For such a small town, St Ives has a good amount of pubs. Apparently in days of yore there were many many more, but now we have 11 proper pubs - not including bars of which there are plenty!
They range from gastropubs to micro pubs, rowdy night out pubs to traditional real ale pubs.
None of the pubs have parking, and only a few have outdoor seating. All of them except the Pilchard Press do food, including Sunday lunches.
1. The Sloop Inn
LOCATION MAP: The Wharf St Ives, Saint Ives TR26 1LP
The Sloop Inn is the oldest and probably the best known pub in St Ives. It sits right on The Wharf overlooking the harbour. It dates back to 1312 but the current building is either 17th or 18th century.
You can eat, drink and sleep at The Sloop, which is made up of 3 parts - the main Sloop Inn, The Captain's Table and The Upper Deck.
Best for: Sunday lunches, live music, meat raffles and sitting outside watching the world go by.
2. The Lifeboat Inn
LOCATION MAP: Wharf Rd, Saint Ives TR26 1LF
The Lifeboat Inn is a very warm, hospitable pub that is on Wharf Road overlooking the Lifeboat slipway. During the Summer it gets very busy, but in Winter when it is a little quieter, it is lovely to sit in one of the chairs by the fire sipping a nice drink.
Best for: fish and chips, watching sport, sitting by the fire.
3. The Union Inn
LOCATION MAP: 20 Fore St, Saint Ives TR26 1AB
The Union Inn is a lovely traditional pub on Fore Street in St Ives. It serves Doombar, fresh food and often shows the match. They also have live music on.
4. The Castle Inn
LOCATION MAP: 16 Fore St, Saint Ives TR26 1AB
The Castle Inn sits further down Fore Street and is a very cozy, and welcoming pub. It is a cosy, characterful real ale pub with exposed beams and slate floors. It also has lots of stained glass and maritime nauticalia which is very intriguing!
They specialise in Cornish Real Ales such as Betty Stoggs and Sennen.
Best for: Liz's Quizzes every Monday and live music. They also often show the sports and have karaoke. They do good food too!
5. The Golden Lion
LOCATION MAP: Market Pl, Saint Ives TR26 1RZ
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The Golden Lion is in Market Place and is one of the only pubs to have a little beer garden at the back. It has recently been taken over and to be honest I don't know much about it at the moment. I will update this once I have more information!
6. The Queen's Hotel
LOCATION MAP: High St, Saint Ives TR26 1RR
The Queen's Hotel is a lovely, grand old pub on the High Street. It has high ceilings and rustic charm. It is another pub that has recently changed owners. They still sound to do lovely food (I've not eaten there since the change over) and the refurb has made it look even nicer.
They have bingo, quiz nights, pool nights and karaoke. I think they also show matches and have live music - again I will have to update this with better info!
Dog friendly!
Dart board
Pool table
Nice fire
7. The Three Ferrets
LOCATION MAP: 17 Chapel St, Saint Ives TR26 2LR
The Three Ferrets is about as local as you can get a pub in St Ives! It can be very lively, especially on weekends. It is a bit of a marmite pub, some in town love it, others hate it. I've never had a drink in there, so I can't give any opinion!
I understand it does great priced food and drink, shows the sport and holds live music gigs.
8. The Hain Line
LOCATION MAP: Tregenna Pl, Saint Ives TR26 1SB
Wetherspoons finally made it to St Ives in the form of The Hain Line. It is in a lovely building, but is just a Wetherspoons. It is exactly what it is!
9. The Kettle N Wink
LOCATION MAP: Gabriel St, Saint Ives TR26 2LU
The Kettle N Wink is in Royal Square and is another one popular with locals. They often have live music on and it is very welcoming.
Best for Friday nights Open Mic Night.
10. The Cornish Arms
LOCATION MAP: St Ives Rd, Carbis Bay, Saint Ives TR26 2PG
The Cornish Arms is a little way out of town on the Carbis Bay road. It is a very traditional pub with proper pub grub and a roaring fire on a cold day. They often have live music on and Wednesday night quiz nights. They also do a good Sunday roast.
11. The Pilchard Press
LOCATION MAP: Wharf Rd, Saint Ives TR26 1LF
The Pilchard Press is by far the smallest pub in town - if not Cornwall! The chances are you have walked past it dozens of times and just not noticed it there.
What I love about it - no tvs, just a straightforward place to go and have a drink. They also have a fantastic range of ales, stouts and all things unusual brewery-wise. I won't pretend I know what I'm talking about, I just go by the funniest or more unusual name. But I've friends and family who are huge fans of real ales and love this place!
