On the Rocks in Torbay

Have a great atmosphere and the food is the best here. I have with my family for this restaurant and the service is extremely good

Great food. Genuinely delicious and extremely generous portions - honestly the mussels starter alone nearly finished me off. And the sea bass was two massive fillets. But every bite was good. Music was played weirdly loud but we were sat as far away from the speaker as possible so we were totally fine- just ask about that if it might bother you. Other than that, great place!

Fabulous small plates, served with a smile in a great location. Of particular note, the seabass, perfectly cooked and the awesome creme bulle.

Booked for a birthday celebration, food was good but menu very condensed and rather expensive for what it was. The reason for the low review is due to the staff arguing several times, swearing loudly, being incredibly rowdy and creating a very uncomfortable atmosphere. Playlist was on and off, random selection of music, seems very much like a good beach bar trying to doing dinner and failing at the basics.

Booked as a treat for our 15 year old sons birthday. Party of 9 (one of which is a toddler) and only one other table in at same time. (Side note - originally booked a table for 8 and emailed them to add another on as forgot to include my dad. Never got acknowledgment bug thankfully it was fine on arrival). The person serving us was friendly and took orders promptly. Starters came, mussels were tasty but no spoons served with it. Everyone else was pleased with starter flavours although pork cheek very small. A member of our party ordered another beer - waited 15 mins and chased. Waited again and chased again - it arrived after 2nd chase. We requested that the toddler with us receive her pasta dish with our starters. This didn’t happen. Main courses started to arrive - 2 different pasta dishes which looked nice. Waited 10 minutes, fish arrived (sea bass), 5 more minutes and lamb dishes arrived, another 5 minutes for the (supplemented with an extra £5 charge) steaks arrived. Finally after yet another 5-10 minutes the toddlers pasta arrived. On tasting it, it became apparent that the spicy base for the prawn spaghetti was used for the children’s pasta. This was too spicy then for the toddler to eat. They had offered to fillet the sea bass which we agreed with, but upon eating, it was full of bones. The steaks were both over cooked, over seasoned and almost inedible. The lamb dish didn’t match the menu. And was undercooked and under seasoned. The waiter kept disappearing and, when someone ordered a drink, again they had to chase twice before finally receiving it. We think he was potentially helping in the kitchen. We waited 25-30 minutes to be offered a dessert menu and then another 15-20 minute for an order to be taken. Dessert was nice. We arrived at 6pm and left after 9pm. If we didn’t have both sets of parents with us and celebrating a birthday my husband and I would have complained profusely. On the rocks was always our favourite local restaurant for a treat but we won’t be returning.

Met here on a Friday evening. There were 4 of us, two couples, all friends. Lighting is dim to dark, please make it a little brighter, so you can actually see what you are eating. Menu is expensive for what the food is (£30 for 2 courses, £35.00 for 3 courses and some have additional supplements). I had mussels for a starter (nice) and steak for main (tough and fatty, I asked for Medium Rare and it was Medium - Well Done). My steak had a £5 supplement, so I essentially paid roughly £10 for the starter and £25 for my steak, which was an 8 ounce Sirloin and of poor quality. They have these little complimentary sharing tasting offerings at the start (nothing wrong with that and a welcome idea), but can you tell me how you share a soup with friends?! All double dipping into the same soup with people who you might have only met for the first time - just weird.... Service was generally good, but for the prices paid, I took exception at the waiter asking one of our party to hand them their plate when clearing the table, this happened both on the starters and the mains - this should not happen and is not professional. No salt and pepper on the table, I had to ask for it and there was a considerable wait. Finally, at the end of the night and near to closing, the music just stopped and all the lights came on 'full beam', which was almost like a nightclub kick-out feeling after eating semi in the dark for the best part of two hours. A little bit of a not too subtle 'we are closing - get out' This could have been done in a more relaxing and friendly manner. Overall, it was not enjoyable. Bill came to £183 for 4 of us (we only had a couple of drinks each), other recent reviews seem to point to the same observations above. Requires vast improvement.

