please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Having never sat outside at the Sloop, we managed to secure a table overlooking the harbour without even having to wait. My pint of Tribute was in good condition but cost £5.85; Doom Bar and St Ives Meor IPA were also on sale.
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Of course this place is gonna be a bit of a tourist hell hole and surprisingly this was virtually the only pub in St. Ive's with any sort of outside seating.
Maybe visit again slightly out of season when a little quieter.
5/10
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No space outside on a sunny day so went inside to find tables aplenty so don't be put off if it seems busy. Good pint of Dartmoor Jail Ale.
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You cant knock sitting out front on a sunny day... The tables are packed tight and creates a great atmosphere... I don't have a great knowledge of St.Ives pubs, but it seems outdoor seating is at a premium. The locals were friendly, but the interior is dark and feels slightly out of keeping, having booths and TV screens. the beers were good. Dartmoor Jail ale, Adnams Ghost ship and Sharps Doom bar on the bitter front, with Thatchers cider and various lagers. Give it a go...
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I can't understand why this pub is so popular at night-time when the harbour views have faded - once the booths have filled, the narrow lounge bar means it is always cramped in here (although the public bar to the right is often less busy). Yes, the pub has some character but so do other pubs in St Ives. The Doom Bar was in pretty good order tonight (cf. my last pint here 3 years ago).
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The best bit about this pub is sitting outside on a sunny day.
As for inside , well you could be anyway e.g South London.
When I went in, there were no Cornish beers, and no proper cider
unless you think strongbow is cider (which I don't)
I ended up having a pint of John Smiths which was perfectly acceptable
but not really the point.
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After our disgusting treatment at the Lifeboat, this was a great surprise.
Ale first class and doggy beer(water), arrived faster than British Rail.
VERY RECOMMENDED...........PLEASE TRY FOR YOURSELF
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Nice pub, but very touristy. It's a shame about the slot machine and TV screens too, not really in keeping.
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Whilst it was pleasant sitting in one of the rear booths last night listening to a blues duo, my first pint of Doom Bar (�3.50!) had to be returned. They obviously didn't take too much notice that one of the handpulls needed a good clean because the chap sitting next to me later had to return his for the same reason. Old Speckled Hen and Ruddles County also available. A tourist trap basically.
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Very busy (not its fault), and seemed to be filled with geezers with tattoos when I was there.
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This pub appears to be trading on a past reputation it no longer deserves.
Five years ago when last there I was overcharged twice.
Last week I had a very poor pint of Speckled Hen, my wife had an even worse half-pint of Carlsberg (for which we were charged the price of a pint), and the food was very average.
I will certainly be visiting St Ives again, but not the Sloop.
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Had a nice pint of Doombar, and the missuus had Pear Rattler, and a very good crab sarnie.The service was excellent!
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This should be one of Cornwalls best pubs, amazing old building with enviable location and views. Let down by the service reflected in the comments below. My experience here is the later into the evening it gets the better the pub is and the nicer it becomes, sipping their reasonable ales towards closing time when the madding crowds have gone in the front bar looking towards the rugged sea is special.
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nice pub with excellent views of st ives bay, lovely location, good pint of doom bar, but otherwise the ale selection is limited, dont let this put you off as the sloop is a nice pub but can be very crowded as it has the best view of any st ives pub. could do with some new local ales and ciders, but worth a visit as is the castle inn in st ives.
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Called into the sloop sat 4th june before going to the beer fest and could not believe how rude the manager/licencee was,one of our group ordered a pint of speckled hen and asked it to be replaced because it was not in good condition,only to be told the classic theres nothing wrong with that,we do two barrells a day and if you don't like it just leave!!SHOCKING
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Avoid the Immoral Sloop Inn, they lied to me to keep my money!
I booked to stay at the Sloop Inn St Ives, end of May bank holiday and because of unforeseen circumstances I had to cancel my stay but I gave them 2 weeks notice. Because I had given 2 weeks notice, I asked if I could possibly have my �80 deposit back and I was told that it is non refundable but because I had given them plenty of notice they would refund me if they could re-book the room.
