Best Restaurant (with very strong competition) on the North Cornish coast, great staff, great location fantastic food.
Cheeseis_thebest
Fusion food at its best. Unusual combinations that really worked. Fries were amazing! We had enough of the crowds in Port Isaac so walked to the next bay and had a lovely, peaceful lunch.
Deanne Taylor
Dont be put off by a few bad reviews. We were a little worried after reading them. No need. The food was lovely and the staff friendly. My only comment was a few more dishes to give a wider choice. Really nice evening so thank you. Would def go again if over this
Tom Kennedy
Let’s be clear, this isn’t a seafood restaurant, nor is it a tapas restaurant. It’s a pretentious and unfriendly place that sells over-complicated vaguely East Asian dishes which are vastly overpriced for what they are sold as.The taste was mediocre and the service was simply rude, there were many unhappy customers trying quite reasonably to have their needs met, only to be told whatever their problems were, were their own fault.I would recommend they leave their ingredients in their natural form and prepare them simply, because what they’re doing isn’t making them better.
thenboy
Ate here a couple of times on holiday in Port Issac. Lovely outside deck area overlooking the bay with outside heaters. Amazing food, great staff, definitely a recommendation from me.
barbaraaC902RU
We very nearly cancelled our table for today after reading the reviews on here, but having been before and enjoyed it we decided to go. The staff were attentive and polite, they explained the menu to us, that should we go for the small plates they recommended 4 to share with 2 sides, but we went for the monkfish to share which comes with 2 sides and wow did we make the right choice, the flavours were out of this world, it was cooked to perfection and very well presented. Please don't go by negative comments, go try and be amazed!
Ross1510
Excellent service, great food, amazing view. Staff were great with the children and dogs. Loved the fellow northerner making it easy taking our order. Pleasure
Anna E
Came for dinner with my family, lovely setting but very inflated prices (also for the drinks). The food was tasty but not as good as when when we visited two years ago. Service not overly friendly, desserts where a huge disappointment especially eton mess which was basically an enormous glass of mr. Whippy style ice cream with with a drizzle of strawberry sauce and three strawberries on top at £10 that’s not what I was expecting.
Janeclar1
We had booked a table many months ago, based on last year’s reviews. We ordered two small dishes to start - soft shell crab and Thai prawns and mussels. The crab was better than the prawns. We ordered sharing monkfish for a main course. Unfortunately this arrived when my husband was still eating his starter. There was simply not room on our small table for the food served. The monkfish was lovely but unfortunately went cold before we finished it. We spoke to the manager to express our dissatisfaction and the wine was removed from the bill. The remaining bill of £133 was very high for the food and drink consumed. The evening was so disappointing - this was a very long booked and anticipated only evening meal during a week in Port Gaverne. No compensation will make up for a ruined evening.
LAW64
We had a lovely meal here. We sat outside under a heated gazebo overlooking the water. The menu has Japanese flavours and it was all delicious. The service was friendly and helpful. The prices are high for the portion sizes but everything was of a very high quality and had great flavour.
Wonderful.Probably the best meal that we've ever had.Lobster sharer and Monkfish sharer more than enough between four of us.
Stefano Azario
Super ! Truly surprisingly and exciting flavors, almost too many but not quite. The quality and level of cooking are very high indeed. Staff super friendly in a very relaxed atmosphere. Happened here by chance while in a walk and had read or known nothing about them beforehand so it was a lovely surprise. Would recommend to anyone tired of pasties and chips and in need of bolder and sharper flavors with an Asian bend.
Josie Gwynn
Food was overpriced and extremely small portions. Fusion concept of food did not work and we felt they ruined good ingredients. Left still feeling hungry and ripped off. Had to go to Port Gaverne hotel next door for a cheese board and drinks. Hotel opposite is much better experience and hard to believe it is owned by the same people. Waste of a gorgeous location and a lot of money.
Tom K
While our booking was upheld, the service was rude and being seated by the door, we witnessed many curt exchanges with other unhappy customers. The food is over complicated and overpriced with nothing to be remembered except some fairly crispy and very salty chips. This would have been much better if they simply cooked simple, honest, fresh seafood at a reasonable price.