Stumbled across this independent after checking into the grand hotel Had Sunday lunch it’s the best I’ve ever had presentation, food v tasty Husband had the 2 course s fussy eater v pleased and enjoyed Daughter had the pumpkin soup with bread and fries Was lovely washed down with a glass of red wine Delicious

The only thing we liked was the complimentary side. Ravioli was too sweet and tasted like jarred baby food. beef rib was greasy tasting, the crispy potato skin could have been used as an offensive weapon it was that rock hard. The sea bass main and beef rib main lacked flavour and seasoning. It does tend to be 50/50 hit or miss. We left half eaten meals and went home

I booked this restaurant for its proximity to the Princess Theatre and its menu choices displayed on its website. The actual dishes available bore no resemblance to those advertised. We were then told we had to take the two course option....£30 pp. The food was lacklustre, tasteless and badly cooked. The zuchini fritters were squishy and tasteless, the spaghetti carbonara the worst I have ever tasted. How can a chef make such an awful attempt at such a simple dish?! The menu said a complimentary little dish of small eats would be delivered to the table. It never appeared. I mentioned this when I paid the bill, the only response being 'Oh didn't you get them?' The surroundings are delightful, but the food and the service is a disgrace to the catering trade. The service was slow, but luckily not as slow as other reviewers, otherwise we would have had to walk out to be at the theatre on time. Our table booking was 6pm and the performance 7.30. We thought this would be ample time. It was...only just! The bill came to over £80. Horrifying for a rubbish meal.

I never write a bad review so this feels strange, but I couldn’t really say anything better. The aesthetics within the restaurant were nice on arrival & comfortable. However, after 20 minutes waiting for a small wine & lemonade, I almost left. We ordered the two courses option, and starters came out within time. We then waited 1 hour for our mains, after finishing our starters so by this point we were both stuffed. We ordered beef rib and fish stew…..the beef was a small, mediocre roast dinner & the fish stew was essentially chickpeas and peppers (with 2 small pieces of a fish & a few mussels). It was pretty hard to each as we were stuffed and not really enjoying it. I went to pay and was told a “price”….I nearly fell with shock. After working it out, we had been overcharged £10-12 roughly but I was told it was all correct, I didn’t get a receipt. From what we paid, we had been charged for the 3 courses - so learn from my mistake and ensure you get a receipt afterwards (usually I do, but i was exhausted and wanted to go back to hotel). I was super disappointed here as it was the first night of our trip away, which I was in high need of. The menu online looked fine, however it was completely different menu in the restaurant. I would not come back here again. Thanks.

Nice decor. After that, terrible. Waiters didn’t know what options were off and returned 3 times to tell us that various items were off. Starter took 1 hour 20mins. Main course over 2 hours. ‘Fish stew’ was nothing of the sort- a basic tomato and onion sauce bulked out with chick peas and a few mussels and cod thrown in. Plaice dish was served with no sauce. Spoke to manager who didn’t seem to care. We were told that we must have the table clear at 9pm so when the main came at 8:45pm I was expecting someone to tell us that this no longer applied. No such luck.

Disappointed with the whole experience as people have been recommending this restaurant. However the scallops had not been washed and all three had substantial sand in them leading to a gritty experience. The waiter said he would inform the chef. We then had to wait for an hour until the main course. Other tables around us also experienced similar delays. The main courses all tended to be overcooked fish and meat. The leaves were burned. The staff turned down the lights so low at this point it was hard to see the plates well. Our neighbours were served bruschetta which were burned black. Three out of four desserts were forgotten and served 20 minutes late only after a reminder to the waiter. It all felt amateurish. Bad night in the kitchen? Poor night as a customer.

Great food and fantastic service! I had the fresh plaice which was cooked to perfection. The cocktails are also worth a try!

Visite0d the restaurant by chance when we visited Torquay, situated at the far end of the promenade, great location, excellent food and very efficient service.

