The Pandora Inn, Restronguet, Falmouth

An very attractive pub with a thatched roof and great views across the estuary, it even has a small beer garden at the end of a jetty as well as on the quayside which is not something I’ve ever come across before. There does seem to be quite an emphasis on food here, but not exclusively so, and there was a choice of real ales available, even if they were all from St Austell. It’s something of a rabbit warren inside with numerous different rooms split across two levels. It has quite a cosy ambience with a low beamed ceiling and flag stones on the floor. Small windows set in to the thick stone walls give views across the water whilst the plasterwork has been finished in various pastel colours such as mustard and salmon as well as white and black wood panelling on the walls in other places. A large model of the HMS Pandora from which the pub takes it’s name was in a room at the rear, although the precise connection to the pub was not made clear. Various other nautical artefacts abound such as a ship’s wheel, old maps, photographs of old ships, etc., as well as the obligatory display of knots in a glass case. A small fire-place with burnt logs was off to one side, with a stone built store for fresh logs in one corner. This strikes me as a pub that would be equally good on a warm summer’s day due to it’s great location, or cozied up by the fire on a cold winter’s evening. The menu consisted of a decent selection of pub grub dishes such as fish pie, fish & chips, sausage and mash, scampi and chips, burger, etc., although these were perhaps slightly above your usual pub prices at around £12 or so. That said, the fish & chips that we saw coming out was certainly a very generous portion. We just opted for a couple of sandwiches, prawns with sweet chilli mayo and a quarter pound of white Cornish crab with dill and lemon crème fraiche. These weren’t cheap either coming it at around £22 for the two sandwiches and a bowl of chips, but they were very generous portions with massive hunks of bread and of course, crab is by no means a cheap ingredient. We enjoyed them and would happily return to try something else. Beers on tap were all from St Austell as noted previously with their Proper Job, Trelawney, HSD and Tribute. Ciders meanwhile were Cornish Rattler of both the regular and pear varieties, along with Strongbow Cloudy Apple.

Official site of the Pandora Inn, contains menu and wine list - www.pandorainn.com

Official site of the Pandora Inn, contains menu and wine list - www.pandorainn.com

Excellent location & very interesting cosy old pub. Shame that very much into food. An area of the many rooms could be dedicated to drinkers only. Three Real Ales however & dogs welcome.

One of the great pubs of the West. A great situation to arrive by boat. In winter, wood fires keep it warm and cosy, and in summer sit outside and watch the yachtsmen come alongside. The food is very good but not cheap, try the crab sandwiches.