Dinner at The Working Boat Pub in Falmouth

One of the best things about Falmouth is all the delicious places to eat; from fine dining restaurants to quayside pubs.

Re-launched in 2015, The Working Boat pub is one of Falmouth’s hidden gems. It’s on the far side of town, built underneath the Greenbank hotel facing out towards the quay with views of Falmouth harbour, so from the street you’d never know it was there! This makes it a popular hideout for locals – we saw at least 3 people we knew there when we visited!

I love the nautical (yet cosy) decor inside; perfectly reflective of its 300 year old history as the tap room for the 17th century Inn that has now become the Greenbank hotel, which was frequented by sailors and ‘Oystermen’ after a hard day’s work. The Working Boat pub even has its own private pontoon that customers are welcome to moor up on and stroll inside for a drink or two.

We were seated at the window bar (to my delight… perfect lighting for taking photos of food!), which – on a normal day – would be the perfect spot for watching the boats drift in and out of the harbour, or spying on the stunning houses across the water at Flushing. On this evening, however, it was sadly quite foggy – but it still made for good people watching directly outside the pub!

The Working Boat’s menu is made up of the classic pub goodies you’d expect (plus some extras – I was impressed to see several vegan options on there!), but I like the way they have their ‘summer tasting pots’ as an option for starters, or even as tapas if you feel like a lighter meal. We chose three of these; two sets of the crab cakes and one pot of the breaded squid with alioli. The crab cakes were a bit too potato-y for my liking, but the squid was delicious and it was the perfect amount to whet our appetites.

While I was tempted by their vegan butternut squash burger, and the range of delicious seafood salads on the list, in the end we both ended up choosing the ale-battered haddock with rustic chips and crushed peas. The portion size was great and the batter was nice and light too! I think we were both in a ‘comfort food’ mood this evening.

Our favourite course of the evening had to be dessert though! I chose the lemon posset which was exactly how I love it – creamy yet tart and super rich. I couldn’t eat the whole thing because I was so full but I tried my damned best! Meanwhile, Alex chose the Raspberry Chocolate Torte, and to be honest I couldn’t decide which dessert I preferred in the end – they were both delicious and Alex cleaned his plate.

On a Saturday night, it was great to see the pub getting so busy towards the end of our meal. It’s obviously a hot place to meet for drinks at the moment, and the atmosphere was great. Once we live closer to Falmouth I can definitely imagine hanging out here of an evening with a few drinks, and it’s dog friendly too so we could easily bring the dogs along with us.

I’m also very keen to try The Working Boat’s brunches – I’ve heard great things and they look totally delicious, and yes, they do a vegan option too which is really exciting! I’ll definitely be back…