We love this cozy restaurant overlooking Torquay Bay. We sampled local fresh fish such as Mackerel John Dory Sea bass, etc. The cocktails were awesome also. Service was prompt and friendly. We loved the olive and bread appetizer. Mackerel patte with bread sticks. Lovely

We booked an outside table in case the music indoors was intrusive, but discovered on arrival that there were loudspeakers outside, too. The thumping music made conversation impossible and the staff were unconcerned by our distress. We stayed because we were hungry and knew that...

Pricier than average but definitely worth it. Very friendly and welcoming staff the minute we walked in. Service was great and food was amazing. My two course include fish of the day, which was cooked to perfection and you can tell it's freshly caught from...

Superb, perfectly balanced menu. Clearly prepared with loving care. We will come back again to Torquay just to eat at on the rocks again.

On the Ricks never disappoints, delicious food, great views across the sea and the service is brilliant. Lovely meal with friends, such a great evening thank you

I will start by saying food was excellent but the restaurant seems to run on chaos. Once seated the menus are delivered, then you seem to be ignored until you flag down a passing waiter/waitress. This continued throughout the whole meal, although the staff were...

Myself and my wife visited On the Rocks on Sunday with her Mum, Brother and his girlfriend. We were very disappointed with the value for money when considering the standard of food offered up. I would like to add that this is the first time...

I reviewed this place favourably six years ago. Remarkably it has survived and flourished despite all the intervening vicissitudes. We went on a Saturday and it was rammed. The fish of the day (hake and sea bass) were grilled to perfection. The chips were a...

Die Küche ist gut, aber nicht kreativ und was den Aufenthalt etwas gestört hat, war die wenig motivierte Crew. Sicher...

Buon ristorante dove provare pesce, cozze e molte altre cose sfiziose e non banali. Ambiente accogliente, servizio cordiale. Prezzi nella...

A great place to watch the Torquay world pass by, enjoy fresh fish, wine and cocktails. Pavement tables are great for people watching.

We came to this restaurant because it's close to the beach and has great view. Also it has great reviews. The first impression is the food is over priced. As a lady mentioned, the steak has supplement £15. Means starter + steak cost me £45....

Lovely location on Torquay bay. Was hoping for a steak but the prices were quite expensive with supplements added for these on top of original price so chose something else instead. Food was ok but disappointed overall with meal. Staff were helpful and efficient.

Service was amazing. Food was delicious. Very friendly helpful staff. This restaurant (inside) is not suitable for wheelchairs as there’s steps to get inside and the toilets are up a flight of stairs, however wheelchair users could eat outside, no problem, although couldn’t use the...

Really nice restaurant. Good food at good price, helpful, efficient knowledgeable staff. Fresh juicy mussels, huge fresh fish, perfectly cooked steak. Will go back!

Chap that served us was polite and helpful. Food was fine and reasonably priced. Understandably in the height of season staff are under extra pressure. We asked for a dessert menu to two different staff which took some time so I the end We didn't...

Went for a light lunch with the family only to be told we had to have a starter or dessert and main course for £30 each. The food was average and certainly not worth the money. The staff were exceptional and extremely helpful, Shame we...

Unfortunately the food wasn't as good as we expected. The pizza was cold and soggy. However, the service was amazing. Kiara was so friendly and funny, really made the experience worth it. She was also kind enough to translate the menu for us into german....

We have visited this restaurant three times this week, whilst holidaying in sunny Torquay. The menu is good and the service has been excellent. Don’t forget to reserve your place though, as you will be disappointed if you just just turn up. Their popularity will...

Disappointed, certainly not as good as it use to be. Limited selection of food (and different to the menu shown on their website!) Service was fine, but not impressed with the food! I did have a Greek salad with my fish, got to admit I...

Sehr gute Qualität, seit Jahren. Sehr empfehlenswert. Zentral gelegen. Sehr freundlich. Hausgemachtes Eis. Steak gut. Halloumi empfehlenswert. Pizza gut. Für...

