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Detail Pages
The Driftwood Spars, Trevaunance Cove, St. Agnes
St. Agnes
TR5 0RT
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Driftwood Spars
It was dark when I arrived here at this coastal pub. Presumably you can normally see the sea. But it was pitch black!
The atmosphere was cosy and the staff were friendly. It's the kind of pub that I could settle down in for a full evening session, which is unusual for me, as I normally like to be on the move. The pub consists of a traditional bar, with a larger more functional space up a few stairs. I sat in this room, along with a family who were playing board games. A separate restaurant can be found on the first floor, along with rooms.
The pub has its own Driftwood Spars brewery, along with an offshoot called Cove. As such, most beers were produced on site - Cove Seaberry & Stippy Stappy & Driftwood Spars Gold & Bolsters Blood were all on. Guests were Atlantic Azores & Otter Amber. My Bolsters Blood was a porter, which turned out to be my favourite beer of the day. No real cider was offered, but there are a couple of keg options.
Staff were very friendly and talkative and without the one main sticking point, the Driftwood Spars would have been my favourite pub of my 2-day visit to Devon & Cornwall.
The sticking point was the pub car park, which is just over the road. Why on earth should it be pay and display? I could only stop for a half, as I was driving and ended up paying an additional £1.20 parking fee. I could understand it during the daytime in the summer, but not on a late November midweek evening. Bar staff knew nothing about a refund for customers. But the previous reviewer suggests you need to spend at least £10 to reclaim the fee. The staff did proffer me a piece of paper which could somehow have averted the car park fee. But I had already paid. So this was no use.
A very good pub that is well worth the visit. Could have been an excellent visit without the penny-pinching car park fees.
On 18th November 2021
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2454 recommendations about 2453 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about Driftwood Spars
Something of a legend, the Driftwood Spars features a row of old stone buildings converted into pub, restaurant and hotel, with the brewery and brewery shop just across the road. An overspill 'shack' in the beer garden also dispenses beer and food and has an amusing upstairs 'terrace'. The pub itself has one busy bar with aged woodwork and nautical junk, with an adjoining large room used for entertainments. The restaurant is upstairs. Beers included several of their own brews and various others, mainly from Cornwall, also a cider or two. Can get ridiculously busy but well worth a visit. Note that parking is charged, refundable against purchases of £10 or more.
On 12th September 2018
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
James Joines left this review about Driftwood Spars
FREEHOUSE OF THE YEAR 2011 (AGAIN)
Pub, Hotel, Brewery.
Fine selection of beers and ciders in the bar usually with 3 of there own.
Beer garden accross the road from the bar.
Bar snacks and a restaurant.
Staff pleasent and friendly well worth a visit.
On 16th May 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 841 recommendations about 835 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about Driftwood Spars Hotel
An attractive pub situated just up from the small beach in St. Agnes. It was the local CAMRA’s Pub of the Year in 2009, so I had high expectations. As you walk in to the pub, there’s an unusual curved bar in front of you with about a dozen hand pumps on it. A welcome site for the weary traveller! There’s a well worn red carpet, and some attractive exposed stone walls and a limited number of tables with a mixture of bench seating and chairs, plus a wood burner at one end which must be very welcome in the winter.
The pub apparently derives it’s name from the Spars (which are old timbers used to make ships) that drifted up on to the beach. As such, it’s got a suitably nautical theme with lots of photo’s of old ships, a couple of ship’s wheels and lots of ship’s instruments dotted around the place. Add in a couple of fishing nets hanging from the ceiling, and you certainly wont forget you’re just a few yards from the beach. Besides the main bar, there’s an upper bar that lacks atmosphere but provides a pool table, and a top bar next to the restaurant with an impressive vaulted ceiling but which rarely seems to be open.
There was a short “pub grub” menu with just four main course options, plus a few snacks. Food was ok, but a little expensive at around the £9/£10 mark. The "catch of the day" was a little light on the fish and a little heavy on the batter. Similarly a basil pesto tagliatelle was great one night, but rather poor the next with almost no pesto dressing on it and no discernible shavings of parmesan. Presumably a different chef leads to somewhat inconsistent food. There is a separate restaurant upstairs with a more extensive choice and more expensive prices. Barman was friendly, as were the many locals.
Beers on this occasion were Dartmoor Best, St. Austell’s Trelwaneys, Doom Bar, Tribute, Bays Gold plus their own (from the micro brewery next door) Lou’s Brew and Hill Blues. Ciders were Thatcher’s Gold, Thatcher’s Pear, Cornish Rattler and Addlestones.
So a great pub, and a great choice of beer, but don’t make a detour for the food.
On 24th September 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1949 recommendations about 1862 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about Driftwood Spars Hotel
I have to rate as good for the beer, but need to mention the rip off for the car park. Going down today in the car for a half after doing a walk, we were charged £4.50 (an all day charge)and got a ticket saying we had to spend £10 in the pub in one transaction to get the £4.50 back. OK if you are having a meal but we ended up having to buy 3.5 pints just to get our £4.50 back, or our 3 halves would have cost a total of £9.
On 26th July 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about Driftwood Spars Hotel
A bit of a walk down a lane towards the beach from the bus route (85, 403) but a good brewpub of their own Driftwood beers. Usually serving their own plus a few other locAle beers. There are a few rooms on various levels, and they serve food. Bit pricey I thought, but looked good. Have live music on occasionally too.
On 9th May 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tony Butler left this review about Driftwood Spars Hotel
You can't get much closer to the sea, its just down the road. A great pub with very atmospheric bar, good ales and food at reasonable prices
On 18th September 2007
- rating: 8
[User has posted 27 recommendations about 26 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Philip Carter left this review about Driftwood Spars Hotel
Sells real ale, 6 taps. Nice pub, full of sailing memorabilla. Has a family area. The garden is across the road, luckily it's not too busy, well it wasn't when I was there. Sells food all day.
On 19th June 2007
- rating: 8
[User has posted 757 recommendations about 720 pubs]