Stoke Gabriel, Fish & Seafood Restaurant Guide

“Mitch Tonks can do no wrong!” according to fans of this well-known west country chef’s harbourside flagship – an understated, Italian-influenced “seafood brasserie” where you “watch the freshest of local catches cooked in front of you on an open grill”. These days it is run by his son Ben, who oversees twice-daily deliveries from nearby Brixham harbour, “all correctly prepared and served with a Devon smile”.

“After a swim in the Shoalstone Lido, it’s a delight to eat at this seafood café on the coastal path looking out over the seawater pool” (with further views to the Bay of Torquay) and – as of 2022 – an even more dramatic rooftop terrace where they grill catch and bring it to the table. One regular fan feels it’s “got its mojo back of late”, saying “the menu had veered towards more ambitious dishes the tiny kitchen struggled to deliver, but it’s back doing what it does best – simple cooking of the freshest fish delivered straight from the Brixham Fish Auction (where the owner is a wholesaler)”.