The Balancing Eel in Cornwall, Isles of Scilly

Don’t look anywhere else for gluten free fish and chips. Best I’ve had in ages!!! The portion size was spot on. Batter was thick yet light. The fish was delicate and fresh. The chips were fluffy on the side and crispy on the outside. Lynne and Fearne were knowledgeable and super friendly.

Always a great experience. Nice selection on the menu too.

Got a delivery. Came before estimated time still piping hot and crispy like it would be to the table. Great friendly service from the driver too 😉 where has f+c takeaway been all my life.

The best fish and chips around!! We rented a cottage for the New Year adjacent to The Balancing Eel and the smells were drawing us in a on a daily basis. We had a takeaway one evening and we were not disappointed, it was absolutely delicious. My partner's Dad was a fisherman & he had a fish shop so she knows her fish. We will definitely back in August and December this year.

Fab traditional fish and chip shop. Great freshly cooked food. Very generous portions sizes & great service. Always worth a visit

Resubmitting my review from august 23 as I stand by the honest review. I am amazed and baffled by the reply from the owner as I did not at the time question the price or have any interaction with staff or him about the price. My concern was after the food was binned -that it was expensive for food that was inedible. The chips were hard and stale. The gravy was watery like dishwater and the staff are grumpy. We ordered the food took the food away and didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t return to speak to the staff about the quality of the food because I didn’t feel it would accomplish much. The fabricated reply from the owner is completely made up. Shame on him.

Lovely Fish & Chips as ever from the Balancing Eel. No grease and plenty of flavour. The curry sauce especially tasty. 2 lads serving were great aswell

Lovely meal with great service from Fearne We will be back.

Food excellent as always. Our waitress Fearne was an absolute gem,Will be calling again real soon

Lovely meal served by Fern. Great service. Visiting from Australia and will definitely recommend to others. Thankyou.

Fantastic large and fresh tasting cod loin with crispy batter. Obliging staff. Excellent value for money. Much better than tiny one fillet only sea bass in upmarket hotel the previous evening.

Wow what a treat!! Great service from Fearne :) Best fish and chips I’ve had in a long time - thank you for staying open longer for us xoxo

Classic fish and chip shop. Sat upstairs with my family and we inhaled the cod, chips and mushy peas. Lovely waitstaff too - recommend if you’re in St Ives!

Back here again today, was served by Fearne, great meal, everything decked out for Christmas and Fearne was really helpful.

Had another amazing meal at the balancing eel, best fish and chips in St Ives, where the service is just as good as the food. Fearne was a fantastic waitress, making sure all our needs were met before we had to ask. 5 stars, I’ll definitely be coming back

Reading through the reviews there seems to be a different level of quality out of the summer season to the busy summer season. In the busy times the quality/portion size and price are appalling, but then that's St Ives all too often with rip off prices for holiday makers. Out of season if they want trade then I suppose they have to up their game and be at least average. Well still come to St Ives and have been coming for years, but this place will never be used again.

Best fish and chips in st ives and lovely service from our waitress Lynne

Amazing place… especially if Lynne is serving you…🤩👌

Lynne was our waitress and a lovely lady with very good attention to detail We had great service all round And the food was excellent We would Highly reccomend And would deffinetly visit again

Lovely fish & chips. Good price & the service was great from our waitress Lynne. Would definitely go back.

Have not been for a long time. Lovely clean restaurant, great staff and amazing fish and chips. Will be going again for sure soon.

The fish and chip shop is just set back from the harbour and have recently reopened the restaurant upstairs Great friendly service by a lovely lady called Lynne. Fish and chips are always first class here.

First time visiting here although fairly local. Lovely clean restaurant, food was amazing. Our waitress Lynne was so lovely and very friendly. Will definitely visit again snd will be recommending it to friends

Best fish and chips I’ve had in years

Lovely place to get good fish and chips. Food was excellent and our server Carrie was very helpful and friendly. Would definitely recommend.

Recently had a meal at the balancing eel, the food was cooked perfectly and was delicious. The best part dining at the balancing eel was the service, our waitress, Lynne, was friendly, made sure we had everything we needed, and made us feel welcome. I highly recommend this place for great food and excellent service!

