The West Briton ~ 3rd January 2011

A mystery diner who turned up to sample the fare served at Helford Passage’s Ferryboat Inn turned out to be exactly that, a mystery. So much so, in fact, that the staff at the classy pub/restaurant did not even know they had been nominated for an award. When they subsquently won it, manager, Chloe Birch said: ” We were shocked, but it came as a pleasant suprise”. The Ferryboat won one of 17 awards handed out by the St. Austell brewery in it’s Tribute Estate awards, this year held in Newquay. More than 270 managers, tenants and staff from the brewery’s 174 pubs and hotels across the South West attended the gala dinner and awards ceremony. Among the prizes was the award for Catering Excellence Business of the Year (tenancy) and it was this that Ms Birch picked up on behalf of her team at the Ferryboat. There had been eight finalists in the catagory. But the brewery was clearly as impressed as it’s judge must have been as it pointed out that the overall standard of food in the Ferryboat’s catagory was “excellent”. Now the business is hoping to “do the double”, as the Ferryboat team are also finalists in the Cornish Challenge.

The Telegraph ~ 3rd July 2010

“The Ferryboat Inn’s south-facing terrace has quintessentially Cornish views, yet there’s an air of metropolitan sophistication…This is a pub with table service and mellow grooves wafting on the breeze…I think I’ve died and gone to Cornwall.”

This is Cornwall Newspaper...

“On a summer’s day there is nowhere quite like the ferryboat, with its stunning views of the Helford River, its cast of local characters and great food.  But it’s equally worth a visit out of season - greeted by the sweet smell of freshly chopped logs in the entrance, we dived out of a freezing, blustery and very dark February night into the warmth of a table next to the pub’s raging fire.  The Ferryboat is owned by the renowned oyster merchants and proprietors of the award-winning London based Oyster & Porter House.. having succeeded in regenerating the heritage Duchy of Cornwall oysterage at Helford they felt the pub would be the perfect place to showcase their ‘farm to plate’ philosophy.”
Britain

Britain

“The Wright Brothers, whose Oyster and Porter House is a firm favourite with the foodies who flock to London’s Borough market, have brought their winning ways with British seafood to picteresque West Cornwall. Take a seat at the oyster bar for half a dozen fresh-as-a-daisy Helford natives that are farmed only yards from the Inn. In the main restaurant, award winning chef Ben Lightfoot might be cooking up a bowl of steamed mussels from nearby Fowey with some white wine, garlic and parsley, or preparing a slow cooked leg of Cornish duck with braised lentils and roast beets.”

Squaremeal Magazine...

“Arrive by ferry if you want to get into the swing of things at this renowned nautical watering hold..the interior boasts an open granite fireplace, beams and a slate floor, with the old food servery now doing duty as an oyster bar. Bivalves from the Duchy Oyster farm on the Helford River are star turns, salmon is kiln-smoked on the premises, and fish from the day boats finds its way into pies and eclectic dishes such as crispy mackeral with Thai vegetable and peanut salad. St Austell ales and quaffable wins complete the package.”

The Times...

“Tucked away at the end of one of Cornwall’s most beautiful villages, the ferryboat has a couple of terraces leading down to the beach for a peaceful lunch in the sun. It sometimes has barbecues and live music, and you can opt for local seafood or just a basic ploughman’s. Dogs are welcome.”