Clams had no broth , straight bay water steamed and served. No seasoning either 2 LB bucket! Still a beautiful view thou. Drinks are watered down too. read more

Harbor Lights - The Bill - Seafood Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

This is just a review for the dessert. We saw "huckleberries" on a big sign and stopped for dessert. The host was very kind and seated us even though we just wanted dessert and it was dinner time. He recommended the huckleberry slump--a sort of dumpling/biscuit with huckleberry sauce and vanilla ice cream. It was AWESOME and big enough for two. Be aware this is seasonal. The view is beautiful. We noticed the wine pours were VERY generous but didn't have any. Think we'll try them for dinner sometime. The menu looks sort of like a standard American seafood place, nothing daring. It appears to be part of the Anthony's chain. read more

This was our first time here. I wish we had a window seat but the service was still great. We all enjoyed our food. read more

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Our party of four chose Harbor Lights during Happy Hour. Our server did an excellent job. The wine pour was very generous. We chose the Calamari, the Brie. the Fish and Chip appetizers and a Caesar salad. Everything was excellent! We reordered the Calamari. Our stay in Tacoma is limited, but we will return! read more

My husband and I enjoy the food and drinks here. The seafood and steak are reliably delicious. On our last visit my favorite was the steelhead. We go about 4 times a year and I was so surprised the waitress remembered what my husband's preferences were from our previous visit. Incredible I think! The view here is amazing. Whether you go for a special event or if everyday is special, the Harbor Lights does not dissapoint. read more

Honestly, Would like to start out saying I use to love this place. It holds very important memories for me and my wife. That whole area in a profound way does. Which leads to me the last experience I had with them. I reserved a table outside to sit. When I expressed this over the phone i was met with just about every excuse. The main issue this day was he "told me" it would be bad weather. I REAFFIRMED I would enjoy a table outside and was basically ignored I guess cause came the day and we were not even asked about. Though they had no issue taking people out there. Wasn't even gonna bother with this but... Last and final, the food. "Overpriced and I'm still hungry." A direct quote from my wife while leaving. I couldn't find an excuse to disagree. My fish was ice cold by the time I got it. Summary, I truly doubt I will be back. We go out to enjoy our evening. Not to be ignored and pay for a subpar meal. read more

Service was horrible from a server name Carolyn,she made me feel uncomfortable the minute she walked up to my table,I feel she was racist.Please hire better people at your establishment.Food was ok. read more

The food here is fine but nothing extraordinary. I got the fish and chips and mom got the trout and they were solid. I also got the creme brulee and it was also fine, but also forgettable. At least we got to sit next to a window which is right by the water so it added to the experience. What I like is that they have a patio so you can bring a dog, but it's a narrow patio so if you're dog is hyperactive and wants to inspect everyone who goes by, this might not be the place to take them. When it's windy it can get cold so we skipped the patio and left the pups in the car. read more

Harbor Lights - Seafood Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

My husband and I went for the $39 Three Course Halibut dinner special tonight. We started with Nectar Clam Chowder and a Caesar Salad (forgot to take pics). Then we both selected the Panko Crusted Halibut with asparagus and I had the rice, my husband had the baked potatoe. Dessert for both of us was the chocolate mousse. Our server Chris did an excellent job waiting on us. Halibut is my all time favorite fish and I wasn't disappointed, the whole meal was excellent. Thanks Harbor Lights you made my night! read more

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This is the best fish & chips i've ever had!! Has a wonderful view and great service as well. Definitely worth the money! read more

Harbor Lights - tempura fish & chips - Seafood Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

Had a surprise reservation at this place for my birthday. They seated us right by the window that was perfectly for us. It was a beautiful view, but it was overpriced for being an average restaurant. We started off with some wine as we gazed upon the menu and the view. Most of the wines by glass are only from Italy, Washington, and Oregon. By the bottle, i believe it varies from country and state. They give you bread as your starter. The bread wasnt too dry and was sourdough bread. It was served with an oil dip. Although we got the bread for free as a good start, we decided to order an appetizer. For appetizer, we had the calamari strips. These were crunchy/squishy with a zest of lemon. My fiance isnt a seafood fan but he was able to eat these just fine as the coating helped mask away the squid taste. The appetizer was ok and the starter was fine, nothing too special. However, what really brought it down were the entrees. They were so underwhelming. I ordered the lobster tail while my fiance ordered the tenderloin filet. The lobster was not rubbery and had that seafood crunch that i liked. The problem was the dip. It was just oil and no butter. Felt a bit too greasy for a dish. The tenderloin was cooked to the fiance's liking of well done, but the problem was the taste did not outstand him. It reminded him of getting a steak at a local dinner. For dessert, i sadly dont remember, but it was a strawberry chocolate ice cream. I believe the dessert was only for their Valentine's Day weekend. They added a candle since they remembered we were celebrating my birthday. No matter the occasion, the dessert is not free. The dessert though, was probably the best out of the whole meal. Staff was nice. The receptionist was sweet and greeted us when we arrived. Our waitress was kind and throughout the tables, i could hear her getting along with a lot of the customers. They have their own parking lot available up front and across the street. The lot up front is much smaller, so i would aim trying to find parking across the street. The lot is shared for people who are eating at Harbor Lights and the restaurant next door. The attire is a bit fancy. I dont see many people wearing anything too casual, but i dont see anyone wearing anything over the top. Overall, i dont believe we will be coming back. It was a nice fancy experience, but the food isnt something to beg for. read more

