the area - even for a quick drink .

Great location next to the beach. Ate here on the first and last days of our holiday.

Went for a quick walk with our dog down to the beach then decided to stop by and look at the menu. Despite almost missing the kitchen, Eden did not rush us to order and was very accommodating. The chicken burger was very good along with the pickled garnishes and fries. The side Mac and cheese was not so side and more of a main and we were not complaining about that. Big noodles and lots of cheese pairs nice as a dipping sauce for the fries. Would like to stop by again before our trip ends.

Went to the Unicorn as a birthday celebration while on holiday in Cornwall. It was one of those times when I wanted the reviews to be wrong - they weren't, and we left disappointed. First, our booked table had been given to a walk-in even though we were early. We got a table in the end, and the staff were very apologetic. Order was taken quickly, but the bread as a starter didn't arrive until we complained. Even then, the hummus never arrived. Mains took over 1 hour to arrive and only after complaining. Both steaks were cold and not cooked as requested. We were given free drinks and a hefty discount, which was nice but didn't make up for a failed celebration. Staff were nice and tried their best, but the whole setup just didn't seem to work.

Very good food but a bit pricey. Given the great location understandable. Staff were excellent 👍

We stopped by for a Sunday roast. Couldn't fault the service. The staff were lovely and accommodating. The food arrived fast and was presented well. But the food quality was very disappointing. The meat was carved very thin and there wasn't alot of it (we had beef) it wasn't the best quality either. Half the plate was cabbage and there was only 3 roast potatoes, all of which were clearly reheated/recooked and were overcooked to the point it was hard to cut into them. We left feeling under satisfied. We didn't feel right saying anything to the staff at the time as they were already getting a hard time from the table next to us who were complaining and sending back food and quite frankly being rude to the staff. We didn't want to add to it so happily paid and went on our way. I think the location was fantastic and the restaurant has potential to do much better. So to constructively criticise, The food just needs to be fresher and better quality. The staff were amazing and I'm sure if we had said something at the time they would have been more than happy to send us a replacement but as I said above we didn't want to be mean and gang up on them like the rude table next to us

This review is just to comment on the helpful attitude of staff. The car park adjoining/belonging to the pub is managed by the infamous Britannia Parking so no surprise that I received a Penalty Charge notice despite having paid and displayed. The hotel manager was very helpful and offered to pursue my appeal if it got bogged down. Not necessary in the event but much appreciated ...thank you ....Still... watch out for the car park and retain your ticket !!!!!

Came here for lunch on my hiking trip along the coast. Service was very nice from the staff. I ordered the mussels with fries, they were nice although could have done with some bread to mop up the broth. Nice stop if you’re coming along the South West coast path.

Nice location and facilities but really missing opportunities. 4 of us popped in lunch time bank hol Monday , sat outside in warm sunshine, it was pretty dead despite being absolutely packed in village. Asked for menu as wanted a sandwich or something light but menu was what you'd expect for an evening restaurant meal, not a pub and not for lunch. Understood then why it was not busy like the other establishments nearby. Such a shame we had to leave and go else where.

Popped in for a random drink, hospitality at its finest! Played a pub quiz and got made 2 absolutely divine cocktails by the amazing Eden. Hats off to her and a great team. Beardy x

Had a meal here tonight, great service, lovely food, owner amazing, food served piping hot.... Thank you

Nice place but food was average. Ordered a lemon sole and it was swimming in a large quantity of butter 😬

We had a lovely meal last night (13th Feb). The food was fab and the service from Eden, Cad and Liv was just the best. Many thanks team for making it a great night! Steve and Ali

We came for dinner, it was brilliant. We mentioned it was a birthday when booking and all the staff made us feel very special and went the extra mile. The service was fantastic throughout the evening. The food was delicious, really well presented and very tasty. We will be back!

Went here for dinner as a group of 7. Good selection of food with two vegan options, a Thai butternut squash curry and a vegan burger. No draft cornish cider. Cosy warm atmosphere with friendly staff. Very dog friendly!

Really lovely cosy place, log fire, friendly staff and good food too!

