The Boathouse, Falmouth

Perched high on a hill just outside the centre of Falmouth, The Boathouse claims excellent views (the best sea view in town no less), which I can vouch for (having dined upstairs). 5 cask ales on the go, though I have to say mine wasn't the best. A range of keg options as well, as you'd expect. To be honest, unless you're staying locally and don't fancy the hills, you're most likely here for the food, and it works well in that regard.

We thought we'd already negotiated the worst of Falmouth's steep hills, but the climb up the High Street to this one is every much as bad. You arrive to find a large mainly covered outdoor drinking at street level, along with a small entranceway with the pub's toilets. A further climb up a set of stairs leads you into the sub-divided main bar/dining area. Most tables were taken or reserved, leaving us with just a rather large table next to the bar to occupy. The majority of customers were diners and it seems that the layout used is designed to maximise views of the estuary for pretty much all of the tables. 4 real ales are offered - St Austell Tribute, Dynamite Valley Gold Rush, Treen's Sunbeam & Firebrand Beast of Bodmin. No real cider was available. For a Good Beer Guide pub, this felt a bit too foody. Nevertheless, my Beast of Bodmin was in good condition and the pub was still worth the hike up the hill from the town centre.

Looks a bit dated outsdie but a lovely traditional pub with great views and beer

The Boathouse is situated up a hill from the High Street. The lower area did not look that good,but we went up the stairs and entered a really nice room,the bar was to the rear,the front area has bench seating and chairs,the windows give great views over the River Fal towards Flushing. There were two real ales on the bar,we had a drink of St Austell Tribute,which went down well,the other real ale was Wickwar BOB. We really liked this pub so we revisited it. Pub visited 12/8/2017

Located a short distance uphill from the High Street, this is a two-storey pub with a strong maritime theme. Entering via a partly covered front patio area which several customers were persisting with despite the torrential rain, you find yourself immediately faced with a staircase which leads you up to the main bar on the first floor. The staircase shows signs of great promise, as it has been lined with countless pump clips, hinting at the beer that awaits you at the summit. The landing area at the top has an unusual ship-shaped table full of leaflets for local attractions and an old arcade machine. You’ll need to turn 180 degrees to face the bar and its blue tongue and groove servery which can be found at the far end of the bare boarded room. Walls are painted red at the bottom and sea blue at the top and have been decorated with all manner of fishing pictures, model ships, life belts and the like, to give the place a very clear, unified theme. Bench seating down the right hand wall accommodates a good number of customers, but there is a more formal looking dining room to the left with set tables in a white room, where plenty of punters were tucking into a late Sunday roast. I noticed at least one large TV screen, but this was switched off in favour of some rather forgettable lounge music, although I did spot a poster promoting a Poldark viewing night! To the front left, there is a door out to a decked balcony-style area which, despite being covered, looked pretty chilly to me, although I imagine there are some good views out towards the river mouth and there was plenty of extra seating out there for those brave enough to battle the elements. Apparently there is another room downstairs, but I failed to spot this and suspect it was closed on a relatively quiet Sunday evening. The pub is very popular with dog owners and there was a constant parade of them coming in and out of the pub, although I should stress, not into the dining area. There were four hand pumps in operation at the bar and they were dispensing Black Rock Pale, Skinners Portleven, Exmoor Wild Cat and Dynamite Valley Gold Rush, with a final pump unused. I’d never heard of Black Rock Brewery, so I gave their beer a try and thought it was a very passable pint of Pale Ale. The barman seemed like a friendly chap and we got chatting to some of the regulars in an effort to work out how to play the ‘Shut the Box’ game, several versions of which were stacked on a table to one side. I really liked this pub and thought it was exactly the sort of place that a town like Falmouth needs. It treads the line between drinkers and diners very well, providing comfortable and well defined seating areas for either group. The beer seemed to be top notch and I imagine this is one of the best pubs in the area on a nice summer’s day.