The 'Front, Falmouth

Excellent real ale / cider pub located (as expected, no estate agent's licence here) on the quayside. Fairly basic alehouse-style interior, but it was so busy on a Friday evening that it was difficult to take in much detail. With 12 of 14 handpumps in operation, one was spoilt for choice, but I went for the Driftwood Spars Unexpected ("possibly gluten free", but a decent pint whatever is the case).

This is a lively traditional local’s pub, situated down on the Quayside, which is renowned for its wide range of well kept ales. The interior is a single rectangular room with the servery immediately to the right on entering. There are exposed floorboards, whitewashed walls and a partly vaulted ceiling throughout, whilst the servery has a dark wood counter and mirrored bar back. On the wall opposite the bar, there is a tiny fireplace with a large plain mirror above and some good banquette and low stools seating to either side, some of which is partially screened from the rest of the room by a slight recess in the left hand wall. The room opens up a fair bit beyond the bar and whilst I suspect there is normally a good amount of additional seating filling this space normally, much of it had been cleared away or moved to the perimeter when we visited on a Monday night, in order to create space for a dancefloor. A small band was tirelessly playing traditional Breton folk tunes, whilst some enthusiastic locals dragged unsuspecting punters onto the floor to dance with them. It was certainly a lively atmosphere and one chap trawled the pub for dancers in between each tune, although thankfully he wasn’t pushy so I didn’t have to embarrass myself. As you’d expect from a pub in such a location, the walls are covered with lots of local photos and plenty of fishing themed bits and bobs. There were a few Quayside benches out the front of the pub that were popular with those hoping to avoid being roped into a dance (although the chap was very meticulous in checking outside as well), which looked like they’d be the top spot to bag on a bright summer’s day. The bar had a handsome row of handpulls and correspondingly ugly line of bar blockers, although helpful blackboards on the bar canopy allowed me to establish the full ale range before ordering. Ales were exclusively from Cornish breweries, with the full line-up comprising Skinners Lushingtons, Mosaic IPA, Penny Come Quick and Seven Hop, Rebel Eighty Shilling and Mayhem, Tintagel Pendragon and Cornwall’s Pride and Sharps Special plus two real ciders. The staff were cheery and upbeat and served me a fine pint of the Pendragon. I thought this was a very characterful and welcoming pub and whilst the upbeat mood created by the band and dancers certainly helped in this respect, I thought the place still had plenty of charm without such distractions. The beer range and quality seemed to be top notch and anyone looking to enjoy a few locally sourced beers would certainly do well to investigate. One of the highlights of my stay in Falmouth and certainly on the list for a revisit.

A somewhat tucked away bar around the back of the Falmouth’s main thoroughfare, it’s not the easiest place to find but it’s worth persevering. A few outside tables and chairs offer pleasant views of the river, whilst most of the locals were perched on stools at the bar. Internally it looks to have been some sort of cellar at one time being quite long and narrow, although opening up slightly at the rear, with a vaulted brick ceiling that has been painted white and has an inset stained glass window half way along. A wood panelled bar counter runs along the right hand side of the pub and this had some beer barrels inset in to it as a decorative feature. The walls too were white washed and there was some unusual artwork dotted around. This is a proper pub with no distractions such as music, TV screens or fruit machines, just a buzz of conversation. There was a good choice of beers on tap, exclusively from Cornwall, and on this occasion were Sharps Special, Skinners Betty Stogs, Sharps Sea Mist, Tintagel Arthur’s Ale, Sharps Coaster, Skinners Lushington, Rebel Eight Shillings and Dynamite Pioneer. Ciders too were all from Cornwall with Hop Slayer, Apple Slayer and Lyonesse from the Cornwall Cider Company along with Skreach. It’s not often you see such a good range exclusively from the one county, and the pub is certainly to be applauded for that.