Genuinely excellent food - a small menu but every item on that menu is brilliant! Great staff and atmosphere also

Had lunch at the Unicorn and can oly say the food and service is second to none. we will be back.

Never stayed. Food good price and quality and quantity katter well for children. Worth the visit .

Just popped in here for some lunch today:) absolutely lovely , friendly staff , superb food and very dog friendly. Highly recommended.

Very friendly. Enjoyed a quick light lunch in the airy restaurant by the windows overlooking the beach(sort of).

Overpriced mediocre food, with rather slow service

What a fabulous pub. Used as my peaceful, friendly, evening retreat after spending all day running around with family, this beautiful place has stunning views and excellent staff. Special thanks to Harry, Ruben and Josh who instinctively knew when to engage in conversation at the bar and when to leave me alone to relax. I was in Porthtowan for five nights and in the Unicorn for five nights. Thank you for being just what I needed!

Often exceptional but when it's really busy the standard drops significantly. My advice would be to avoid during holiday season. Out of season some of the best.

Last night The Unicorn on the Beach held a Halloween disco with an amazingly talented DJ, decorations were brilliant, staff wore great costumes and worked so hard to help make it an absolutely brilliant night. Thank you, well done, best night in a very long time!!

Poor and slow service, even though not many other customers.. Shame as staff seem friendly, but More interested in putting up decorations for Halloween party. Not very attentive to customers. A few mistakes with food and pudding orders.Very expensive with not alot of choices. No plain meals except for kids. Could do better.Would not eat here again.

Lovely place great views of the sea and coast. Food was great but a bit overpriced for the portion received.

Great reception and welcome, great food at a good price. 👍

Lovely location, great ambiance, great food, great service. Recommended 👌

What a find! Dropped in to Porthtowan and fell into the pub for lunch. What a treat, fantastic food, great service, 5 star all the way. Totally Recommend

Place looks nice but had a disappointing lunch. We had two dishes: nachos was fine but what was supposed to be ciabatta and sourdough with harissa hummus and seeds was really poor. Ten quid for very stale bread and small pot of hummus with no sign of any toasted seeds. Lazy effort and total waste of money.

Not much choice of ales and mostly pale ales. Some pumps were out of use. Fries were over cooked but the burger was delicious. Too late in the evening to request replacement fries and I hate food waste. The staff did apologise that they were short of kitchen staff on our departure. The staff were friendly and helpful but as its a beautiful spot I guess they'd had a very busy weekend!

First time in Porthtowan, enjoyed afternoon drinks and dinner . Staff friendly and attentive, great menu with lots of choice . Highly recommend to everyone coming to this beautiful part of Cornwall.

Nice enough place. £5.95 for a pint of Heineken, and expected to pay for the car park. A step too far for a local. Update; Thanks for the reply below, we tried all that but, on that particular night, the bar staff said the system wasn't working and people were getting fined by the lovely parking company regardless.

Service was Fantastic with friendly staff and the food was excellent. A definitely must if your in the area or visiting the beach.

Great pub and has a good play area for the kids

Food was really nice, location was perfect right on the beach front, I felt that the bar and restaurant didn't really flow with the ordering process and the staff could have been friendlier. Plenty of tables to choose from outside or inside depending on the weather. Toilet facilities were not great.

Had a meal here, we had cheesy nachos to start followed by a steak and the whole mackerel, a very nice meal in a lively pub with live music on the night we ate, very good.

Lovely pub! 🍻 Great service and menu 🎣

Having just returned from our third visit in under a week, I cannot recommend enough. Service has been first class, food has kept the 5 of us coming back. Massive shout to the nachos with pulled pork! Sarah has created a fantastic team.

The location is perfect close to the beach and the Ambiente of the Restaurant is nice. However, in total it did not meet our expectations: the Service was a bit confused and we had 3 different persons taking care of us, maybe thats why our order was forgotten and we waited nearly an hour for the main meal. The fish and chips were tasty, the vegan curry was a total disappointment in terms of Taste, presentation and price. We got 2 free drinks as apology for the long waiting time.