Harbor Lights - Seafood Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

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This is a late review. We came here a couple years ago, and it was their Rhubarb Season, so we did get to try some of their rhubarb specials. We started off with the Best of Season Rhuby Drop and Rhubarb-Strawberry Margarita, and both were tasty. We ordered Calamari Strips, Northwest Manila Clams, Northwest Pan Fried Oysters, and Sirloin Steak. For dessert, we all shared a Fresh Rhubarb Slump. Everything was good; we all enjoyed our dinner. But we did feel a bit awkward. The place wasn't too busy, but service was slow. It took longer than it should for someone to greet us and take our order after we were seated. And we heard two waiters telling each other to come take our orders, like neither of them wanted to help us. The waiter seemed friendly, but we couldn't tell if it was a genuine friendly. And once we got our food, the waiter didn't really check on us and it was hard for us to get his attention, even though he was often checking on the other tables around us. We haven't yet decided to come back and give another chance since. read more

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First of all, what a view. I am totally in love with the Puget Sound and Ruston Way, and any place that lets me sit and admire the view while sipping warm coffee is a winner. Second of all, this ain't no cheap brunch. I paid $125 (including tip) for two, which included coffee, beer, appetizers, main entree, beer, dessert. It definitely broke the brunch budget for the week but it was definitely worth it. PROS: The bread and butter were top notch, that bread was so flaky and soft. The fish and chips were absolutely crunchy and good, and that slaw that came with it was just so tasty. The burnt creme was to die for. Service was amazing as well, our very attentive server made sure we were well taken cared of. Thank you Carolyn for being awesome!! CONS: the chowder was made with a clear broth today, I was not a fan. It smelled and tasted very fishy. While it did not have a bad flavor and I tasted alright, it didn't placate my cravings for a creamy Tacoma chowder. read more

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Do not let the stars on this place fool you! This place is absolutely garbage from the cocktails to the can of bumblebee shrimp that they tried to pass off as shrimp cocktail. Only acceptable thing was them comping our bill but the service was terrible, drinks awful and food inedible read more

Good food, good service. Clam chowder not a good pick but everything else is bomb . Food came pretty fast too read more

Harbor Lights - Seafood Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

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I highly recommend this place!!! I brought my service dog here. Believe it or not, we've been refused service because of my service dog. The management here was a bit hesitant at first but they let us dine. THANK YOU! As usual my companion stayed under the table as trained. The food was great!!! Their crab and shrimp dip was ON POINT and their bread was a killer. I had their signature meal and it was so good! Beautiful view, great food, dining w my service dog, what an amazing experience. I will definitely return but I just as that the server pay a bit more attention to us and maybe refill my water. Maybe because of my big dog but the servers were a bit aloof. But I get it. Not everyone loves dogs. But please understand I can't walk straight without my companion. read more

Harbor Lights - Seafood Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

Ambiance is subpar considering the real estate, stuck in the 80s. Should've done better research, lol. The crowd was 90% the generation of people with AARP memberships. The service was mid. The food was extremely overpriced. The fish & chips was one of the more inexpensive dishes. It was $29 but tasted like $12.99. The fish & chips at Dave & Busters was so much better and half the price. Their seafood Mac & cheese was mid, lacked flavor, lacked acidity. The prices were insane and nothing was unique to warrant it. One of my friends ordered steak... and couldn't tell the difference between that and one from Applebees. I was so looking forward to this and it fell short read more

Harbor Lights - Fish & Chips - Seafood Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

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this is the first time we've been here (on honeymoon)- not super impressed. Our jack and coke was too strong to enjoy with a meal. The seafood tasted fresh & not fishy, but nothing special. There was no wait time, table service was very slow. With 1 drink & 2 meals we spent nearly $100, ordering the least expensive entrees. Edit: husband got food poisoning read more

