Harbour Lights Restaurant in Cornwall, Isles of Scilly

Food was ok but price performance too expensive…

Bit of a letdown, to be honest. The much-hyped “award-winning Fish & Chips” turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. The chips were limp and lifeless, no crunch, no character, and the battered sausage had all the depth of a puddle in July. I didn’t even bother finishing them, which says it all really. Was expecting a proper treat, but ended up with something utterly forgettable. p.s really appreciate you getting back to me, so I’ve bumped your service up to 5 stars and thrown in an extra one for your overall grade too ⭐️

Our latest visit to Harbour Lights was superb,the girl that served us was extremely welcoming,the food was excellent. Would definitely recommend and will visit again very soon.

As always the fish and chips were delicious.

In our view Harbour Lights is simply the best fish and chip restaurant you can get. We visited 14 March after booking a window seat table. Greeted by a friendly waiter, shown to our table and drinks & food order taken quickly with drinks and meal served just as quickly. The food was excellent as always. The view over Falmouth Harbour was great. Thank you Harbour Lights for another fab meal during our weekend visit to Cornwall.

Decent, But Nothing Special Whenever I visit a seaside town, my first stop is always fish and chips. It’s usually a generous portion at a reasonable price, and this time was no different. After researching online, this spot seemed to be one of the most well-known, so I decided to give it a try. The atmosphere and location are nice, and the staff are friendly. As you can see in the photo, the lemon was almost bigger than the fish! The portion was filling, with chips and mushy peas on the side. However, the mushy peas tasted like they had just been reheated from a pre-made batch, and overall, the meal wasn’t anything extraordinary. The fish was decent, the chips were standard—nothing that made them stand out. One downside was that my coffee arrived before the food, so I had to eat quickly before it got cold, which took away from the enjoyment. I didn’t want to send it back and waste it, but it wasn’t an ideal experience. If you’re in the area, it might be worth trying something else on the menu, but for me, it was just an average fish and chips experience.

Ordered small fish and large separate chips and a portion of onion rings , 5 minute wait which was fine ,however when we got home the fish and chips were together and the onion rings were swimming in fat/oil, very unpleasant, each holiday I have used this chippy for years , but each year it gets worse . This is the last time we will use this chip shop- sad . over £15 for a small Order swimming in fat and not how I ordered it , and they wherent even busy ☹️ two customers less now .

Long time for.food to be ready, especially as you are just stood waiting on the road, but fish and chips are excellent

Amazing fish and chips. Big dine in restaurant or takeaway. Staff super friendly. 2 min walk from Maritime Museum on sea front.

I ordered haddock and chips from a very nice staff member and appreciated the option to have the haddock skin removed as apparently its normally cooked skin on. Upon opening my order, I was somewhat disappointed to find the fish being much smaller than expected and the fillet inside the batter being very thin. While the taste was pleasant and it wasn't greasy, the portion size was totally underwhelming for the £12.40 that I'd paid. The chips were pale, limp, and lacked crispness, leaving me less than satisfied overall. Top marks for the staff approach & restaurant cleanliness, but it was such a shame that the main event was so disappointing.

Disappointed. The portions were small & hardly any chips. Poor value for money. My partner had medium fish, chips & beer. I just had fish. The bill was over £30 & on closer inspectiin they added vat at the end. Pretty awful 😖

Disappointing - No where near as good as it used to be. Chips are too chunky and hard to digest. Ordered cod but it tasted and looked like a different white fish. Music too loud and lacked atmosphere. Well over priced and under delivered. The lovely batter on fish was the one and only good point.

Dopo una settimana di fish and chips, che sono simili ma sempre diversi da posto a posto, finalmente quello di stasera che ho mangiato qui era gustoso e asciutto, niente affatto unto. La porzione era giusta, arrivata in tavola con le patate fritte e le salse senza il purè di piselli. La nota negativa è che non servono birra alla spina ma solo birre in bottiglia o in lattina, con un assortimento limitatissimo. Il servizio è veloce e i prezzi sono concorrenziali con quelli dei ristoranti dello stesso tipo.

Really good fish and chips along with friendly staff. Would definitely go again.

Whilst the food was nice, the price for portion size was far too expensive. A takeaway is pricey from here, but the portion size in the restaurant was tiny in comparison and cost considerably more.

It’s clear to see why his place is so popular. Absolutely mouth watering fish and chips. Batter was lo light cod was glistening white. Beautiful taste, fresh, light, no fat taste at all. Chips fresh well cooked with mushy peas and bread and butter. Probably the best fish and chips I’ve ever tasted.