Tillycullum
As long standing visitors to Cornwall, we never fail to stop at Pilchards for lunch or dinner. Even if we are not staying in the area, we always make a detour to enjoy their wonderful food and ambiance. Well what a shock we got on our visit earlier this week! It was 12.30pm and at first we thought it was closed, then we noticed another couple having a coffee. Admittedly, the weather wasn’t the best, but in previous years there could have been a force9 gale and you’d still struggle to find a table during the day or night if you’d not made a reservation. We sat outside to take in the beautiful view - even in the grey skies it looks amazing. A very uninspired waitress came over and gave us the menus, didn’t say much and just put them on the table. Menu was different from last time we came but nonetheless we were still looking forward to a treat. There wasn’t a huge choice, again that was fine. We ordered three small plates- squid, a chickpea onion bahji, a prawn and mussel Thai green curry and a portion of fries. Drinks were a bottle of water and pint of Korev. Food arrived and plates were tiny (saucer size, not even side plates). Fries were in a small bowl- a bit like a cup. Good job we weren’t too hungry! My husband had the squid and said it was ok albeit a bit over cooked and chewy. Bahji was not warmed through fully and mushy in the middle - undercooked. Thai prawn and mussel curry was inedible! It resembled a bright green oil slick with two prawns on the top and few tiny mussels mixed in. There was no Thai inspired taste. It had a real bitter taste - like green vegetables blended up into a thick smoothie and drizzled with oil. I picked out the prawns and mussels but the sauce was luke warm and inedible. I mentioned this to the waitress when she collected the plates. Not because we wanted it taking off the bill (which it wasn’t), but to give the chef some genuine feedback. If I were a chef and it came back virtually untouched, I’d want to know why! She mumbled something about sorry you didn’t like it and walked off. The bill was £60 for what was less than £10 worth of food if you were to make it. Now, I know that isn’t how to look at it- and I wouldn’t have done if the service and ambiance had been top notch and I didn’t have the knowledge of how fantastic it used to be! I asked if it had changed hands and was told it was still owned by the Port Gaverne Hotel. We were shocked, because for it to become so bad, they must have worked really hard at bringing it down! After we left I checked Trip Advisor and saw some mixed reviews of late. This says it all really as some of them were long standing customers like myself and were cancelling future reservations. I imagine if they don’t do something quickly to revert back, it won’t be long before it loses its excellent reputation, if it hasn’t done so already. It needs a new menu - don’t try to be a Michelin Star restaurant - there’s one in Port Isaac already! Plus that would need an experienced chef which Pilchards doesn’t appear to have. Just go back to serving fantastic fresh food and freshly caught fish. Not precooked or frozen. It needs to review its extortionate prices or produce quality food to reflect them. Finally, employ staff who look like they want to be there and ready to engage with the customers!
Best Restaurant (with very strong competition) on the North Cornish coast, great staff, great location fantastic food.
Fusion food at its best. Unusual combinations that really worked. Fries were amazing! We had enough of the crowds in Port Isaac so walked to the next bay and had a lovely, peaceful lunch.
Dont be put off by a few bad reviews. We were a little worried after reading them. No need. The food was lovely and the staff friendly. My only comment was a few more dishes to give a wider choice. Really nice evening so thank you. Would def go again if over this
Let’s be clear, this isn’t a seafood restaurant, nor is it a tapas restaurant. It’s a pretentious and unfriendly place that sells over-complicated vaguely East Asian dishes which are vastly overpriced for what they are sold as.The taste was mediocre and the service was simply rude, there were many unhappy customers trying quite reasonably to have their needs met, only to be told whatever their problems were, were their own fault.I would recommend they leave their ingredients in their natural form and prepare them simply, because what they’re doing isn’t making them better.
Ate here a couple of times on holiday in Port Issac. Lovely outside deck area overlooking the bay with outside heaters. Amazing food, great staff, definitely a recommendation from me.
We very nearly cancelled our table for today after reading the reviews on here, but having been before and enjoyed it we decided to go. The staff were attentive and polite, they explained the menu to us, that should we go for the small plates they recommended 4 to share with 2 sides, but we went for the monkfish to share which comes with 2 sides and wow did we make the right choice, the flavours were out of this world, it was cooked to perfection and very well presented. Please don't go by negative comments, go try and be amazed!
Excellent service, great food, amazing view. Staff were great with the children and dogs. Loved the fellow northerner making it easy taking our order. Pleasure
Came for dinner with my family, lovely setting but very inflated prices (also for the drinks). The food was tasty but not as good as when when we visited two years ago. Service not overly friendly, desserts where a huge disappointment especially eton mess which was basically an enormous glass of mr. Whippy style ice cream with with a drizzle of strawberry sauce and three strawberries on top at £10 that’s not what I was expecting.
