Talk of the Town in Torbay - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Since the refurbishment of this pub the customer service has gone downhill. Went in for drinks waited at the bar for 15 minutes to get served as approx 12 people in queue only 1 person serving.Another server appeared about 10 minutes later and was on her headset trying to get more staff without success. Tables were not being cleared 2 tables behind us were left for almost an hour.Staff seem to be walking about not achieving anything.There was 1 manager on and she appeared to be the only 1 doing any work. App orders for drinks were left on the bar and 3 people came to see where their drinks were.At 1 point there were about 6 orders on the bar. Managers dont seem able to contol what is going on,its a shame as the refurb is good. Every time you go in there are new staff on they dont seem able to keep staff. Suggest get an Area Manager to go in and sit and watch for a couple of hours and sort the staff out.

Nice pub. Plenty of space. Good food and drink at good prices. Quick service

It’s a Weatherspoons, so you know what you are going to get. Food and drink was on point and reasonably priced - staff were good. It did feel like a school food hall with the layout, but again - this is the compromise you have to accept for cheap eats and drink. I was really impressed with how the staff responded to an issue - our pizzas arrived with wrong toppings, we informed a bar staff and he promptly got it sorted and we had new pizzas swiftly. I get issues happen, that’s life, it how they are resolved which is the test - and they passed with flying colours. The thing that tainted our experience wasn’t actually anything to do with the pub, it was peoples lack of control of their children - 2 families let their children sit on their own table and literally high pitch screech and scream the whole time.

Recently renewed,basic Wetherspoons, but the service was unbelievably fast considering how busy it was

Big pub.Quick service and good price

Busiest wetherspoons I've ever been to , well done to the staff , who work so hard

The Talk of the Town, now the only Wetherspoons pub in Paignton, underwent refurbishment in early 2024, following its acquisition of the Factory pub next door and consequent expansion. The entrance to the pub has been moved to where the Factory pub once was (the western end) as has the bar. This has increased the outside seating area, both on Torbay Road and at the back overlooking Torbay Park, which in fine weather is very pleasant. As in most Wetherspoons pubs that I have visited there are slightly too few bar staff to serve the waiting customers, but the service you do get is friendly. When I ordered a pint via their app I had to wait 12 minutes for it to be delivered to my table. I suspect that I may not have waited that long had I gone to the bar for my drink. Overall however I find that increasing the size of the pub has reduced the homely atmosphere the pub once had and made it less personal. I suppose that was inevitable.

Great place ...great service ..Best in town

Just had a drink here. It was your usual Weather spoons. Did notice this one had a serve yourself area, never noticed this at other places before?

Good service polite and helpful staff ¹

It's a spoons... But very slow on table cleaning.

Good food, clean and friendly, quick service with lots of choice on the menu. Very good value for money. Clean toilets, helpful staff.

Recently refurbished and it has produced good surroundings. Usual wetherspoons decor and service. The outside seating area is excellent on a sunny day.

Maybe I made the mistake of judging in peak tourist season but it's pretty grim. Staff and service were good enough but the atmosphere is dreary, and I was let down by an over cooked chicken breast on a Tennessee burger and the accompanying limp onion rings.

Food nice, pub is very busy. Need more staff to clear the tables

4 of us called in here for evening meal + to see how the extension works have gone. The service was really poor + the internet ordering system was down making the bar busier. After ordering our food, we were seated with a view of the kitchen. We observed our food sat on the hot plate waiting to be picked up for more than 10 minutes - pretty poor really. The waiter was just strolling round the place. The building doesn't look like it has had a lot of money spent on it really. I went in a couple of nights later for a drink and the state of the place was terrible. Food on the floor, menus and serviettes on the floor. Tables full of dirty plates + glasses. Embarrassing really. We were in for a couple of hours and they had just cleared the plates away and were starting clearing glasses. I have been in numerous Wetherspoons, but this was poor and uncalled for.

