James' Fish Bar in Denbighshire

Used to go here quite a bit before covid. Hadn’t been since. Called in on the way home to pick up a portion of chips as we were passing. My wife went in to get them, she came out fuming. £5 for a portion of chips! When my wife queried the price and said she only wanted a regular portion of chips the girl serving had an attitude and stated that was a standard portion and it was £5! I’m not being funny but it’s hardly the most up market chippy in the world, where you’d expect it to be overpriced. I bet you wouldn’t even pay that much in London! From reading past reviews from last year to now it seems they used to be £4 in 2023 ‘due to a potato shortage’ to now being £5 i’m guessing they think we are now in a potato famine! There are chippys all over Prestatyn, save yourself a few quid and go elsewhere. Cheeky buggers!

Best chips ever, huge portion,really polite staff,will definitely go again , always go James fish bar when I,m in prestatyn

This place is great if you want s on a plate . I wouldn't feed my dog what they serve here and well the prices portion of chips 4.00 seriously. Most expensive chips in North wales I understand the cost of living but they literally are robbing us blind. Don't mind paying if it's good but this place is the pits. Was nice many years ago what happened. I only called here because the quew at otherchippy was out the door wish I hadn't. DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR SPEND YOUR MONEY ELSEWHERE.

We had three different dishes all three dishes were tasteless the meat was rubbery I have never tasted such disgusting so called food! PS we through it a all away. Mm the

Its an awful place. The overpriced food was really poor quality. Meals did not include what was written on the menu. The staff were rude and looked like they need to take a shower with bleach and steel wool!! I won't chance going to this establishment again.

Avoid Avoid Avoid it is disgusting & a rip off 3 x chips 2 x gravy (not enough to cover the chips) 1 steak & kidney pudding 2 large sausages (didn’t put in order) Portion of chicken nuggets Special curry (no king prawns hardly any meat) Total £47 The most appalling Chinese take away Iv had in years Would definitely not recommend to anyone I have banned myself from this poor excuse of a take away establishment

£15 for a Liver dinner and a portion of curry & rice. God knows how they come up with that price. Food is average and the disingenuous signs in the windows points to a wider problem there. it needs a whole shake up to bring it in line with the real world before it loses all its custom.

AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!! Large portion of chips £5. Hadn’t been here for a long time so decided to give it another go, wish I hadn’t have bothered. Dry and tasteless… never again!!!!

Awful. Chips dry and spongy. Curry bland and tasteless. Foo young, inedible. Full of crunchy beansprouts and hardly any egg.

Awful...chips dry,fish over cooked. Food tasted like yesterday's warmed up left overs. Will not return.

Ordered fish & chips, disgusting! The chips were all bits overcooked and hard to bite, the fish was small and again overcooked. The batter was hard around the edges, 2 fish, 1, chip and small tub of curry over £17 straight in the bin. Been going for year but never again. Worst I’ve ever had!!!

£15.80 for a portion of rice with curry sauce and a chips with curry sauce! HOW! In this cost of living crisis how can they charge such extortionate prices. £4 for some potatoes cooked in oil… not good. And the chips werent even nice, rice was decent. Management really need to look into their pricing its just not realistic one bit.

We stopped at this fish & chip shop while we were driving through Prestatyn. My husband ordered cod & chips X 2 and one portion of onion rings. After ordering he noticed a sign stating that "One portion of chips cost £4 due to the shortage of potatoes in the UK"! He waited a lengthy 15/20 minutes for his order and it cost him £23. The chips were tasteless, pale, rubbery and full of black marks that should be removed and not served especially for £4 per portion. The cod was really nice, it was freshly cooked to order. The onion rings were also very nice. Salt & vinegar was sparse and they were charging 20p for a fork! Charging £4 per portion of chips is ridiculous, won't be visiting again!

Worst chips we've ever tasted, £4 a portion, yes its large but they were rubbery, odd colour, loads with eyes and just inedible tasted like they had been the night befores, reheated... Shocking... £8 in the bin......

Everything is cooked fresh. But more of a Chinese take away than a chip shop. I was excited they had haddock, my wife's favourite. But it was very dry. The chips were very greasy. Why do chip shops give you so many chips, even when you ask for a small portion.