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While visiting Tacoma, my wife and I wanted to enjoy a meal at a seafood restaurant right on the water. We were delighted to see an entire row of restaurants, including Harbor Lights, to choose from. After doing a little research online and finding a place that had an available reservation, we booked dinner here. There is plenty of free parking across the street from the restaurant. For people who don't wish to have the waterfront experience, there is a patio out front that faces the road. We were lucky, however, to be seated right by the window with an unobstructed view of the water. Service is attentive. We were served bread and butter before our meal came out. I'd love to see the butter just a little warmer-it was so cold that it couldn't be spread. Our meals were both nice-everything tasted fresh and those green beans were amazing! The best part of the meal, however, was the peach ice cream. Although we were pretty full, we made room for dessert. And we were glad that we did! read more

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This was a nearly perfect meal. Troy (G) was impeccable, absolutely top notch service. Clearly he is a professional. The food was unfussy but top quality, designed to highlight the freshest seafood flavors, my daughter ate her whole kids salmon and caesar, my husband got Captain's platter, holy cow amazing. Do the berry desserts if you go in summer, the sorbet was perfect, and the pie in a jar was divine. Just a really impeccable meal, a really nice surprise, thank you for great food and service!!! read more

Delicious grilled halibut!! Captains platter was good too, no sogginess on the fried parts. Server was fast and friendly, great view of the water, would go there again. read more

Been years since we've dined here due to moving away for a while but so glad we did while visiting the new Ruston Point area. Still as good as we remember, such a classic establishment in Tacoma. We went in the bar to try the happy hour menu. It was really busy but it is a small area, so we sat at the bar. We were happily taken care of by a sweet bartender gal, Kara. She was quick to serve and did great job. We had some great HH cocktails and started w/ 3 HH appetizers. Shocked as busy as the bar & restaurant were that a kitchen staff brought all 3 of our plates within 5-8 mins!! Everything looked and tasted awesome, we got the steamed clams, shrimp Caesar and calamari. Kara had brought us bread basket/butter just beforehand which was also great. We'd certainly order all these items again, we were in heaven. Hubby loves his fries so he added an order as we finished the 3 plates. Probably the best Caesar I've had in years, between the excellent dressing and fresh shrimp meat, but again each dish was on point and I'm a pretty good cook with high expectations at nice restaurants. No complaints! Oh actually..., lol, would have really enjoyed some nice music instead of the diners chatting around us and watching football ( thankfully no sound on) . I couldn't help but notice on the regular menu there was no mention of some of our old favorites, Captains platter, Seafood Louie, Raw Oysters, and I wish the early bird dinner had an option to upgrade to a steak instead of ground sirloin. Ok, can't wait to go back!! Please keep up the great work and service. read more

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Wonderful peaceful, beautiful atmosphere by Commencement Bay, but then it goes downhill. So many menu items were made in a factory...French fries were horrid made in a factory 400 miles away. Why? Does Anthony's (the owner) really expect us to shell out good money for tasteless frozen french fries--not fresh cut? No flavor in the fish and chips. The server shrugged when asked why no flavor in the fish and chips. Chefs do not seem to care. Not the place I knew and savored 15 years ago. This is so sad to see a local icon go down the faster and cheaper ingredient route. Not recommended. read more

food and drinks were fabulous! Our server, Tracy, was amazing. we celebrated a birthday on a Tuesday in the afternoon (3:30) very few people in the dining room. One of the managers ?( older blonde lady) came to our table and rudely asked us to "keep it down." Our group of 4 ladies spent $445.00 for this. She needs customer service education. read more

Great food, great staff, great location! The views are spectacular and the staff is super friendly!

Nice date night restaurant. It's one of the old school Tacoma restaurants, that's for sure. I had a cocktail which was a cucumber gin flavored one. It was tasty. I had the scallops for dinner. The scallops were on the smaller side but cooked well and the sauce was tasty. I opted for the mashed potatoes and it came with green beans. It was a decent price for seafood and the view on the water was nice. Overall, a decent stop. read more

Food and service was topnotch as usual. The only thing that I have a problem with is the portion sizes seem to get smaller every time we go. read more

Ok, I will summarize this review to make it easy. I read through other reviews and they seem to be mixed, some love it and some dont. I liked my food, my friend did not like his at all. So lets start off saying this is a place for loud and noisy tourists to eat, not a special local high end restaurant. Service -5 Seafood dip/ price - 3 Fish and fries/ price- 5 Scallop meal/ price -1 Drinks/price -3 Cleanliness/ inviting atmosphere -2 View of the water -5 read more

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On Sunday evening-- This place was a joke when it came to customer service. The waitress is rude and a LIAR. She accused our golf group of being drunk with "red eyes" and we were too loud?! We didn't want to leave a tip but the food was great. We each ordered a drink and no one was drunk. Some of the group are Italian and loud by nature. All the patrons didn't appear to be concerned and the manager who was very nice and professional also said no one complained about the loud talking even after the waitress lied and said we had complaints. The waitress was unprofessional and appeared unhappy and burned out! She argued with us and it took everything in me not tell her to go away and get another server. Service 0 Waitress - 0 Food 9 Very disappointed. You can't eat here unless you have soft whispering voice. read more

