Rockfish in East Devon

Rockfish is a small chain of Devon seafood restaurants. Online, they give the impression of being fanatically devoted to quality seafood with special attention to Devon and their own boat in Brixham harbour. This outpost may not have received the message. The whitebait had been substituted with anchovies, but we were not told when we ordered. The calamari body was overly chewy (the legs were more al dente). Sea bream and Nordic prawns were acceptable. Dessert selection has good local ice cream. The wine list seemed to have been picked from bin-ends. The Sentidino Albarino lacked acidity and fruit, and a Deux Roches Mâcon Villages was anemic, not even varietally-correct. A wine list bought at rock-bottom prices suggests a belief that 'the punters' will drink anything. This punter will drink anything - once. If you sit on the enclosed patio looking South, the evening sun shines in your face until it sets, and they have no blinds to pull down the few inches that would fix this. The lack of empathy from the waiter "you just have to put up with it" wasn't appreciated. Very disappointing. I wonder if the other Rockfish restaurants are like this? But I won't pay to find out.

Lovely food. Great service. Would recommend.

The restaurant is beautiful and takes great care of our groups. Recommend very highly. Incredibly attentive and thoughtful service.

Excellent local fresh fish served by friendly, helpful staff.

Good service and equally good food

We found it purely by chance. Its dog friendly. The staff were all delightful and friendly. Unlimited chips, beautiful fresh Whitebait. Theres a superb view and the whole ambience of the place is absolutely smashing. I loved the Wildsmith Skin products in the loo too.

Great food. Great service. Dog friendly.

The food and service was excellent. Our table was completely surrounded by dogs very unpleasant experience .

Amazing location, great views over the sea, fresh fish and a great team.

Not kid friendly. Nice enough food, but slow and inattentive service. I wouldn’t go again.

in one word: perfect in two words: absolutely perfect.

The clue’s in the name: Rockfish is a fish restaurant, and a very good one. The food is excellent, service great and the atmosphere and vibe is relaxed. For the quality of food I think the prices are very reasonable. The non-fish dessert was also just great.

The food here was unbelievable - great portion sizes, amazing flavours, everything is clearly high quality. The prices reflect the quality, the freshness of the fish, and the ethical practices the chain works to uphold regarding sustainability etc. I'd say it's extremely good value for money, and a lovely atmosphere to boot, with lovely views of the water right from the tables. Well worth a visit for anyone who even remotely likes fish.

Visited Rockfish today in the pouring rain. Had great friendly service and tasty fish

It was my birthday lunch. From the complimentary Prosecco to the last mouthful of lunch, it felt special. The quality of those serving at table was especially high. Along with the food. And we were allocated a table with stunning sea views. Thank you to all involved.

Generally a younger crowd. Didn't eat there. Sticky tables (not a good indicator). Sauv' blanc was good. Beer was average, but that's just personal preference Try for yourself

Fantastic place to eat. Attentive service and lovely relaxed atmosphere. Felt thoroughly spoilt with all the gluten free options (even down to the details of GF vinegar and beer!) We shared a seafood platter with the kids and everyone loved it!

A cheeky lunch at a recommended restaurant did not disappoint! Service was great but the fish was the star of the show. Fresh, tasty, simply cooked to perfection. A joy to eat .. thank you Rockfish.

Went for a birthday dinner and the food and service was fantastic! I would go again!

Stayed just one night in Exmouth and wanted a nice meal out rather than eat at the hotel. We chose Rockfish as we love fish and were not disappointed. To start we shared calamari with chilli and a sweet chilli sauce, which was just wonderful. For main my wife had haddock and I had megrim, both of which were just delicious. The service was excellent, especially Vanessa, who proffered good advice throughout. Only drawback was the venue was quite noisy, which affected my wife hearing. Apart from that ......Excellent!

Love to criticise. Now I'm redundant.

By far best restaurant I had in Exeter. Amazing scallops and overall fish options, couldn’t recommend enough. Kids and pets friendly as well - location is wonderful by the water and staff is very considerate and fun. Highly recommended!

Really enjoyed the food but the service let it down. Super friendly staff and very knowledgable but got aspects of our order wrong, daughters meal was under cooked and were not attentive, having to seek staff to request drinks, staff did not return for orders etc. they were busy but I would have to think before rebooking. Lovely venue though.

Lovely fresh food with excellent friendly service. We have 2 dogs and they were made to feel welcome.

The staff were fantastic - welcoming and attentive - and every dish was absolutely delicious. The fish was cooked to perfection and the creme brulee was the best we've ever had.