Typical Wetherspoons fayre. Only had drinks. Friendly staff

Hi, In The Talk of the Town on 14 august 2024 at 16.00. Very busy got served Ok as per usual only two persons serving, many customers waiting to be served. Tried to find a table to sit on but found a number of tables pilled high with dirty plates and used glasses. No one seemed to be clearing up just left there blocking any table that you would like to sit on. In the corner a mass of dirty plates and glasses. Come on Tim not the way to run a pub especially after all the millions you have spent on creating the new space. Why have you not got some one clearing up and cleaning the tables? Where is the management keeping a eye on things? Very disappointing.

Yet again another Wetherspoons let down. Tables not emptied, drinks machines not working. Looks like a staff shortage One guy though had sweat dripping off his back, should have been told to change his shirt 👕

The best black pudding I ever had 🤤🤤🤤

Food was cold ad steak again tuff

Good pub didn’t have any food, but had a drink pub was very busy but staff kept tables clear, had a good seating area

Called in for breakfast here was a bit of a wait for food but was worth it Carol the supervisor was extremely helpful and a lovely lady an absolute credit to you please make sure she is aware that you as a company appreciate her. Also I am going to try her tip of hollandaise sauce haha

A Usual great Weatherspoons pub... Great food and great value. Very busy most evenings, extremely popular pub with the locals and tourists. Large pub with lots of tables. Had to wait until one became free. It was that busy. Shows how popular it is. Recommend to go a little earlier before on the usual busy times.

Wife and I came here for lunch as we was on holiday. Great place, was busy but all good. We would come back again.

Good pub and very big, service was good and tables were cleared quickly,

Really quick service on the app, cheap drinks and food. Standard Spoons fayre. Have changed the review because the Spring 2024 refit is horrible. Almost everywhere you sit is now a thoroughfare of people walking by your table to the loo or looking for tables. The raised central area seems to be the only place to sit that doesn't have the constant people traffic. Have started going to Henry's across the road instead.

Fantastic loved it, great beer and food 👍

Enjoyed all of my visits with Daughter very busy each time compliments to staff especially waiter who managed to find 2 chairs so we could sit down food delivery was very quick and hot

Brilliant....cheap drinks...good food..good for family...plenty of seating inside and outside....

I was looking forward to this visit after reading about the months of closure and the vast amount of money spent. I was disappointed, the carpet was so shabby and it didn't really feel like a refurbished venue. The staff were friendly and I enjoyed my meal and bottle of Aspall's Cyder which I was pleased to receive with the correct rounded glass rather than a pint glass which some Wetherspoon's wrongly think is acceptable. It does make a difference!

A great place to visit-especially since the refurb. Many more tables and interesting local info available. The atmosphere is friendly and welcoming and the food is consistently of the same standard. I enjoy the cheap and cheerful menu and visit often.

As stated by another review, we went to have breakfast this morning, we sat on the public footpath at the front of the pub, it doesn’t state anywhere that dogs are not allowed. We ordered food and drinks, our dog was lay under our chairs not causing any bother to anyone and when the team leader brought our breakfast out, he said oh dogs are not allowed on the premises. I didn’t know Wetherspoons owned the pavement. We had our money back and left for another establishment that allows dogs to sit on the footpath outside the shop. Obviously Wetherspoons are not animal friendly places. Won’t be visiting another spoons pub anytime soon.

Slow service but friendly. Had lovely air con.

typical Wetherspoons with all the expected strengths and weaknesses. Too small for the number of prospective customers not very good for big parties as the tables are not easily moved together. Drinks app service much quicker than Torquay where it can take 20 minutes. Toilets miles away up two flights of stairs. Review update after refurbishment. It's horrible. It's basically a warehouse. Not recommended at all

With new extension, it's much more spacious and brighter. Breakfast nice quality and good value, served quickly.

Awful breakfast...bacon fridge cold and raw. Eggs hard as golf balls.

Breakfast was lovely and served timely and on a hot plate..

Very busy when we went, food was OK, but they forgot about my order and my friend had hers 20 minutes before

I’m so disappointed that on an incredibly hot day we chose to sit at the front of this establishment with our dog to enjoy some food. I understand dogs are not welcome inside or their pub gardens but to be turned away from open seating on the public footpath in front is very shameful. The seating is clearly in public space and my 14 year old dog on a short lead was tucked under the table for shade. We were told by a very embarrassed member of staff it is Wetherspoons policy to not allow animals in any of their pubs but as stated we were not inside or in any private space so feel very aggrieved that we could not get ourselves a drink. I attach a photo for reference as to how the seating is on the open pavement, not sectioned off

Really nice pub, big bar with lots of staff.

