CJ's At The Sanctuary — Restaurant in England

Slightly strange experience. We arrived, they took our drinks and food order. I ordered a bottle of Vinho Verde. It was brought to the table in an ice bucket and the waitress left. She didn't show me the bottle, offer me to taste it or even poor a glass. I could see the cork had just been pulled through the foil with no attempt to remove it. I poured the wine, tasted it and it was room temperature and I really do mean a warm room temperature. Vinho Verde in particular needs to be served well chilled. They only have half a dozen bottles of whites on the menu. It's not like they have some extensive cellar and I've asked for something unusual. It's the beginning of the evening (6.15), why is our white wine not even remotely chilled? The food came out. I had lobster thermidor and my wife had the catch of the day, plaice. My wife's plaice was very salty as was my lobster. The lobster would have been fine but combined with the fries that were very salty, lovely rosemary focaccia bread also salty and salty garlic mayonnaise (in fairness the mayonnaise might not have added salt but just seemed that way with everything else) it was just too much salt. On the plus side, the pizza bread for our 6 year old was really good and she loved it. We were told we had to go to the bar to pay. Nothing wrong in that but at the bar I was just handed a card machine with an amount already typed in. Where's the bill? We eat out a lot. I can't remember another time when we haven't been given an itemised bill at the end of the meal in a restaurant. I asked if I could see an itemised bill. The girl behind the bar tapped the cash register a couple of times and then said she couldn't show me one. She said she could show me where she had written our order on a pad which she duly did. We had asked for a table for 3 at 6.30 and initially been told they were fully booked but then said we could have a table at 6.15 which we accepted. The restaurant was virtually empty when we arrived and was still as empty when we left at 8.15 bearing in mind they close at 9.00. Very weird. I see this place gets great reviews, maybe we were just there on a bad day but as I said at the outset, a...

A recommendation afforded to us as somewhere to be able to have gluten-free dining. We were not disappointed. Friendly, smiling staff, despite being short-staffed started our visit off wonderfully. The building itself has character, as I believe that it was previously a church, and is also spacious. Large tables for three people or more are available to sit at. The Sanctuary was buzzing with chitter-chatter, but not to the point of being loud. It seems to very popular amongst the local community, and it is definitely something that needs to be booked. As we knew what we wanted, we ordered the roast, only to provided with three options; small (one meat selection), medium (2 meats) and yes, you guessed it, large, which is 3 meats. It comes with a decent-sized Yorkshire pudding and roast spuds. The platter provided had a gravy boat, brimming with gravy made on site, roasted carrots, carrot/swede mixed mash, red cabbage, broccoli, parsnip & cauliflower cheese. And it was quite possibly the best roast dinner outside of the home environment that I've ever had. The staff knew more about dietary restrictions than at any other restaurant I've been to. They didn't just lump an allergen sheet our way, but went through what could and couldn't be done. The chef has a gluten free son, which meant every care had been taken to ensure that foods were made specifically like that. The only downside is a lack of available parking, but that isn't strictly the restaurants fault. Amazing value for money. We finished at around 14:45 and only at 08:30 the next morning am I getting hungry! Definitely...

Such an amazing hidden gem!

Really fancied seafood so looked online in Falmouth, and came across CJs. It’s about a 5min drive outside of Falmouth, and off the beaten track for the usual tourist type places. Let me tell you, it’s fantastic. We ordered a fish platter (wasn’t on the menu and not available all of the time due to demand) and shared between 4 people. If you’re going to book a table, see if this is on offer on the day, you might be in luck 🍀

We all agreed it was the best fresh fish we had EVER had. Scallops, Cod, Lobster, Langoustines, Mussels, Clams, Crayfish, Crab, Plaice…cooked to perfection and served with heart. You can tell that CJ puts passion into his dishes. Plentiful food and sides.

If you want an authentic Cornish tasting experience, come here- get a taxi if you’re on holiday- seeing is believing. You won’t regret it. I am local, lived here all my life and I will not go into town for fish dishes any more after experiencing this. The only downside is that once you have experienced this, other seafood diners are ruined forever.

The wine menu was perfectly paired with the food. Someone has put a lot of thought behind pairing wines with the dishes.

All staff were friendly and attentive.

Free parking available in the lot or on the road.

10/10 all round. Thank you CJ and we will be back!

Also- check out the vintage toy collection near the bar. Very...