Rockfish has stolen the best site in Exmouth. We were practically in the estuary! And there was a seal! Our meals, Mussels for Mum, char grilled bream on a Greek inspired salad for Ron and I, were brilliant. Spot on for taste, textures, colour and appearance, thanks chefs! Friendly efficient front of house. And the best loo soundtrack ever. No spoilers!

This was our first visit to a Rockfish restaurant and probably our last. We visited mid week and found the service very slow. Our starters were fine. My husband had the oysters, whilst I had the prawns, both of which tasted really fresh. However for the mains I had the hake and chips which again tasted lovely and fresh, but did not include any sides, so at nearly £20 was not good value. My husband had the sea bream, which was a very small fillet, and at over £23 was grossly overpriced. We had to pay extra for potatoes and veg. We have eaten at other well known fish restaurants for much less and with much better portions so won't be eating here again.

Lovely atmosphere, lovely food and lovely staff. Ideal

Good food, fantastic location and view, excellent service, thanks

The whole service team was very friendly, but we'd like to especially mention Marco. He went beyond good customer service and made our first visit to Rockfish that bit more special. Everything we ordered was delicious and fresh and definitely good value for money. We'll be back next time we're in Devon.

Excellent food great service, arrived around 8 pm no booking, table was made available, great service nothing to o much trouble. The sticky toffee pudding was awesome. I must remember to keep space for that in the future. Thank you, Rockfish staff. Great job.

Warm welcome, great menu plus the specials. The fish is just so fresh and cooked to perfection. Great atmosphere. Our Waitress was friendly and attentive. Just wished the had a local branch I would be a regular. I thought the prices were good, I paid similar for 2 pizza accross the river at On the Waterfront!

From the smiley waitress to the joke weather forecast in the toilets this is a great place! But the best is the food! I had the line caught Haddock kindly skinned for me . Owned 3 restaurants over the years and must say this is the best fish I have had for years. Thank you.

Lovely place which has sadly lost the plot. The quality of the food does not match the price. Lovely staff.

We have been dining here when visiting Exmouth. The price has always been high but the quality was good. Last night the prices had been hiked up beyond reason and the quality had dropped astronomically.

Really fresh fish. Excellent service.

Very enjoyable evening. All went very well from the time we arrived to the time we left.

Great food and friendly, professional service. Recommended.

Visited on a Saturday evening. Looking out over the water right next to our table was awesome. The setting was great, enjoyed listening to the shipping forecast in the toilet. The scallop starter was really good, but the rest of the meal didn’t quite justify its price. Would return, but mainly for the view.

Visited here and we had a good meal, the place is very dog friendly which is great. I’m not sure though in reflection it was worth thr premium prices , £10 of a kids meal is a little high. I would probably visit again but I would have to consider if there were better value options near by.

Disappointing- had set menu - sardine starter arrived half-hour after ordering and fish (whiting apparently) overcooked and stuck to batter so chewy - no soft flakes of fish.

Took my gran and mum here for lunch today, I haven’t seen my gran in a really long time as I don’t live in the south west so I asked for a window table in the terrace area as I wanted it to be special. We loved the view, felt like we were on holiday! The service was excellent, so friendly. The food is amazing as usual (I visited the Brixham location last year), portion sizes are good value for money. Thanks for a memorable day!

We had a table booked for late evening for 4 people on a Saturday in February . We had recently eaten at the Poole Rockfish and because of our great experience at that restaurant we booked in at the Exmouth one. It was nice but the Poole destination was better. The ambience was a little flat and the service was a little rushed because the staff appeared to be under pressure . The dishes were tasty but not outstanding . The dining space was quite cold. The experience was just average but the food was slightly better , however I wouldn’t return in a hurry especially when considering the pricing.

Despite swimming along the flooded prom, worth it for an excellent worthwhile meal. Friendly staff and a nearby log fire made the setting warm and cosy

First class meal, great service,amazing view

Great view across the estuary and coastline to Dawlish. Terrific service and great quality fish which was locally caught.

A disappointing visit to our favourite Rockfish and our go to place when spending the day in Exmouth. Sadly there was confusion with my meal as Hake battered or grilled with a romesco sauce were both on the menu. Our meals were served but sadly mine was incorrect and had to be sent back. This result in my husband and daughter finishing their meals before mine arrived and my Cornish potatoes were then cold. No replacement was offered neither was there any deduction from our bill. Quite disappointing as the food and service have always been excellent here!!

Had a lovely evening.I loved everything about this place,the seafood taste so fresh ,courteou staff and the ambience is lovely. Will definitely go back here...

