The Watch House in Cornwall, Isles of Scilly

Returned again here on Saturday, food was great and the waiter was extremely helpful and chatty, my favourite restaurant in at.mawes. Highly recommend the megrim sole.

Went for a meal with friends. My friend politely mentioned that she wasn’t happy with her steak. The manager didn’t take it well and tried repeatedly to get her to go to the kitchen to look at the steak. We felt really uncomfortable with his behaviour. After the 4 th time of asking her to go to the kitchen a few of said she didn’t want to. He then went to the kitchen and we heard smashing. A really uncomfortable experience. We won’t be returning. This is a shame because we have previously gone on several occasions.

After finding it very difficult to locate The Watch House's menu alongside known and highlighted allergens, I resorted to phoning the restaurant to ask for details of the gluten and wheat free dishes they provided. I was extremely disappointed however to have my questions answered in such a dismissive and curt manner. After explaining that I was intolerant to both wheat and gluten, I was repeatedly told that 'I'd be fine" which gave me the impression that the restaurant was not committed to responsible nor caring customer service. Both my phone call and in house experience would suggest that some significant improvements need to take place for this business to remain open in the future, such as clear labelling of allergens on their menu, transparency with regards to their FSA star rating, as well as a dramatic change in the management's attitude to quality customer service.

Disappointed. Fish was quite flat, and the chips more like overdone roast potatoes. As someone else said no salt or Vinegar added, surely they should ask. Always had our fish and chips in Porthleven on previous trips and will be going there again in future

Appalling. I was served a less than acceptable steak that was over cooked, tough and of poor quality and the manager would not accept it. He came back four times to challenge me, even asking me to step into the kitchen to again have him tell me that his steak was fine and it was my problem. Something I refused to do. Bullying behaviour at its worst. He made me feel embarrassed and uncomfortable. I have never experienced passive aggressiveness like it. The attitude was intimidating. We have been visiting here for over 10 years and now will be avoiding at all costs.

Terrible take away fish and chips they use frozen chips and the fish was overcooked with soggy batter! It must be hard to it this badly. Crushed peas were tepid and not at all tasty. £15 in the bin! Shockingly bad, I can’t believe that anyone would return. That said, I ordered from here two years ago and they were just as bad!

I never write reviews, but felt compelled this time. Massively disappointing. Half the menu unavailable without any explanation. Staff surly,rude and disinterested. Unless you've got 50 pound notes hanging out of your pockets don't expect smiles or politeness. Been here a few times, always the same. Food alright, which is the shame. Not bothering again.

Disappointed today. Been here every October for the last four years and really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. Today, although the food tasted good we did but get a very warm welcome and we felt rushed. It felt like the waitress did not want to be there! We were given two minutes to choose our dessert before she returned and as soon as we finished it and said we didn’t want anything else our billed was plonked in front of us! What happened to the water bowls to rinse our fingers after having seafood? Instead we were given a couple of ‘wet wipes’. One of the prawns still contained its vein, which the waitress told us was normal. Very disappointing. We won’t be returning next year! 🙁

We visited after finding the Watch House mentioned in the Trencherman’s Guide. We had the roast fish shell platter which was one of the simplest but tastiest meals we have had in a longtime, the mussels in it were really good. The fact they left the garlic out due to my food intolerance was appreciated. Service was friendly and efficient.

Wonderful family dinner. Decor, lighting and ambiance all perfectly in-keeping with the restaurant setting. Service so friendly and efficient. Everyone in our party of six loved their food. My seafood spaghetti dish was outstanding. Even the bread was delicious! Great value for money. Thoroughly recommend.

We have been here a few times and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s nice and relaxed downstairs and service has always been good. Great selection of fish and seafood and not overly priced. They were very accommodating in serving up selections of starters rather than starters and mains. The fish and chips next door are also great but a bit punchy. Look forward to going back

Our first time at the Watch House and we enjoyed our evening! The service was sharp and very friendly and the ordered drinks came quickly. We opted for both starters and mains and we all thought that our fish main courses were excellent.

St Mawes has three high end and three mid range places to eat. I would think the Watch House is a good standard of mid range. We had the squid to start…delicious and then my wife had the ravioli and I chose the dover sole. Both were beautifully cooked and presented. There was plenty of food on the plate, more ravioli than my wife could manage. Of particular note, the decaff coffee was very good. We shall visit again in a couple of days as the fish curry is excellent too.

