Stein's Fish & Chips in Cornwall, Isles of Scilly

Extremely disappointed..was looking forward to a tasty treat.....staff at takeaway were very sullen, took our order was told to wait in corner till food ready handing us a timing device .One large and one small portion of cod and chips received in reasonable time was found to be a huge letdown...chips very dry some not cooked and barely warm..fish was ok but nothing fantastic, batter had a nasty habit of a repeating greasy indigestion..maybe thats why this experience is said to be unforgettable 🤦‍♀️ Had better at my local takeaway half the cost and served with a smile.

On visiting this restaurant years after first trying it out, we were looking forward to the same, high standard of food as our first visit. Needless to say, we were met with a big plate of disappointment served (not) hot. The chips, being a key element in the fish and chip cuisine, were undercooked and tasteless. Making 50% of the meal virtually inedible. The wateriness and tastelessness of the curry sauce was a further negative of the meal. Plus one of the vegetarian dishes being served completely cold. The genera of music coming from the kitchen didn't add much to the ambience either. If you’re a fan of heavy metal and cardboard tasting chips this place is ideal for you.

Very disappointed, our chips weren’t cooked, staff were ok at best, awful “lager” and they managed to ruin curry sauce! 😢

Very disappointing. Visited many times before, but saddened by my experience this evening. My parents and I had cod and chips. In all fairness, the batter was light and crispy, and the cod melted in our mouths - absolutely divine! And the halloumi starter is a must! But.....the chips were AWFUL.... the worst we have had in a very long time. Full of black eyes.....at least 10 in each portion, hard, pale,dry and undercooked. Such a shame after spending a lot of money on our fish supper and traveling a distance especially 😞

Was really looking forward to a fish and chip supper takeaway. Service was fine waiting with the buzzer worked well. The food was not up to standard no care had been taken with the preparation of the chips they were full of black eyes on the potatoes they were under cooked and pale. The haddock was tasty - the curry sauce was like water with little or no taste. Having experienced Rick Stein Seafood restaurant in the Saturday which was awesome followed by a Sunday roast at Rick Steins Cornish arms pub, again awesome. RICK NEEDS TO GET THESE GUYS TO SPEND SOME TIME IN HIS COOKING SCHOOL ABOVE THE CHIPPY AND LEARN HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THE FOOD, LETS BE FAIR FISH AND CHIPS AINT CHEAP NOWADAYS! Sorry Rick it has to be said! Stan Mother Ivys Bay

It saddens me to say that the quality is not the same as before. I was left feeling the curry sauce was wet and flavourless. Whilst the food was ok I think the £73 price tag for a family of 4 was not worth the experience

Couldn’t come to Cornwall without eating at Rick Stein’s. So goes the quote from my wife. Knowing that there was no point even trying to get into the seafood restaurant we headed for the fish and chip shop just along the quay. Was surprised when found that could get a seat inside. This is a very popular place. My wife had haddock and chips and I had the veggie curry. The fish and chips went down well. Huge amount of chips btw! Not expecting to get anything to eat the curry was a bonus. The fish scored a 4 the curry a 2 so the 3 star rating is the average. Worth going to Ricks Deli btw - the shortbread is excellent!

The deli is great way to spend money but the prices are extraordinary high. Sometimes they reduce things and even then they cost a penny of two. However Mr Stein does own the deli it belong to man that runs Tripadvisor and so it is a misnomer.

1 out of 5, don't bother. Just walk the 5 min to Chip Ahoy. Really disappointed, how hard can it be to get chips and curry sauce so wrong? Chips were hard and seemed undercooked. The chips and curry sauce must have had an argument because they refused to associate with each other, the curry sauce would just run off the chips.

Cod & Chips how it should be. The onion ring side was amazing.

Don’t waste your time…or money. We were so excited and then shortly after arriving so disappointed, the food doesn’t taste of anything, they were some of the worst chips Ive ever had, the curry sauce and tartare sauce also taste completely bland. The fish was nicely cooked but had no flavour, Im not actually sure how they have made everything taste of nothing. And to top it off its expensive, we wouldn’t mind if it was worth it.

Went to the takeaway shop, staff were warm, welcoming and friendly. The food on the other hand was tasteless. We got the family feast and everything tasted the same, of oily batter. Won't be going back!

Ordered cod & chips takeaway for £16.45. Cooked to order. Waited approximately 10 mins. Cod excellent with light crispy batter, chips also very good. Recommended.

