Totnes, Fish & Seafood Restaurant Guide

The harbourside flagship of Mitch Tonks’s West Country group is a “great all-rounder”, majoring in “superb fish and seafood”. The Italian-influenced cooking is “delicious and unfussy”, the wine list “interesting at all price points” – “and to cap it all, diners are made to feel really welcome. It’s hard to find this level of hospitality nowadays”. Top Menu Tip – “the focaccia and anchoiade is legendary”.

“Divine fish and seafood” from Brixham is the mainstay of the blackboard menu at the Stacey family’s “small, intimate” and “good-value” spot, now in its fourth decade. “Have been going for years and the fantastic fresh fish never disappoints – have taken American friends who vow it’s the best they have ever had!”. There’s also a wine bar upstairs.

“Shack is the right word for this ultra-casual restaurant specialising in delicious oysters but also serving freshly caught fish” – one reporter summarises the limitations (but mostly charms) of this former oyster farm, where you can now dine inside by the fire or on the outdoor terrace.

“Simple and small, sited right on back beach” this popular shack is “heaven for seafood lovers!” according to its fans. Too limited feedback for a rating this year, but there were none of last year’s gripes about rising prices: “all you need is a whole crab, truffle fries, some hardware, glass of something cold and an hour, then you forget about the cost!”

This local business started processing crab in 2008 and opened this simple café in 2014. “Outside is challenging in the autumn and winter, but even then, they have wonderful blankets that you can use to savour the great seafood they serve. Absolutely love it”.

“The menu has become a little more sophisticated with the new chef, and prices have increased” accordingly, say fans of this much-loved joint above the lido. Given that “this tiny restaurant is best at simply prepared fish fresh from that morning’s auction at Brixham” (where owners the Perkes are wholesalers), the changes are not always supported, but even the odd critic “would still return for the freshest fish and that view to die for across the bay” to Torquay. In 2022, that view got even better, with a new rooftop terrace area where they grill the catch outdoors and bring it directly to table.