Really nice fish and chips. The cod was lovely and the batter light. Quite expensive but they were cooked fresh and piping hot. Massive sizes so worth the money. Will definitely go back when visiting Falmouth again in the summer.

Great food, service, music and the place looks very nice. Nothing negative to say about the place.

Possibly the most expensive battered sausages in England…. the 8cm one I received was just a joke.

We come to Cornwall each year for a holiday, the last couple of years we order fish and chips from here to collect and drive up to Pendennis point to enjoy with the view before going to book into our hotel. The last couple of years the food has been amazing, hence returning multiple times and making it part of our holidays. However, we ordered a large cod a chips yesterday and were so disappointed. The batter was overcooked and was so crumbly that it hadn't even coated the fish, and the fish wasn't edible! It was so tough, like rubber. I couldn't even break it apart with my fork or hands, I have never seen fish like this. We ended up having to discard the food because we were worries we would make us unwell if we ate it, I couldn't chew the fish. Really sad that this has happened, we are now going to have to find a new place, is a real shame! I did do a video to show how tough the fish was but this only alows picture uploads. For £18.10 for large fish and chips, definitely expect better and really ruined our first day of holiday!

The sausages gave me food poisoning:(

Haddock and chips (x2) Rather small portion sizes if I'm honest, and at over £16 each we were quite shocked! The fish was tiny (I've never seen a piece that small served in a chippy!)...and no, we didn't even order the small size portion. Anyway, poor value for money aside, we were then a bit shocked to see that a charity donation had actually been aded to our bill, without permission! Very cheeky...check your bills people! Sorry, Harbour Lights, but here's two local people who won't be coming back.

Great fish and chips cooked to perfection.

Excellent fish and chips with the added benefit of a superb view of the working harbour You can watch activities on the RFA vessels Convenient to the car park

We have been going here for years albeit maybe 6 mthly, when shopping in Falmouth. Unfortunately, we won’t be going again. We had a medium cod and chips each which used to be ample. The portions were really sad and my cod was mainly batter - the chip portion was even worse. They say unlimited chips - we would have preferred a few more on the plate with our fish in the first place. This cost us £16.50 each and was definitely not value for money. We did complain and were told we might have got a smaller end of the fish! It was a Saturday and the restaurant was less busy than it used to be - maybe other people have voted with their feet as well.

We had 2 haddock and chips, at least 1/4 of the chips were green or had green edges which contains Solanin which is poisonous. Really disappointed they need to review there potato supplier and be more careful about the ones they select due to the serious health implications.

The food was nice but there was no prices on the menu we ordered 4 fish and chips and 3 soft drinks and a coffee when we paid it was just under £90 for 4 of us, bit of a shock, won't be hurrying back at those prices

Service was great and each member of staff was lovely, although tartar sauce was forgotten. Only noticed this halfway through the meal so didn't raise this. Lovely atmosphere and great views out across the water, and really nice decor inside. However the food was a bit mixed. We had 2 lots of regular cod and chips, and both thought the chips were a bit bland/earthy tasting, as well as having some chips that were still a bit raw in the middle. The fish was nice but the batter was a bit soggy in places, and for a regular portion at £16.80 it felt a bit on the small side, too. Overall service and restaurant were nice but wouldn't rush back.

A warm and attentive welcome from staff at the restaurant. We had planned to takeaway but the rain was pouring and we were welcomed inside with our dog. The haddock was exceptional and portions were large enough that we didn't need the unlimited chips available. Only downside was the tomato ketchup as it was very vinegary but a very yummy and appreciated meal.

We booked a window table since the views are quite good across the jetty. The service was excellent. The piped music irritated me and certainly encouraged eating quickly. The fish and chips were excellent. With a beer and a soft drink the bill came to £45.00, perhaps on the expensive side for the experience. Takeaway may be pleasanter and cheaper, weather permitting.

Very enjoyable to have an eat-in chippy with a lovely view, but we felt a bit forgotten in the corner. The food itself was lovely and fresh and hot; The food wasn't dripping in grease and batter was nice and crispy. We both had haddock (one small and one regular) and chips and I had a battered sausage on the side. I would warn you that a "small" haddock is very small indeed, so we shared my regular and made two portions that we'd consider a more normal 'small'. With my extra sausage I still had enough. We were sat in a corner on some raised seating, but this unfortunately meant the waiting staff couldn't see us, so whenever we wanted something we had to try and attract attention from staff who were serving people who came into the restaurant after us as those were the customers they could see. They do a good thing with chips - don't serve too many, but offer top-ups if needed. We did want a top-up, but the inability to get attention meant we didn't bother in the end. You do pay a premium for eating in, so just be aware to expect that, however it's probably fair because they need to fund a restaurant and additional staff.

