Cornwall


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/The-Mariners.jpg" alt="mariners rock pub outside" class="wp-image-16747" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/The-Mariners.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/The-Mariners-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/The-Mariners-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/The-Mariners-720x480.jpg 720w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-top-50-gastropubs-2026">Top 50 gastropubs 2026</h2>



<p>Pull up a pew: it’s that lip-licking time of year when they release the results of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.top50gastropubs.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The&nbsp;Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropub Awards</a>&nbsp;and, as ever, there’s plenty of reason to ditch the diet and Dry Jan, both here in Cornwall and up over the border into Devon.</p>



<p>The judges (the UK’s top foodies and&nbsp;pub pros) have scoffed and quaffed between closures to bring you the best of the best – and, we&#8217;re delighted to say that Cornwall has not one but three pubs in the top fifty, and two in the top one hundred, which is a mighty achievement.</p>



<p>The Top 50 Gastropub&nbsp;shortlist&nbsp;<em>really</em>&nbsp;matters in the foodie&nbsp;pub&nbsp;world, as it celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit of the great British pub that serves awesome grub. This year <a href="https://suffolkcambs.muddystilettos.co.uk/best-places-to-live/suffolk/woodbridge/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Woodbridge</a>’s The Unruly Pig was finally knocked off the top spot by Soho&#8217;s <a href="https://www.top50gastropubs.com/Pubs/UK/Greater-London/The-Devonshire.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Devonshire</a>, also the list&#8217;s highest new entry. If you’re not visiting London, or Suffolk, any time soon, here’s where you should be booking in asap before they get booked up.</p>



<p>Have you tried them yet? Let me know your thoughts.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-mariners-rock-cornwall-27"><a href="https://www.paul-ainsworth.co.uk/the-mariners/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Mariners</a>, Rock, Cornwall (27)</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/The-Mariners-interiors-2.jpg" alt="Top 50 gastropubs 2025 The Mariners interiors" class="wp-image-16752" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/The-Mariners-interiors-2.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/The-Mariners-interiors-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/The-Mariners-interiors-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/The-Mariners-interiors-2-720x480.jpg 720w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>It&#8217;s a little drop for husband-and-wife team Paul and Emma Ainsworth (in 2021 they were 5th, then down to 9th and 11th, and up to 3 in 2024, and 5 in 2025) but The Mariners remains the highest placed pub in Cornwall. The Mariners is the pair&#8217;s fifth site in North Cornwall&nbsp;with views over the Camel Estuary &#8211; and a firm favourite with locals and holiday makers alike. My friend reckons they make the best burgers in this part of Cornwall, and my kids love their takes on pub classics. <a href="https://cornwall.muddystilettos.co.uk/eat-out/mariners-rock-near-wadebridge/">Check out our Muddy review here</a> which I wrote when the pub first opened. It will soon be even easier to stay over, as the Ainsworth&#8217;s took over the local St Enodoc Hotel last year and it re-opens after extensive refurb in the spring of 2026.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-gurnard-s-head-zennor-38"><a href="http://www.gurnardshead.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Gurnard&#8217;s Head</a>, Zennor (38)</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="664" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2017/04/Screen-Shot-2020-03-09-at-11.25.20-e1583753156765.png" alt="Top 50 gastropubs 2025 gurnards head bar" class="wp-image-18559" /></figure>