Being that it was a busy bank holiday weekend in St Ives, I thought it was quite likely that they would be able to re-book the room quite easily.
After one week I called them back to check if they had managed to re-book the room and I was told no and that they would call me after the dates I had booked to let me know. I thought this sounded a little bit fishy because if they called me after the dates I booked, it would be easy for them to just fob me off with a lie and keep my money, so I asked them if they can call me as soon as they manage to re-book the room and they said they would.
A few days later I got a friend of mine to call the Sloop Inn to ask if there was any rooms available on the weekend and straight away without hesitation the woman on the phone said No, we have no available rooms at all, My friend then asked �Don�t you have any cancellations?� it was at this point that the woman on the phone realised she had been caught out and backed down and told my friend that they did in fact have a room available on the Sunday night! (How convenient!)
I was so upset that they had lied to me to keep my money that I decided to call them again 2 days later and I too asked if they had any rooms available on the weekend and instantly I was told No availability at all! I then reminded the woman who she was speaking to and she hung up the phone!! I called back right away and asked why I had been lied to she told me that she only had 2 rooms available on the Friday and Sunday and that she didn�t count Sunday as on the Weekend!!
I am so absolutely shocked by this morally wrong service that I would strongly not recommend, The Sloop Inn, St Ives to anyone.
MRP66 - 31 May 2011 16:26 |
Not impressed. The lager was served in beer glasses and was flat and insipid. There was the compulsory local at the bar who wasn't moving for anyone and the barman didn't interrupt his conversation with him when we eventually did get served. The whole place smacked of complacency. We had one drink and went elsewhere.
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According to the sign outside, this pub dates from c1312, so I guess that must make it one of the oldest in St. Ives. Inside it�s pleasant enough, and has a certain olde worlde charm, but certainly doesn�t appear that old. Obviously it�s had extensive refurbishment over the years.
It�s a good sized pub, with a popular outside seating spot, and an extensive interior with lots of wood panelling on both the walls and ceiling. The flooring is some reasonably attractive slate tiles. It was packed on a recent Thursday night visit, no doubt helped by the late summer sun and the prime spot overlooking the harbour.
Extensive menu with an emphasis on locally caught fish dishes, which was good to see in the sort of place that you might have expected to serve up mass produced microwave food. Having said that, the �today�s specials� chalked up on the board were clearly nothing of the sort since they were exactly mirrored on the back of the laminated menu.
Beers on tap were Doom Bar, Ruddles County and Old Speckled Hen. Ciders were Thatcher�s Gold, Sharp�s Cornish Orchard and Healey�s Cornish Rattler.
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Occupying a prominent position on the St Ives harbour front, The Sloop Inn apparently dates back to 1312.
It's a reasonably attractive looking building on a harbour front where rampant commercialism in the form of coffee shops, souvenir shops etc seem to have taken away much of the character and charm that I remember from earlier years. It's certainly the oldest looking, most striking building on the harbour front and is a listed building.
Larger inside than it looks from the outside, The Sloop Inn, whilst retaining some semblance of a characterful interior is, of course, part of this commercialism - it makes an unashamed play for the visitor trade by opening at 9 a m for breakfast and selling branded beach bags, baseball caps, sweat shirts etc.
A pleasant traditional interior has the trademark dark, low beams and a black painted interior. The public bar on the right has several large tables and has, apparently, frequently appeared on TV and in films. The larger main bar extends back a long way and has some partitioned booths at the rear. The walls are mainly decorated with works of art from local artists.
There's a small seating area outside which affords a good view of the harbour across the road, although, on my recent visit, this quickly disappeared when Mr White Man Van parked in front of the pub. I was also conscious all the time of the smell of burnt toast from the next table where substantial looking breakfasts were being avidly consumed. There's a first floor restaurant - The Captain's Table.
A series of prominent, rather jarring notices - "Polite Notices" - in large capitals tell you that you can't take your drink across the road because of the St Ives no street drinking policy. Fair enough - but a total of 8 notices across a not very large pub frontage seems to be overdoing things.
On my recent early morning visit, beers on were Doom Bar, Ruddles County and Speckled Hen - definitely one of the least appealing selections that I came across in my travels in this part of the world. The Doom Bar - � 3.10p - was reasonable.