Don't buy fish from there sick and on toilet all night I will never go back there the fish was like rubber

Honestly the food is rank!!! Been going to James for years and always been ok. Yes you would get the odd rogue meal but my god the food at the moment is raaaaaaank! Chicken nuggets are £4 a portion - go maccies it cheaper and nicer. Chips were cold, curried chicken had 8 pieces of chicken the size of 50pence piece and tasted like a budget car tyre!!! Only james fish bar can make rice greasier than a block of Lard. The prices are more in line with city prices. My usual meal costed me 12.60 in December and now it’s over £22 and this is because of rising energy bills! But they have a roof full of solar panels!! Ffrith and Chips is the place to go!!!

Avoid if you want flavour. We ordered a mixture of Chinese meals, all of which were bland, tasteless & poor quality. It’s a shame as we’re recommended this place. Needs to improve.

Called in for a Chinese Takeaway when arrived on holiday. Great service, reasonable price. Excellent food. Best Chinese I have had in a long time. Will have another before going home

Went here while on holiday and staff were very rude especially in regards to being exempt from wearing a mask although I also had covid recovery certificate as well as being exempt. They insist cash only and even offered a pie that was done in a microwave to which I declined. Very unprofessional and food wasn't too good either. I would travel a bit further up the road to sunny sands chip shop were staff are brilliant and food was amazing which I done the day after. I will never go here again.

Walked into an empty shop apart from one person in front of me, there were 3 people behind the counter....not one of them acknowledged our presence or offered an apology for the fact that they were too involved with preparing orders rather than even say "we'll be with you soon" or the like.....I stood there for 10 minutes before accepting they didn't care less.Disgraceful customer care/service, rude and ignorant...I will never set foot in there again.

Ordered fish & Chips and was the worst I've tasted.Fish was greasy and oily with soggy batter done to thick. Fish itself was ok. Chips tasted like was cooked over and over also greasy. Took 15-20 mins to get served. Staff didn't appear to enjoy there job. Also no sauces only tomato. No mayo, tartar lemon etc. Won't be coming here again

Nipped in for a fish supper. large portions, fish freshly cooked, lovely. Staff were really friendly and quick with orders even though they were quite busy. will definitely be back soon.

Visited James’ Fish Bar whilst on holiday as they advertised that they served Chinese meals. It appeared to be busy and I waited over 15 mins before someone eventually took my order. The girl who served me did not appear to be enjoying her job and I would also add that none of the other staff appeared happy, as I was able to observe them whilst I was waiting for the meal to be cooked. I ordered sweet and sour chicken and fried rice. The rice, chicken pieces and sweet and sour sauce were all served in separate containers. The rice tasted bland, the chicken pieces were extremely tough, and the sauce was watery, and it tasted disgusting. This meal was the worst sweet and sour chicken that I have ever eaten.

Just love James chinese. I asked for something which was not on the menu (Chicken Kin Do Meal)and even though they were very busy they made the specific meal I requested. It was absolutely yummy.

Special curry with rice (no rice) watery curry with very little meat content. Chips overcooked.Gravy like paste.Chicken chow mein luke warm.Sausage x2 nice.This meal cost £17.95Excitment was high as it was our 1st take away this year so it was supposed to be a treat, but, turned out to be the BIGGEST disappointment ever.

Excellent choice of menu Chinese dishes are lovely and plentyful.fish and chips are loverly..staff very friendly and cheerful.great chippy..

The quality of the food in James is getting somewhat better. Better packaging. They still need to check up on how to make the gravy not to look gloopy and unpalatable. Like the new packaging for the Chinese food stuffs.

After a very busy cold wet Sunday what a treat freshly cooked fish and chips! Great friendly staff lovely clean shop quick service and massive portions! Da iawn

Have been going to this chippy since it’s opened,no problem however I’ve noticed when busy especially on a weekend,the young Chinese lady cooking the chip is not cooking them all the way through shame really ,everything else is spot on sorry you need feedback

Came to this chip shop when I was away on holiday, recommended by my dad and it didnt disappoint. Differnet to what were use to up in liverpool, but very nice. Will go back when I'm away on holiday again.

This takeaway use to be one of the best around. We ordered regularly but the standard of food how gone down hill dramatically. We Ordered a large order for a family of 4 we specifically asked for no vegetables or onions in our curry and when I got it home and put it on our plates it was full of everything we specifically didn't ask for. We phoned them to tell them and they were extremely rude and argumentative. They asked us to put the curry back in the pot and bring it back and refused to give us a refund. We wont be going there anymore.

