Harbour Light, Paignton — Restaurant in England

Our table was booked for 7.15-9.15pm on a busy Friday evening. We were told there was at least a 30 minute wait for food which was fine . We had a lovely table upstairs overlooking the Harbour which was lovely. We got served drinks relatively quickly by a lovely waitress who took our food order just before 7.30. Two of the group had starters which came out, again promptly. We had more drinks and were all chatting and the place was emptying a little . At about 8.40 we noticed others who arrived after us were all tucking into their dinner and enquired where our food was . The response was it was a very busy evening and it was on its way. About 8.50pm one of our group asked again and the waitress , after popping “ behind the scenes” came back and said it would be out in 6 minutes so we ordered more drinks and waited . Ten minutes later still nothing so we asked to see the manager and we asked her if our order had been forgotten? She said it hadn’t and again stated that it was very busy and it was because of the things we had ordered it was taking so long !!! She said she would knock the price of a round of drinks off the bill . At about 9.10 the food arrived and all I can say is it was very disappointing. The peas with the scampi were cold, the scampi lukewarm. The tagliatelle was pretty congealed with a distinctive lack of crab meat. The beyond burger was beyond edible and generally it was not worthy of the prices charged. We asked for the scampi , chips and peas to go back to be redone and then decided enough was enough . We went to the bar and paid for our drinks and starters , excluding the last round which was still sat on the bar after 15 minutes, waiting to be brought over !! We then finally left at 9.25pm .

I do appreciate it was busy when we arrived and all hospitality is struggling with staffing levels. Our waitress was very nice and the ambience of the place was lovely. If the manager had been honest and said our food had been forgotten and offered us a percentage off we would have been happy to wait longer for it to be freshly prepared , not rushed or reheated . It’s quite expensive food wise which you don’t mind if the food is tasty and well cooked. All in all a very disappointing experience and I personally won’t be recommending Harbour Lights to anyone else.

At 9.30 we walked along the promenade feeling very hungry and came across the new Costero Lounge where we finally had a very quickly served, delicious dinner at more than half the price of...

Visited as part of a trip to ride the Train of Lights, and booked for a Christmas dinner at Harbour Light beforehand.

Upon arrival we were booked in by a very charming staff member who took us to our table and we were struck by how attractive the building was and by what a lovely atmosphere there was.

Our starter arrived and was fine but I have to say that our main course was probably the worst and most disappointing plate of food I have ever encountered. The brussel sprouts were not just al dente, but actually hard, whilst the cauliflower cheese was basically undercooked and crunchy cauliflower drizzled with a little cheese sauce.

Quite how the cook managed to produce roast potatoes that were devoid of any flavour or enjoyment is beyond me but somehow they managed it, presumably using the same skill set or lack thereof to produce slices of turkey that included copious amounts of cartilage and/or gristle.

Having already politely informed the waiting staff, who were terribly apologetic, that the side vegetables were inedible, we didn't have the heart to tell them just how appalling the rest of the meal was when we were asked; we simply paid our bill and left.

£84 for two starters, two main courses and a bottle of house wine is not unrealistic in this day and age, but for that I expect the food to be prepared to at the very least to a basic standard.

The food we were subjected to at Harbour Light was truly, truly awful and not something we would ever wish to experience again.

We suggest that whoever was responsible for producing that food take up an alternative career - mixing cement perhaps, or perhaps catering as a form of punishment for serious...

This was my first visit to the restaurant as I was up for the weekend visiting a friend

I definitely fancied Fish and Chips and my friend had mentioned the food was not bad, also we needed somewhere we could sit with his dog

We sat outside closest the harbour, lovely views and the weather held. You had to wait to be seated we were asked if we were eating which we were and was told we could order via the app

After finding a seat outside with floof, we tried to order food via the app however ypu can only order drinks so we had to get a waitress to take the order I ordered Fish and Chips with mushy peas and tartar sauce £16 and my friend ordered Ham Hock and Chicken pie with Chips and Mushy Peas £14 and 2 pints of Diet Coke

The food came out fairly quickly but we had to ask for tomato sauce etc where other tables had it brought put with knives and forks

The food was pretty tasty, non greasy and hot they was plenty just the right portion size

Now for the reason issuing 3 stars ...

tables were not wiped down between customers being told we can order food from the app and this was not the case only drinks we had a non smoking table, however the table next to me was smoking so defeated the object inconsistencies with regards to condenments being taken to tables we had to asked where as other got them with there knives and forks

However this would not stop me going back as the food was tasty and reasonably priced just a few things to improve on

Thank you for replying I have tried to call but got the...