Harbor Fish Cafe — Restaurant in Carlsbad

I haven't been to Harbor Fish Cafe in over 5 years. My memories of this seaside place, are great. I recall groups of us waiting what seemed like an eternity to get in for lunch. Today was a great day to try it out since there was no line due to the cooler, cloudy weather. I didn't know when I would be back this way so I was going to treat myself. After my long walk along the beach, I thought it would be a good time for lunch. The weather looked like it could rain and so I think it kept most of the locals and some visitors away. I ordered the clam chowder (small portion) the Fish & Chips with 2 pieces of fish and a Pacifica beer. Couldn't go wrong. The clam chowder arrived quickly along with the beer. I added some crackers to the soup and tasted away. The soup had a distinct spicy flavor to it. Possibly black pepper maybe more than was needed. The flavor was good but not as creamy as I remember in past years. This is a beach shack so not looking for fine china and silverware. When the fish and chips arrived I was anxious to dive in. The fries where a perfect crunch. Spicy and just the right amount of salt. I added a splash of malt vinegar and that was the icing on the cake. The fish was another story. They looked perfectly cooked. I sliced a piece and noticed that the basket was incredibly oily. As I cut and took a bite the outer crust fell off in a few places and as you can see from the photos it was undercooked batter. Possibly because there was too much batter or the oil was too hot and there wasn't enough time to cook through to the inside. Not sure. I decided to break the fried batter away and eat the fish which was good. The service was great and atmosphere is just that. You're at the beach. I was disappointed with the fish. I was really looking forward to enjoying this dish. Perhaps on my next visit it will be different. I would recommend this place knowing that...

Quick review: food was good service was awful.

We came in and got sat right away. Server took over 20 minutes to bring us water and get our order. She seemed annoyed to be there. We ordered shrimp cocktail, fish and chips, and the po boy. Shrimp cocktail was just ok. The cocktail sauce was just ketchup and was not good. Fish and chips and po boy were delicious. The server never came to check on us until we had completely finished everything at the table. Someone else cleared our table and she came and asked if we needed anything else and we requested the check. After we paid another guest who had been sitting for about 30 minutes went up to her and asked if they could order. She said “I’ll come over when the rest of your party is here”. He again said that they were ready to order and knew what the last person in their party wanted and she said in a rude tone “yeah I’ll be right over”. I was confused because you’re going to completely ignore a seated table until the last person gets there? Why seat them in the first place? If the only reason she takes so long to go over is she’s waiting for the rest of the party, why did it take so long for her to get to my table? Anyway again food was really good service just sucked. It was a shorter girl with dark hair. All of the other staff was super kind and welcoming. Our server was just rude to us and others and seemed like everything was an...

My husband and I decided to stop by at Harbor Fish Cafe for the first time. Since we're preparing to move out of San Diego we're trying some places where we've never been. This place is all outdoors, not too fancy, with picnic style vibes and feel and a nice ocean view and cool breeze. The menu is very simple - I had a Fish 'n Chips: it's a flaky white fish, save its breading, was mostly without flavor but very greasy, accented by average tartar sauce and ketchup for the French fries, the latter which was crispy with Cajun style powder. Though the fries weren't tossed but just had their seasoning added on top. Lastly I had a Corona beer to top things off.

My husband had the Surfer Burger which looked good and tasted good too - perfect combination with his Corona beer. He liked the burger. According to the website, Harbor Fish Cafe uses only non-trans fat oil for deep frying.

It's not a place for healthy food but perfect for tourists who eat here once in awhile. The service was okay and our beers arrived seconds after ordering. A roll of paper towels replace ordinarily used napkins.

Someone who is used to eat in an East Coast restaurant such as in Cape Cod, Maine, Martha's Vineyard will know the difference in the taste of the seafood.

Overall we enjoyed our evening with its ambiance and...