Fantastic location right beside the very active Atlantic Ocean. The Menu is varied bur Limited and we went for dinner. I and my elder Daughter went for the Rack of Lamb. What we got is 3 Lamb cutlets smothered by a thick brown sauce or...

Great food and attentive service. Spanish manager was fantastic and made the meal that extra bit special

For the price, the portion size was rather small and service was sluggish. When food was brought out, even although we were a couple, there was a few minutes wait between when one of us would get our food. The restaurant wasn’t that busy, so...

Fish very average maybe chef had off day as had to send back 3 times. Lovely views overlooking the sea. Pretty good service slightly overpriced for standard of food. If looking for a good fish restaurant try Rock Fish

We had a lovely meal here whilst on holiday in Torquay. Harry was our expert server who gave us a very detailed guide through the menu. Joe and Raf were also lovely guys, definitely created a feel good atmosphere. Awesome food accompanied by amazing service...

If I could leave one star I would. Both members of the party are without a father, so booked a meal for lunchtime rather than spending the day sat at home upset. Wish I hadn’t bothered as apparently on the rocks only reserves decent service,...

We went for Sunday lunch to celebrate Father's day and we were not disapppointed at all. The menu had the most amazing selection of choice with seafood, 'classics' and pizza. We all had 3 courses set at £35 which was extremely reasonable. Every course was...

I'll start be saying my past experiences here have always been good. The dishes were always delicious, reasonably priced for the quality and service good. Unfortunately, I wasn't impressed at all this time around. My first comment is about the pricing. There is no longer...

Food is absolutely insane, well done to Aiden as everything was cooked perfectly and tasted fantastic. Harry and Raf are amazing, friendly staff and welcomed me straight away. Overall was a lovely visit and I would 100% recommend.

Food was wonderful! Service was incredible and the view was superb! You could be anywhere in the world when you sit in that restaurant! Definitely will be returning, can’t wait!!

Totally unorganised, could not cope with being busy, staff were running round like headless chickens, no salt or pepper even after asking three times, no chips with main meal and crab on a crumpet lol. No discount offered or complimentary drink. Manager does not give...

I very rarely post reviews but this place deserves a complentary write up. We stumbled upon this place during our visit to torquay and we were blown away with the food. The view overlooking the harbour really was lovely and the atmosphere of the restaurant...

Not sure what's happened over the last few years, but the quality of the food has dropped while the price has gone up. We used to love this place as the seasoning was always on point, We (like today) would drive from Plymouth to just...

I used to go here all the time before lockdown, for years since it opened. I hadn’t been since the menu had changed until today. I went for the sunday roast with my mum and was surprised that it was included in the 2 for...

Dined here while staying in Torquay. Food was excellent (best dessert of the trip - pistachio cake) however we found the service a little lukewarm. The younger male waiter was alright but the older waitress was difficult to even get a smile from. The service...

We ordered a steak to share (should be £20 each) and the waiter asked us if we wanted to add a starter / dessert to make a £30 two set menu. When we got the bill they charged us for 2 set menus and a...

I love fish! I usually avoid Torbay Sole (aka Witch), but this was spectacular, super fresh and left me wanting more.

Atmosphere was great. The waiter Josh made a very good job and was very helpful and attentive to our requirements. The cooking was great and very good. Especially the taste of the meals were outstanding and worth more than a try. The pricing policy should...

Booked a table left waiting for ages as staff took in more walk in customers!! food was bland and tastless ! left after only one course ! although it was a two course meal ! utterly disappionting

Myself and my girlfriend came here to celebrate our anniversary. We wrote a note saying it was our anniversary but they didn't do anything for us to mark the occasion. We were then informed by our waiter that they had ran out of mussels much...

The food was amazing. The fish was fresh and cooked to perfection. Our waiter, Josh, was a polite and personable and had great knowledge of the menu.

We booked in advance but didn’t realise it was a set price menu. This system is really bad (for the customer at least). 2 course £30, 3 courses £35. So even if you have pizza and ice cream it is £30 when clearly it should...