In Devon on holiday and have eaten out nearly every night and this was by far the best value and as tasty as any of the more expensive restaurants we visited. Downloaded the app so we could order from the table, really easy to navigate and worked perfectly. It was a busy Friday evening but the drinks arrived within minutes and the food 10mins later. Everything was great, hot and tasty and really, really good value. We all enjoyed our meals and would recommend it wholeheartedly.

Brilliant service and staff will definitely return

Just a bit too noisy at the time we were there.

Given such a low score as the service was abysmal. Hardly any people there on a Sunday evening yet 15 minutes wait at the bar. The fish and chips were ok. My cheeseburger & chips, 10 chips, a burnt bun and a burger that was crunchy so obviously re-fried in a deep fat fryer. Total waste of time and money.

Excellent service and good quality

Service was quick and the price for a pint fantastic .Well worth a visit !!!!

Good food friendly staff great choice of beers

friendly staff lovely tasty and cheap beer

Better than expected nice food and decent atmosphere

personally I wasn't that impressed by the new look and preferred it before the make over plus you would of thought they would of put new carpets down being the money they spent on the make over

Done a good job of refurbishment.

It's a spoons, what more can you say.

Went dinner tonight for my fourtieth bday the steak an chips was terrible fatty no sides just six chips and steak terrible the staff lovely but dinner was really terrible an disappointing day waiting fourth minutes an dinner was terrible really dissapointed sad I been breakfast an was good but dinner tonight was terrible wouldn’t given it my cat

Loved it, as ever spoons delivers 😁

Best spoons I've been to, tends to get busy but it's nice and open atmosphere means you don't feel claustrophobic. Great pub.

Probably my worst ever visit to a Wetherspoons, early Saturday evening and seemed like all new staff wondering around like headless chicken, not knowing what tables to take food and drink to. Only 3 of our 4 meals turned up and my 10 year old was caught on the arm by a knife a server was carrying, food took way longer than normal and even a 30 minute wait for desserts, very disappointing.

Great food and drink. Cosy and comfy. No loud music playing so dont have to shout

Pretty much your average Wetherspoons. Always very busy.

Really good not one bad word to say about it excellent staff and excellent food

Big refurb but didn't bother cleaning the carpet in old part . Not good

Steak was not good. Very tough and portions are getting smaller. Think i had about 20 chips only.

Very busy place. Waited 20 minutes for our first drink to be delivered to the table

On my visit it was cash only and the app wasn't working.

Great value, usual choices for Wetherspoons, great refurb

Just spent a lot of cash on refurbishment, wasted money seats are uncomfortable, and squash to many in , very poor toilet facilities , just pizza parlour with a carpet.

Red wine was very cold, chicken tikka Luke warm, poppadoms glistening in oil, pub is to big to cope with quality now, sorry but won’t be visiting again, very poor

Nice size pub, at times busy, so hard to find a table, good food and drink

In fairness it's a bit more than OK. Problem is... It's still hit and miss. Long queues at the bar sometimes, other times served straight away. Sometimes like crazy mad, other times good and relaxed. I won't bad mouth this place, because dispite the occasional problem.... It's still a good place to go. Comfortable and friendly. Good value Wetherspoon. Recently been enlarged, now more room as knocked through to the premises nextdoor.

Not a good experience ordered food only to be told they run out of fish fr 3 of our meals after an hour had passed. Changed meals took forever to come did not enjoy at all had to have a refund on one meal was not good at all.

Cheap beer and food. Sometimes a bit busy especially at weekends can cause a bit of a wait at the bar.

Best weather spoons I have been to

Hi , I went in today for my lunch ( first visit since the refurbishment) I ordered the steak pudding from the menu, the meal was awful, they must have put the pudding in the microwave and overcooked it as it was very dry inside and the pudding was hard / crispy. It was quite busy at 12-30 today and I was expecting a nice meal but was very disappointed.

It's a wetherspoons, you can't go wrong. Cheap as chips.

