Zest Harbourside

Absolutely excellent restaurant. The food is great, the service was excellent and it has a very pleasant atmosphere. We turned up without a reservation and were easily accommodated. Nothing seemed to be too much. I can recommend the mushrooms on toast starter and the fish and chips. I also have it on my husband's authority the squid starter is excellent.

After a long day travelling around the Lake District, we needed to rest and eat. We'd had a lovely walk around the harbour and saw Zest Harbourside. I'd already noticed they had gluten-free options, and as I'm gluten intolerant, I was happy to see they had some really good choices. We asked if our dogs were allowed, and they were so welcoming. The dogs were given biscuits and a bowl of water. Perfect! The food was amazing, and all of the staff were helpful, friendly, and attentive. It's so nice to find gluten-free and dog friendly with fab food. Definitely recommend.

Zest Harbourside offers a fantastic atmosphere with delicious, high-quality food and excellent customer service. The team is friendly and attentive, making the experience even better. Plus, the view is absolutely stunning—perfect for a relaxing outing!

Visited Zest after an afternoon out in a recent storm. Called in for a coffee and something to give us a bit of a boost. Opted to have a couple of deserts. Very friendly staff and fantastic deserts too. Started filling up after we arrived and all the food looked very good. Will definitely return and sample more of the menu.

We stopped here whilst on holiday, place was busy but staff managed to get me table for two. Food was good, staff kind and helpful. Would recommend for anyone visiting Whitehaven marine. They don't have own car park however there are two pay and display car parks within a minute walk.

Stopped here for a late lunch/early dinner on our last day of our holiday in the Lakes. We'd had a pretty disappointing day up to this time but the food and service at Zest completely turned it around! They have a really interesting and varied menu (for the adults) with lots of tasty sounding options, so much so that it was difficult to choose. We ended up deciding to share the pulled beef and yorkies sharing bowl with sides of double cheesy mash, cauli cheese and cabbage with chorizo. It was all absolutely delicious and we loved the 'build your own' aspect of their sharing plates and sides - the double cheesy mash was particularly delightful!! Our son had chicken goujons with fries which were great too but he was a little disappointed with the options on the children's menu. Compared to the adults menu, the childrens menu is quite limited and boring! We did ask if they could do a smaller portion of any of the adults meals but were told no - this would be a great option to enhance the more adventurous kids experience (just a bit of feedback if the managers are reading!) That is my only critique however, and aside from that we all really enjoyed our food. Service was quick and the staff were really friendly and helpful and looked happy to be there. The prices are really reasonable and the portion sizes generous. Overall we enjoyed our experience here and would definitely return if we are ever back in the area. Would recommend to anyone looking for something a bit different and tasty!

Brilliant interior to the building, lovely decorations and art work throughout. The food was very tasty, not too long of a wait. The price seems to be worth it, one of those types of places that you’d eat at once a month. Only downside I had here was as I walked up the stairs there was a young waiter picking his nose and then very quickly pulled his finger out his nose as I looked over towards him. Not only a disgusting habit but also very unhygienic and made me uncomfortable that those very hands are touching customers plates. (Thankfully it wasn’t him who served me)

Always one of our first choices… My partner and I have been to Zest many times over the last few years and have never been disappointed! Last night’s visit was no different, the only difference was that we were out as a family instead of just the two of us. We had our table booked and got a big table quite close to the bar which was handy when we needed anything, our server was a gentleman with red hair - I never caught his name but he was brilliant, he gave us plenty of laughs and great service all round. For food, I usually go for the ZFC (Zest Fried Chicken) with fries and gravy but tonight I fancied a change… We all had starters which came quickly, I had the pork belly skewers from the specials menu which was divine - please add this as a permanent dish! For mains, I had the bread bowl with assorted butters and the sticky sausages - the bread was delicious as ever (this is my usual starter) and the sausages were good too but boy were they hot! The little metal dish they come in keep them absolutely piping hot for the entirety of the meal so be careful if you have them. Overall, another brilliant visit to Zest and we’ll definitely be back again soon!

Great Harbourside location. Funky, modern interior. Staff are always efficient. This place is always very busy. You can't book a table - it is first come first served system - you sometimes have to wait - this is ok, as the place has a city bistro feel - Whitehaven needs more sophisticated places like this. Rather an eclectic menu - great for mixing and matching and especially good if you are a meat-eater. As i only eat fish and veggie foods menu was abit limited (hence 1 star dropped). Opted for the salmon which was delicious - chunky chips are a must have. Partner had the eternal favourite 8 hour lamb, which everyone raves about. Good selection of wines. Overall fab place to come for casual dining with a big group of mates or your family. Child friendly.

I can't really fault this place both as a customer and employee. I used to work there and they treated the staff very fair and there was a nice family atmosphere. The place is always busy except when its closed and the food is excellent. Each time I go out for food in whitehaven I nearly always end up in there. Its lovely to sit outside in the summer and watch the swans and geese in the harbour.

Great selection of food, slightly over priced, but excellent quality

This place is an absolute rip-off. They charge exorbitant prices for tiny meals. That would be ok if it was a classy a-la-carte restaurant but this is just a cafe-bar. Examples of silly prices: olives £3.95, sausage sandwich £5.95, ham shank (literally a tiny metal bowl with a few bits of ham in gravy and nothing else £7.95, bread bowl assortment £3.00, beef burger (on its own) £6.25, maltesers £2.50. If you think this is good value then you must be constantly eating at top restaurants and have money to burn. But remember this is not a top restaurant, so if you haven't got money to waste you'll come away from Zest Harbourside feeling hungry and disappointed.

An relaxed eating place with friendly staff and excellent food. The menu includes a good range of vegetarian and glutin free dishes.

Amazing food, always busy, great menu, not so impressive drinks menu, service can be slow, but well worth a visit