Short answer: The best pub in Bodmin town for character is the Hole in the Wall on Crockwell Street (4.6 on Google), a former debtors' prison with a stuffed lion, but it does not serve food. For a meal, try the Masons Arms. Borough Arms in Dunmere suits Camel Trail walkers with dogs. Blisland Inn and St Kew Inn are worth the short drive.
Bodmin's pubs sit in a tight loop between the Priory car park and Higher Bore Street, so you can try three of them without moving the car twice. The best pubs in Bodmin are not the biggest. The one with a stuffed lion, the one with a garden looking across at the old gaol and the village inn on a rare Cornish village green are what people talk about afterwards.
Hole In The Wall on Crockwell Street is rated 4.6 from 559 Google reviews. CAMRA says the building dates from the 18th century and was once the town's debtors' prison, and local press reports that the name comes from food being passed to prisoners through a hole in the wall. The landlord, Steve Hall, has run it since 2003, and in April 2025 it was named CAMRA Kernow Pub of the Year. A weathered stuffed lion sits behind glass in the back garden, which the landlord says has been there for about six decades, and the ceiling beams are hung with old signs, coins, hats and other curiosities that were once swapped for drinks.
CAMRA lists Dartmoor Jail Ale, Draught Bass and Sharp's beers among the pumps, with changing guests. It also lists a real fire, a conservatory and a leafy paved garden with a stream, reached through the pub or directly from the public car park. CAMRA gives the pub's hours as 12 noon to 11pm Monday to Saturday and 12 noon to 8pm on Sunday, so check before a late Sunday visit.
The catch is food. The pub does not cook, and the CAMRA entry says customers may bring their own food, including takeaways. Some visitors still arrive expecting a menu. Pick up something first (our guides to the best pasty in Bodmin and fish and chips in Bodmin help) and eat it in the garden or by the fire.
Masons Arms Bodmin is 4.6 from 325 Google reviews. CAMRA says it claims to be the oldest pub in town and describes a front bar with stone floors and walls and a beamed oak ceiling. Upstairs is a large dining room with views of Bodmin Gaol, and steps lead on to an outdoor bar and patio. CAMRA lists lunchtime and evening meals, parking, a real fire and dog friendly status, and gives opening as 12 noon to 11.30pm Monday to Thursday, midnight on Friday and Saturday and 10.30pm on Sunday. Reviewers praise the Sunday roasts, including a nut roast option, plus the pie and the ribs. Real ale regulars listed by CAMRA are Sharp's Doom Bar and Skinner's Porthleven. Our guide to the best Sunday roast in Bodmin covers the roast question in more detail, and it is sensible to ask about Sunday food when you book.
The Weavers has 4.3 from 615 Google reviews and has just been through a change. St Austell Brewery refurbished it with a new timber bar and heritage-style decor, and it reopened in April 2026 under a new family of licensees, Annie Rafiqi and her father Omar. They plan live music, karaoke, a games area with darts and pool, and relaxed Sunday sessions. Food was not being served when it reopened, although the brewery and operators hope to bring it back, so treat it as a drinks pub unless you hear otherwise.
The Garland Ox Inn at 65 Higher Bore Street (4.4 from 176 Google reviews) is the plain-speaking answer. CAMRA describes a traditional locals' pub at the top of town with a long, narrow layout, a separate lounge and games room, pool, darts and euchre, and live entertainment mostly on Sundays, including bands, jam sessions and karaoke. The refurbished back garden overlooks Bodmin Gaol, there is a large function room, and CAMRA lists it as dog friendly. It lists opening from 12 noon to midnight every day. Do not come for tasting menus. Come for a pint and a game of pool.
Borough Arms, Bodmin in Dunmere is the pub for walkers and cyclists. CAMRA lists it as dog friendly and welcoming to cyclists and walkers, with parking and a carvery served at lunchtimes and evenings and all day on Sunday. CAMRA gives opening as 9am to 11pm every day. Google gives it 4.4 from 2,671 reviews, and reviewers praise the carvery and the outdoor seating, though some mention slow service when the pub is short-staffed. It also makes a handy meeting point if you are planning a Camel Trail day: the trail's Boscarne to Wadebridge section starts nearby. If you are cycling, see our guide to flat, easy walks near Bodmin, which includes the trail.
The Blisland Inn is on the village green at Blisland, on the edge of Bodmin Moor, a few miles north-east of Bodmin. CAMRA says the green is the only village green in Cornwall, that the pub usually has five or six real ales, including two house ales and a dark one, and that it has served over 4,000 different ales. It lists lunchtime and evening meals, a garden, parking, live music and dog friendly status, with opening from 11.30am to 11pm every day. Google gives 4.6 from 868 reviews, and reviewers describe old-fashioned pub grub, home-made puddings and a bar full of cups. The moor is on the doorstep, so the walk first, pub second plan works. Our guide to dog-friendly days out on Bodmin Moor has route ideas.
St Kew Inn is the top-rated of the group at 4.7 from 1,346 Google reviews, and sits in the Michelin Guide's listings. It is a few miles north-west of Bodmin, beside the church. CAMRA lists lunchtime and evening meals, including food from the Goat's House in the garden in summer. Reviewers praise the short, seafood-led menu, the fish and chips and the Sunday roast, but one cycling couple was turned away without a booking on a Sunday afternoon. Reserve, especially for Sunday lunch. CAMRA's listed hours vary by season, so check the pub's own times for a late-autumn or winter visit.
Lanivet Inn (4.5 from 1,561 Google reviews) is on the Truro road at Lanivet, on the Truro side of Bodmin. CAMRA calls it a traditional St Austell tenancy that is generally food-oriented, with a restaurant, a large stone inglenook fireplace, a beer garden, a large car park and dog friendly status. Regular beers are St Austell Cornish Best, Hicks and Tribute. Reviewers rate the chips and the fish and chips, though one visitor waited a long time for service on a busy evening, so give yourself time.
CAMRA marks the Hole in the Wall, Masons Arms, Garland Ox, Borough Arms, Blisland Inn and Lanivet Inn as dog friendly. That is a listing icon, not a promise about every room, so ask whether dogs are allowed in the dining area before you sit down. For attractions with the same question, read dogs at Bodmin Jail.
Pub hours and kitchen times change with the season, and landlords change too, so ring ahead if you are travelling specially, particularly for Sunday food. Phone numbers from the Google listings: Hole in the Wall 01208 72397, Masons Arms 01208 77442, Borough Arms 01208 73118.
For the rest of the day, see the Bodmin town guide.
The Masons Arms, the Borough Arms (a carvery beside the Camel Trail) and the Lanivet Inn all serve meals, according to CAMRA. The Hole in the Wall does not cook, though its CAMRA listing says you can bring your own food, and the Weavers was not serving food when it reopened in April 2026.
CAMRA lists the Hole in the Wall, Masons Arms, Garland Ox, Borough Arms and Blisland Inn as dog friendly. Ask whether dogs can sit in the dining area.
The building was an 18th-century debtors' prison, and the name comes from food being passed to prisoners through a hole in the wall, according to a Cornish and Devon Post feature on the pub.
The Borough Arms in Dunmere sits beside the Camel Trail and has a carvery, parking and a garden. CAMRA lists it as welcoming cyclists, walkers and dogs.
It is wise for the busier ones. A reviewer at St Kew Inn was refused food on a Sunday afternoon without a booking, so reserve and ask what the kitchen is serving.
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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