Great food and great price and Lynne is so lovely and sweet who served us will definitely come again soon .

Food lovely and efficient, friendly service from Fearne. Will be back

I popped in for dinner and had an amazing meal. The service was great thanks to Carrie. The food was yummy and prices were reasonable.

Very nice place to eat great value great staff would recommend lynne Moore our waitress very professional and very kind

amazing portion Sizes really good food, service was amazing thanks to Fearne!

Great food, and great service. The girl who served us, Carrie was very helpful and friendly.

Had takeaway great pea fritters served by Carrie all round good service.

You will not be disappointed. Food was great. Portions were great. Staff were great. Great great great ♥️

Great food, friendly atmosphere and excellent service from our waitress Carrie. Would recommend you go there feeling really hungry, piping hot food and plenty of it .

Had carrie for as my surver, very help fully when ordering

Came in for food was served by Carrie in the takeaway very helpful and professional

Amzing fish n chips and grate service from carrie

Came in Friday night, waitresses Lynne and Kodie were amazing. Very friendly & professional, and food was really good. Highly recommend!

Great experience! Great food and service ! Highly recommended Five Star *****

Carrie was very helpful when I was ordering. Lovely food

Brilliant experience dining in, the staff were really friendly, was served by Carrie and she was really efficient and polite. food was delicious and good portion sizes . Great prices

Had dinner in the Balancing Eel on Saturday night. The gluten free option was delicious and the service from Lynne was very professional and efficient. Definitely recommend

Ordered takeaway from here fish and chips were cooked well with crispy batter , the young lady serving carrie? I think was polite and helpful throughout. Would visit again

Had an amazing lunch with lovely and quick service! Our server, Fearne, was extremely patient and accommodating to all our questions and choices. Would definitely reccomend and revisit!!

We had an amazing lunch with fantastic and quick service. Our server, fearne, was so accommodating and helpful with everything we needed and asked for. Will definitely recommend and revisit

Fantastic food and service. My server Fearne was so kind and accommodating though our meal, would recommend this place and will definitely return

Highly recommended. Best gluten free fish and chips in Cornwall and Devon. Don’t go anywhere else

Such great fish & chips place when in St. Ives!! Quick service & to-go

I’m not one to leave a review. But as a local, I am appalled. I usually go to Sharkys as it’s closer however, I fancied some chicken chunks from Balancing eel as I’ve had them before so I know they’re good. I also ordered for my family. Tell me why I have spent over £40 and got a minuscule amount of food! My mum wanted a small cod, SMALL it was!!! Around 3 bites of fish for £7 odd?! Bloody ridiculous! 0/10! We have come to the balancing eel before but as I said, Sharkys is closer. And by this tonight, a LOT nicer! Will NOT be coming here again! £40 is an awful lot for what I have received. Don’t waste your money! Visit Sharkys instead! It’s at the top of town and is 100% worth the £40 spend as you get more food!

We have had takeaway fish and chips from here for years but today decided to ‘eat in’! We weren’t disappointed. The restaurant up stairs is excellent, with a lovely environment and great service. Would highly recommend 👍

Been coming here for many years but the food is no where near as good as it used to be. Much smaller portions and greasy. Staff moaning to each other about how long they have left of their shift in front of customers … I heard them say one chipper was broken so they were short of chips… prob hence the tiny portion at full price. Really disappointed

Found this gem 15 years ago excellent food ,chips to die for and the staff are so friendly and to this day nothing has changed

A great hidden gem. Will definitely be back.

Solid chippy. Been doing business in St Ives since I’ve been coming (25+ years). This is a proper old school chippy, unlike some of the newer “upmarket” establishments that have opened on the harbour front which are charging a bit more. There are several good spots for fish and chips in St Ives, and some not so good, but this place will see you right.

Used to go here in the past very good fish and chips

Best chippy in St Ives. Just does what it says on the tin. And well done to the very patient guys who serve

We have just returned from a week in St Ives. This place is the best we’ve tasted in the UK especially catering for gluten free so we ate here twice. It’s clear they use high quality ingredients cooked well. Staff are all very helpful and don’t make you feel rushed regardless of how busy they are. We highly recommend this restaurant as the best in St Ives with a service to match. We will be back next year 😊

Freshly cooked fish to order. Busy sometimes but worth the wait

Stumbled upon the eel whilst looking for a cafe for a nice scone. As it happened it was clearly fate that led us to the Eel. The Cod and chips was the best I've had in years. We even sat on the dock eating and kept the seagulls at bay.

