Swordfish Inn, Penzance

I was aware of the Swordfish's reputation and paid it a visit more out of curiosity than anything else. From our conversations in other pubs in the area, the locals seem rather bemused at the thought of it being labelled as one of Britains “toughest pubs” as depicted on Sky TV. The building itself a typical old harbourside inn and is actually quite quaint from the outside. The interior is nothing special but nothing particularly ropey either. Long and narrow, the pub is divided into 2 distinct areas, the main bar and a pool room to the rear. The main bar is quite basic with bare floors and quite plain décor but showing few, if any, signs of neglect or rough treatment. Several interesting black and white photos of the local harbour area and old fishermen are neatly displayed on the walls. 2 ales available, Doom Bar and Courage Best which were of decent enough quality although prices were a bit higher than I would have expected. As for the ambience which seems to be pubs big question mark, I was there on an early Friday night and the place wasn't particularly busy but whilst the music was a bit loud (but not overbearingly so), the customer base seemed to be good natured and well behaved although it was clear that some (mainly the women) were certainly half way to inebriation. The staff were polite and despite wandering round the pub and being fairly obviously not a local, I didn't feel intimidated or threatened in any way. I dare say the place does have its moments, not unlike any other pub, but whilst it wouldn't win any prizes as the best pub in town, I certainly didn't find anything untoward that that would warrant giving the place a wide berth, unless you worked for Sky that is!