Sadly the food was really disappointing. The chips were so bland, they honestly didn’t taste of anything at all. Not the typical ‘chippy taste’ that you hope for. Even with the small bit of salt & vinegar put on them, they had no flavour.

Best fish and chips in Cornwall great homemade tartare sauce too

Best fish and chips we've had in a long time. I have a smaller appetite than my husband so it's lovely to find somewhere where you can have smaller portions. Had banana fritters with ice-cream for afters , it was divine.

Wow, wow,wow! This place has nailed it, my wife & I had the cod & chips with mushy peas and a tub of curry sauce each. We both agreed that it was the best we'd ever had. Everything was cooked to perfection, the batter was amazing, the fish just melted in your mouth and the chips were perfectly cooked. On top of this the view from the restaurant is beautiful & the staff are super polite and courteous a real credit to the business. Dog friendly also 11 out of 10 from us!!!!

We visited this place for the first time on our Cornwall road trip. Our experience was good. We ordered cod and chips; the cod was very good, and we were happy with the size of the fish. Then we ordered haddock and chips, which were also good. We also got some calamari, which were good as well. Got some of the tartare sauce. It was okay, not the best one I've ever had. Overall, we enjoyed our food with the nice view over the sea. #travelwithtentbox

Went for dinner here following a recommendation from a staff member at Falmouth University. We were seated straight away and had a lovely view. We went for a calamari starter, a small line caught haddock, plaice and 9 cod bites. All came with chips and were good portion sizes as well piping hot. The batter was lovely and crispy (no oil) and chips were proper chunky chips. We finished off all of what we ordered, unfortunately we had no room for desserts though. The food hit the spot 100% and we will be heading back here when we visit again in the future. A thumbs up from me and the family.

We had the takeaway cod and chips cod was thin and dry chips were under cooked .

Came with high expectations with locals recommending g & reading was award winning. Are in the restaurant on a Saturday afternoon, was surprisingly quiet. Waitress was really friendly & unfortunately some of our drinks orders were not possible as ice machines were not working, & she dealt with it really well. Food was nice, pretty standard fish & chips, enjoyed by all

Excellent fish and chips! fresh and flakey fish coated in a light and crispy batter.

I have changed my review to four star, as the service and food from the takeaway has improved massively in the last 6 months and now I feel the chippy warrants it's accolades. I have however deducted a point as the service and food in the restaurant still isn't great - not sure why it would be any different to the takeaway but it seems less fresh and you get less of it. And the serving staff don't seem well trained (had to find someone get sauce and they gave us all tartare without any choice). Also the restaurant is quite cold. The best thing about the chippy is that they serve real onion rings and the vegan fish is very good.

Absolutely first class meal! I had scampi and can honestly say it was the nicest scampi I have ever had. Beautifully cooked, very speedy service and staff were very friendly. Hubby had plaice and he said it was amazing, very fresh and cooked to perfection. Cannot wait to return, in fact as I write this I so want come back for more scampi! Would also like to mention that I had half salad and half chips with mine, a great idea! The salad was "proper" salad, obviously freshly made and not tipped out of a plastic bag as so often is the case in some places. All in all, first class!

Best Fish and Chips anywhere! Perfect delicious crispy batter and chips, never greasy. So fresh and generous portions. Eat in with amazing views or dine out on Custom House Pier. Must for anyone visiting Falmouth.

Lovely fish and chips way overpriced for what you get elsewhere been coming here every year for last six years on holiday will not come back again as price has gone up again 30.50 for 2large cods one medium chips mushy peas and 2 tomatoes sauces I suppose they won't miss our custom we certainly won't miss there inflated prices

Just ordered and tried to eat fish and chips take away, they were not good and threw most of it away! The chips were hard and maybe raw and so oily, I love chips in most forms and even I couldn’t eat them they were so rubbish! The roll they gave with it was terrible for a chip bap and not worth eating and the fish was just so-so, batter was thick and tasteless. We are so disappointed as last time we came a few years ago they were brilliant, we were really looking forward to it and now won’t go here again.

Great fish, great chips and nice level of spice on curry sauce. And love it's line caught haddock

Bought scampi and chips twice and a can of coke, £27! Ate and felt like we'd been ripped off. The scampi was ok, the chips mediocre at best. We had food from here a few years ago and it was excellent, but this was expensive and poor quality. Will not return.

Disappointing! Ordered on line to save time, however when I got there 5 minutes early and let the girl know I was there, she explained that they were having issues with the chip chute however the order was 20 minutes late. The food was tepid at best!

