Harden's survey result
Summary
“The combination of informality, fantastic location, superb discrete service and excellent food makes this a winner” – Olga Polizzi’s flagship in St Mawes has established it as perhaps the most famous and stylish hotel in Cornwall, although it was a run-down mess when she bought it 27 years ago (she cheered herself up by watching episodes of Fawlty Towers!). The “lovely dining room is well served with top seafood” although it is fair to say the culinary level achieved does not quite match the “exceptional” setting.
Summary
Stunningly located on the seafront in St Mawes, this staple of design and travel magazines is the flagship of the Polizzi Collection, run by interiors guru Olga Polizzi and her ‘Hotel Inspector’ daughter Alex (who also oversee Hotel Endsleigh near Tavistock and, most recently, The Star in Alfriston, East Sussex). The food, which again elicited solid marks this year, can be taken in the chic dining room or more casual Dog’s Head bar.
Summary
Olga Polizzi’s “wonderful hotel” – a whitewashed former yacht club – is the stuff of interior mag dreams, with its ultra-chic rooms and unbeatable seafront location on the edge of picturesque St. Mawes; it’s not all about show, though, with credit again this year for the “delicious food” (even if, according to one regular, “service is not what it once was”). Visitors can eat in the main dining room, with views of St Anthony’s Lighthouse, or more informal Dog’s Head bar.
Summary
The last word in calm elegance on Cornwall’s south coast, Olga Polizzi’s famous former yacht club is “consistently classy”, with “good food, fantastic service” – and, inevitably, “prices to match”. The restaurant is open to non-residents but you need to book in the evening, while the Dogs’ bar and Beach Club offer more casual eating options.
For 34 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Hotel Tresanton?
27 Lower Castle Road, St Mawes, TR2 5DR
Restaurant details
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £43.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £3.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £5.00 |
| Service | 12.50% |
27 Lower Castle Road, St Mawes, TR2 5DR
Opening hours
| Monday | 12:30 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Tuesday | 12:30 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Wednesday | 12:30 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Thursday | 12:30 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Friday | 12:30 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Saturday | 12:30 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Sunday | 12:30 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
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