Have been here many times before and we keep coming back, the main reason is that the chips are great and so are the portion sizes. Keep up the good work. There is a fantastic choice of Chinese food and I recommend the Singapore Chow Mein. Fabulous.

We were a family of 5.2 adults and three children aged 12, 7 & 6, all hungry.The place was very busy and I decided to order food to take way.I ordered the following: Fish and peasPudding & chipsChips and Sausage x 2Pie and chips x 1Curry sauce x 1 and gravy x 1After what seemed an age (easy over 20minutes) I collected my order, paid my dues and left to find a place to eat them outside.There was a local park nearby and that's where we stayed.I was astonished to find out that none of our orders were in trays and that they had all been individually wrapped in white paper.We battled on.The peas were very salty, the gravy looked and tasted like tractor grease and the curry sauce was even worse.What a waste of £25.I would never recommend this place to anyone and will never go there again.Disgusting and disgraceful.

Used this shop for supper, sausage, steak and kidney pudding and fish, each with a portion of chips, each of us left some chips. The food was hot and the sausage and fish were freshly cooked.The service was quick and friendly, however the can be delays at the weekend when the shop can be extremely busy, this however only reinforces the credibility of the shop.

Can not recommend the place enough ! The grave is to die for , the best gravy I have ever had in fact !!!! Always lovely customer service and happy to help :-)

we came to visit our parents who live in Prestatyn and we had a lovely take away from here , it really was nice . The fish was battered and cooked to perfection , the chips fresh and golden and soft and fluffy inside , and the mushy peas really tasty , its very hard to find good fish and chips these days and we were thrilled with the service . well done .

Had pie, chips & gravy for my supper, had to fish the pie out and attempt to eat it as this is what i got for £4..even my dog refused to eat it!!

We ordered Special Chow Main a little bland for my Daughter's liking however the 4 fish 3 large portions of chips where great to be honest we could of just had 2 large portions of chips the portions are very large and tasty. The curry sauces we ordered were very nice. James Fish Bar still the best fish and chip shop in the area. Tip: phone your order in and beat the que which is generally long

Pertfect for those mid day meals or a chilled snack on the Sea front. Takeaway offers a wide range of meals at fair prices with generous portions at a fair price. Generally one portion of Fish and Chips will be enough for two.

We ordered a couple of meals and also some salt and pepper chips which are 1 of my favourites . but how disappointing I've never had them like that before the chips were luke warm, covered with chilli powder did not enjoy the meal, will probably give it a miss in the future.

After reading some of the reviews we were a little apprehensive about going but we did give it a try, we weren't disappointed. The Singapore Chow Mein is very good, it was such a large portion combined with a very large portion of chips that we didn't manage to eat it all in one go.

Wow, this place is terrible. The chicken curry was awful, chicken was really dry and the sauce just awful. Other meals not much better. Will not be going here again

James's Chinese used to be up there with the best. Its now hit and miss if your meal is nice. Went on Thursday the 13th (had the chicken curry with fried rice and a portion of chips). The chips were nice, the chicken was tough and dry even in the curry sauce, it could have been left overs (not sure) Yuk. The other time we had a meal, the curry sauce was either too hot or too salty. Come on James - please get this sorted.

Years ago this was a good chippy.

It does get very busy, but you can ring your order through, I was once in the que and rang my order through, cheeky

Once again James' portion size has defeated me. The normal portion will serve 2 people lol big choice of English and Chinese food. Lively Spam Fritters.

Always good food and big portions, very friendly and always polite. The Chinese fish's are really good would highly recommend them.

I wish that this chippy would be bought out by people who care about the food they are serving to the paying customer. Instead we have people who thinks it is Ok to serve up rotten, bad potatoes without getting rid of the black and damaged parts of the potatoe. I ordered only one bag of chips. the girl serving said herself they were quite bad today as I asked her to take a few out of the serving she was giving me. Took them home and they were a disgrace. They had black damage on 90% of them, so that must of meant the potatoes were rotten inside as well as the outside. I was really disgusted that I took back 3/4 of the bag, the other 1/4 had already gone in the bin. I spoke to a staff person who confirmed cheekily "Yes that is the outer skin of the potatoe". In other words all warts and all. I said "Why can't we just have a bag of clean chips?, we don't want your rotten skins included" I asked for my money back, he refused saying that I had only taken back half, which is unbelievable, I said there was at least 3/4 there and the rest was in the bin, I said ok give me half my money back and he said no, go and get the rest of the chips out of the bin. So if you visit this establishment - you will regret it. Children especially need to take care from eating such poor quality produce.