Really enjoyed the vegan fish and chips, great onion rings too! They even had vegan mayo which is awesome!

We called in Harbour Lights whilst we was on holiday, the waitress was very welcoming. We had the best fish and chips we'd had in a while very tasty freshly cooked, perfect batter, lovely and crispy, not at all greasy. It was nice to see they had Healeys apple juice on offer, as we'd visited the cider farm the day before also the rose lemonade was delicious. Great views from the restaurant, would certainly recommend and would definitely call in again if we was in the area.

We love this place and get our fish and chips from them every time we visit Falmouth. The lunch deal is excellent and great value for money. I happily recommend this place and look forward to our next visit.

The food was excellent, and the staff were so friendly and helpful, and they never stopped smiling 😃

Quite a bit of hype about “best”. Good food, great location.

My friends had take away at lunchtime.. Cold food ì said unusual for them.. I went at 8.45pm bloody Cold food again. So not impressed.. Please sort it out..we love harbour lights.!

Found this place by accident but wow great tasting fish and chips all orders are done to order so you have to be willing to wait but I can tell you it is well worth it. Batter is just right nice and light just the amount of batter on the fish and the chips or so nice. Mmmm will deffo be going again when w come down next year 👍

This appears to be one of the most popular fish and chips shops in Falmouth. We used it for takeaway. The service was reasonably quick and the fish was nicely cooked, the chips however were a bit soggy and certainly not the best that we have had. The price was about the same as for other chippies in the area.

Had haddock and chips as a take away today 30/8/24. Dined here before, food was great then. Today is was abysmal. Chips tasted awful. Whether it was dirty oil or what I couldn't say but it left a disgusting after taste and chips had to be thrown away. Even the seagulls weren't interested. Fish was ok ish. Would not eat there again.

£44 for 2 of us to eat there so its not cheap. However the food was lovely even if the portions were not great. Good atmosphere and friendly staff

Do not do gluten free please ignore Google views super friendly staff

Great service from friendly staff, fish and chips were tasty too. We went there because we wanted fresh local fish, which was all sold out by 5pm - so if that's what you're looking for, then arrive early!

The cod fish was good but they should improve on the chips as it tastes unfrozen and used oil. I would also think with that price they should include the peas, which is extra charge if you need it. Service was unbelievable. They are serving you late, very slow and unhappy staff. We were waiting to pay but nobody came after 30 min, so we went to the tilt to pay. The location and the view are excellent.

Really tasty fish and chips. Little light on the salt & vinegar! 😆

After a long day walking around Falmouth this is the kinda place you want to end the day off with or even start it off with. Me and my father did the latter. I found the service very nice and enjoyable. You could either order at the counter as you normally do or you could of used a machine to take a order. Very easy and simple to understand. The wait time really depends on how busy it is like most places however I find this place to be one of the faster ones when it comes to getting food out even when busy. The priority to this fish shop seems to be the take out rather then the dine in experience as there is a slight waits when dining in.

Local favourite spot. Fresh fish, good portions, well prepared and short waiting times. Had it 2 days in a row but could have it everyday. Excellent quality. Recomended.

Great fish and amazing service. Thank you 😊👍

Who walkd up to a couple on holiday having fish and chips sat on the one of plenty of emty seats and sats did you buy any drinks from here! O ok yoi need to sit elsewhare discusted with this member of staff and im sure she does not represent any one else that works there . Just look out for an old trout with bleace to death hair !!!

Spent a week in Falmouth this summer and ended up having supper here four times! Both the Cod and the Hake were excellent, tasty, crispy batter and not greasy. Chips were fantastic too. Can't wait to come back.

Unfriendly staff and missing things from order

So expensive 43 pounds for 2 lots of fish and chips and a curry daylight robbery

The best fish and chips I have ever tasted. I have been all over the world and this is great. The view of the harbour is lovely as well. The staff were so nice and friendly very good at their job. We liked it so much we went back two days later.

Ordered small cod and chips, Fis cold inside. Batter soggy and chips were the dregs at the end of the frying cycle. Voiced my comments to the staff, but no apology

We had fish n chips to take away. It was ok, but we weren't impressed either. The chips were too soggy. The breading was crispy, but the fish wasn't the juiciest. We had a much better one at The Dutchy in Brixham for the same price.

Very tasty well cooked fish and chips. Service was excellent.