Great take away fish and chips here at a lunchtime. Good friendly service, well cooked delicious fish and lovely fluffy crispy chips. Will Definitely make a return visit

We’ve been coming to the Watchouse faithfully for years on every trip to St Mawes over the last 15 years or so. Sadly we will not be returning. Service has always been unpredictable but the quality of the food always drew us back. This visit was chaotic. We placed our drinks order and one of our party ordered a beer to drink and was given a can of warm lager. He retuned this explaining that it was warm and on checking our waiter said they were all warm so he couldn’t replace it. There was no other beer/lager option available. My daughter ordered a vodka, lime and soda only to be told they’d run out of vodka! There was an open Co op two minutes walk away where they could have restocked, but this was obviously not an option they considered. We settled on wine and placed our food order. After a while a waiter asked us if we were ready for our main courses. We explained we hadn’t had our starters yet. He looked confused but said he’d meant to say ‘starters’. The starters duly arrived and were good, however not good enough to keep us going for the hour and a half we then waited for our main course! In that time a table of two next door to us arrived and waited a good hour or so before even the bread they’d ordered arrived to the table. When they queried this with a staff member they were told there had been a problem with the ticket machine and orders had not been being received in the kitchen. No one had thought to volunteer this information to any customers and when we looked around us we saw hardly anyone had any plates of food in front of them! Just about running out of patience at about 10pm (table was booked for 7.45) as we were about to leave our food arrived. My husband has ordered the seafood pasta many, many times before - a real favourite but this time it was very much lacking in flavour. Very disappointing. As a non fish eater I opted for a burger. Previously they’ve always been very good but this time it was bland beyond belief. Two flat patties which were tough, flavourless and I would guess bought in ready made. The only good plate of food was my son’s steak. Throughout, the service was haphazard, intermittent, and all staff appeared stressed and somewhat overwhelmed, albeit polite. The only nod to the delay was when the manager approached our table towards the end of our meal to mutter ‘sorry about the delay’ before moving on. So sad as this has been our go-to St Mawes restaurant for so long. Always a friendly welcome and always amazing good despite as I said earlier sometimes haphazard service. However we will not risk it again. Things have obviously changed and we would now choose the Victory as our mid priced restaurant of choice locally.

Très bon « beer batterd loin of cod and chips » (fish & Chips) !! 18£ Personnel sympa dans un endroit authentique en bord de mer. (pas de terrasse) nous étions à l’abri du soleil !

Unpretentious enjoyable seafood lunch in the heart of St Mawes. Delicious food, good wine. Shame about some of the people who visit, extremely rude - felt for the staff running the place.

The service was excellent, the food superb. Would definitely return. A good selection of wine. Staff knowledgeable on both food and wine.

Absolutely awful experience. We'd booked a table a week in advance and arrived to find the restaurant closed. Phoned and no answer. Went round the back to the takeaway and the very helpful chef was very apologetic and explained the front of house staff hadn't bothered to turn up. He had been unable to get hold of the manager/owner who apparently was uncontactable on holiday. Pretty pathetic way to run a business. Feel incredibly sorry for the chef and kitchen staff who seemed very embarrassed. Fortunately another local restaurant managed to accommodate us. But we'll never come back. Avoid at all costs.

Great service, relaxed atmosphere Food was delicious- enormous sweet mussels and crab pasta. View from upstairs along the Quay as sun set fab.

I really wanted to love this place and its setting is gorgeous but we were left sadly, underwhelmed by the food and service. The scallop starter was tasty but the main crab pasta dish had no taste whatsoever. The front of house chap could have been more welcoming too.

Order bread and olives to start and the shared roasted Shellfish platter. Unfortunately the bread came at the same time as the platter minus our olives to start. Not to worry we tucked into the delicious warm local bread with peppered butter with the shell fish . The scallops were amazing. Big and plump with roe in garlic butter. Moist Mussels and shell on prawns. The crab claws were very disappointing however. The smallest claws we have ever been offered. Literally 1 teaspoons of crab meat per claw each. We knew we would be hungry so ordered a portion of salt and pepper squid telling the waitress how disappointed we were with the crab. Not interested in the slightest. They were great and we both agreed our mistake in ordering the platter. Had we known we would have ordered scallops and Squd each instead. We tried to engage with the owner? But they didn't seem that interested in conversation. The olives were on the bill!!

The Best Fish and Chips ever! Light, crunchy and cooked perfectly. The fresh minty peas were amazing too. The service was fantastic and the Restaurant was clean. The restrooms were top notch too, I loved the individual hand towels. Will be going back again soon.