Potatoes were a disaster, fish was average. Would not recommend

Over rated and disappointing. Sullen miserable waitress, awful chips and huge bill. Nice setting with good fish - but not worth the £98 bill for 2 x Cod & Chips, 1 Scampi & Chips, 1 Halloumi & Chips, 1 beer, 1 cider, 2 small Ginger Beers.

To all the Steins you clearly do not eat in or even visit this establishment. I’m shocked how awful this is when your Seafood restaurant is so exceptional. Don’t get me wrong I don’t expect this place to come up to the seafood restaurant standards however I do expect it to be of a good standard with your name above the door and I know I’m not alone in thinking that. I had the salt and pepper prawns with side salad firstly these are not salt and pepper prawns they taste of absolutely nothing and were very overcooked and there were only three on the plate which was extremely stingy the salad was just a handful of spinach I picked out the rotten ones so they clearly had not even been washed.! This was served with a soy and sesame dressing which was absolutely disgusting it was literally just a glug of soy sauce and sesame oil no vinegar or honey sweetness in there this is basic stuff seeing as you teach this kind of thing in your cookery school/ classes.. My husband had haddock and chips the fish again was tasteless clearly no seasoning in the batter and the fish was watery served alongside anemic looking tasteless chips. I suggest you send somebody down there and give the kitchen staff a good kick up the a**e as they clearly couldn’t care less about your reputation or the standards of food sent out. Extremely disappointing and definitely will never return or recommend to others. I have to say though that the lady who greeted us was very engaging and friendly so can’t fault her. The people in front of us complained we just left knowing we will never return. Lastly while you’re there looking over things and wondering where it all went so wrong you might want to check out the toilet it’s absolutely disgusting….

Lovely piece of cod just melted in your mouth 😋

First and last visit to Steins fish and chip bar today… the most Underwhelming portion of chips and curry sauce I’ve ever eaten! The curry sauce tasted of nothing, was like water and an orangey colour substance in it. Didn’t hold on the chip and dripped everywhere. I love Rick and all he does for Padstow and the footfall his popularity brings to the area… but I’ll be sticking the chip shop in one of the back streets of Padstow and giving this a very wide berth in the future! Sorry Rick … 1/10 very disappointing ☹️☹️☹️

The best cod and chips we have had in a long time, plenty of food and delicious. My husband had a pot of curry sauce I had a taste and can honestly say it’s the best curry sauce I have ever tasted.

The quality has gone down significantly. It's nothing special anymore. Fish and chips like any other chippy with an expensive menu.

Nice food atmosphere and location .

We arrived in Padstow and thought fish and chips from Rick Stein's would be a nice way to start our holiday. Oh dear, maybe not. The fish was okay I guess, nothing special. The chips were not nice, they were hard, so much so they were uncomfortable and painful to eat. On top of that they make a big deal of cooking in beef dripping. Great. Except the fish and chips were served on a cold metal plate, hence the beef dripping left on the food congealed on the plate and by the time we were halfway through the meal it was sitting in slushy fat. The photo here shows the meal served on greaseproof paper, that might have helped. The service was lack lustre, the person who seemed to be in charge spent most of her time talking to a neighbouring table about how great the Rick Stein franchise was. All in all £50 for two fish and chips and a couple of drinks. It was so bad we declined to frequent any of the other Rick Stein establishments during our weeks stay, even though we had intended to go to the rather more upmarket fish restaurant for a special birthday dinner.

Don't waste your time or money going to this overpriced overrated place, literally a handful of chips, not all cooked through and fish batter is soggy. Sauces runny like baby diarrhea. Harry ramdens far better and a lot cheaper. You paying for a home cooks name just like Jamie Oliver restaurants.. Avoid

Probably in the top 5 of the worst chips I've ever had, not cooked enough, too many dry/scabbie bits, and not hot enough, and combine that with the servers long hair swinging about everywhere, it was a huge letdown. Although the seagull's standards were considerably lower than ours, and demolished the 2 trays of luke warm potatoes.

Not good enough food for the price you pay. Just paying for the name in my opinion

A great eating experience at a fair price.

Lovely staff extremely helpful. Food was fab

Stood outside a totally empty restaurant because unlike everywhere else they don't allow dogs. Chippie tea advertised at £9.95 but if you ask for fish and chips you get charged £14 per person. Not happy Rick .

Best fish and chips!!❤️❤️Good service!!

A must do if you visit Padstow!!