Chips very oily and all clumped together in a heap not like other chip shops , have tried several times, pies are awful. Best avoided

The family & I had a takeaway lunch from James’ Fish Bar in Prestatyn and were all pretty underwhelmed. Briefly, the chips were over greasy and looked too pale, the jumbo sausages were gritty and low in taste, and the gravy was lumpy.

Everytime I visit this place, which is not very often thank God, I swear it will be my last. Tonight was the final nail in the coffin. Rude guy behind the counter who needs to go on a Hospitality Course. Chips cold and dry and fish disgusting. Is there actually a decent fish and chip shop in Prestatyn?

Family tea which wasn't very good, I had a Chinese meal which didn't really taste like it should. Peas and graveyard were extremely salty.

Lunchtime treat for my mom. Amazing fish and chips, superb fish and huge portions. Mom loved them!!!

James’ never disappoints. They have very good portion sizes, you could share a portion between at least 2 people if not more. The salt and pepper chicken I would definitely recommend. There is sometimes a long wait but it is worth the wait and just shows how popular and nice the food is.

Always happy with the food at James. Our local chip shop. Great portions and the best chips in the area by far!

We often order from here even though we live quite a way away. The Chinese meals for two are excellent value and do at least two meals.

Has a good range of food on offer and portions are generous. Offers full range of fried stuff ( chicken. Sausage, fish etc) along with Chinese meals. Always queues but moves fast and worth the wait.

Ordered two lots of sweet and sour pork, one lot of sweet and sour chicken, all with fried rice. I had one of the pork dishes, and like a previous reviewer found the pork, sauce and rice all separate. The pork was in hard, tasteless batter, and the rice was greasy and also tasteless. I could only manage two pieces of the pork, it really was awful. My husband and son managed to eat more, but paid for it the next day when they were hardly off the toilet.

Stopped for fish and chips with my wife tonight. Had 25 minute wait for the order to be served up.Along with numerous other clients waiting for Chinese Meals to be prepared. What amazed my was that the fish and chips were being cooked all the...

Waited for about 45 mins without mentioning it was going to be a long wait. Granted they were busy and had a large order to deal with but it would have been much better to have mentioned it before I had to wait that long. Think the service has dipped recently and could improve

Necesitábamos algo de comer tarde una noche de sábado, así que vine aquí. Hay un extenso menú que incluye sal y pimienta patatas fritas - que nos perdimos! El pescado y las patatas fritas con curry era absolutamente delicioso. El servicio fue rápido y atento y hay varios otros clientes en la que dieron al lugar un poco buxx.

Pescado y patatas fritas y la preciosa las porciones son enormes. Lo mejor que he probado en mucho tiempo. Definitivamente regresaré 😀

We frequently order from this Chinese takeaway, especially on a weekend! The place itself is always busy, and there is always a queue - which speaks volumes. The food itself is always of a good fresh standard and theres plenty of choice on the menu.

Very poor had fish and chips chips were nice but fish was over cooked and dry disgusting won't be eating from here again

We used this fish & chip shop whilst visiting my son & family in Prestatyn..What can we say except for the truth ......BEST FISH & CHIPS WE HAVE EVER TASTED!! Only sorry to say we live too far away to make this our local chippy ...scrumptious Well recommended

