2 Best Restaurants in Torquay, The West Country

Seafood fans can indulge their passion at this unpretentious, convivial spot near the harbor; wood floors, colorful wall tiles, and an array of maritime knickknacks set the mood. Fresh, locally caught fish is brought to your table for inspection before being simply but imaginatively prepared. The extensive menu offers dishes ranging from humble—but abundant and beautifully cooked—fish-and-chips to lobster and crab grilled with garlic and brandy. There's a wine bar upstairs for a pre- or postprandial drink.

Set back from Torquay's harbor, this elegant eatery offers sophisticated but relaxed dining, with views over Torbay from its Georgian windows. The innovative menus offer such starters as Brixham crab with sour apple jelly or hand-dived scallops with whey-butter sauce and pickled grapes, and, among the mains, you might find rump of lamb with Provençal-style vegetables or roasted monkfish with ravioli of salsify and fennel. The highly skilled kitchen is matched by the pleasant and attentive wait staff. At lunch, you can choose between the set menu (£28–£32) or a set-price à la carte menu (£53 or £68), which is also available in the evening alongside a multicourse tasting menu (£90).