We had booked a table many months ago, based on last year’s reviews. We ordered two small dishes to start - soft shell crab and Thai prawns and mussels. The crab was better than the prawns. We ordered sharing monkfish for a main course. Unfortunately this arrived when my husband was still eating his starter. There was simply not room on our small table for the food served. The monkfish was lovely but unfortunately went cold before we finished it. We spoke to the manager to express our dissatisfaction and the wine was removed from the bill. The remaining bill of £133 was very high for the food and drink consumed. The evening was so disappointing - this was a very long booked and anticipated only evening meal during a week in Port Gaverne. No compensation will make up for a ruined evening.
We had a lovely meal here. We sat outside under a heated gazebo overlooking the water. The menu has Japanese flavours and it was all delicious. The service was friendly and helpful. The prices are high for the portion sizes but everything was of a very high quality and had great flavour.
Restaurantji Recommends
Wonderful.Probably the best meal that we've ever had.Lobster sharer and Monkfish sharer more than enough between four of us.
Super ! Truly surprisingly and exciting flavors, almost too many but not quite. The quality and level of cooking are very high indeed. Staff super friendly in a very relaxed atmosphere. Happened here by chance while in a walk and had read or known nothing about them beforehand so it was a lovely surprise. Would recommend to anyone tired of pasties and chips and in need of bolder and sharper flavors with an Asian bend.
Food was overpriced and extremely small portions. Fusion concept of food did not work and we felt they ruined good ingredients. Left still feeling hungry and ripped off. Had to go to Port Gaverne hotel next door for a cheese board and drinks. Hotel opposite is much better experience and hard to believe it is owned by the same people. Waste of a gorgeous location and a lot of money.
While our booking was upheld, the service was rude and being seated by the door, we witnessed many curt exchanges with other unhappy customers. The food is over complicated and overpriced with nothing to be remembered except some fairly crispy and very salty chips. This would have been much better if they simply cooked simple, honest, fresh seafood at a reasonable price.
As long standing visitors to Cornwall, we never fail to stop at Pilchards for lunch or dinner. Even if we are not staying in the area, we always make a detour to enjoy their wonderful food and ambiance. Well what a shock we got on our visit earlier this week! It was 12.30pm and at first we thought it was closed, then we noticed another couple having a coffee. Admittedly, the weather wasn’t the best, but in previous years there could have been a force9 gale and you’d still struggle to find a table during the day or night if you’d not made a reservation. We sat outside to take in the beautiful view - even in the grey skies it looks amazing. A very uninspired waitress came over and gave us the menus, didn’t say much and just put them on the table. Menu was different from last time we came but nonetheless we were still looking forward to a treat. There wasn’t a huge choice, again that was fine. We ordered three small plates- squid, a chickpea onion bahji, a prawn and mussel Thai green curry and a portion of fries. Drinks were a bottle of water and pint of Korev. Food arrived and plates were tiny (saucer size, not even side plates). Fries were in a small bowl- a bit like a cup. Good job we weren’t too hungry! My husband had the squid and said it was ok albeit a bit over cooked and chewy. Bahji was not warmed through fully and mushy in the middle - undercooked. Thai prawn and mussel curry was inedible! It resembled a bright green oil slick with two prawns on the top and few tiny mussels mixed in. There was no Thai inspired taste. It had a real bitter taste - like green vegetables blended up into a thick smoothie and drizzled with oil. I picked out the prawns and mussels but the sauce was luke warm and inedible. I mentioned this to the waitress when she collected the plates. Not because we wanted it taking off the bill (which it wasn’t), but to give the chef some genuine feedback. If I were a chef and it came back virtually untouched, I’d want to know why! She mumbled something about sorry you didn’t like it and walked off. The bill was £60 for what was less than £10 worth of food if you were to make it. Now, I know that isn’t how to look at it- and I wouldn’t have done if the service and ambiance had been top notch and I didn’t have the knowledge of how fantastic it used to be! I asked if it had changed hands and was told it was still owned by the Port Gaverne Hotel. We were shocked, because for it to become so bad, they must have worked really hard at bringing it down! After we left I checked Trip Advisor and saw some mixed reviews of late. This says it all really as some of them were long standing customers like myself and were cancelling future reservations. I imagine if they don’t do something quickly to revert back, it won’t be long before it loses its excellent reputation, if it hasn’t done so already. It needs a new menu - don’t try to be a Michelin Star restaurant - there’s one in Port Isaac already! Plus that would need an experienced chef which Pilchards doesn’t appear to have. Just go back to serving fantastic fresh food and freshly caught fish. Not precooked or frozen. It needs to review its extortionate prices or produce quality food to reflect them. Finally, employ staff who look like they want to be there and ready to engage with the customers!