At the heart of the community

Home grown veg, a menu cooked from scratch and a devotion to community spirit; we take a look at The Polgooth Inn.

The Polgooth Inn heralds back to the 1600s and Polgooth itself was historically renowned for the prolific mining that took place there. Indeed, by the 18th Century, the village had the richest mine in the UK and was celebrated for being home to the greatest tin mine in the world! While historically the inn was used as the local pay house, in recent years it’s become the communal hub of Polgooth, offering a warm welcome, hearty food and good beer to anyone who crosses the threshold.

“It’s a wonderful village to be part of” – Tanya

The Polgooth Inn, however, isn’t like any other old Cornish pub. For foodies, owners Tanya and Alex offer a cooked-from-scratch menu using only the freshest ingredients, many of which are grown in their very own veg garden! Here, a variety of both seasonal and more unusual veg is grown throughout the year, which reflects in the temptingly extensive menu. What’s more, the kitchen is open all day, 364 days a year!

The couple met at catering college and afterwards spent two years travelling, which has been a key influence in the variety of dishes that can be found on the Polgooth menu throughout the year. They’ve since been running pubs together for more than 20 years, 18 of which have been in Cornwall, and Tanya herself is Cornish, so they know how important good, hearty food is to us here in the Duchy.

Polgooth village and the surrounding countryside have some excellent dog walking routes, perfect for your furry friend to bound, roll and sniff to their heart’s content, and nothing beats retreating after a stroll to the warmth of a classic country pub for a glass of your favourite Cornish tipple while the dog curls up beneath the table. The bar usually has up to five local ales on tap from St Austell Brewery, so while you’re satisfying that country-air appetite, whether it’s with soup and fresh local bread made to Alex and Tanya’s recipe, or a burger that’s been pressed on site, you’ll always have the perfect drink to wash it all down with.

Community is at the heart of Polgooth, which is something Landlord and Landlady Alex and Tanya hold close to the heart of what they do, and Tanya tells us: “It’s a wonderful village to be a part of.”

Throughout the year they host nights such as Rum Club – once a month this winter – as well as live music Sundays, where you can find acoustic sets playing outside in the beer garden, perfect for anyone looking for a relaxed end to the weekend. There are also some wonderful events over Halloween and Christmas, as well as cheese and wine nights and even locals takeover nights, where locals get to takeover the pub for the evening! Alex and Tanya always do their utmost to deliver social events that everybody can enjoy and, being the only pub in the village, this really helps bring people together. It’s fair to say that The Polgooth Inn lies at the very heart of this small Cornish community.