We've had dinner here twice now, and without doubt the best value and absolutely completely delicious dinner. The staff are incredibly friendly and the food is just fabulous. The wine list is great too! Definitely the best place to have dinner in St. Mawes.

It's a long time since we've been to a restaurant where we were insulted before we'd even placed our order. To then wait for over 40 minutes to get a drink and be told by the waitress; "we're really busy, you're just going to have...

Have visited St Mawes several times on vacation and the Watch House is one of the best restaurants in the area. Had dinner and take away food several times this year and, as in previous years, it did not disappoint! Excellent and fresh food, and...

Edward who greeted us was surly and rude he just grunted and pointed to table. The lunch menu did not appear to resemble the menu outside. The sole I chose was ok, my wife had prawns which were tough and over cooked. We will never...

A chance find whilst stopping in the stunning St Mawes. Dog friendly, friendly and warm welcome. Had the special; couscous with shrimp! Absolutely divine. Flavours absolutely awesome. Presentation fabulous.

Fantastic experience wonderful food and cool staff we loved it thank you highly recommended and would definitely love to return soon !

An absolute incredible experience, had the roasted seafood platter, absolutely delicious and faultless - in my opinion miles above Rick Stein, do yourselves a favour and get it booked!

Our 1st night we opted for take away fish & chips. Great little hatch you order from and can have a beer while you wait. The lady serving was not friendly at all felt like it was an inconvenience that we where ordering a large...

Scallops and Cod curry - fresh and delicious. Fabulous services, Manager was super accommodating , nothing was too much trouble - do book - the watchhouse is not to be missed if your in st mawes , we will deffo be back , props to...

Great seafood as always - friendly and cheerful staff. A great place to eat anytime. Fish and chips is a must but far more too. Good portions.

Faultless fabulous food and great service Great evening - thanks to all the team . Thoroughly recommend the prawns and smoked salmon .

We had a very good dinner. Good service. A casual atmosphere. Don’t expect views from ground floor due to the harbour wall.

I have had many erratic meals in Cornwall, but NOT at the Watch House. This was a truly fantastic meal from the staff, who were so friendly and efficient, to the food. All the dishes were fresh and tasty, scallops, grilled prawns, grilled plaice, scampi...

First visit while we stayed in St Mawes for the weekend. Food was excellent, as was the service. I'm definitely going to visit again.

Second visit here and it was as good as the first. Great service, fresh local fish and reasonable prices. Lovely location.

Best fish and chips for ages. Incredibly fresh fish paired with crispy chips with a soft fluffy centre.

We had dinner here and the food was fantastic, lovely wine and nice atmosphere. The only thing they could Improve on was the service. Didn’t make us feel that welcome where all the other restaurants were so friendly. May be they were having a bad...

Great sea food dinner. Shell fish, crustaceans modules, prawns etc to start. Well cooked fish chips, whole locally caught fish, Keralan fish curry, pasta and burger! Good chilled atmosphere - good small wine list. Friendly chilled staff Suggest you try and get a table upstairs...

We had a lovely meal here last night ( Sept 28th) I had the crispy squid and the seafood linguine and my husband had the prawns and the fish curry, everything was well presented and cooked , the restaurant was full and the waitresses Chloe...

After my family ate here on Tuesday 20th September, my partner became quite ill and, after looking at the NHS web site, it was clear that she had all the symptoms of food poisoning, She had eaten the cod curry with rice and was the...

The best Take away fish and chips I’ve found in Cornwall.Only positive things to say.Yum!! All cooked to order 23/09/22

A fantastic lunch. Very helpful staff ( singular). We hadn't booked and walked in at 12. 30 ish. Shame if people aren't coming because of reviews that say you have to book. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. 2 said best ever mussels. Vegetarian grateful for...

Due to Covid we've missed a couple of years dining at the Watch house an experience we've missed. We were lucky enough to sample the Fish Curry in 2016 when it first appeared on the specials menu....its now a firm fixture on the menu and...

Nice fish and chips with quick service at the takeaway counter. The chips were chunky, and the fish was nice. Not too keen on the sausages, which looked a bit anaemic. Overall, a nice little place to get some food to eat overlooking the sea.

We ate here a couple of times & had the takeaway from them. It’s a lovely rustic restaurant. The staff are friendly & efficient. The good is lovely & well presented. A good choice of dishes.

The fresh fish and seafood is excellent in this simply furnished restaurant. You are not made to feel particularly welcome with brusk, grumpy service but it is worth it for the food. Service is very quick though. We would have returned a second time if...

