Short answer: The best cream tea in Redruth is a three-way choice. Appleton Tea Room on Fore Street is the classic tea shop, the Arch Cafe at Kresen Kernow (4.8 on Google) has reviewers raving about huge scones, and Olde Penny's Tea Room (4.7 from 181 reviews) suits gluten-free diners. Hours are short, so check days first.
Redruth is not a cream tea town in the way Marazion or Mousehole are. There is no clifftop terrace and no row of tea gardens, and the three places worth knowing are small, tucked into odd buildings, and keep short hours. What you get instead is a tea shop on Fore Street, a vintage cafe on the Portreath road with gluten-free scones, and a good cafe inside the old brewery that now houses Cornwall's archive. Here is how to find the best cream tea in Redruth, and what to check before you set off.
For a straightforward pot of tea and a scone in the town centre, go to Appleton Tea Room at 51 Fore Street. It is rated 5.0, but from only 25 Google reviews, so treat that as encouraging rather than conclusive. Reviewers describe a cosy, old-fashioned room with a long list of teas, good cakes and an "excellent cream tea", plus flapjacks and a bacon roll for anyone not in the mood for scones. A Tripadvisor listing, with a visitor review from September 2026, gives Wednesday and Thursday 10am to 3pm and Friday and Saturday 10am to 2pm, and closed Sunday to Tuesday. Ring 01209 216910 before you walk up Fore Street, as hours at small tea rooms change.
For the biggest scone, try the Arch Cafe inside Kresen Kernow, the archive in the converted Redruth brewery on Little Vauxhall. One reviewer wrote of "the largest scone I have ever seen", another of a cream tea with a large, light scone, and a third of a Valentine's afternoon tea with plentiful sandwiches, scones and cakes. The cafe has 4.8 from 33 Google reviews and the building has 4.7 from 188. Reviewers describe free entry and an exhibition space, so you can look around before or after. Cornwall Council says Kresen Kernow is open to the public on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, 9:30am to 4pm, and the cafe keeps similar days, so check before you go. Our Redruth breakfast guide has more on the menu.
The nearest thing is Olde Penny's Tea Room on New Portreath Road, on the way towards Portreath. It is part vintage shop, part cafe, and reviewers call it "wonderfully eccentric". It scores 4.7 from 181 Google reviews. One visitor had an afternoon tea for two on the decking in the sun after a mooch round the antiques, which is a summer plan rather than a December one. Inside, reviewers praise the lemon drizzle cake and the amount of gluten-free food: one says a significant part of the menu is gluten-free and as good as everything else. Another phoned ahead for scones, including gluten-free ones, and collected them at a set time. It keeps short daytime hours, finishing around 3:30pm, and is not open every day. If you want a table with a cream tea, ring on 01209 842502 first.
The Cornish tradition is jam on the split scone first with the clotted cream on top, the reverse of the Devon habit. Nobody will refuse you a cream tea for doing it the other way. Redruth's own contribution to the debate sits just outside town: Rodda's Cornish clotted cream is made at The Creamery in Scorrier, off the A30. It is a working creamery, not a tea room, and a reviewer mentions collecting from it. Ring 01209 823300 before making a special trip to ask whether you can buy on site.
Olde Penny's is the strongest answer for gluten-free, according to reviewers, who also mention vegan options. For vegan cake rather than scones, The Grow Box Cafe at West Park (4.9 from 24 Google reviews) is largely vegetarian and vegan, with a vegan date flapjack mentioned by name. It is a small, off-the-beaten-track cafe with easy parking and not a scone specialist.
Appleton Tea Room and the Buttermarket are a short walk from the station, which is on the main line. For town car parks, check the pay machine for charging hours and whether it takes cash, and see our Redruth parking guide. Kresen Kernow is a short walk from Fore Street, and a reviewer mentions free parking there. Olde Penny's is a drive out on the Portreath road.
Pair Kresen Kernow with a short walk, or take a tea-room visit between engine houses on our Redruth mining walks. If the weather is bad, see the Redruth rainy day guide. For the rest of the town, start at the Redruth page, or head to the beach at Portreath and Porthtowan.
Appleton Tea Room on Fore Street, Olde Penny's Tea Room on New Portreath Road and the Arch Cafe at Kresen Kernow all serve cream teas or scones, according to reviewers. Hours are limited, so check before you go.
Reviewers say Olde Penny's Tea Room has a large gluten-free menu and will prepare gluten-free scones if you phone ahead on 01209 842502.
The Cornish tradition is jam first, then clotted cream on top. Devon does it the other way round.
No. Kresen Kernow is open to the public on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, 9:30am to 4pm, per Cornwall Council, and the cafe keeps similar days. Check before you go.
Rodda's makes clotted cream at The Creamery in Scorrier, near Redruth. It is a working creamery, so phone 01209 823300 to ask whether you can buy on site.
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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