Escape to Oceanside Harbor!

It’s just a short drive down to Oceanside Harbor but it’s worlds away. On summer days in Fallbrook when the mercury has climbed to the top and has hung out there for a while, it is nice to escape to cooler climes.

The harbor is a big place but the inner harbor near the signature lighthouse is where most of the action takes place. There are several gift shops, restaurants and a place where you can pick up a great ice cream cone or retro sweets such as rock candy on a string.

Oceanside Harbor is also a great place to just walk, breathe in the fresh sea air or sit on one of the benches and witness the boats slipping in and out. Watch the fishing trawlers return to port (you have to get up pretty early to see them “shove off”) and the flock of birds following them. As a trawler was docking, a few sleek snowy egrets, some not-so-sleek pelicans and the ever-present seagulls were circling to find a fish or two to steal.

Of course, many of the fishing boats are commercial; however, Helgren’s Sportfishing offers deep-sea fishing trips as well as whale watching excursions led by an experienced crew, so you have an opportunity to get a taste of the sea salt on your face firsthand. Oceanside Boat Rentals has several kinds of watercraft from which to choose if you want to be captain of your own ship for an hour or two!

You can even catch a glimpse of a great white shark, but never fear, it’s not in the water but mounted on the wall in the Harbor Fish & Chips café. This family-owned establishment is a great place to have fish or clam chowder and also drink in a “boat-load” of local ambiance. If you walk too fast you might miss it because the exterior is nothing spectacular, but the interior is full of thirty-eight years of local sea-related memorabilia. Spend some time looking at mounted fish, a mako shark head, lobsters and a photo of a fisherman that looks like he just stepped out of Hemmingway’s “Old Man and the Sea.”

Doug and Sally McWha opened the restaurant opened in 1969, and it is now owned by Terry Cross and his wife, Nancy, who are also of the McWha family. Sally passed away in 1975; however, the restaurant still uses her original recipes, including the tartar sauce, seafood cocktail sauce and fresh coleslaw dressing. I have to say, being a loyal customer for many years: they have the recipes perfected. Sally would be proud. The tartar sauce is not rationed like some seafood places; they want you to enjoy as much of it as you want. Slather tartar sauce on your fish and chips until it is completely smothered, if you are so inclined – they’ll just make more!

The batter for the fish and chips is fairly light, but hey, it is deep-fried and full of flavor. If you want a lighter meal they also serve grilled fish. The clam chowder is also wonderful when served in a sourdough “bowl.”

Take your fish or chowder out to the benches to eat it with the sea air on your face. It’s a completely relaxing experience, but just beware, you need to keep an eye on your fish at all times. My friend Ann from British Columbia turned her head for just a few minutes and a seagull swooped down and stole her fish right off the plate! So, learn from Ann’s mistake and keep a “weather eye out” at all times!

The staff is friendly and the food is always good, but don’t just take my word for it. Harbor Fish & Chips was featured in Coastal Living’s May 2006 edition, “25 Best Seafood Dives.” They wrote, “Harbor Fish & Chips keeps things simple. It serves consistently good fish-and-chips and tasty if not overly clammy clam chowder…”

Harbor Fish & Chips

(760) 722-4977

Helgren’s Sportfishing

(760) 722-2133

Ocean fishing/whale watching

Oceanside Boat Rentals

(760) 722-0028

Kayaks, powerboats,

wave runners