Last night fish and chips did not disappoint. Fish (hake) beautifully fresh chips delicious and mushy peas were fabulous, all with a gorgeous view of St Ives! Do not hesitate to visit this hidden gem

Simply they best fish and chips in St Ives, good sized portions and the batter is delicious

Do yourself a favour and get a feed at The Balancing Eel. First of all.. coeliacs and gluten free people are going to be well happy. The gf batter isn't the flavourless variety you often get with gf battered fish. It was as good as normal batter.. The food wasn't greasy or heavy, the chips were excellent. The staff were very friendly and boy were they efficient and on the ball. Highly recommend

Best Fish and Chips in St Ives. They also serve Gluten Free food too! We always make a Bee Line when we come here. Curry sauce is really good aswell.

We had a lovely night at the Balancing Eel for our last dinner in St. Ives. The fish and chips were delicious, but more importantly, they humored these silly Americans by serving us our JACKET POTATOES while we recorded them. *We call them baked potatoes (how boring). Our servers Lynne and Fearne were absolutely lovely and kind during our dinner. I promise, I will never call it anything but a jacket potato in my best British accent for as long as I live!

Family of 11, ate at the restaurant, staff were lovely and attentive, food was served fast and hot, lovely fish and chips

Doesn’t claim to do anymore than it does and does what it does very well! You should go here and have a good meal. No faff for takeaway.

Best fish and chips in St. Ives!!! Always so fresh and tasty! The portion sizes are huge. Been coming for years and it's the best for a full feast takeaway or a sneaky portion of chips on the beach at dusk!

We visited here on a day trip to St. Ives. We went upstairs (the restaurant bit) and asked if dogs were welcome; they said yes. So we were shown to a table (the last one available) and straight away the waitress, Ellie, brought our dog a bowl of water and another bowl with some doggie biscuits. What a lovely gesture!! We ordered fish and chips and were not disappointed. The staff are lovely, especially Ellie. Highly recommend.

Always the best fish and chips in St Ives. All the food is cooked fresh to order, normally only a five minute wait and it is worth it..

It was a windy day in St Ives and we all fancied some cheesy chips and a pot of tea so we found a table at this amazing place and sat in the corner with a view of the slip. All the staff were so lovely and welcoming, service and food were fantastic! Perfect place for getting out of the crowds and away from the seagulls! Thank you!

Stuffs are arrogant and unfriendly, not to mention that it is more expensive than usual for a fish and chips.

The chips were lovely but the fish was surrounded by a thick layer of soggy batter

Decent fish and chips, avoid on busy days as you will never get through the ridiculous line. Food was good, staff were friendly and service was as fast as it could be. If you come late they will have run out of some things. I can recommend the battered place, it was enormous and basically couldn’t fit in the box.

I have been going to this great takeaway/restaurant for many years and have always found the food quality and service second to none. The portion sizes are ample and the quality of the food they serve in HUGE numbers has always been excellent in my experience. Yes - because it’s popular you may have to wait a little while, especially during the height of the tourism season. But it IS worth the wait. Over the years the team has changed behind the counter or in the restaurant and I can say with 100% honesty I have NEVER found them more than welcoming, polite and friendly. As a ‘regular’ I enjoy the banter that I can have with the team and them with me as I do generally order the same things 😂 But I will mix it up occasionally to keep them on their toes though!! As I mentioned I have never had an issue with the food quality or portion sizes and trust me the amount of times I visit (my waistline will attest to this!!) I couldn’t have just been ‘lucky’ . Seeing some of the negative reviews is upsetting as, yes, every business can have an unfortunate bad day - not the customers fault of course - but have some empathy. If you do have an issue with your order the team are ALWAYS willing to rectify it!! If you are on holiday and want the best Fish and proper chips be patient, queue for a while, you are on holiday - what’s the rush? To all the Balancing Eel team past and present - keep up the great work!! A very happy regular customer 🙂

Best fish and chips in St Ives - plus the sit in restaurant was a bonus. Service brilliant. Highly recommended.

