Proper fish & chips, a minute from the harbour.

A St Ives chippy, just back from the harbour

The Balancing Eel sits on Back Lane at the top end of Fore Street, right by the entrance to the Sloop car park and a minute's walk from the harbour. It's an old-school seaside fish and chip shop that has been feeding St Ives for decades: freshly battered cod, haddock, plaice and hake, with pasties, pies and burgers alongside for anyone who isn't in a fish mood.

Upstairs is the bit first-timers don't expect — a proper sit-down restaurant, which is why one review title simply reads "How fish and chips should be". Coeliacs are looked after too: separate fryers, chips cooked apart from everything else, a clearly labelled menu, and fish grilled or steamed rather than battered.