The Seaburn Bay — Restaurant in Sunderland

Very disappointed to be honest! It's not often I leave bad comments on my experiences however I feel it necessary to do so on this visit. We should have walked away on two occasions, (1st) when we saw the takeaway and restaurant where both empty and (2nd) when I asked for cod but not the tail end and was told they only have tail end. I really don't want to be judgemental but find it hard to hold back after spending £30+ on 2 small plates of fish bite and chips, 1 curry, 1 gravy, 2 "cans" of diet Pepsi! From walking into this establishment I was uncomfortable to say the least, the decor is nice and the place seems imaculate but the atmosphere is none existent, our host was miserable and looked worn out, he had no conversation and just wondered around looking for stuff to do rather than building a rapport especially with us being the only people in the place! After being told they only had tail end I was going to leave it at that and make for a sharp exit however our host told us "we do large fish bites which are full of large chunks of fish". So we ordered two of them at £12 each which includes three fish bites and chips, we opted for mushy peas included in the price we added a curry sauce and a gravey with two cans of diet Pepsi. We really enjoyed the chips however the fish bites where as they say "bites" and defiantly not full of chucky fish or worth the money, I ended up with five of them as my wife didnt like them at all saying they where tastless and greasy which was a blessing to me as I was very hungry and could have ate 5 more easily! The gravey was tremendous, honest it was lovely and I can see now why they do Sunday luches! All in all we would never go back and defiantly won't be advising our friends or family to visit either. I hope this was a one off experience and The Seaburn Bay picks up and flourishes as its in a lovely location also local businesses need our support. Good luck...

Really reluctantly posting this review, but this was always our go to fish shop when we visit sunderland every few months. Today wasn't great, very very oily food, chicken nuggets were burnt to the point of being so dry they were inedible. The 'large chips' which 3 weeks ago were in a large tray came in a small tray.

To top it off, when I went to pay she said it was £33.20, I questioned it and she said it was right. We order the same thing every time and I never ever remember being that steep - 2 battered sausages, 1 fish cake, 1 large chips, kids chicken nuggets meal and 2 pepsis.... that cant be £33.20 surely?? Then had to pay £1.20 for 2 ketchup on top.

Just checked and on the 15th August the same order was £22.90 so no idea how today's was £33.20.

Would have let the price slide if the food was upto it's usual standard but it was so poor, fish cake is normally our favourite but just felt half arsed to be honest.

We will try next time we're up, but that will be our last if the experience and price...

Have tried several purveyors of fish & chips on the sea front from Roker to Seaburn and through to Whitburn, all of which I found to be o.k - some better than others but none worth recommending or deserving of a second visit. I called into "The Seaburn Bay" yesterday lunchtime and was immediately impressed by how clean and welcoming the place is, also how friendly the staff are. I ordered a child's portion of fish bites and chips for my Grandson and a cod & chips for myself. The verdict.... 1st class and quality. I don't know why their product is so tasty although I understand their fish & chips are cooked the old fashioned way i.e in a quality beef dripping, whether this accounts for a superior flavour or indeed is true I can't say. All I can say is the food was exceptional and well worth recommending to others. Try it and I might see you there 'cos I'll definitely be going back...