Beautiful meal at lunchtime today ! Excellent service and great value for money .we were only passing bye but will definitely make the effort to revisit in the future

Gorgeous place! If you're in the area, do yourself a favour and visit this little tranquil haven. Super friendly service, and absolutely stunning food! We were craving fish and I myself got the 'catch of the day', pan fried sole; and it was divine! All accompanied by beautiful views, fresh beverages, and a very reasonable price tag. Rather faultless. I hope your experiences here are as blissful and as beautiful as mine was.

Disappointing. Visited this evening and the location is superb, heard good things about it. The best part about the visit was the crab on toast starter. Service was poor, drinks order incorrect but rectified however, the starter arrived before our drinks order. Husbands meal came out 15 mins before mine & my sons, without cutlery or condiments offered, thankfully a burger and fries so continued to eat. By the time the other two meals had arrived he’d finished eating his burger which he said was overdone. My Cajun chicken burger was very bland with a plastic cheese slice burnt on to it, my Son ordered the whole mackerel, the potatoes were cold and hard, I would have raised this with staff if we had been checked back on or asked if everything was ok. We left our meals and left shortly after as no staff seemed to notice uneaten food even when walking past the table several times. Best part of £90 for a disappointing experience and poor service, what a shame for such a fantastic location.

Food is terrible but service was good.

Fantastic meal. Favourite meal of our holiday in Cornwall. The trout was unreal! Lovely atmosphere and decent cocktail menu.

Great night out, very tasty food and perfect service, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Very nice place, alive with activity and nice food

Went for a meal with friends and our server liv was amazing she was so lovely and chatty!!

Excellent vibe, delicious food and the most wonderful vistas

Really lovely pub , fantastic location and view and practically on the beach , really friendly staff and great service , but the food was a bit overpriced and a bit bland and not a lot of choice on the menu for what was average pub grub at best , an adult burger was £16 and the kids meal burger was £8 and it was basically the same burger without the gherkins for half the price . I wouldn't eat there again but it's a really lovely place for a drink with a fantastic beer garden and lovely play area for the kids which was really nice and will most definitely be back again for a drink .

The food was lovely and this is why they have a 4 star from me. If it was based on just the service, the score would be 2! Didn't give us menus, forgot our drinks twice, forgot our bill when we asked for it, got my meal wrong. Even the waitress said 'your table is tainted today'.

Visited for 4th consecutive year and we were not disappointed. They made a real fuss of her and she had a fabulous evening - thank you.

Staff were very friendly specially Ruben and freya

Beautiful location and a nice, clean and well run environment. Wait staff were excellent, professional and friendly. Food was good but you would expect nothing less at that price point. IPA-Loma cocktail was the highlight - unique and incredibly refreshing.

Lovely meal out with the family and our 2 cockers to bring our holiday to a close. Both the food and the service were absolutely spot on. 👏🏻👍🏻🫶🏻. Real hidden gem!!

Fabulous location and excellent food, my hake in saffron sauce was outstanding.

Great beach Café/restaurant, great service and lovely staff

the self proclaimed “bald bar man” was a delight and kept us very well entertained and treated us immaculately, drinks were amazing, if you’re visiting porthtowan i would highly recommend the unicorn

Excellent service, shame the menu is small and the 'music' from the entertainer questionable.

Been many times, on the last visit food not as good as normal but I can still highly recommend. The location is beautiful and we will go back.

Front of house staff were friendly and provided a good service. Unfortunately they were let down by the quality of the food coming out of the kitchen - menu was uninspired, and the meals we ordered were poor for the price paid. The burger i ordered for example, wasn't worth the £16 charged and I've heated up better shop bought pizzas for my son than the one he was given today. This is such a shame as the Unicorn is in an incredible location and could be such an amazing place.

Great bar set back off the beach, but still feel like your on the beach. Sandy, deck chairs.lovely stream flowing to the sea.our dog wasn't allowed on the beach but played in the stream with his sticks.the staff were nice and the beer to.will be returning next year 👍🍺🍺.