Go for the chippy tea. Great value

Poor quality fish and chips, obviously making the most of the “Rick Stein” name

I was really looking forward to my lunch at this so called named resteraunt but it was awful. I had a plate of chips that was Luke warm and dry at the ends tasted like they had been sitting under warm lamp for hour. I have had better chips at a normal chip shop. Don't waste your money. Really expensive for what you get. Rip off .

Luke warm chips, over cooked cod not the best, keep your money in your pocket

Excellent lunchtime special thanks

I've never been so disappointed, on the menu cod and chips £10.90, a fair price until you go in and find it's just the price of the fish which is the size of a goldfish, here come the good bit, the chips, it cost £4 for the chips which i can only explain as good colour but hard and raw, then the curry sauce if you can call it that, £1.75 for a pot of what seems to be.....well i don't know what it was but it wasn't curry sauce and it wasn't much more than you get in an egg cup, I suggest they go to francines of St austell to learn how to cook fish and hips and more importantly learn the value and quality you get!

Brilliant, light fish batter, really flavourful fish (whichever the catch of the day was!), Chips were nice but the bread roll was a bit stale. The chippy tea was a good enough deal; a smaller fish, full portion of chips and a pot of tea for around £11. Service was a little slow but they were busy even though there's only a few tables. Bit of a cold breeze with staff going in and out the back door. Toilet was a bit messy but that's less on the staff and more on the dirty scruffs who can't clean up after themselves. A great place for a quick bite

The fish was lovely. Batter was light & fluffy but... We all had chips that were hard not cooked enough

We had takeaway - was good fish and chips - nice gluten free option

Great chips shame the member of staff who served us was so abruot not what you would expect from a Rick Stein business

Sadly I’ve had better fish and chips from my local takeaway. Fish was fresh but dry and overcooked. Chips were soggy and the beef dripping flavour wasn’t for me. Shame as I was expecting something a bit special.

Working away staying in Bodmin but realised we are so close to Padstow, as huge fan of rick stein, I had to visit rick steins fish and chips, I've seen reviews of this place and they are mixed reviews, but I can it was fantastic the fish was so fresh and the chips were to die for,next time I will bring my family to try the master off fish's fish and chips, and also the waitress who had an American accent was fantastic. Thanks so much for the experience.👍👍👍👍

We had a wonderful experience at Rick Stein’s Fish and Chips yesterday. Firstly all of the members of staff were delightful but especially the wonderful Lynne, a fellow Staffordshire girl who we shared so many mutual connections with, and she gave us such incredible hospitality to us and all our family. Secondly the fish and chips and all the desserts were just so tasty and delicious, definitely worth the trip to Padstow! Two of our party have refused to eat fish and chips for 15 years due to an overdose from the family business of a chippy at childhood. It’s safe to say they tried it again and became converted, no mean feat! Thank you to all of the team, looking forward to future trips there again. Definitely check out Rick Stein’s, you won’t be disappointed!

The name glorifies the price but not the quality. Better fish and chips just around the corner in the harbour👌

Terrible,unfriendly,rude service , but very good fish and chips

I'm a big fan of rick working in the area I had to go to Padstow to try is fish and chips I got to be honest I wasn't impressed the chips had a tang to them the fish inside the batter wasn't the best it went to the seagulls would I return no.to Padstow definitely its a beautiful place

Good service. Warm welcome. Good traditional food...Fish was excellent. Thank you.

Acknowledging this is essentially a fish and chip restaurant: Lovely staff, bustling seating area but the food lets it all down. With the name ‘Stein’ above the door and at £16.95 a head we expected better. The Cod and chips was distinctly average. Regrettably, there was an after taste of cooking oil and the meal overall was a bit greasy. The chips were in poor shape too. Given that we paid £16.95 each and £6 for a pot of tea, this could all be done better. Sorry but we’ve eaten much better and for less. I thought the whole USP was fish & chips by the sea by a renowned chef ?

Lovely fish and chips. Nice dining area. Toilets were far from up to scratch. Dirty. Littered with toilet paper, dirty paper towels. Not up the standard you would expect from one of Rick Steins establishments. A far cry from his cafe where we had a truly memorable evening with stunning food in gorgeous surroundings.

heaven in the form of haddock chips / Sausage and chips with curry sauce. Freshly cooked. Unbelievably tasty. Eat here. It’s awesome.

Couldn't fault it at all, great fish and chips and they could cater for our daughters dietary requirements

It was just ok. Nothing bad and nothing fantastic.

Amazing haddock and chips I would always recommend. I'm not a fan of the curry sauce, but you can't have everything.

