The Dolphin Tavern
Quay Street, by the harbour · Inn
A sixteenth-century harbourside inn with rooms above the bar, said to be where tobacco was first smoked in England.
About The Dolphin Tavern
The Dolphin Tavern occupies a sixteenth-century building on Quay Street, right by Penzance harbour, with a history stretching back to the Armada era, when it served as a recruiting post for Cornishmen heading off to fight, and further still to a claimed connection with Sir Walter Raleigh and the first pipe of tobacco smoked in England.
The rooms upstairs are simpler than at the town's boutique hotels, but comfortable and good value, and staying above a working harbourside pub has an atmosphere all of its own, particularly with a proper local ale in hand downstairs after a day on the coast path. Food leans towards hearty pub classics alongside daily specials built around the local catch.
Its location, a few steps from the harbour and Scillonian ferry terminal, makes it a genuinely convenient and characterful base for anyone travelling on to the Isles of Scilly or exploring Penzance's older waterfront streets.
At a glance
- Property type
- Inn
- Location
- Quay Street, by the harbour
- Star rating
- 3 star
- Guest score
- 8.1 / 10 (310 reviews)
- Prices from
- £95 per night
- Destination
- Penzance