Philps Bakery — Restaurant in England

First trip to Hayle yesterday and after a brilliant day out at the Parrot sanctuary just around the corner I had to come and try Philps for the first time after seeing so many reviews on social media!

Came in the shop fairly late maybe 4.30pm-ish and there were limited pasties available. Managed to get a Med traditional cornish for the other half and a Med steak and cheese for myself.

First of all I was astounded by the sheer size and weight of my medium pasty it was bigger than the future of Kier Starmer.

The pastry was absolutely delicious! Huge chunks of meat. Juicy. Succulent. Saucy. Cheesey. Just a flavourgasm in the mouth. Unbelievable Jeff. Delightful.

The missus really enjoyed her traditional pasty as well she said it was the best pasty she's had to date although her pasty experiences are fairly limited compared to mine as she's only visited Cornwall 3 times where as I've been holidaying here for 30 years and tried quite literally hundreds of pasties. I did have a bite of her traditional and I have to agree it was the best I've sampled although I usually keep away from traditional I'm not crazy for parsnip and swede.

All in all they were honestly 2 incredible pasties. I want to say 2 of the best I've ever had. Absolutely unbelievable value for money. Are they the best pasties in Cornwall? I'm really not sure... they're right up there! Before trying Philps my favourite hands down was Sarah's in Looe. Is Philps better than Sarah's? It's hard to say without a direct comparison of 2 pasties of the same flavour. Was my Philps pasty better than my favourite Sarah's pasty? I don't think it was better. But I do think it was equally as good. I think they are hands down the 2 best shops and I think they are miles apart from any others. I think Sarah's is the best on the East Coast of Cornwall and I think Philps is the best on the West Coast of Cornwall and I think that's an honest review and a very fair comparison.

10/10 perfect...

Philp’s Bakery in Hayle is, without doubt, a real Cornish gem. The quality of the food here is simply unmatched with pasties so good you’ll wonder why you’ve ever eaten one anywhere else. We sampled a few products, the steak pasty, steak & cheese, cheese & vegetable, sausage roll and the large scone pack. Every single one was beyond superb, full of flavour, perfectly balanced (none of that over-peppered nonsense you get elsewhere) and wrapped in pastry so flawless it deserves its own fan club. Please add 2 to your menu though; 1) Lamb & Mint, 2) Cheese & Onion (NO potato).

The scones in particular were absolute perfection! Delicate, crumbly on the outside, and melt-in-the-mouth sublime on the inside. Paired with cream & jam, and you’ve reached peak Cornwall.

Now, a quick word on price, yes it’s a little on the steep side, especially during peak tourist season. Having visited out of season before, I’d say the “tourist tax” is definitely noticeable. Still, the flavour almost makes you forgive it… Almost!

The one real let-down though was service inconsistency. One staff member (an older lady with glasses) managed to suck the joy out of the ÿroom with her brusque manner. No greeting, abrupt responses, and even shouting ovþer the shoulder of our actual server (who was handling things just fine). You could even see the frustration on our lovely server’s face.

Speaking of that server, hats off to the young lady with dark glasses. Friendly, patient, polite, and informative, she made the experience memorable for the right reasons. If the bakery cloned her, they’d be near perfect.

Food: 5/5 Service: 2.5/5 Overall: 4/5 I’d happily return but would keep an eye on who’s behind the counter...

Deeply upset to realize I ate an entire meat pastie after ordering a vegan one (I'm a strict vegetarian). 😭 We ordered one veggie/cheese pastie and one vegan one, and asked both to be cut in half. They gave us four separately wrapped packages. Ate the veggie one first and saved the "vegan" one for later. Later on I bit into the "vegan" one (literally marked with a v on the bag) and was confused because it seemed so meaty. Then again the reviews were so good for the vegan pastie I didn't think about it too much. I ate the whole thing before my partner opened his up and to our absolute horror it was entirely different from the one I'd just eaten. This is a mistake that could quite literally kill someone, had I a deadly food allergy or something else. In my case I expect to spend the rest of my vacation on the toilet as I haven't had a bite of meat in 15+ years. Will absolutely be avoiding non-vegetarian restaurants for months to come, as my trust is shattered. Vegans and...