Beautiful food, not the cheapest but you get what you pay for with Rick - eat in the car or face attack by seagull 👍

Good quality! Excellent food. Highly recommend for a fish & chips.

I was visiting Padstow and parked up in the car where Steins Restaurant and Deli are. Being a lover of chips, thought what better place to try them than at Steins Fish and Chips restaurant. As we are vegetarian we asked if the chips were fried separately, but the answer was no. So politely asked if they could accommodate us and fry them Separately. We were told no. Very disappointing considering this is a famously joint. Then we went into Padstow Harbour where there was another fish and chip shop. So we asked if their chips were fried separately and they said YES AND suitable for vegetarians.

Heavy price, not heavy on flavour

I was charged for an extra kids meal, which was not ordered and the curry and tarte sauce we paid for was not put in the the away bag. The food cooked in beef dripping was nice enough, but the vegitian cooked chips were dry. I seriously could not be bothered to drive back! Nice enough staff but they were clearly too busy to get our order right!

Over priced , rubbery chips and the fish was an oversized goujon . Your just paying for the name

Seabass is amazing... pricey but worth it.

No queue, perhaps because it was 3pm on a Monday afternoon, ordered chips, yes more expensive than a normal chippy at just under £4 but very nice and the salt and vinegar were free 😊

Lovely tasty food , highly recommend, worth a visit, beautifully presented, clean and fresh, kind regards 😀

Shame on you Rick stein... Less than average fish and chips for twice the price... I think he's got too complacent and think's he can just rip the public off.. shame on you!!

Like so many places, over priced and over rated

Had a takeaway of fish and chips and sausage and chips,delicious m m mmmmm

Worse than our local fish and chip shop at home and somehow twice the price!? Chips undercooked and not crispy. Batter soggy.

Mediocre chips, very poor and greasey batter, however the fish was good. Not worth the money!!

Only had takeaway cod and chips, and it was fantastic. Some of the best we ever had and 1 portion enough for 2.

Rip off Rick's. £40 for 2 spuds and 2 fish. Never again

Got two regular chips. The chips were ok. But lots of them still had their roots attached and some were black.The ones that looked ok were nice. The shop has a restaurant attached to it and lots of parking outside.

We spent a week in padstow and ate both options eat in and take away..we ate round back when we had take away there were a few picnic tables . Both times the fish was very good crispy batter and chips were nice. My only gripe is 2 quid for a tiny tub of tarter sauce come on Rick first time I've been overcharged for a bit of sauce. But overall enjoyed it and will return

Best thing was the tap water and lemon. Battered cod over cooked and chewy. Not fresh. Batter very greasy and overdone. Grilled haddock had a puddle of fish juices at the bottom of the wax paper so fish was dry. Chips luke warm at best, greasy and tasted like it wasn’t fresh. Mushy peas and tartare sauce bland and needed seasoning. Far too overpriced for the low quality. Immensely disappointed.

Visited on 06/10/23 Very disappointing, not very friendly staff Waited 40 minutes for my order. The fish was really small and hardly any chips for £14.90 it was a rip off Tartar sauce was £1.75 for a tablespoon!!!! A joke!!

Food was good, quite a long wait for food even when it was quiet.

Friendly staff and food was lovely.

Great seafood! Thanks to Mr. Stein for encouraging us with his TV series about Cornwall to take a tourist tour and enjoy the scenery, impressive views, unforgettable moments and wonderful food! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Be healthy! Your fans from Bulgaria

Excellent takeaway, pricey but worth it.

Had fish and chips in a local Padstow pub and was very disappointed.The next day we stopped at Rick Steins takeaway and sat outside to eat fish chips....delicious! We were not disappointed.

Ordered cod and got haddock .greasy soggy batter .. 30 minute wait .., over priced and total let down., can’t cope at busy periods , absolute bloody ripe off . Saturday 30th Sept 2023. Ricks down there with Jamie Oliver

Few points I think, first it's not access friendly, choice of a high seat or a bench, the benches are heavy so really struggled with a disability. Second ordered scraps didn't ge scraps. Third the curry sauce has always been my fave this was terrible was so watery it didn't stick to the chips. On the positives the fish was lovely and the lady taking the order was very friendly and helpful.

Fabulous meal I had scampi and chips with tartar sauce husband had cod and chips. Great value for money really enjoyed.

If your in Padstow where else would you go that Rick Steins for your fish & chips. Simply superb.

Food very good but pricey. However, who isn't aware of that? You're no doubt paying for the name but as an occasional treat, I would still recommend it.