This is quite a pleasant, attractive pub and is worth a look in, but I bet it gets impossibly busy in the height of summer
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A bit disappointed with the quality of the food on our last visit - not upto the usual expected standard. Also, the Doom Bar, whilst being in excellent condition, was �3.10 a pint. It has to travel perhaps 50-odd miles from Rock to St. Ives. It has to travel over 200 miles to my local in Brum, where it sells for �2.60. Makes you think...
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We called in for a drink one afternoon while visiting St Ives during a holiday. Despite there not being many people at the bar the service was very slow (although they did apologise) and the loos of a poor standard. We wouldn't like to risk eating here, but OK for a drink on a sunny day outside.
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Food is Ok..Beer is fine..a great place to sit and watch the hustle n bustle of St Ives. Sun trap as well, where else can you sit outside in T shirt in December!
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One of the best pubs I've ever been in. Great atmosphere. Good beer. Fist class location. 10. I need to move to St. Ives ASAP.
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Upon reading some of the comments on here, I think the Sloop Inn gets a bit of a bad rap. I am a regular who loves this pub and would like to share my observations.
Yes the service can be slow, but I have gradually come to realise that alot of it is to do with the seemingly small amount of staff on. Even on a sunny day in August I have never noticed more than 5 bar staff, and for the amount of people that place has pass through it in one day, that isn't alot. The staff do their best and under the circumstances, they are surprisingly happy.
I agree the prices are pretty steep, and I expect they are going to get steeper. Probably to do with today's economic climate, the fact the government like to put ridiculous tax on alcohol and the fact that the Sloop Inn is one of the most well known pubs in Cornwall. You pay for the beautiful view!
And finally yes, the music needs to be changed. It is rather bad!
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One has travelled to many pubs in ones life, but this one certainly failed to meet my expectation's. Hideous Music, like being in a Club, outrageous prices, place is falling to pieces under the painted exterior of it all. Will make it known to colleagues to never enter this pub when on business. The Castle had a quality of service and style unlike this place.
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The sloop inn, the famous sloop inn it seems. An amazing hidden gem thats open all year round and garunteed not to shut early, unlike the other pubs like the lifeboat inn and three ferrets it seems. The live acoustic guitarist is amazing and is on everyweekend, playin everything from camborne hill to your sex is on fire.
Can be too busy in the summer and makes getting a drink a bit of a wait, but considering the sheer volume of people who turn up its no wonder and i think people should note that.
Service with a smile? it purely depends on the person and how understaffed they are, get them on agood day and the service is amazing, have a good ol chat with them and get the perfect pint, sprit etc.
Get them in the middle of august when the bar is 3 rows deep and they are all extremly understaffed, and you get your drink, pay and get out from the bar. i dont blame them, seems like just it gets tooo busy for everyone to get "personal" bar service.
Food is ace, no problems, good waiting times, very good service from the only waiter who is on duty.
overall aboslutley splendid place to visit for ones drink, though beware when busy in summer, winter, spring oh and autumn.
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Very much a tourist haunt down by the harbour. Service was adequate but the beer (Doom Bar in this case) was medoicre and as the place was packed and one tunrover seemed high it should have been better.
anonymous - 7 Nov 2009 23:16 |
Empty bar. The rain had just stopped. No one sitting outside. Waited and waited and waited..did not get served...so walked out. Over the years it has many times been a real mission to get served..You must be determined if you want a pint in the Sloop.
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was expensive 3-35 for a pint of greene king hen but a great place to sit outside and looked at of the harbour
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First time I have paid three quid for a pint of doombar in a pub that should be called THE COLD COMFORT ARMS.Why not visit the castle on fore street,better selection of cask ales,over twenty pence a pint less and service with a smile.
G7SYY - 22 Sep 2009 01:00 |
This pub has lots character which is just as well because the staff don't have! At least not today.
A miserable rude male served us, eventually. No welcome, no smile, no greeting, nothing. Once this man served up the pint of Old Speckled Hen my wife noticed that the beer was a very thick cloudy mess.