Nice view, friendly staff. Meals take awhile so pack some patience. The food has always been worth the wait. A little on the noisy side, my hard hearing dad 84 can't hear us speaking in there read more

We have visited the competition on Ruston Way many times but this was our first time here. We came for the experience of eating out on the deck but were disappointed that it was not available after sunset. The view from inside was still spectacular through big windows. We live in Des Moines so we had been to a sister restaurant many times and wanted to see what Harbor Lights had to offer. The inside is comfortable but somewhat less sophisticated than its sister. Tracy G gave us great service. We ordered 2 glasses of Buried Cane Chardonnay for $7.5 each, the same wine we always order in Des Moines. It is a good wine for a low price and they gave us a healthy pour. The pan fried oysters were good and cooked on the light side which meant that they were somewhat more juicy than some might like. I think that is where the negative comments came from that others have made. I thought they were perfect. Our Fisherman's Platters were just about more than we could eat. The sister restaurant does not offer this dish but another well known seafood restaurant in Des Moines does for about the same price. We are conflicted about which one is better, because they were both very good but the Des Moines restaurant offers sweet potato fries. My wife ordered mashed potatoes and a giant baked potato was mistakenly substituted. Our server brought us a plate with mashed potatoes and a box to take home the mistake. We compared prices with the sister restaurant and found it to be $1 more expensive on many items but while the menus overlapped, each restaurant had its own unique offerings. While we enjoyed Harbor Lights, it is a 50 minute drive compared to 5 minute drive. We enjoyed our meal but in the future, we will probably shoot for the closer one. read more

Harbor Lights - View from inside the restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

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I cant say enough about the service and most importantly the food. Everyone was absolutely charming and accommodating. We had 2 children with us and we were nervous when they put us in the middle of the dinning area. They got us a sling for the car seat and highchair and were super sweet to the kids. We got the halibut, seafood macaroni and salmon and each dish was just as great at the other. While the food was amazing.... The desert was the headliner. We got the NW peach slump with ice cream and it just melted in our mouths. read more

Place is old and outdated, food is bland and would expect a little more from a place on the water. Prices are really affordable but you get what you pay for. read more

This is hands down best happy hour place in town (or farther away)! Happy Hour food and drink menu/selection is great and service is well done (considering how crowded it is). View is great (if you can get a window seat). It's always packed (testament to how good it is). We've had nearly everything on the menu and it's all good (ok, only complaint is maybe the fish/chip portion is small but the price is right and you can easily order a 2nd). The restaurant is ok/good, but their Happy Hour is great! Note that the bar area is small so either get there early or prepare to wait. read more

Service was phenomenal, ambiance and view spectacular. Not exactly sure what they could do to make the experience better...

This was an absolutely a terrible experience. Haven't been here in years, and will never come back. Food was subpar and service was horrible. I am a big tipper and tipped 10%. We had a group of 6 that always has fun while we are out somewhere. Our waitress may have felt that we were drunk (which none of us were) because she kept saying she couldn't bring a drink until the glass was empty. She had no personality. Ambiance was like a cafeteria. It takes quite a bit for me to leave a review, but quite frankly it is deserving of this. This place is nowhere on the same level as Anthony's elsewhere. Great location, but should be shut down, remodeled, and staff retrained. Pretty much a Dennys read more

My wife & I went here for our anniversary tonight. Our dinners and salad were good but the clam chowder is like water and sucks!. We have been eating at various Anthonys resturants for years and lovbe the food and service. Our wait gal tonight was not freindly at all just present. We will continue going to Anthonys but not this one. read more

I made reservations for this place and expected some great food. I ordered a filet and it was over cooked (no biggie) but the taste was definitely not there, it tasted (in my personal opinion) cheap. For the price I really expected more. I personally would not go back. Our server was very nice and the drinks were good, that's why I give it 2 stars. Also I find it funny that when I try to post a not so good review an error message pops up, how convenient! No way of putting a honest review. read more

Harbor Lights - Review for Harbor Light's - Seafood Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

My husband and I thought maybe Harbor Lights had become just be another Anthony's restaurant (we've been to several...pretty much the same menu all the time), but thankfully, even though it is owned by Anthony's, Harbor Lights food and atmosphere are entirely different. We were met with very warm and welcoming management and other staff and found the food (happened to be lobster) was very good as were side dishes and desert we ordered. And the glass of wine we ordered was a generous amount....more than other restaurants. We went away knowing this might be our favorite restaurant in the Gig Harbor and Pierce County area...and we've been to most. We hope that Anthony's will continue to allow Harbor Lights to keep its unique warm charm. read more

When there on a Sunday afternoon, great small plates to share for happy hour, drinks were good. View is spectacular and the servers were attentive. Would go again. read more