Old Custom House, Padstow — Restaurant in England

UPDATE 06/01/2024 Now relegated to 2-stars after overnight stay.

A further review of the Old Customs House, Padstow. My previous review from August was as a diner at the restaurant for which I gave a well-deserved 5-stars all round. It was, as a result of this experience, that I booked a night away for a special occasion now staying at this location complete with a dinner reservation. The Old Customs House has a prime location adjacent to the picturesque harbour with rooms overlooking the Camel Estuary. I paid extra for a room with an estuary view. The hotel does not have any designated parking although there is a large council car park directly opposite the hotel. This is likely to be full during the season, but we had no problem finding a spot in early January. The cost is £10 for 24 hours stay. The hotel has a large public bar with rooms above and an adjacent restaurant. The reception is situated with a conservatory attached to the main bar. The rooms have ensuite facilities which in our case occupy half of the room. The room size was adequate with a large bed. There are hot drink making facilities with a generous supply of teas and coffee with both a kettle and a capsule coffee machine. The bed was really comfy and there were views over the harbour and estuary although our room was looking out upon the poorly maintained, unsightly and filthy conservatory roof. Whilst the towels and bed linen were clean the overall cleanliness and standard of maintenance of the room was poor. The radiator by the window clearly had not been cleaned for some time and sported a thriving amount of wildlife and cobwebs. The shower room was adequate but again lacked a standard of cleanliness that one expects in a hotel. Whilst on our last overnight stay in Padstow I was critical of the small room in the Harbour Hotel, it was immaculate. A further disappointment was to find that the dedicated restaurant we dined at in August was closed and we had to dine within the pub part of the hotel and we had to order our food at the bar. This was not a major upset but the food, whilst at restaurant prices, was now at a standard of average Wetherspoons pub food. The salt and pepper squid that I raved about in August was now reduced to exactly what I can manage with my Aldi frozen squid and an air fryer. It was cheap and really not worth the £9 charged for it. We both had the mussels as a main course but again these had fallen from special to average with reheated bread instead of homemade, a lacklustre sauce, and certainly nothing special. The cooked breakfast was OK. The staff, some of whom were the same as in August, never asked how our meals were and simply lacked a desire to do anything more than was absolutely essential. My overall opinion of this stay and dinner at the Old Customs House was disappointing, especially after being so impressed with our dining experience previously in August. Has the chef and former management left? It certainly needs a change to restore it to the restaurant I...

The Old Custom House is a large, attractive pub & restaurant in Padstow Harbour, part of a chain and affiliated (as so many in the area) with St. Austell Brewery. The historic building is in perfect shape, and the décor inviting and family-friendly. There are two areas, one close to the bar and a room mostly for dining at the back. Sadly, it offered no dedicated seating in front of the building, which is a shame considering the splendid view.

The menu is straightforward and streamlined; during my week in Cornwall I've encountered the very same menu at least five times, at pubs in Padstow, St. Ives and Falmouth. On the upside, you know what you'll get. My pick at The Old Custom House was their rump steak with chips, onion rings, a flat mushroom, and tomato. You can add a prawn skewer for UKP 4, which I did and later regretted, it's not worth the "upgrade". The steak itself arrived medium rare as ordered: average quality meat but decently prepared. Okay for the price.

The range of real ales and lagers was good, of course there's a focus on St. Austell ales. I tried different beers and they were all fresh and well-kept. The bar staff were reasonably friendly, but seemed in quite a hurry - not surprising considering the fact that Padstow is a touristy place and that the pub was nearly packed during (late) lunchtime. Queues at the bar (there is a separate till for ordering food) can get longer, and longer. The dish itself arrived within reasonable time.

As expected, beer prices are rather elevated at such a place, so expect more than UKP 4 for a pint. All in all it's one of the best options though along the Padstow...

Visited there last Sunday 11th may with family , there was 8 of us , I don't normally write negative reviews but in this case I felt I had to. we was there for the weekend for a family wedding , we all met on Sunday for dinner at this pub. we all ordered mains myself included I ordered the chicken breast , we all started eating on my 2nd mouthful of chicken it felt like something sharp stuck in my throat , started to cough but could still feel it lodged, at this point i was struggling to breathe , ran into the toilet and started gagging then i started vomiting up blood , this really was a scary ordeal , my mum and sister in law followed me in and see the blood and wanted to call an ambulance which i didn't want to scare them, i could still feel this foreign object in my throat moving up and down , spent at least an hour in the toilet being sick. I was pretty shaken up and in distress , my brother then told the manager who came over to me .. it was all very scripted what he said , no empathy whatsoever I then had to answer some questions when all I wanted to do was leave , I assume it was a chicken bone that was lodged in my throat , it's now been 5 days and I'm still unable to swallow with out pain and talk , I have seeked medical advice and my throat is very inflamed still. But the reason I am writing this is to add insult to injury we all still had to pay for our meals including myself , when i had only had 2 mouthfuls I know I should have refused but was not in the right frame of mind ...