We found this place whilst visiting Exmouth and having not booked anywhere, we were just walking along the front. We popped in as it looked so nice. We did have to wait as they were booked but we decided that was fine as it looked so nice and we had decided we really wanted fish and chips. Also, the atmosphere and the staff were very welcoming. Once we had a walk around and then got in and sat down we looked at the menu and ordered the calamari, hake and haddock for our fish and chips. Mine was the hake and was delicious. We both had the calamari and thought it was some of the nice calamari we had tried. The batter on the calamari was lovely and crisp and the squid itself was cooked to perfection. We also had pudding and a coffee after. The pudding was a cinnamon brownie with a brandy ice-cream. We had it to share between us as we were pretty full. It was very indulgent and incredibly tasty. It went brilliantly with our coffees and finished our meal off delightfully. It was a great evenings meal and I would highly recommend it here. We did also visit a bit later in the evening and so it was dark by then. It meant it seemed cosy. It is right on the front of the water, so I would imagine earlier or in the lighter months you would get a lovely view as well.

Valentines Day Lunch We sat in the indoor terrace so amazing views as always ! Service and food fantastic- we have been going to this restaurant since it opened and never disappointed. The staff are great and Marco deserves a special mention as was everything you hope for in front of house !! Highly recommended!!

Fantastic service, lovely team, really attentive and fantastic fresh fish

Great food, really enjoyed the skate wing. A great touch is the chef bring out your meal and the unlimited chips. Nice touch in the gents with the shipping weather forecast being read out.

Just a tad windy and cold last night, and I received a call a couple of hours before the booked time offering to make a table alteration. Helpful. The food was just perfect: the Brixham calamari very lightly battered and just a tiny bit crispy. The brill sweet, lightly grilled. The green beans as a side were delicious. The service as always, friendly, helpful and professional. Warm thanks to you all, Oliver, chef (and his colleague); and Kerry, Tina and Nicola front of house. All good wishes, Judith and Mat

I sat down in Rockfish Exmouth with my wife and we where waiting to be served A couple then sat next to our table with a wet smelly dog. We then walked out! The waitress did not ask if we wanted a dog next to us never mind a wet and smelly dog. It's just crazy that environmental health allow this. I would think that Rockfish would have more respect for their customers. We will have to eat in Weatherspoons from now on were they sensibly do not allow dogs.

Fantastic food and a great atmosphere. Best tables in the winter are near the sea in their conservatory unless it's dark when it doesn’t matter.

Called in yesterday late afternoon and glad I did. Great location and lovely choice of food. Service was exceptional . Food nicely cooked and tasty. We had ray wings and Gurnard. Even the salad was thoughtfully prepared and the chips were excellent . Look forward to visiting again

On a bitterly cold winter evening we enjoyed extremely good fish here. Oysters, cockles, pollack, tarte tatin - we loved them all. Service appeared slow at first but caught up well. Staying locally so only a very short walk home.

Superb evening of fantastic food. We had the monkfish and seafood gratin and wholeheartedly recommend both.

I was extremely disappointed with our cuttlefish starters. I would generously say the portion was no more than 30-50 grams @ £10.50 making this dish £200+ kilo. Very thin shards of cuttlefish really embarrassing presented although in crispy light batter there was still more batter than fish. I should have refused the dish when it was served….. the reason why I write this review now. I’ve clocked up a few laps of the world and this was the poorest cuttlefish dish ever seen. My fish was great the chips no more special than my local take out… Fritto Misto wasn’t great a battered platter. It was an experience I wouldn’t pay for again.

A wonderful lunch for new year, as we are not big on going out and big new years celebrations we treated ourselves to lunch and a wonderful lunch we enjoyed with usual Great service and fantastic fresh fish and seafood as always at Rockfish Exmouth. We love visiting Rockfish Exmouth which is our favourite of the Rockfish Restaurants,and we are very much looking forward to the opening of Rockfish Sidmouth hopefully soon!!

Great service and fantastic fresh fish and seafood as always. We love visiting Rockfish Exmouth and very much looking forward to the opening of Rockfish Sidmouth

This place was great from start to finish. Reasonably priced for the quality of food!! My boyfriend and I absolutely loved our late lunch here. The kitchen was ran by what was perceived as the head chef who was calm and collected. Everything ran smoothly, the staff were great. Smiles all round, pleasant and attentive. Very impressed with everything and we haven’t had an experience like this in a long time. The owners should be very proud. ALSO UNLIMITED CHIPS IS A GREAT IDEA.