The place looked great and we had heard good things about it but oh were we disappointed. Nachos as a starter were abysmal. The 'aubergine sauce' with the catch of the day was a poor ratatouille served luke warm. The ratio of staff to customers was high but the staff chatted amongst themselves ratger than engage with customers. We cancelled our drinks as they were nowhere in sight by the time we had finished our main course. Very poor experience and so we would definitely not recommend it.

Beautiful pub with great welcoming staff.

One of those better places , staff are friendly and accommodating and there is lots of them, the food is just always a bit better than expected. I like the unicorn

Great friendly service. Large meals though a little limited menu but still found food for the whole family to enjoy. Lovely view down to the beach.

Wow! Loved it as soon as we walked in! The waitresses were fantastic, food was epic! (Even made sure our four legged companion was looked after!) catch of the day with a glass of champagne was a treat of our holiday and it didn’t disappoint! We stayed after dinner for a drink in the beachy beer garden and the whole experience was just perfect!

Really helpful young lady serving outside! Great drink selection, great bar!

At little restaurant very close to the beach with (almost) sea views (a 30 second walk to go look at waves). Great service, although we went early in the day (1pm), brilliant food and lovely staff. If I had one complaint, it would be that I prefer big chunky chips over fries, but they still filled the hole. (That is personal preference though) And the tartar sauce is to die for! Nom nom nom! Unfortunately, I didn't take pics (and I certainly wasn't going to take a photo of my food for Instagram you pretentious knobs), but the location is excellent, the food is well worth the price, and the staff were polite, respectful and well on top of the game.

Excellent is too small a word....outstanding. Food , staff atmosphere all 100% Highly recommend. Thank you to all staff for making us feel so welcome. We will be back xx

Didn't eat here so can't comment on the food but popped in for a drink before going to the beach 2mins walk away. As a family friendly pub this is one of the best we've been to. Really well presented, modern, clean pub / restaurant, friendly staff, cool beach shack sandy area and a secure childrens play area of a good size (granted it is outside with no cover however so is weather dependant). A place like this is hard to find!!!

Advise Booking. The first night we went we managed to find seating outdoors but they had a large party and couldn't do food. We persevered and booked in for another evening and we were very glad we did. The food was extremely good, service was excellent and the location is great. They had lots of seating and they are dog friendly both inside and out. we would definitely visit again.

Service was terrible and very slow, we were told cream teas are never available even though it’s on the menu! We waited 15 mins to be served and further 10 mins for coffee and cake 👎

Nice pub, unfortunately the service is a little slow. Never sure if you have to go in and order or if they take your order, because some tables were being waited on and then the staff would walk straight pasted us several times. So I ordered at the bar in the end. Music outside was too loud and difficult to hear my friend talking, could probably do with a more chilled music selection so people can socialise without words in the background coming through from a speaker. Nevertheless great drinks friendly bar staff and fantastic location.

Stopped by for Coffee, Lovely service and relaxing atmosphere.

So I went back for the minute steak and I have had to make an ammendment to the review following on from the first visit. This time around it was a bit of a different story, while the bar itself wasn't anywhere near as busy and the service wasn't as good, with the same waiting staff. Still very friendly, but seemed to be suffering from an overabundance of management involvement. Also, thia time around there was a service charge added to the bill - now I have no issue with the idea of service charges for medium to large groups, however, we were two adults and an infant (+ dog) Didn't stay at the hotel, just ate at the bar and if was amazing. Making a special trip back there again next Saturday for the minute steak

Very disappointing. Over priced. Poor value. Don’t waste your money

Terrible management unfortunately, mixed up orders, wrong wine brought to the table, etc, etc.

Super little spot near the beach. We used the beach bar which was nice, feet in the sand, summers day, nice selection of drinks and they served nice selection of pasty snacks

Quite noisy and uncomfortable seating, but worthwhile for the super food and drinks

We went for food rather than to stay and it was great!

Lovely spot and the staff were sweet but the food is crazily overpriced for what it is. The ribs were super skinny and very over cooked with what tasted like straight out of the bottle BBQ sauce, for £18! Fish and chips was undercooked and generally bang average with cold chips (also £18) and we had to ask them 3 times for water. Unfortunately this place feels like a proper tourist trap and a total rip off 😩