It was on our list to visit whilst in Padstow. We weren't disappointed, the fish was excellent and a treat to have "real" chips. The service was really good. Helen, the stand-in supervisor, was excellent at keeping things running smoothly and efficiently.

Excellent fish and chips, not too busy. Freshly made.

Top fish n chips but expected it with Rick Stein behind it

Very good and not as expensive as I thought it was going to be.

Stein’s Fish & Chips in Padstow harbour was great. It’s a wee bit pricey, but that’s Stein’s 😎. The food was excellent and the service perfect.

Very good. Just not excellent like Maggie’s in Hastings.

Stein has ruined Padstow along with the thousands of people that bring their dogs here. Environmental disaster.

We decided to get take out and it was amazing! I can definitely recommend the Lemon Sole, it was delicious! The best fish and chips ever!

Our lunch was very disappointing on all levels, we ordered 1 x Haddock and chips, 2 x Thai Fish Cakes with chips, all were accompanied with Aioli. I have been generous with the stars given above, the service was was in name only, customer interest was zero and surely, the chips looked as if they were cooked at least half an hour before, soggy and limp at best, fish cakes were very small and uninteresting. Having stayed and eaten at all the premises in this location of this name, this experience in our view, seem to be totally at odds with all the previous high standards we have enjoyed.

I traveled all the way from york North Yorkshire to experience his fish and chips(£3.95 for a handful size portion of chips was a joke) , personally it was a massive let down the staff are rushing round with no real organisation they don't listen to your orders what you're paying for at the end of the day it should be right. Please serving area looks cluttered and messy. Drinks cabinet nothing priced up, that's just lazy. Fish was a little on the small side, I asked for lightly battered they didn't listen so the amount of battered they used the fish was steamed inside meaning the skin was slimey very unappealing. Asked for salt and pepper prawns they were nice, different not what you associate what they normally are meant to look and taste like. All in all a once event in passing maybe worth the visit but for me it's the name your eating and not the quality and taste you expect from something owned by him. I won't visit again.

Best fish and chips, albeit a tad expensive 😄

Big fan of Rick Stein so looking forward to visiting his fish and chip shop in Padstow. Ate inside as nowhere nice to eat takeaway as on industrial type harbour, got 1 haddock and chips, I cod and chips, curry sauce, tartar sauce, water and 1 pint of lager which came to just over £40. First impressions when food came was one plate had alot more chips on it, curry sauce was strange and tartare sauce ok but had better, chips nice, fish was difficult to eat as when u cut it the fish slid out of batter and separated. Half way through meal realised we had been given wrong choice of fish so not great and staff had no interaction or personality when serving us. Waited for drinks as waitress busy on phone and drinking her own drink. When we left and paid no thank u or have a nice day. Overall had so much better quality fish and at a better price, had no problem paying price charged if worth it but really wasn't. Shop was ridiculously priced, a small chopping board £49 ?? wanted to buy some stuff to take back home but wasn't willing to pay the extortionate prices just because has Rick Stein written on it !!

The food was bang average, the price was bang out of order, spent £52 to feed a family of 4 with soft drinks inc. (Cod & chips £17) Waited 40 mins to get served and 20 more for it to be ready. Find a local Chippy, don’t be sucked in by the name/location

Sadly this establishment is relying on the name above the door now. Meal was ok but had much better elsewhere, batter on the fish had very little texture and the fish just slightly over, chips were good. When paying over £50 for 2 fish and chips with a soft drink and a side I expect good not slightly below average ☹️ Stein’s was always a couple of quid extra and worth every penny…sadly no longer and the couple of quid extra only buys you some tartare sauce. Staff looked tired, un-interested and slightly bedraggled, I know this is the back end of the season but come on!

Visited yesterday and ordered haddock and chips and fish burger and chips. The haddock batter was full of grease and the chips tasted like they were fried in old oil that gave off a bad smell and taste. I informed the waitress when she came to clear the plates and she apologised and said she would inform the chef of my feedback. The charge on condiments is also shocking and this whole meal was extremely overpriced. I would not recommend this place to anyone and if I was Rick Stein I would be disappointed with the standard of food being served in my restaurant. This is a tourist trap serving the worst fish and chips I have ever had.

vastly overpriced ,, RIck Stein's name isnt worth the extra. Chips old and not fresh, fish small,, and additional £2 charges for condiments.. absolutely ridiculous

Blaming food inflation to hike up costs to consumers is another way to support greedflation and profit margins for greed