Another member of staff pointed out a second pump and my pint was poured, from the alternative pump. This pint was fine and tasted like Speckled should. Pity the glass was chipped though!
This place has changed dramatically for the worse. Food looked very poor and so much so that we refused to eat there. This place could be wonderful as the location is great as is the building, but, the staff today were awful and the standards of service , food, the first pint poured and a chipped glass have regrettably put us off this place for the foreseeable future.
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Historic little pub right by the Harbour Beach, so was very busy on the sunny, yes sunny! day I visited. Unusual to see Old Speckled Hen on the pumps down here, but I decided to stay local and had the Doom Bar, which was, as usual, very good. Decided to sit on the sun terrace, which is out the back of the pub and up some steps. It's a good spot to get a tan on a good day. Only downside was the miserable Spanish bartender, who couldn't raise a smile, even if you tipped him.
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This place is a real find. The staff are a waste of space; seating outside is ruined by the pub's notices which tell everyone what they are not allowed to do; the atmosphere inside was non-existent; and to top it all the prices are ridiculous.
On the wall it says: circa 1312
I later realised that �13.12 is the average price for 2 drinks.
Two residents of St Ives have told me that local opinion is that the Sloop will die within a couple of years. One was a retired publican. They both go out of town for a pint.
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This pub used to be a superb place to visit and a regular haunt of my family and friends during many summer holidays. Recently I visited the area or a short break with my girlfriend and could'nt wait to take her here. For the first time in years we were met with rude staff, sub par food, silly waiting times (one hour to cook egg on toast, with only 3 small groups of people in the pub??). I thought this may have been a one off but my sister visted just weeks ago and was met with the same situation. Very dissappointed, has the pub switched managment?
Used to be the place to go..now its one to avoid.
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This old 2 bar harbour front cottage style pub dates back to 1312 according to the sign outside and probably could tell a few good stories if the walls could speak. The sea shantys that would once have echoed across the main bar have now been replaced with piped music and the smugglers with tourists but it does at least retain some of its olde worlde appeal with low ceilings and a series of intimate snugs to the rear (though you would need to be a contortionist to get into the final one under the stairs). Local art (for sale) is displayed but the moving picture frames are definitely a tacky diversion.
The pub�s real gem is the smaller public bar to the right of the main door. Furnished with 2 long tables and a couple of benches which direct you towards the open fire, this is the snuggest place in town when the gales lash across the harbour. Portraits and local artwork feature prominently against the black wooden walls and ceilings whilst a collection of jugs and tankards swing away over the bar. It�s all very simple but full of character (the bar has apparently featured in numerous films & TV programmes).
There is a mention of a cellar bar but I didn�t explore this far and being quiet, I�m not certain it was open anyway. The beers are a bit pricey (Doom Bar, Ruddles County & Speckled Hen) ranging from �3 to �3.25 a pint but they do have daily food and drink specials and my Doom Bar was a more reasonable �2.80 the day of my visit.
There is some seating outside with the lovely harbour views but, be warned, you will be under constant seagull attack, especially if you are eating. I can imagine in summer the place would be heaving but without the crowds it is quite a charming place to spend a few hours.
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Sloop suffers from having limited seating space on the inside (does get crowded on Friday and Saturday nights) and having a narrow entrance so you have to walk through smokers' fug to get inside. Probably better to sit in the front bar in the Winter! Real Ales well kept.
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Great character but always struggled to get a table inside. Doom Bar was always spot on. Best thing about it was the bloke who plays guitar on (I think) Sundays and Wednesdays. He was brilliant!
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Great old pub, Very busy always, but staff handel that well, food was fine, loved the little booth type arrangement in back bar and also children not allowed after 9pm, only one negative is more a tourist pub than a local..
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Nice traditional multi-roomed layout, and the beer's not bad either.
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One lager, one bitter, splash of lemonade in the lager, packet of crisps, �9.25, and short changed by 25p to boot. Was in here in 2007 and loved the place, this year's brief and financially painful stay was my last.
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was in here weds last week...thats two pubs called the sloop ive been in now..the other being in west sussex at scaynes hill...service was a bit slow and the old chap stood next to me was getting very irritable and making noises with his glass..beer was ok and so was the cider..was chocka block outside..not somewhere id seek out if i was desperate but nice all the same.