Quite possibly the most dire attempt I've ever seen at the humble chip shop favourite that is "chips battered sausage and gravy"The whole thing was a disaster. We opted to have our food wrapped- most chip shops would therefore supply a pot of gravy so as not to leave the gravy congealing over your food - not here though. I genuinely believe that they think congealed gravy can only add to the taste experience. Unfortunately it also ruined the battered sausage turning it into a soggy inedible mass. The gravy was by the way the weirdest chip shop gravy ever. I can confirm lumps of what could pass for mushroom and onion could be identified within the brown tar like substance they had smeared all over my chips. Since when did chip shop gravy come with those additions?! The chips were, and I'll be gracious here, 'alright' although as I was not allowed to put my own salt and vinegar on we're pretty tasteless to me. The only ones that really had a flavour were covered in the 'gravy'. Go on be a devil, let people season their own food. Unless you possess amazing powers of deduction there is no way you can guess how much salt and vinegar I want on my food and as a result will always cock it up. Trust me - Nobody is going to steal the condiments from the counter.It may also be an idea to have staff who are clued up on food that may be ordered in a chip shop. 'Scraps', 'Bits' or whatever name they are given on the North Welsh coast are not some kind of rare delicacy and are commonly found in chip shops (even in Wales). Commonly found everywhere that is apart from James' Fish Bar that must have a unique frying process that does not produce any wasted batter whatsoever. In closing - Harry Ramsden, if he was still with us, would not be given sleepless nights by James' Fish Bar.

Called in here for lunch looked very clean, staff really friendly and food was brilliant also really big portions

Had 2 chip barms which were big and at £1.40 each a bargain. Burger in batter too much batter but £2.80 for 6 chicken nuggets come on daylight robbery

We had been recommended this take away Chinese/fish and chip shop. The food we got was tasteless, and in my opinion had been micro waved. Vegetable chow mein in a polystyrene tub with no sauce. Garlic chicken again in polystyrene tub, chicken tough. The chips, although requested salt and vinegar were pale and stuck together when opened, the egg fried rice was the small pearl type rice, no sign of egg in it. A disappointment.

Decided to give this place another chance after the previous bad meal.This time we went for the fish and chips. 90% of it went in the bin. Enough said.

don't have the beef..had the beef chow mien..beef in bin..yuk. it was so tough even my dog could not chew it. waste of money

We love this chippy!! Always great food! Never had a bad meal.....although only negative is, if you phone through an order, it still takes as long as ordering over the counter..... as it's never ready.

Whenever I have been here previously (when staying with relatives nearby) they always used this takeaway and I have never enjoyed the food. The cod is very large but the batter is always flat and the chips are always slimy as there is sooo much fat/oil. Although the portions are cheap and generous it is so unpleasant that it is wasted as it ends up in the bin or given to the dog (even she leaves it!) I have tried Chinese food from there too - again, generous portions but not great; the chicken in chicken fried rice is of a uniform shape and size so obviously not fresh. Would not recommend and this is supposed to be better than the takeaway very close by?!

massive fish, proper chunky chips. be prepared for a queue though, this is a popular place,, seaside must.

I have been twice now both times was excellent... fish and chips fish was large and cooked perfectly, the chips I had enough for 3 people... 2nd time I had chicken curry and boiled rice... the amount of chicken could have fed 2 people easy, and a very lrg potion of rice value for money I would recommend to anyone... one tip both times there was a large cue and had to wait 20 mins so be prepare to wait... but it's worth it.

Will give it a wide berth until they get their act together... rubbish. Make sure that they cook the fish when you order.... could hardly chew ours!!!!!

Excellent food and really good value for your money, Portion sizes are on the generous side so be sure you are very hungry,

I always get the same food from here and it's is always perfect quality! If you drive past on most evenings the waiting area is always packed. A bag of chips from this place is more than enough to feed 2 adults! Prices are good as well. I can honestly say I've never been let down by the food here.Dan

Food was cooked to perfection good value for money and lovely staff clean and tidy chip shop serves English and Chinese food

Being new to the area I was trying to find a good Chinese takeaway. On enquiring about a few of my favourite dishes I was looked at as though I had three heads,they were totally clueless about what I was asking for ( I discovered that they deep fry ribs!!.) I opted for the Beef Curry, bad choice after three mouthfuls of grease dipping down my throat I threw it away. Gross!!

Worst Chippy Ever!!!!! Read other reviews...wish I didChips and gravy sounds like a good simple meal, however finding the gravy full of mushrooms and onions which I don't like was unexpected. I went back and complained and the manager was stood there so smug and arrogant with the words "should of told us if you were allergic". I've never been allergic to chips and gravy before and certainly wouldn't of expected mushrooms and onions in it!! The manager wouldn't replace with anything else, wouldn't offer money back. Basically I feel robbed and will never return!