Massively overpriced for such a small piece of fish, the food tasted bland, this is 6th time visiting and it’s slowly getting worse. The kids menu is ridiculous overpriced and it says ice cream included but then price it separately when coming to pay. We’d rather of not had the ice cream if we knew. There own cider is nice, chips also tasty but overall poor experience for a price of £120 for me, my partner and 2 young children (shared a meal) this is only including 1 alcoholic beverage and no desserts bar the kids ice cream. Take nothing away from the staff there are very accommodating but food 👎

super yummy fish a really nice dish unlimited chips delicious dips (although a seagull did decide to have a number 2 over the edge of the outdoor cover and landed on my plate.)(the emergency services were also at the beach next to rockfish because someone buried themself in the sand.) eventful.

Food was great! But the standout for us was Steven the host / manager was fantastic, enthusiastic and professional. The rest of the staff were also very attentive and will be back - and something you dont see often are the bottomless fries !

We have been coming to Rockfish, Exmouth since it opened and have always enjoyed the food. BUT it has become so expensive I doubt we will be going again. On our last visit we shared scollops to start, three tiny scollops for £12.95. Main couse was a very small piece of haddock, that seemed to have been cooked from frozen. The fish inside the batter was cold and wet and Squid. The Squid was fresh and good but again, tiny and at £22.00 very expensive. So with a couple of small tins of beer our bill came to over £70 And apart from chips hardly anything to eat. Just to expensive now.

I needed cheering up and this place did it Lovely food,very friendly cheerful staff Special mention for sauteed spinach- thank you

Nice food, nice place, great staff, thank you all.

We were a party of 4 and this was the second time I’d eaten here . We ordered 6 oysters between 2 as a starter. The oysters were served with a what was supposed to be,I guess a mignonette , but it was, I think, onions rather than shallots, in a poor quality red wine vinegar, which altogether was too strong for the oysters. The oysters were fresh but mixed in size and had not been properly shucked, so we were left trying to separate them from the shell with a fork.I chose the scallop starter as a main course but was disappointed to find it smothered in soggy, oily breadcrumbs that did nothing to add to an already oily, oven baked dish . It was served with slices of baguette— I guess to mop up the oil. The side of spinach that I ordered as a side was fresh , but was no more than an oily, garlicky spoonful, and at £3.50 for the quantity , was outrageous . The chips were homemade and good . The wine list, for a seafood restaurant, was woefully lacking in not having a classic Chablis or Sancerre on its list, ( it has had previously ) yet expecting to charge just short of £40 for an Albariño. We ordered Picpoul de Pinet as the alternatives in that price bracket were Italian wines ( pinot blanco or pinot Grigio ) not really suitable for the seafood on offer. Our friends ordered the Frito misto and fish and chips . They said it was ok, but in reality they weren’t paying takeaway prices. I don’t know if they served deserts because no one came to ask if we wanted one, or offered us a desert menu . We asked for the bill , and it came . No one asked if we wanted a coffee or a liqueur . It was a Friday night , and it wasn’t booked out or particularly busy . I think I know why .

Great location. Nice food. Friendly and helpful staff.

Never disappointed with this restaurant…the food was absolutely delicious, the staff were so professional and the atmosphere was buzzing…I had the mussels for my main course and they were the best I’ve ever eaten…huge, sweet and full of flavour…our son had the ray wing again absolutely delicious and my husband had the haddock once again delicious. What I was so happy about was our son’s girlfriend had the vegetarian fish burger and she thought it was delicious…so all in all a delicious meal was had by all!

Fantastic!! Rockfish is a great restaurant. We have been there a few times and there will be a few times more.

Today wife and I celebrated my birthday and also my successful heart op. So it was a special day for us. We sat in the indoor terrace, nice and warm and enough people to give a nice atmosphere. Staff were absolutely superb. We both had scallops to start. Very good Followed by whole char grilled cuttle fish ( my wife found this dish to be excellent) I tried the pollock. Nicely cooked. I had chips with my fish and when I ordered a second lot they arrived in 2 or 3 mins a piping hot. We also had a sweet. Chocolate brownie with banoffee sauce and I had the peach Melba. Both excellent followed by tea and I had the fisherman’s coffee. Well done to all at rockfish and not forgetting all those behind the scenes.

Brilliant fish and chips restaurant. Pricy, but as a treat......

Amazing experience. Great service, food perfectly cooked, lovely view over the sea with the table. Could put bikes safely outside. 10/10. Couldn't fault the experience. Thanks so much to the staff :-)

Great food, served in a friendly and helpful manner.