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Initially daunted by the sheer scale of the place, we entered for lunch and a pint to wait out the April showers. A wierd mix of traditional style and bulk ordered furniture, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food more than anything, some of the best fish stew I've had outside of Portugal. Beers were well kept, and the best feature was the live webcam from the nearby beach, so you could see when it was safe to go outside again, genius!
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Pleasant enough pub and location, but the staff are more interested in talking among themselves than actually serving anyone.
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Perfect location and (thankfully) not renovated to present corporate standards. Flagstone floor is worn to tread of time. Good food and generous portions, young barstaff very relaxed and informal. Great view of harbour.
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nice pub, great spot
anonymous - 18 Jul 2007 18:44 |
Found it a bit cold and stand-offish to be honest. Theys hould really do something about the entrances, the constant banging of the doors, or when they were being left open just drove us away. Gents toilets leave alot to be desired though I understand as its a listed building
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Ancient and now touristy pub right by St.Ives harbour. Very picturesque. We ended up in here because, whilst we were eating in the restaraunt just behind it, the restaurant caught fire and we all had to be evacuated! This seemed like a sensible option for the rest of the evening. It was a good choice.
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Very pleasant, cosey little pub.
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Can't speak highly enough of the staff in this place. It was late, we had already had a few in other places, but they went to every effort to feed & water us, despite some very varied demands from the assembled company. Excellent meal, wine, and one good pint before it.
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I have been to this pub on a few occasions and have to say it is in my top 5 (for this country at least). The food was fantastic, especially the Thai green fish curry, yummy!! The drinks were good and reasonably priced. The best part was simply being there, the atmosphere is always really really nice and it is always a pleasure to visit. I feel it is one of the nicer pubs in St. Ives. I believe it is the oldest pub in the county? Would recommend a visit to anyone going to Cornwall. We never had any problems with the staff when we last visited.
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We have visited the Sloop for a good number of years now but unfortunately this year we were very disapointed with some of the staff, they were rude and sarcastic towards us. its such a shame, as this is a lovely pub pitty a few have to spoil it!!
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Nice pint of Ruddles County In the sun, ideal.
Keep an eye on the pesky seagulls though if eating outside here!!! 8/10
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Came here on wet summers day left six hours later, friendy locals, staff a bit stand offish at first, if you visit St Ives pop in to the sloop you will not be disapointed, try the Doom bar.
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Went in here for dinner last week. Sat in the no smoking cellar bar, what a pleasure! Extensive menu with lovely food which is considerably cheaper than its trendy St Ives competition. Traditional style English inn, nice atmosphere, friendly staff, great service despite being packed - kitchen got confused with our friends' food order so they were immediately offered free drinks by way of an apology, can't argue with that! Were showing a touristy short film of images of South West Cornwall on a plasma screen which was mesmerising. Doom Bar was lovely but could've done with a few more real ales.
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We really enjoyed spending time both in and outside this pub. They do a nice pint of Doom Bar and the view from outside is wonderful. Also, this pub is very, very old. Worth a look.
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A bit pricey with average food which I felt wasn't very good value for money. Being busy at the time I felt the staff didn't have much time for us. We only went in the once and ended up having most meals in the Bucket of Blood in Phillack Hayle which is exellent.
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mmm.. incredibly over priced, sunday roast was below par and drink selection was pritty poor, a lovely location and sitting outside makes it alitlle better, inside lacks any real atmosphere partly due to layout, a lot of tables hidden in there alcoves, clearly been done up but for the better?. Go and sit outside with a pint won't be bad, dont ever eat food outside the pub or anywhere in St Ives though, the seagulls are more than vicious with anyones food (no joke).
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Nice little pub, the best we found in stIves, and so very popular with tourists and locals alike.
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Great little old pub on the harbour front of St Ives - good food and good beer but does get busy. I rate this place - very friendly and the manager Tony is a top man - cheers for the beers Tony. Pass on my regards to Nankervis
Olly - 25 Jun 2003 15:14 |