Spoons! What can you say, most people love Spoons.

Seems to be becoming the gay bar of choice in Paignton.

Another great ‘spoons, good food and beer at sensible prices, I had the spicy southern fried chicken wrap

Pub now extended so a lot busier. Service very good, decent food well priced. Does get very loud at the weekend which is a bit off putting if you're eating.

Very nice food came quickly nice and hot food Was very busy

Its a spoons. Recently refurbished, the carpet looks old and faded. Apparently it's brand new. As usual the toilets are upstairs and the gents is the furthest. Good selection of drinks and of course the prices are good. Be nice if they did actually mix the spirit with the mixer though. If you like spoons you'll like it. If you don't you won't. It is what it is

We ate at this Wetherspoons in busy Paignton during the Euros. The first night the pub was full but we ordered our food which was very nice and promptly delivered. The following evening we went again. This time there was a mix up with the food which we weren’t happy with. An older lady collecting our plates saw we had left some and asked why. We explained and she immediately called the manager who refunded full payment. Excellent service. Recommended.

The food that I ordered was an absolute disgrace the. Steak and kidney pudding you could have broke your teeth on the portion of chips if you can call them that got to do better in my eyes ......

Refurb looks good, food & drinks are ok. Always been plenty of tables

Good food, friendly staff thankyou

initially a mess up with the order, wrong table, long wait and cold food. The manageress today 17 June, fixed everything really well. She turned an unusually poor experience into a positive one. So a 5 star review is justified.

Only had drinks but was a pretty good 'Spoons pub. Service and table clearing was efficient.

Visited Talk of the Town Paignton on a day trip. Packed out with happy customers and could only find one free table but with high seats - difficult being short and with my injured knee. Big giant thank you to customer service Carole, who went out of her way and looked after us so well and found us a more suitable table - very much appreciated. Especially bearing in mind how busy she and her colleagues were with such a busy lunchtime crowd of customers. Service at the bar excellent bearing in mind the pub so packed, and food delivered piping hot and quickly. I should also mention cleanliness and tidiness of the rest room - excellent. Visiting Weatherspoons is usually good value, but this was a great experience.

Tried the newly opened and expanded talk of the town recently for the first time since it reopened, everything looks very nice and tip top apart from the breakfasts!!! There still serving the traditional cold breakfasts!!! Cold beans, cold eggs, cold bacon, cold hash browns, and slightly warm sausages!! Everything is new apart from the cooks in the kitchen!!!! Shocking

I have just Drove from Devon and stopped at the service station for a coffee and something to eat. The breakfast looked good so went for it and the only thing to let it down was the mushrooms swimming in cooking oil so I left them. It not the mushrooms at fault it's the spoon that was used to dish up ( look at photos I uploaded )

I have been excited to go back here after a long refurbishment as I live in Paignton so I was outside with my loving pet dog as I know you can’t go inside with a dog only to be told I will have to move on after my drink as the pathway where the tables are, belongs to them and you can’t have a dog at the table. So i tied her to a post only ti be told I would still have to move no more drinks.The lady in question told me she only gets minimum wage and doesn’t get paid to be questioned or take sxxt we were not rude at all we just wanted to be explained to why we had to move on.Very disappointed with with the outcome as no reasonable reason was given I won’t be recommending this place to my big family or friends

Great food, deffo comes to life when evening comes and the atmosphere was sensational.

Cheap and cheerful! Such a nice place when it's open.

Great pub however currently it's closed for refurbishment.

Have given this place 1 star when usually it would be 4 because being on holiday and not living here we arrived for breakfast to find closed for refurbishment which is fine but your website and app showed you being open and even what beers you had on!Please update your website to avoid disappointment!!!

It's a Wetherspoons. Good value, although I, like many others, I suspect, have been disappointed that the price reductions promised by Mr Martin if we voted Brexit have become price increases after the fact.

It's a wetherspoons that all the same. Cheap and agile to the toilets.

Usual Wetherspoons experience but can't argue with that when the food is relatively cheap, tasty and delivered quick. Nice atmosphere in the pub and great toilets.

Closed for refurbishment until May

Always a great atmosphere and really nice staff.

Only had a drink. Looks a nice place