Excellent food, mainly show casing the wonderful local fish and seafood but also offering some of the restaurant industry’s mainstays. They also offer a wide array of drinks. The food is well prepared but at peak times there can be some small delays as it...

Ate here with my wife on 3rd April. Menu was in my opinion limited. We tried the fixed price menu for £30pp. Again limited choice so we opted for pizza followed by pistachio cake and ice cream. The dessert was ok! One glass of white...

4 of us & all of us really enjoyed the different dishes from starter to main. Staff were attentive, friendly and informative. We would definitely go back, lemon sole was incredible.

We had a wonderful meal and especially enjoyed the anti pasti sharing platter. The food was delicious with a good ambience to the restaurant. Staff were friendly and attentive. Will definitely eat here again!

As usual the food and service was stunning. Melodie is such a burst of sunshine combined with a passion for food, passion for service and passion for people. On the rocks provides 5star food in a relaxed and non stuffy way. This is the best...

Came in with 3 friends after a show at the princess theatre that one of our party had starred in. Once the lovely waitress Melodie (might be spelt differently) found out, she was so positive and made us aware of lots of positive feedback other...

Absolutely five star service, view and most importantly food. Made our valentines one to remember. Thank you Donna and the team for a wonderful evening. We will see you again very soon.

Very nice meal and staff are amazing and can’t help you enough also a positive they know there stuff it was amazing the knowledge of the staff and food choices I would highly recommend on the rock to anyone looking for a relaxed atmosphere and...

What a tasteful menu! Raf for sure took care of us. We came for 3 courses for £33 and was well worth it, would definitely recommend the Sunday roast dinner, we did not go hungry.

Friendly staff from start to finish all the food we ordered was presented superb and didn’t disappoint on flavour and quality Would highly recommend for a night out

From walking through the door everything was really good. The food was excellent and the waiter really professional and friendly, I am sorry that we found this place on our last night in Torquay but will definitely be back if we are here again

Truly tasty food prepared by people who really care about what they serve. Delightful service; a serendipitous random choice. From the two who shared the château briande to the tough to please veggie.

We visited a couple of weeks ago and again last night because the food was so good. We had the steak and it was amazing! As we’re the starters and the pudding. Everything has so much flavour and we really like the atmosphere in there...

We went for a meal to celebrate my wife's birthday and couldn't have been happier. Every dish was a highlight prawn crumpet and Brixham fishcakes, belly pork and cheek with an amazing apple sauce, roast lamb with mint, phenomenal roast potatoes (so many places fail...

We booked online after being told there was no availability. Clearly very busy with a few Christmas parties. The booth we were in should really have been for 4 not 6, never a good idea to cram people in. A really nicely decorated place with...

Visited this place last night on recommendation. The overall feel and asthenosphere was good. However having eaten a clearly undercooked scallop ( thinking it would be ok, as the chef must know what he/she is doing) I almost immediately felt nauseous. In fact after a...

Went for dinner on Saturday night. There was a great atmosphere and the food was great. The main courses were big and very tasty. Nice staff and service.

We just wanted to thank the chef and staff at 'On the Rocks ' for a delicious meal and fabulous service. We were warmly greeted and staff were so friendly, our meal was delicious. Thank you so much for making our trip to Torquay so...

We had a fantastic meal last night at On The Rocks. It was the best meal we’ve had for a while. Reasonably priced too. The restaurant is very tasteful, overlooking the sea and the staff were lovely. We would highly recommend this place!

We had a very good lunch here yesterday. We liked the new layout, and had very good service. The new format of set menus is good, but I wonder how it would be if you wanted just a starter as a light meal as you...

Intended to eat here after a recommendation from a colleague. Rang beforehand to enquire if we needed to book and the guy on the phone said no. Waited at the door for quite some time considering there was only 2 other tables. Ordered a bottle...

