The best restaurants serving British food in Penzance Central Cornwall, Isles of Scilly South West

Nos paramos para desayunar, ya que habíamos visto que el menú era interesante. Tuve el aguacate con un huevo escalfado en chili y tostadas de masa fermentada. No es una combinación que habría pensado, pero funcionó muy bien. La estufa de leña añadido al ambiente acogedor del lugar. Encantadora decoración moderna de estilo rústico. Volveremos

Senara never fails to impress the young servers,front of house are friendly and welcoming the young chefs are outstanding,today myself and two friends enjoyed a lovely lunch two of us had beer battered cod the most beautiful white fish and crispy thin batter and one had Celeriac Risotto followed simply the best Sticky Toffee Pudding three very happy diners.

My favourite restaurant in the world! I came here twice two years ago and think about it all the time. Can’t wait for the next visit. Bruce only uses the absolute freshest ingredients and it shows - the taste of dishes here is so tender on the tastebuds and exploding with umami you want to pinch yourself to see if it’s real. Posting below a review I wrote in August 2022 after my first visit: ‘One of the absolute highlights of our Cornwall trip was a beautiful little gem of a restaurant in Penzance called the Shore. The chef, Bruce, greets you enthusiastically, barefoot, at the door, introduces every course to the 12 guests in the space, and does everything from nabbing the freshest fish from local fishmongers before they even go to the public to washing the dishes to renovating the space. Bruce is adamant on freshness and bringing out the fullness of the flavour in everything - sea and garden ingredients served with a Japanese-inspired twist. I think a good indication of his sophisticated and delicate but unpretentious style of cooking is how he intentionally never uses an ingredient that's only pretty as garnish but can't be eaten. His food is truly food as art, and in a way it reminded me of really good therapy in the sense that you can taste within each slice and sliver of food the kind of immense skill, rich trove of knowledge, and keen insight that take decades to build. It reminded me of the intimacy of certain works of immersive theatre which offers an intimate experience in a space tailored to the production for the audience, but I have to say, seeing shows are much more tiring because you have to concentrate the entire time, without getting divine food! (Another way in which the night reminded me of theatre is how you can never get the same experience again, and how the realisation makes you savour the preciousness of every moment.) Bruce’s blend of down-to-earthness and high level of skill, craft, and understanding is such a marvel to me. It's easy for mastery in cooking to be touted at high prices, dressed up in fluff and frills, or for it to be surrounded by an air of exclusivity and elitism, but here the intimacy of the setting is because of practicality (one person can only cook for so many!) and also because of a real emotional attentiveness. In a world where "intimacy" or "homey vibes" can be sold as commodities, it was refreshing to just return to the basics and be in a situation where intimacy is the natural result of the setting and the person's philosophy. It also reminds me of the Japanese concept of shokunin, referring to artisans, craftspeople, et al who are singularly devoted to their craft over long periods of time (as long as a lifetime or beyond) and with a deep sense of humility. The grilled bass was absorbently juicy, and having pickles before hake and mussels is a genius stroke because the sourness of the former fully brought out the sweetness of the latter. The memory of the courgette, tomato, and squid soup still makes my mouth tingle with umami. The skinned tomatoes were tender, the diced courgette as freshly flavoured as green mangos, the squid impeccable, served with a side of chilled broth which you can feed into the bowl on your own. What I also appreciated about Bruce's food was how attuned he was to the outside world and how his guests were feeling - he served a chill soup because of the hot weather, which shows a connectedness with one's surroundings, the antithesis of the hubristic belief that you can get anything by air freight as long as you're willing to pay more. I have to say: Bruce makes me understand why things get put on the Michelin Guide, and I want to give him all the recs in the world!’

The Artist Residence, Penzance. I went here to eat for my 50th birthday and honestly it ruined my entire big day. I asked for a gluten free burger bun and it came with a piece of burnt toast on top that was so crispy that it crumbled into dust. The burger ‘garnish’ was a lame bit of lettuce, that was, it with a tiny pot of barbecue sauce on the side but absolutely nothing more. In fairness the burger tasted nice but there was no attempt to make the food look enticing in the slightest. The chips were ‘loaded’ which meant a melted bit of processed cheese on top and some kind of sweetcorn in vinegar which was utterly repulsive as it made everything slimy. Portion sizes were also unimpressive. I went with three friends and they all felt exactly the same way but as we are so ‘typically’ British we were too polite to say anything. Plus, it was my birthday and I think that made it more awkward. I was also really upset after as I had organised us going there - I felt I had wasted other people’s money too. My burger & fries cost approx £20. I will never, ever, ever in a million years ever eat in there again. In fact, I have chatted to various other people since and got similar feedback or a thank you for giving them a heads up. You may be able to get away with the bare minimum amount of effort in the middle of summer when there’s a tourist frenzy but this time of year when it’s locals eating out it should be a different story. The only plus side was that the waiter who served us was lovely.

The food’s OK, and not overpriced. What lets the place down is the noisy staff member ( owner?). I know it’s a greasy spoon, but still, one should be able to eat and hear oneself think in relative peace. I sit outside if possible.

Excellent hotel, excellent service from excellent people, excellent location, excellent breakfast. What more can I say?

Popped in for some food and was not disappointed the food was lovely. We had the whitebait, crispy squid, three fish, and chowder. The only bit that could have been improved was slightly less bacon or even no bacon with the chowder as it made it very salty by the end, and the flavour of the soup on its own was delicious. Staff were fabulous, really friendly and welcoming.

Went for dinner during my spring holiday in Penzance 😆 Food is delicious and authentic. Staff are lovely and provided me good service 👍

An excellent oasis away from the general riff-raff that is Penzance. The menu is pricey, but worth it. Lovely cosy and intimate ambience, and the Romanian girl from Spain is utterly charming in her own staid and sassy way. The other staff are wonderfully bubbly and exuberant and know what they’re doing. Food-wise, I’d recommend the tiger prawns, as they are delightfully chewy and fresh and served piping-hot off a master skillet. I wouldn’t order a vegetarian dish, since chefs these days don’t like cooking vegetarian entrées. So a turf or surf dish would be an ideal choice. The cuisine is casual-gourmet with a nouveau inspiration, though the portions are more generous here than what you’d get at a nouveau venue. One to return to time and time again!

Amazing fish and chips, lovely friendly staff, 10/10

Another lovely pub in Penzance. Nice atmosphere.

This ice cream parlour is situated opposite the bus station but has views over the coast from the tables outside. They do a range of flavours and are all reasonably priced. The service is efficient and friendly and well worth a visit.

Ordered a box of 6 frozen standard steak (if you can call it that!) pasties online direct from Rowe's. They were so awful I couldn't eat the first one and the rest have gone in the bin. There was none of the usual pieces of steak. Instead was a bit of gristly mince of some kind. Nothing like they used to be. They were one my favourite Cornish steak pasty, not any more. Wasted £22.00. They don't even have the courtesy to reply to my email regaring the changed recipe. Save your money, buy elsewhere.

Just had another tasty lunch here withmy daughter and grandchildren. The food is amazing, especially the Lasagne. Very reasonably priced The staff are lovely and welcoming. Definitely well worth visiting.

Stayed here one night while walking SWCP with friends and dog. Decent rooms. Swimming pool, sauna and hot tub was nice bonus to relax in at the end of the day. Food decent. Breakfast self service, but decent. Service was fine. Overall pretty decent for what we needed. Dog friendly.