Not a good place. Tourist only not local friendly. Silly price's for someone who lives here and the staff were weren't welcoming. I ordered cheesy chips and they were soggy and tasted bad. The cheese had mold. Always full of rude tourists that make u walk down the road. If ur a local of Cornwall coming to Falmouth don't go here

Well I have to say I nearly fainted when I got the bill last night. I had a small fish and chips, where the battered fish was the size of a fish finger, and about a dozen chips. My husband had a standard fish and chips, and we both had mushy peas. I had one glass of wine (which tasted cheap) and my fiancé had a coffee coffee and it was just short of £50. How is that even possible?! We are locals and it was nice for a treat, but at the end of the day it is fish and chips!! Far too expensive for what we got. Xx

Disappointed again, as a local to Falmouth this chippie had rave reviews, not sure who reviews it as it's very average. Frozen fish, undercooked chips and tasteless cod bites. Thought I'd try it again. But won't bother again. Nice place for tourists who know no better.

Long wait, but well worth it, sat by the harbour side to eat the fish & chips with mushy peas, possibly the best I've had 😋

This Fish and Chip shop used to be good but tried today and very disappointed with quality of Fish and Chips, the size of the portion and the cost. Cannot recommend and suggest you find another place in town!

Disappointed at the size of portion of chips and the quality, great position by the harbour but could not recommend.

Both the fish, whilst fresh, were extremely small and thin pieces of haddock. Absolutely not worth the money. Not a big fan of it being on the skin either. Excellent curry sauce though.

Good food as always. Slightly more expensive then rivals. There always a queue but perhaps that because it’s good.

great experience at this restaurant. The view was nice, and the interior was tastefully done. Our waitress was lovely. The restrooms were clean enough. The highlight was definitely the food— the fish and chips were excellent, homemade, with generous portions. Average price. I recommend this spot

To much money for what you have then they charge extra 1.00 at till prices a bit to steep for fish and chips for example other chip shops cod is £8.60 harbour lights £16.00 for same thing chips is other chips shop £3.80 Harbour light £4.20 this is just 2 items you are paying more not going again but it up to you if you want to over pay for it

Was pretty excited to try the hake based on good reviews but unfortunately there was a long hair woven throughout the batter. Very disappointed and disgusted.

Chips are terrible, everytime we've had them. Taste like cardboard. Not a lovely crispy chip, but a limp barely cooked chip. So disappointed. Chips just withered up and in a clump. As a previous review has said, they manage to make the chips not taste of potato! And this is every time so not a one off, bad batch thing. Over a period of about 3-4 years as we stopped going, then tried them again. Tried this week (august 2024) only to be dissappointed again. Wouldn't bother unless you're desperate.

Portions are quite small is the only downside if you dine in.

Really tasty fish and chips, quick service, friendly.

Really good fish and chips enjoyed eating them by the docks

Great tasting food, good service, good environment. Great for kids, elderly and disabled.

It's order by touch screen. Doesn't suit a fish and chips shop vibe. Chips are a little hard. Slightly soggy. Needs to be friend again or at least for longer. Fish is good but batter isn't crispy enough. Overall it's an average fish and chips shop I'd give it a 5/10.

We made reservations but at the last minute the restaurant canceled them because of urgent repairs to the restaurant windows. We were offered a L20 certificate so we went to the walk up counter and ordered 2 great meals. Enjoyed them on the wharf with all of the other interesting people. The seagulls were rewarding that day!

We were a bit disappointed by our experience there. I tried the vegan fish cake (the vegan fish and chips was out of order) and it was ok but not amazing. My friend had a cod fish and chips which was not savory (the breadcrumbs could have been thicker and crunchier) Chips tasted like unfrozen.. Nevertheless the view was really nice!

Wasn't impressed on my previous visit but tried them again this year and pleased to say they were excellent.

Really disappointing takeaway on Friday 28/6. Chips were full of black spots and served in the tray on top of the fish so the fish batter was all soggy. This is not the normal standard we had previously enjoyed. Hopefully just a bad night but the soggy fish was unforgivable.

Very poor experience, the food turned up cold, after sitting on the counter for fifteen minutes, the staff were more interested in feeding themselves than us, when we had the audacity to complain, the serving staff disputed our claim! Then they tried replating and serving the same food to us again, after remonstrating with the service team yet again, to no satisfactory conclusion, we decided to go elsewhere. Unfortunately we had to give one star as a default, otherwise it would have been Zero.

Nothing was too much trouble, very accomodating team, and most importantly the best fish and chips for miles. Delicious!

Bloody lovely! Best fish chips in town. Had birthday deal - 2 cod and chips £12. Can't go wrong with that! Got the Monty seal of approval

Noticeably fresh fish, best fish and chips in cornwall!

The food was incredible and the atmosphere was amazing! It was a little hard to get the check but I chalk that up to culture shock.

Excellent fish and chips! Staff are always friendly, polite and helpful