Crumpet was recommended - it was tasteless. Risotto and scallops were nice. Nearly 2 hour wait from starters to main course - we were told they had a new chef. Waiting staff were great though. Pork belly - in a Chinese soup style! That wasn’t...

Decent fish cookery, food service a bit muddled, short staffed. Bar manager seamed more interested in the very loud dance music the was far to load Cold inside as doors had been open Staff very friendly but far to few of them and this put...

The crab crumpet starter is a revelation! Totally amazing. The sea bass is possibly the best fish and chips I’ve ever eaten. Service excellent location to die for. If I come to Torquay again OnThe Rocks will be my go to. Loved it!

Although the waiting staff were really good, attentive and helpful the food fell well short of good. Unusual takes on classics should be signalled in advance especially when they are less than the original, and far far too much grease / oil making the food...

Phenomenal food! huge congratulations to the chef. Can't wait to return which we have booked already!

We had two meals at this restaurant recently,both were excellent!The choice was very good and all food beautifully cooked and presented.The waiter we had(Harry)was brilliant.......helpful,attentive but not over the top,and well deserved his tip!We would highly recommend this restaurant,although be sure to book as it...

This place is well worth a visit, the food is vary good ,and waiter service was good. It’s clean and tidy ,and your always welcomed.

Located at far end of Torquay makes this more convenient for parking and less busy than the main strip. Great views over the bay with outdoor heaters to keep off the evening chill. Excellent service from a confident chap who knew his stuff. I had...

Torquay is one of our favourite places to visit when we come to Devon. We stumbled across this place whilst looking for a dog friendly eatery. Dogs are allowed outside and we enjoyed a fantastic 3 course meal. Heaters on the patio were a welcomed...

The food was excellent, and the views were beautiful. We sat outside but it was a warm evening, and heaters were available if one still felt chilly.

We enjoyed a lovely meal here on Sunday evening after being lucky to book a table last minute. Service was faultless, the staff could not be more helpful and friendly. The food was delicious, the best food we had in Torquay over the weekend, however...

Returned here after eating as a couple as a table of 8. Same menu so knew what it was all about. As before great presentation and flavour be it at a price and the service wasnt that warm either. Worth a visit though.

Had a lovely evening served by a very friendly waiter. Ordered arancini (amazing), crab crumpets (great) and seabass and paella for mains. We agreed that value for money was very good, with a lot of food served for the £27.50 we paid. Thank you for...

Perfect meal We had a fantastic meal here We ate out 7 nights and this was pretty much the best The staff were all friendly Well done !!!

Lovely setting and great location. The staff were very friendly albeit very busy so took a while for them to get round to us. The food was lovely, I had the cashew cigar which tasted great and looked amazing too. Sadly the starter wasn't very...

Ok, it's our first visit to Torquay and didn't expect much after first hour or so around marina area. This restaurant was quite empty at lunch time (so were they all thanks to either a shortage of staff or supplies!!?) And we were met with...

Nicely situated without having to walk all the way to the harbour! Pleasant outlook over the sea with outside and inside tables Pleasant waiting staff too First ime around I had the scallops to start which were still attached to the shell meaning that they...

The food was superb and to top it all the staff were very pleasant friendly and welcoming. We wouldn’t hesitate to book again when next in Torquay

This is one of the few restaurants that is open late in Torquay. We enjoyed some very good cocktails whilst admiring the view from under heated outside tables until 12 pm. Ambiance was great with a bit of background music later into the evening, and...

Overall a good experience and the food was generally very good across the four meals. However my bill for the 4 x 2 course meals was £172.00 with one bottle of wine and one round of other drinks. Our table was booked for 7pm we...

Fantastic, food was amazing. We had the chateaubriand and it was honestly the best meal we have ever had. Josh the waiter was so lovely and attentive. We absolutely loved it!

Very dissatisfied! Service very rushed and not very attentive food almost slapped on the table! Scallops starter was amazing, although the sea bass main was lacking in fish instead almost half a plate full of lettuce! Was very disappointing as had booked as a special...