2 Best Restaurants in Penzance, The West Country

One of Cornwall's most famous inns, the 17th-century Admiral Benbow was once an illegal smugglers' drinking den—look for the figure of a smuggler on the roof, and (if it's not too busy) ask to see the tunnel used for contraband. In the family-friendly dining room, crammed with seafaring memorabilia, you can enjoy pizzas, seafood, steaks, and vegetarian dishes, and the bar offers a good selection of West Country ales and, appropriately, rums from around the world. Figureheads, model ships, and even a brass cannon also fill the main bar and the Lady Hamilton lounge. 

Seafood is the main event in the two small, pink-toned rooms of this restaurant off Market Jew Street. The menu showcases whatever the boats bring, though crab Florentine, grilled on a bed of spinach and topped with Parmesan, and whole Dover Sole with chive butter are usually available. Meat dishes might include guinea fowl with a mushroom and apple stuffing and wrapped in filo pastry. The restaurant is small—just six tables—and the semiformal style is intimate, elegant, and traditional.