Admiral Benbow, Penzance

Quinno _ left this review about Admiral Benbow

I was really looking forward to getting back in here after a 15 year gap. However, everything went pear-shaped. Stood at the empty bar. Joined by another punter. Woman turns-up flustered, ignores us, pours drinks for the diners, heads-off. Another punter joins the queue. She re-appears and still fails to acknowledge our presence. At this point I was fuming because of the lack of basic courtesy so I huffed and walked out. Cask offerings, for the record, were 2x Treen beers and Proper Job. Normally I wouldn’t score but the customer service was so bad I feel compelled to.

April 2009
If you let your colour-blind mad aunt design a pub for the tourists by the seaside, this is a pretty close approximation to what you'd get. The place has gaudy tat everywhere - and I really do mean everywhere, that bloody anchor on the left hand side of the bar would bother Lynn Faulds-Wood's ghost. I am assured that most of the tat comes from salvage from shipwrecks from the past 400-odd years. It's so stupidly over-the-top it sort of works in the same weird way attempting to drink yourself sober does. Only Doombar on when I went in (though there looks to be capacity for at least one other) which was served well enough. Food is also available, though I didn't sample as we'd already been to the Turks. Take a moment to have a go on the proper old jukebox which plays 7" singles. Very cute indeed, so perhaps a good place to take Granny as nearly all the singles are pre-1975. The (fictional) Admiral Benbow is world-renowned for its appearance in Treasure Island by RL Stevenson. Note that this pub isn't actually 'it'. Overall, worth popping for the brain-melting array of colour, artefacts and getting a couple of tracks on the old jukebox. Rated 7

On 29^th November 2024 - rating: 2
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