Had the special £20 deal for 3 courses! It was excellent, very tasty and plenty to eat, would recommend very much, thoroughly enjoyed it!

The fish is very fresh, beautifully cooked and nicely presented. Pleasant and attentive staff, however we thought it was somewhat expensive, particularly the alcoholic beverages. The shipping report in the loos are entertaining! We will return. Thank you.

Great service from knowledgable waiting staff, attentive and reception even saved us one of the last portions of mussels when we picked up a cancellation spot at peak time on a sunday night. Lovely view of the sea and cool theme inside the restaurant. Mussels were perfect (not overcooked and not cooked in/with cream!) Absolutely fresh, you can taste the freshness especially with the main which was a whole cuttlefish, grilled. The cuttlefish could have been cooked for just a minute or 2 longer but it was still very nice, although quite a lot of garlic. Definitely one of the better seafood places around. Not super cheap but what can you expect, atleast they put the effort in to justify the cost. Thanks.

Tastes so good, even the food is happy! We had high expectations in advance of visiting and Rockfish exceeded these. Really lovely and friendly staff, delicious food and fantastic atmosphere. 10/10.

We went to rockfish Exmouth for Sunday lunch. We had booked ahead as it was a birthday and were thrilled with a free glass of Prosecco to mark the occasion. Lovely food, lovely atmosphere and really great service. Could of fault any of it and...

Always enjoy our visits to Rockfish Exmouth. Spent a really nice 80th birthday celebration with our family in September. We had lunch today and tried the fixed menu at £20 for 3 courses (Rockfish choice with no alternatives.) Nice sardines to start followed by a...

Love this restaurant. It is lovely to eat fresh fish that has been freshly caught.

They have fresh catch of the day and classic fish and chips with plenty of choice of starters with a fantastic view out of the beech

An absolutely unbelievable experience!!! It was raining and I was really desperate for a take away. It was then I met Kathy, she was amazing!!! The level of service was outstanding as was her professionalism. I will definitely be coming back and telling all my friends about rock fish in future. Trust me this is the place to come!!!!

Great service and wonderful fish. In this case it was Brill. Lovely

We ate the freshest seafood as the high tide waves sprayed the windows. Loved it. A consistently excellent place to eat. I do wish they would get rid of that yellow ‘watch your step’ sign in the middle of the floor though.

One week ago today a few of us met here having traveled from Scotland and other afar places. We were served by a lady who described all of the various fish offerings whilst pricing at the same time. I was happy to choose a fish...

Very slow service yet very quite Was shocked traditional fish and chips did not even come with peas yet cost £23 Very poor drinks selection

Many thanks to Steve at Rockfish for organising us a table in the warm indoor terrace by the window on Saturday 21 Oct evening rather than in the main restaurant which I'd booked - what a sublime view! The calamari which both my husband & I had for starters was excellent - really light & crispy. I had the monkfish tail for main - a huge, completely delicious dish, with the best chips I've had for some years. Love the idea of being able to order more fries for free if you're particularly hungry. My husband's hake & chips were gorgeous, with proper mushy peas. Service was impeccable, efficient & friendly. And as for the shipping forecast in the loos - well, I've not chuckled so much for ages! Keep it up & we'll definitely be back. Thank you for a great time. Wendy & Steve

Very good service, and all the fish were cooked very nicely with very good sides. All our family were very happy with the visit.

Request a seat on the terrace, you won't be disappointed, the view is beautiful.

Incredible meal, all four of us throughly gobbled up every last morsel and had a lovely evening. The staff are well informed and the fish cooked perfectly. I would highly recommend Rockfish Exmouth.

The best fish bar with excellent stuff and view. Dog friendly.

Very nice restaurant at the entrance of Exmouth. We came in the evening for some dinner. The fish was very tasty and service was excellent. Particularly enjoyed the Norwegian Rockfish Fillet and chips were also really good. Dessert was yummy! Decor was really nice and had a nice atmosphere. Would definitely return to this restaurant. Car park nearby.

Good Gluten free fish and chips

Menu choice of fish and seafood was extensive and did not disappoint. Great food and location. Service was good even though the restaurant was very busy... unfortunately they forgot our extra chips !

Always delicious food and great service.

I brought my mum and sister to the Exmouth restaurant today and we absolutely loved it! We had the fish of the day and it was cooked to perfection. It was more than delicious and the service was exemplary, we didn't feel rushed even though...

Absolutely excellent meal at Rockfish Exmouth. Service, food, ambience, just perfect. The fresh market fish is sensational.