The restaurant is nice, the service is good, the food was nice too, but why, oh why do people all decide to take their dogs to a restaurant on a Friday night? I kid you not, there were probably about 6 dogs in the main...

This is an amazing place to eat, our food was perfect the quality of food and service made our visit so memorable. Despite being busy ( which is good to see ) we were made to feel welcome, this is an exceptional place to visit...

Abbiamo cenato il 15 agosto. Abbiamo ordinato un piatto di crostacei. Granchio, aragosta . Scampi e gamberoni .capesante Pesce non...

Couldn’t fault it. Food was sensational and the service was fabulous. Totally recommend but book in advance as it’s not a big restaurant.

Our visit was a last minute decision but the staff were happy to fit us in. We were really glad that they did, the food was delicious and faultless. A Scallops dish with a king prawn dish for starters, seafood linguine and battered fish and...

If I could give 0 stars, I would! First of all, our booking was not written down on the sheet when we arrived even though we had arch a gentleman write it down in front of us just hours before. When we explained this, the...

The best fish and chips I have ever had. Fresh fish, crispy batter, and golden crisp and fluffy chips. Absolutely perfect .

Had take away F and C as only chippy there, I questioned if chips were frozen or fresh and was told they were ‘chilled’ (same as what they use in the restaurant) Decided to try them but I ended up only eating the fish as...

We had a fish and chips take away. Chips were really poor, not proper fish and chip shop chips, more like fried oven chips, not one of our large party enjoyed them. Fish was good. Such a shame, as far as I know this is...

Went here last night , we sat upstairs was really hot but wonderful views. The waiter was on his own and worked extremely hard, his recommendation where the picpoul wine and the famous cod curry, both were amazing. We had chocolate brownie for dessert. The...

Surprisingly, the staff were unwelcoming and unfriendly. Tired perhaps and with a continual passing trade probably of no consequence. The food on the other hand, was delicious.

Booked this after reading a top flight review in the guardian by Jay Rayner. Can only suggest he was having an off day! Service was slow, gap between starters and mains was about an hour...... I had the "famous" kerala cod curry....can only suggest that...

Disappointingly, their Fish and Chip "gluten-free" option is not safe for those with Coeliac disease, as they use the same fryer as the normal meals. Would be great to have a separate fryer and more gluten-free, Coeliac-friendly options.

My partner and I had an excellent meal at the Watch House this evening. Unlike some other restaurants in the town, the staff were experienced, knowledgeable and polite. I had the Seafood Linguine and my partner had the Muscles. Both were excellent. We hope to...

We have been here so many times before and usually very good with lovely staff.This time it was like a wacky warehouse with noisy unruly children and parents who really didn’t care what they were doing. The food was disappointing and there was no way...

Very helpful and fun server when we visited for dinner on sunday 24 july 2022. We are both veggies and were offered spinach and ricotta ravioli instead of porcini ravioli which was on the menu. We queried if there were other options and were told...

Superb food and good service. Had large cooked seafood platter. Langoustines, mussels large crab legs and super scallops

As per the previous review, fish and batter were perfect, the big let down was 'Frozen Chips'. Can't understand why they're not cutting their own potatoes and making their own, if they did it would be fantastic - a shame really. Only 3 stars from...

We had regular fish and chips to take away The food was cooked to order and the batter on the fish was great. The only minor disappointment was the frozen chips. If they'd served proper chips it would definitely have been 5 stars.

Underwhelming . 5.40pm hadn’t booked so popped in on the off chance and we’re given a table downstairs. Young male waiter was lovely - the older male front of house wasn’t and was indifferent at best. Porthillly Oysters came out relatively quickly and we’re good...

Poor service, lacking atmosphere, felt like it was all too much trouble. Food nothing special. Very sad have been here and had a much better experience. Will not be back.

We were staying at the Tresanton Hotel in St. Mawes and did not want to eat every evening in the hotel (first class BTW). We tried The Watch House one night and liked it so much, we returned for a second evening. (Reservations two or...

Ordered fish and chips from takaway from lovely obliging you lad but prob with their card reader so had to pay again despite my receipt looking all OK. Was assured was not being charged twice ?? On arrival order was wrong and when I pointed...

A very tasty lunch, served with a smile and good humour. Would be delighted to eat here on our next visit to St Mawes!

I can't fault the service or food but what I found difficult to take was that a dog was allowed upstairs into the restaurant and kept whining throughout the meal. For an evening meal dogs should not be allowed. I love dogs but not in...

