Harbor Lights
| Address: | 2761 Ruston Way, Tacoma, WA 98402, USA |
| Phone: | +1 253-752-8600 |
| Site: | anthonys.com |
| Rating: | 4 |
| Working: | 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 12–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 5
FE
Felix Angeles, Jr.
Normally this would be 4 stars, because Ive been eating there with my wife and kids occasionally for the past 13 years. Tonight, however, I met there with a group of co-workers (a party of 9 total), and the dining area was not even half full. Not a problem, understanding that sometimes a restaurant isnt staffed fully and cant open every section, but the hostess simply encouraged us to try the lounge after we told her our party size, almost as if she didnt want to go through the effort to seat us. Seeing the lounge only had two 2-top tables available, we returned to the hostess podium to inquire about a table in the dining area. She informed us in a very cold tone that the dining area is only available to customers that intend to order dinner. An odd demand, to us, since this was a beautiful Saturday afternoon where the Tacoma Dome would host 6 graduation ceremonies. We thought the manager of a waterfront restaurant would plan for this and gladly seat guests that were only there for cocktails since their lounge was near capacity, but we agreed to order dinner since we were all hungry anyway. Front of house manager comes by the hostess station and firmly reminds us we have order dinner if we are to sit in the dining area, and by that point we feel unwelcome and begin wondering if we should walk along Ruston way and eat somewhere else. Rather than attempting to convince us stay and spend our money here, the hostess asked to clarify, "so should I prepare the table for you or not?" Since at least 5 in our party had dined here before and not experienced this unacceptable kind of service, we ultimately decided to give the wait staff an opportunity to redeem the restaurant. Fortunately for Harbor Lights, Lauren saved the day by providing excellent service. She was friendly, attentive, fast and personable. When ordering dessert, I informed her that because shes done an excellent job, I will continue to bring my family to this establishment rather than avoiding it because of the terrible treatment we received at the podium. She sincerely apologized and brought it to the managements attention.
C.
C. Burt
My 10 year old grand-daughter asked to go to Harbor Lights as a celebration for her completion of a play with Tacoma Youth Theatre. We had my 93 year old mother with us. When we went to order we order two adult meals and a childs meal for my grand-daughter and mother. The waiter was extremely rude and said we couldnt do that. My mother would need to order off the regular menu. We tried to explain that the other meals were too much for her, but he refused to let her order a childs fish and chips. When my grand-daughter asked for chocolate milk, he bluntly told her they did not have it. I know they chocolate syrup and milk, all they would need to do is mix it. We have never had a restaurant refuse to do that before. I went to the hostess and asked to speak to the manager who was not available. I told the hostess the problem with the meal and the waiter re-appeared and said this time they would let her order from the childrens menu, but that they had a certain percentage of customers who were seniors and they simply could not let them all order from the childrens menu. I am a senior, but I had a regular meal. How many actually have asked for childs portion? This was the second time I have had problems. A month ago we went to have lunch there and my mothers sandwich had big tough shrimp, not small bay shrimp and the bread was all soggy and she could not pick it up. My sandwich was cold and the tomato and hard and white centered, inedible. It is a beautiful location and remodeled building, but until they upgrade the food and provide better service, I wont be returning or recommending it. It is too bad because this has been a family favorite for over 50 years!
LO
Lola Marie
My husband and I went here for dinner on a Friday night at 7:15pm. We were seated immediately. The waitress was friendly, but almost too calm/tired? We got our drinks right away. There was a slight wait for the appetizer, and a longer wait for the food. Not too bad, but noticeable. I had the halibut and chips and my husband had the cod and chips. It was good, but it was not quite crisp on the outside. It seemed like it was a bit soggy. After we got our food we did not see out waitress for quite some time. Then we had to wait for the bill and when we left we walked past 2 or 3 people who worked there and not one said to have a nice night or thank you for coming. The view was awesome I will say that. The lady who was in charge of drinks and refills was very friendly and kept our drinks filled, kudos to her for that. It was a little loud, but not so much that you could not have a conversation, and it was a bit too dark for me. I am ok with the lights dimmed, but it just seemed slightly too dark for my liking. This was the first time we had been to Harbor Lights. I do not think I was impressed enough to go back again. For sure it was not worth the money.
HE
Heather Solley
Service was average, but the food was absolutely atrocious. The group I was with all ordered the Surf and Turf (NOT worth the price portion wise) and I had the clam chowder as well. It was NOT clam chowder, it was a flavorless broth with what I could only assume was canned clam and hunks of potato. The steaks were all cooked incorrectly as ordered. One of us received a steak that was completely raw and only seared on the outsides, after requesting medium-well. The meat was poor quality and tasted like it was cooked in a microwave, seared and put on the plate. The lobster tails were minuscule and you only receive a half of the tail. They tasted of chlorine and were severely over cooked to the point where they were inedible. All of the food was inedible, in fact. The server was shocked when we left without boxing our terrible meals. Oh, but they do make a strong drink. Youll need it if youre going to have to choke down the rubbish they serve. Definitely will NEVER waste my money here again.
J
j spain Greene
Known as "Harbor Lips" by true locals because of the strength of their drinks, Harbor Lights is a very old restaurant on Ruston way that was acquired by the Anthonys restaurant chain. I appreciate that Anthonys is trying to preserve the character of Harbor Lights, but they didnt hesitate to raise the prices to Anthonys level. Theyre a bit steep for what you get. For instance - the Fried Oyster Plate is about $19 - my oysters were almost half the size of my dining companions (so odd they would give us such different looking plates) and executed well, but a bit salty. Fried calamari is very good but its about $12. Harbor Lights needs to join the millennium just a little bit. I am highly for older bars & restaurants, but who closes a bar at 9???? Harbor Lights. I cant tell you how many times I tried to go around 10 only to find it pitch black. Odd.