I ordered food for me and my sons.Usually it`s good food but this time it was disgusting. The fish we bought was OFF and smelt like ammonia!! and the scollops were dry instead of mouthwatering. Then when we went back to complain the manager just stood there looking smug and shrugged his shoulders and said its normal fish. He didn't compensate just gave me the money back despite the inconvenience of a 10 mile round trip to return the contaminated food. .Very poor customer service, ignorant manager and poor food quality, wouldn;t recommend it!!

Unfortunately not impressed, we spent nearly £15 on fish, chips, peas and gravy and I'd say that £14.50 of it went in the bin!The batter on the fish was a bit thick and bland, the fish wasn't fluffy (if that makes sense) plus the grey hair was a bit off-putting! The gravy was that thick it had to be scraped out of the tub plus it had mushrooms and onions in (good job no one had any allergies). I can't explain the taste and texture of the chips it must be the oil they were cooked in. The only decent thing was the peas although I only managed a few mouthfuls before the gloomy taste kicked in.

We visited here while on our holiday the food was very nice and very well priced everyone enjoyed there meals and the portions are a very good size

Well what can I say about this place that others haven't.... Erm I will just reiterate how fantastic this place is. It's cheap, freshly cooked, portion size is exceptional- 2 adults share one small chips for £1.60 and it's still way too much. Currys are lovely too as are the chop suey rolls, sausages and fish. Curry sauce and gravy are the nicest I've had. Always clean and tidy, staff friendly and it's always really busy.

There is always a grand order for James fish bar we are a large family we have been coming here for the last 8 years best chippy ever! The Chinese food is amazing and you always get value for money and huge portions I'd recommend to anyone

this in my local chip shop and has been for years. it's great food, good valve for money and the staff are very friendly and quick service!

Good quality chinese /chip shop, huge portions and most things cooked to order. Busy but always fast to serve with friendly staff, lots of parking outside.

Lovely fish and chips. Friendly and efficient service. Would thoroughly recommend. Also has a large Chinese menu.

fish lovely but far to many chips a normal bag cold feed about 6 people, not keen on the chinese food but english is very good

The food here is based on fast food and lots of it. It quantity not quality as compared to some other chineese. Because of this there are times when the place is shambolic. Three maybe four serving shouting across each other to collect your order as well as phone orders and taxi pick ups. These times (usually weekends) is when they make mistakes, as they did with my meals by not providing the side order I requested over the phone. They have done this in the past so it's not a isolated incident. By the time your food arrives home and you try to rectify the order you loose interest as your meal goes cold. First incorrect order could be a mistake, second maybe a coincidence, I won't be giving them a third chance.

Vegetable spring roll dripping with oil. 2 Chicken chow means we're tasteless we left half. The worse had to be the sweet and sour chicken never seen one done like this. 8 pieces of battered chicken that looked like bullets. Tub of sweet and sour sauce and tub of rice. Case of get home and put together your own. Needs a carving knife to cut the chicken bullets up. Used to love this place has gone drastically down hill. Never again.....

I have used this chip shop for ten years. You will not find a better chippy in North Wales. Massive portions always fresh and very cost effective

I Asked for chips, sausage and gravy only to receive cold chips and the gravy with onions and mushrooms, if I wanted onion gravy I would of asked for it. We ended up wasting it to the seagulls and even they declined them.

The Chinese menu is good but generally we have fish and chips. Two fish and one chips is more than enough for two people. Food is always hot and fish has not been standing for a long time like in some fish and chip places. Have tried other places in the area and James is far better than most and good value for money

Sorry found your Chinese meal disgusting the only thing that was edible was the rice and the spare ribs was a let down James sorry you are on par with ng and they have beat you by 1/2 point more

We have been goin to this Chippy for years. It never lets us down as the food here is top notch every time.

Staff are always friendly. The food is always fresh. The portions are out standing. Even if there is a big queue, you don't mind waiting you know you food is cooked to order. The English and Chinese meals are lovely.

Had Fish & Chips whilst staying at our caravan in Prestatyn. Chips massive portion and tasty, (glad we only got 1 portion between us), fish was beautiful but the batter was very heavy, greasy and chewy. Will return but ask for lightly battered fish. We also had their curry sauce which was yummy. Went on a Thursday evening around 6.30pm very busy and everything looked cooked fresh.