I only had a portion of chips but they were up there with the best chips I have ever eaten. Big fat chips, perfectly cooked a slight crunch on the outside, soft in the middle and piping hot

Dined here and the server was on his own(maybe owner not sure) but he told us on arrival that he was on his own so to excuse the service…he was exceptional..served amazing food and cleared up without us even realising that restaurant had issues… food...

We have been customers here for years, in the past you would be recognised and welcomed back, perhaps a friendly chat, now it seems to be ….. sit em down… turn em around……get the money. It’s all about numbers The decoration looks tired and the...

Ate here twice. Great menu, really interesting mix of seafood and steak. The local Megrim sole was not to my taste but everything else was really lovely. I preferred the tables upstairs.

This restaurant was on the seafront, although there wasn’t any outside seating the restaurant still had a lovely view from where we were seated. The restaurant was busy and we hadn’t booked however the front of house said we could come back in about half...

I used to consider myself a loyal customer but turned up at 8pm on Friday 20 May to be told that they were no longer serving fish & chips from the takeaway. I pointed out that the website stated serving until 9pm but was basically...

Delicious food, lovely atmosphere and delightful staff. We all thoroughly enjoyed our mussel and fish feast in this charming restaurant.

We turned up without a booking on a Saturday night but were welcomed with open arms! Food was delicious. The menu isn’t vast but that was good - sometimes there’s too much to choose from! Nice wine and a good atmosphere. Fried squid was fantastic!

The best meal I have ever eaten, and I do not say that lightly, all lovely and fresh.. Served beautifully, lovely staff, amazing seafood and gorgeous puddings... Just Amazing... Try it...

Great food and generous portions. An amazing way to start our stay in St Mawes - an easy food option for our first night. We loved the food.

I was embarrassed to walk across the beach, carrying chips from your shop, because not only was the box half full, but the chips reminded me of 1980s cheap oven chips. Everyone on that beach who were eating your chips looked miserable. If I need...

this is the third year we have visited the Watch House for lunch, each time the food has been excellent and the service good

Friendly, efficient service, coupled with a limited but high quality menu, supplemented with season specials. The King prawns are fresh and delicious as is the fish of the day.

While staying in St. Mawes we chose this restaurant for dinner one evening. It was absolutely superb, particularly for fish dishes and the staff were attentive, friendly and professional. Highly recommend this restaurant to anybody visiting the delightful village of St. Mawes.

Went here monday night had the flour coated calamari starter .was fresh and lightly coated .nice to see no batter on a gud fresh product . Had full half roasted shell fish .all were very tasty cooked excellent nice flavour . Friendly .helpful staff ....

Went to this restaurant on a Monday night which was probably not a good idea. Was expecting a good selection of fresh filleted fish at a fish restaurant but was disappointed. Ordered the crispy squid to start which was just batter and no squid and...

We visited for an evening meal in December - service was good even though it was obvious they were a bit stretched for numbers. Food as tasty and while the menu was limited - that's the point really for a quayside restaurant. The fish and...

After dining at this restaurant for a good ten years we were looking forward to a nice family, pre-Christmas meal. The experience, however, fell way below our expectations. The Kerulan cod curry (described in the menu as "our now famous cod curry") was bland &...

We treated ourselves to a meal here whilst staying nearby and really enjoyed it. Staff were really friendly, the food was delicious and the atmosphere was great. We both had fish dishes and a dessert and although the prices are on the high side, it...

Small friendly venue. Young staff, cheerful and polite. Excellent seafood dishes on menu. Enjoyable evening and would recommend but booking required as it is so popular. Next time in area will return.

Amazing service and friendly staff, we were let down by another local restaurant who couldn’t accommodate us, we turned up at The Watch House, they were so welcoming and fitted us in even though they were fully booked. The food was delicious, I had the...

The most delicious sea food in St. Mawes! Fish and chips were mega delicious, the squid super soft and full of flavours, the sea platter unbelievable! Best chips I have ever had!

Went for a mid week in this local restaurant but wished we hadn’t. We were shown to our table without a friendly greeting or a smile. The starters of king prawns was good but we had a rather long wait before we were served these....

Had a lovely evening meal, staff attentive and professional. Food excellent, good value for money too. Will recommend to friends and family.

We went for dinner as recommended by a local friend who had booked us in and confirmed that morning. When our group of 7 arrived we were told we were 45 mins late and the boss made it plain he wasn’t pleased. After some discussion...

This used to be our favourite fish and chips - we’ve been coming for years. Today it was vile. The batter wasn’t cooked so it was raw inside, the chips were overcooked. It all went in the bin and we won’t be returning. Also the...