Short answer: The best cream tea in Porthleven is at Twisted Currant, a family-run tea room at 10 Fore Street rated 4.7 from 562 Google reviews, with vegan and gluten-free versions. Booking ahead is advisable. Harbour View Cafe by the harbour wall also lists cream teas, and the National Trust's Stables Cafe at Penrose is a scone stop on the Loe Bar walk. Phone to check prices.
Porthleven does not have a row of tearooms to choose between. It has one dedicated tea room on Fore Street, a harbour cafe that sells cream teas among its homemade cakes, and a National Trust cafe a walk away on the Penrose estate. That makes the best cream tea in Porthleven an easy decision, with one catch: the best one is also the one that fills up.
This is the one to head for. Twisted Currant is a family-run tea room at 10 Fore Street (TR13 9HJ), close to the harbour head, and it has a reputation for cream teas that goes beyond the village. A Yahoo News round-up of the best cream teas in Cornwall picked it out for mixing "traditional cream teas with something a bit more current": regular and cheese scones, plus chocolate-flavoured scones. One diner quoted there said the chocolate version came with chocolate spread and clotted cream, both served warm.
Google rates it 4.7 from 562 Google reviews. Reviewers talk about warm scones, hot tea in small cups, and cakes that are all handmade, and one mentions seating out the back, which matters on a busy Saturday. Another says staff looked after their dogs with treats. The tea room's listing says pre-booking is always advisable and that afternoon tea can be pre-ordered. In school holidays and on summer weekends, take that advice seriously. The number is 01326 565999.
Yes, and this is where Twisted Currant stands apart. Its listing mentions dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan options, including a vegan cream tea. One reviewer who has eaten "countless" gluten-free cream teas called theirs the best they had ever had, with scones that were fresh and light. Another visitor drove down specially for the vegan version, enjoyed the warm scones, and only wished the cream had been thicker and colder. That is a fair note: plant-based cream is a different thing to clotted cream, so expect something lighter and closer to whipped.
If you have an allergy rather than a preference, phone ahead and say so when you book. Tell the staff again when you order, and ask how they handle cross-contamination, because a small kitchen that bakes gluten-free and ordinary scones side by side is not the same as a dedicated gluten-free kitchen.
Closest is Harbour View Cafe on Mount Pleasant Road, rated 4.6 from 407 Google reviews. It sits by the harbour wall with plenty of outdoor seating, and one reviewer mentions "many homemade" cakes "as well as cream teas". Others praise the soup, baked potatoes, a seafood chowder thick with fish and prawns, and the full English. Ask at the counter what the cream tea includes and costs, as it is one item among many rather than the headline. On a still afternoon, sitting outside with a scone and watching the boats is hard to beat. In a gale the same table is not a good idea, and it is worth reading our storm watching guide before you go near the harbour edge.
The National Trust's The Stables Cafe at Penrose sits on the estate by Loe Pool. The Trust describes it as serving hot and cold drinks, cakes and light refreshments, with an indoor area and outdoor seating, toilets including an accessible one, and a second-hand bookshop. Its Penrose page lists the cafe as open daily, 10am to 4pm. It is a small place, rated 3.9 from 15 Google reviews, so treat it as a refuelling stop rather than a destination. One reviewer enjoyed "tasty cakes and cream tea's", and another, who had dogs with them, had their coffee brought out. Dogs are welcome at Penrose, but the Trust asks you to keep them on a short lead around livestock. Winter hours can change, so check the National Trust Penrose page or phone 01326 562882 before you set off.
The National Trust kiosk at Gunwalloe, on the other side of Loe Bar, runs from 1 April to 31 October and may close in bad weather, so it is no use for a winter scone. Our full walk guide is Loe Bar Walk From Porthleven.
If you are staying in Porthleven and fancy a different view, Porthmellin Cafe at Mullion Cove is the well-known alternative down the Lizard. It is rated 4.6 from 172 Google reviews. Reviewers call the cream tea "famous", with a huge fresh scone and good raspberry jam, and one says the cafe looks "frozen in time". Another says it is dog-friendly. Phone 01326 240941 to check it is open before you drive. Our Helston-side guide to the best cream tea near Helston covers the Lizard in more detail.
The old argument is alive in Cornwall. The Cornish way is jam first, with clotted cream spooned on top, while Devon does it the other way round. Nobody at a Porthleven table will judge you for either order, but if you want to be sure of getting the cream and jam separately, so you can choose, say so when you order.
These places do not publish a cream tea price online, so we will not quote one. Phone Twisted Currant on 01326 565999 to check the price and book, particularly if you want the vegan or gluten-free version. The tea room is a daytime place, so aim for mid-afternoon but not the last hour, when popular cakes can run out. Check opening days when you phone, as small cafes change their winter days.
If you are driving, Kittos Field is the Cornwall Council car park nearest the harbour head, with 57 spaces, a pay and display machine and JustPark. Our Porthleven parking guide lists the council's published prices. Pair your scone with a walk: a circuit of the harbour and a look at the rest of Porthleven will do. For a morning start before the tea, see where to get breakfast in Porthleven.
Twisted Currant at 10 Fore Street is the dedicated tea room, rated 4.7 from 562 Google reviews. Its listing says pre-booking is always advisable.
Yes. Twisted Currant lists a vegan cream tea alongside dairy-free, gluten-free and vegetarian options. One reviewer found the vegan cream lighter and less thick than clotted cream.
Twisted Currant offers one, and a reviewer called it the best gluten-free cream tea they had eaten. Tell staff about allergies when you book and again when you order.
The tea room's listing says pre-booking is always advisable and that afternoon tea can be pre-ordered. It is sensible in school holidays and at weekends.
The National Trust's Stables Cafe at Penrose serves cakes and light refreshments, and the Trust lists it open daily 10am to 4pm. Phone 01326 562882 to check winter hours.
Times, prices and dates are the businesses' and organisers' to change, so check before you travel. Spotted something we've got wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.
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