Central Inn, Newquay — Restaurant in England

Myself and my partner have been here numerous times and loved it.......however...

Today was another matter, due to the current restrictions the menu has been reduced and service methods have changed which is very understandable so there were no issues here for us.

The food is normally really good and I have raved about it to friends and family and even sent strangers to this venue when asked if I know anywhere.

The meal we had today was far from those standards, i had the fajita tower which came with only 3 tortillas, the tiniest pot of salsa ive ever seen, the chicken and pepper mix which is normally succulent and well cooked came burnt barely sizzling on the skillet tray as it was already stuck on the bottom.

My partner chose the chilli nachos as she does almost everytime we come here as they are normally and i quote "absolutely amazing"...however when placed in front of her today there was next to no cheese and clearly no jalapeños to be seen, when I asked the waitress where they were she literally tried to tell me they came pre made in the chilli...... bare in mind not only does it state on the menu in black and white that it comes topped with them , this would also be the 20th or more time my parter has ordered them in this venue... so I said to the waitress that I'm pretty certain they are supposed to be on top to which I got a funny look and told she would go an ask the kitchen, upon her return she tells me since the start of the pandemic they haven't had jalapeños and would I like hot sauce instead....hot sauce on nachos...erm no thank you.

Skip ahead about 5-10 minutes and I see a chef come out of the kitchen and ask for a menu, I told my partner I reckon its about the nachos and she laughed it off.....low and behold he calls our waitress into the kitchen and not 2 minutes later she comes out and apologises and tells us that someone has just ran out to the store and gotten us some jalapeños and that they would be out shortly.

Honestly I understand mistakes are made but the whole thing just put a shadow on the experience.

Not only that the social distancing rule of 6 is not being followed, while sitting there a party of 10 came in consisting of 5 couples all ranging from early 20s to early 30s they sat on adjoining booths and continued to buy drinks for each other being loud and swearing across the booths at each other swapping seats and chatting as if nothing is going on right now.

Again I'm not one to tell people not to have fun and celebrate, under normal circumstances I would have probably sent a dirty pint to the lad who's birthday it was, but with everything going on at the moment and all the measures being put in place for the staff to just completely disregard social distancing and allow this annoyed me slightly.

I really do hope the standards I saw today were just due to an off day and its not how things are going to be here going forward as this really was one of our favourites when visiting and I would hate to lose it...

Came for food weds 27th August 2025 at lunchtime. 4 adults, 1 toddler and a dog the size of cornwall. Plenty of space to sit, and a range of different types of tables and layouts to suit all parties. Food was incredible. We mainly chose the small bites as this was ideal for splitting amongst us and giving our toddler variety. Our daredevil toddler slipped and banged his head on the table, it sounded pretty bad and we were a little concerned at the time (he was absolutely fine). The staff there were absolutely incredible, so supportive and helpful. They got us ice, checked if we needed anything and even gave us tablespoons for our calpol as we had forgotten our syringes. They chatted to us and made sure we were all good at all times. They even got our details for a check up on our little one. This was done in a proper professional and caring manner. Two of our party have collectively 25 years of experience in bar and bar management and the way we were treated was some of the best service we have seen in the industry. None of us work in the pub trade anymore but if we were to open a pub up home in Lincoln we would seriously consider travelling 8 hours down south to head hunt hahah! Great experience and a lovely break in a busy day in Newquay! I imagine the pub gets pretty lively at night (would have been there if without toddler), but when we went in the day it was a tranquil haven, outside in the sun had good friendly vibes and people chilling! Also Padron Peppers was a stroke of...

We had the pleasure of dining at The Central Inn multiple times during our month-long stay in Newquay, and while our first visit wasn’t perfect, the incredible service from Assistant Manager Tiff completely turned things around. In fact, she was the reason we became loyal customers, returning three times a week!

After a less-than-ideal first experience, all of the staff made sure that every visit afterward was nothing short of exceptional. Their warm hospitality, attention to detail, and genuine care for guests made us feel like valued regulars from the start. The team went above and beyond to ensure that not only was the food always top-notch but that the entire dining experience felt special.

Speaking of the food—every dish we tried was fantastic. The menu offers a great mix of comforting classics and creative flavors, all prepared with fresh, high-quality ingredients. Whether it was a casual lunch or a celebratory dinner, The Central Inn never disappointed.

We can’t recommend this place enough, and we owe a huge thanks to Tiff for making it feel like home during our stay. If you’re looking for amazing food with even better service, The Central Inn is the...