<p>This is the third year in a row that the Gurnard&#8217;s Head makes the top 100, and their first in the top 50. They slipped down from 61 to 81 in 2025, so up to 38 is a real accolade from team Eat Sleep Drink. If you&#8217;ve not been before, it&#8217;s not really St Ives &#8211; it&#8217;s a real Muddy favourite destination pub on the West Penwith peninsula, about as far away from anywhere as it feels you can possibly be. Serving excellent food for both lunch and dinner, with plenty of outdoor space for a quiet drink while you watch the cows march past the front door on their way to be milked, seafood and locally foraged ingredients are on the ever-changing seasonal menu &#8211; and there&#8217;s also rooms if you fancy making a proper night of it.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-tartan-fox-summercourt-near-newquay-41"><a href="https://www.top50gastropubs.com/Pubs/UK/Cornwall/The-Tartan-Fox.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Tartan Fox</a>, Summercourt, Near Newquay (41)</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="800" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/06/IUekc-yv-1000x800.jpeg" alt="Tartan Fox interior pub Summercourt Newquay Cornwall Adam Handling group credit John Hersey" class="wp-image-33977" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/06/IUekc-yv-1000x800.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/06/IUekc-yv-800x640.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/06/IUekc-yv-768x614.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/06/IUekc-yv.jpeg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Into the top 50 for the first time is The Tartan Fox, Adam Handling&#8217;s Grade-II listed pub near Newquay. The pub opened in June 2024 and has fast grown a reputation on Cornwall&#8217;s foodie scene for refined and luxury takes on pub classics, and fire-cooking thanks to local head chef Andi Tuck (who has now moved on &#8211; see this month&#8217;s newsflash for more on that). We chatted to Adam about &#8216;what&#8217;s cooking&#8217; last year, <a href="https://cornwall.muddystilettos.co.uk/life/people/adam-handling-ugly-butterfly-the-headland-newquay-cornwall/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">which you can read here</a>. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-Credit-Hazel-Thompson.jpg" alt="British chef and restaurateur Adam Handling" class="wp-image-30145" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-Credit-Hazel-Thompson.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-Credit-Hazel-Thompson-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-Credit-Hazel-Thompson-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-Credit-Hazel-Thompson-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-Credit-Hazel-Thompson-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-st-kew-inn-st-kew-69"><a href="https://www.top50gastropubs.com/Pubs/UK/Cornwall/st-kew-inn.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">St Kew Inn</a>, St Kew (69)</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/St-Kew-Inn.png" alt="The St Kew Inn top 50 gastropubs Cornwall" class="wp-image-22616" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/St-Kew-Inn.png 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/St-Kew-Inn-300x200.png 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/St-Kew-Inn-720x480.png 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/St-Kew-Inn-768x512.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/St-Kew-Inn-787x525.png 787w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>In 2025 the St Kew Inn dropped out of the top 100, so it is great to see them back again in the top 100. The address might say Bodmin, but it really isn&#8217;t &#8211; St Kew is a charming old village tucked into the beautiful countryside between the coast and the A39 and the pub really is the village pub. Think cosy wood fires and scrubbed wooden tables, plus a fantastic riverside beer garden that comes into it&#8217;s own when it isn&#8217;t January. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-standard-inn-portscatho-98"><a href="https://www.top50gastropubs.com/Pubs/UK/Cornwall/The-Standard-Inn.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Standard Inn</a>, Portscatho (98)</h2>



<p>The Standard is part of Simon Stallard&#8217;s Roseland foodie enclave, as his team are also behind The Hidden Hut café above Porthcurnick beach. Head to The Standard for a great pint, and, as you&#8217;d expect from someone like Simon who is so great at cooking at scale over coals, they also serve a fantastic Sunday roast. </p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-in-the-mood-for-more">IN THE MOOD FOR MORE?</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://cornwall.muddystilettos.co.uk/life/people/adam-handling-ugly-butterfly-the-headland-newquay-cornwall/">What’s Cooking? Adam Handling MBE</a></li>



<li><a href="https://cornwall.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/arts-culture-things-to-do/murder-mystery-nights-traitors-experiences-cornwall/">Trust no one! Murder mystery nights &amp; traitors-inspired events in Cornwall</a></li>



<li><a href="https://cornwall.muddystilettos.co.uk/wellbeing/fitness/lost-garden-of-heligan-neon-jungle-roller-rink-cornwall/">Roll with it: Get your skates on at Heligan’s Neon Jungle roller rink</a></li>
</ul>


Top 50 gastropubs 2026 revealed but which pubs in Cornwall made the list?

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