Only fish and chip place I have found that fry fish in a separate fryer is specified. Suitable for Halal diet if you request for fish to be in separate fryer.

Friendly takeaway with really good fish and chips. The cheese fritters were an excellent option for vegetarians. There is a small car park next door, so you may get lucky if you need to drive. The takeaway counter and the restaurant are upstairs.

The husband and I wanted to start our holiday with fish and chips and called at the balancing eel for take out to sit and eat on the harbour. The chips were lovely but the fish batter was so thick it was still gloopy. Very disappointed. We threw most of it away.

Good restaurant some gluten free options on the menu

Delicious chips!! I would highly recommend the food from The Balancing Eel. We had food from here twice during our stay in St Ives - worth the queue!

The worst cheesy chips in England!! Underground, tasteless and expensive! Unfriendly service at the checkout. The cold, tasteless cheese was simply poured over the soggy chips and they asked for money for ketchup. Impudence! One star minus!!

Amazing a place in st Ives that caters for coeliacs! My daughter is very happy with a battered sausage and chips!…. Staff was super helpful! Thank you!

I'm actually so shocked as some of these negative reviews!! Myself and my partner came to eat here and love the fact they have an upstairs, indoor restaurant area in addition to the takeaway. As much as we'd have loved to have Fish and Chips on the beach, those pesky St Ives Seagulls don't really let you do so in peace... So we sat in peace in the restaurant to enjoy our food! It was really tasty (we had the Fish, chips and mushy peas, and battered sausage, chips and curry sauce)! The portion sizes were very generous and just great! Ellie served us and was really friendly and helpful and recommended what I ordered for the correct portion size, and was SPOT ON! I really recommend coming to eat here, especially in the restaurant if you fancy peace from the thieving seagulls.

Great fish and chips! The only thing the chips could have been a bit crispier, but probably the best in the area we've tried so far.

Excellent Food Great service Both in the Restaurant and Takeaway

This establishment seems tiny, but they actually have a comfortable and stylish upstairs seating area. Our waitresses were lovely, friendly and very attentive. Our food came quickly despite the place being very busy with both takeaways and the restaurant orders! It was piping hot, and the price was reasonable for what we got.

Very fresh food and chips, friendly staff, renovated upper deck, small seating benches

Delightful experience, great prices, top quality food and super friendly staff. Gluten free options too.

Best fish and chips in Britain, friendly staff, good standards and service.

We had takeout. The chips were anaemic (literally white and soggy). The fish (cod) was fresh but very small. Cramped and dingy ordering experience. Overall very average.

Had take away cod and chips. Very delicious. Cooked very fresh. Crispy batter, and very flakey cod. Just how fish and chip shops used to be. Chips were really chip like, good size, good mix of soft and crispy chips with bags of flavour. Not show off but absolutely solid fish and chips. Just how they should be. Portion was just right, not too big, not too small. Just the perfect amount. And it was all cooked to order and served piping hot, and seasoned just to your liking. Best in the town for a genuine fish and chip shop experience. Tiled floors, vintage fryer, wooden chip forks and lovely staff for that proper fish and chips experience by the sea. Also served in fully recyclable packaging.

Very nice takeaway fish and chips in St Ives. Love the name!

Probably the best fish and chip shop in terms of value, especially given how expensive the other places are across the sea front. Brilliant food as well.

Best fish and chips in our opinions in st ives...chicken chunks are also lovely...thanks guys we live in Redruth but visit frequently ....see u soon

Excited for the sit in section to reopen after its refurbishment. The stairs are awkward for those with low mobility fyi. Reliable quality!

Great take away in the centre of St Ives. The food is always cooked fresh. During peak season you can wait for a period of time so be prepared for that.

All ways freshly cooked good portion size friendly staff

Tried this place twice whilst staying in town. I have tried before and enjoyed it but this time on both occasions it was disappointing. The oil clearly needs changing and chips were just average and not crisp batter a little soggy so left it. It is the cheapest in St Ives though so good value if on a tight budget.

Best fish and chips shop from St Ives! All the locals also eat here