Red Lion, Penzance

Quite an appealing pub from the outside but the split level interior is let down by its prominent focus on the pool and darts areas which are in your face as soon as you walk through the door and take up 2/3 of the pubs prime floor space. The ceiling is plastered with “180” certificates, so many in fact that you do wonder why they bother issuing them as the darting maximum is clearly a common occurance among the locals. The main seating area is quite small and up the steps to the rear of the pub. This section is quite homely with lots of character although it does feel like drinking in a cave with all the exposed stone, low ceilings and dim lighting courtesy of a few old lanterns. Plenty of old pictures of Newlyn and the fishermen of days gone by on the walls and the presence of fresh flowers shows a welcoming touch. There are decent views across the harbour to the front if you don't mind getting tapped on the head by the occasional pool queue. A fairly limited ale selection – 4 hand pumps (2 x Doom Bar and 2 x Adnams Broadside) but good enough quality. Not a place you would go out of the way for but Newlyn does make for a small pub crawl and the Red Lion would appear to be one of the better stop offs.