William IV, Truro

Needed food early on a Saturday evening and this place filled the gap with good but fairly standard pub grub (but good value) for a chain style pub. Two St Austell ales on were Proper Job and Tribute. A pleasant place with a couple of split level areas but being relatively modern lacks the character of a more traditional pub.

Popped in after for some food before the train back to Penzance, went in on the strength of the St Austell brand name and availability of colitis-friendly food offerings for Mrs Quinno. The inside of the place is pretty big and bright and has a conservatory straight out of the Everest catalogue attached to the side. The whole set-up looks pretty recent. Three beers on - Tribute and Proper Job were fine, but the HSD was vile, well off. All were sparklerised, which seems to be policy in most St Austell pubs for some reason - no idea why as their beers don't require it. The food was good, though watch out for the volcanic rock dishes where they bring out a super-heated pumice stone and allow you to cook your own seafood/steak - one chap went for the steak and spilt a load of jalapeño sauce over the plate which sent a billow of tear gas-style smoke up in the air and prompted a mass evacuation of the place because we were all coughing, our throats were on fire and tears were streaming out of our eyes. One of the odder things that's ever happened to me in a pub. All in all, not too bad. Probably not worth a stop if you're familiar with the St Austell beer range but worthwhile if you fancy a bite to eat.