The Galley in Torbay

I cannot recommend this independent restaurant more highly! The food was perfect, the service was attentive, and the atmosphere was excellent. Thank you for a wonderful evening! Plus I got a free firework display!

We had been recommended to try The Galley by friends and booked this to celebrate my wife’s birthday. Problems - very Long delay waiting for food. We Waited 1 hr and 20 mins before food arrived and other later tables served before us. Starters and mains- over priced and not value for money - very small portions for the cost- 3 very small scallops and 2 very small pieces of venison as a main- over salted small fillet of sea bream and Hake. Delays getting drinks . Very Smokey and heavy grease in the air coming through for the kitchen into the dining area - our clothes and hair smelling of this. Was their kitchen extractor broken? Lastly my son has a severe allergy to Mustard - which we explained several times to the young waiter ( my son carries an epipen) but despite this the waiter assured him there was no mustard in the home made coriander mayo- . The waiter was a bit dismissive when we checked this with him. After he delivered this and my son was about to eat it the waiter ran back to say it did have mustard in the mayo! We did discuss all our issues with the head waiter who could only apologise. We would definitely not recommend this restaurant as the whole experience and the food was extremely disappointing. It is very over rated.

Good food very good service nice atmosphere

Have dined here on and off for many years. I have never had a bad meal and tonight was no exception. Beautiful cured monkfish, a perfectly cooked hake fillet, finished off with a black cherry parfait. Just glorious.

Been wanting to eat here for ages and it didn't disappoint. Amazing food, mainly fish/seafood, portion sizes that were just right, service that paid friendly attention without being overly attentive... Two courses for £30, 3 for £36, which would be reasonable anywhere and is amazing for somewhere wearing a Michelin Bib Gourmand! Loved it 🙂

Just super as always & given celebrating a birthday, really good to be somewhere not full of Xmas paraphanalia

Great fresh food and very reasonably priced. Highly recommend.

Excellent food and service Worry of it's Michelin star but reasonable pricing

Wonderful restaurant - we all had a wonderful time. I've marked the food down slightly probably unfairly as like all modern classy restaurants, the helpings were very tasty, but small. Also the table was in the windows where we became a bit of a spectacle. Can't help it I suppose as we numbered six and curiosity overcame the walkers. No real problems though.

Lovely lunch. All three courses were delicious. Hope to be back when visiting Devon.

Lovely food and service, will come again!

Wonderful spot! Came here for a special occasion, and the service was amazing. The staff was lovely and so accommodating. And the food! Absolutely delicious, every course was a delight. Our party of 5 left all of our plates spotless. Definitely will be back next time I am in the area!

Great experience here Lovely food, atmosphere a d service was fantastic x

Absolutely fantastic. Definitely worth it!! Take all 3 courses plus the wine. I forgot to take a photo of the starter.

What a wonderful evening of fine dining. We had waited a long time to dine at The Galley and it was worth the wait. Stunning food, beautiful flavours and a rather lovely experience all round. A relaxed atmosphere and friendly staff, a thoroughly enjoyable birthday treat for my husband.

Fantastic fresh food and experience

Fantastic food and charming attentive staff. Remarkably good value for a restaurant of this calibre.

Our favourite restaurant which never disappoints, set in a lovely Town. Great front of house and simply superb food.

Our most recent visit was incredibly disappointing. After years of enjoying our dining at the Galley, we were thoroughly looking forward to going again on Friday evening. Sadly our latest experience can only be described as poor. The serving staff were very friendly albeit forgot to bring our wine and had to be reminded. The starter of Asparagus on Focaccia was bland, dry and tiny and not to be recommended or repeated. For my main course I ordered the Kohlrabi ravioli, I received approximately 14 thin discs of Kohlrabi (10p size) which had a drizzle of pesto over them. It soon became evident that this was the entire dish, I went to speak to the manager to ask where the pasta parcels were, at this juncture he informed me this was the dish and he blamed the waiting staff for not advising me that it was a "Concept" dish. I informed the waiter that this wasn't acceptable and additionally discussed such with the manager. I told him this dish had no nutritional value, literally zero carbohydrate or protein content. Moreover I refused to pay for it, I have never refused to pay for a dish before. Whilst I wasn't charged for it, I left the restaurant hungry (please note I am not a big eater). The dessert was, however delicious and typical of what we had come to expect of the Galley. I would prefer that the Galley decided not to offer Vegetarian/Vegan dishes on it's menu than the appalling choices that are currently on offer. It's really not that difficult to cook delicious, appetising Vegetarian/Vegan dishes.

Amazing experience! Relaxing atmosphere, attentive service. The food rich with different textures and flavours. Feels luxurious and a real treat to dine at The Galley.

Our second visit to the Galley and as before we enjoyed a superb 3 course meal The menu was well thought out with interesting and intriguing choices, the food was beautifully cooked and presented and all of the staff are very friendly and helpful. We very much look forward to our next visit!

Have been to The Galley several times and has never disappointed! Excellent in every way.

Really delicious food, very relaxed atmosphere, charming staff. Highly recommended.

We at TOPSHAM CARS Taxi Service always hear 10/10 scores for The Galley when we pick up their Customers after a meal. John Topsham Cars

Lovely little place with plenty of seafood offerings on a reasonably mixed menu. Charming and friendly staff and a pleasant atmosphere with local art pieces for sale on the walls and a nice choice of background music. Beautifully presented food that is as tasty as it looks.

Scallops & Hake were good but the veg were almost raw - trying to be cheffy

Thoroughly enjoyed our dinner last night. Lovely fresh sea food and great service from the most amicable patron Patrick made the evening.

One of the best restaurants I have been in food fantastic ambience great staff very knowledgeable about the food

The service was excellent. The small seating area is comfortable and relaxed. The food was fantastic, we both had three courses and wine and enjoyed every one. The stand outs were the scallops, beef bavette and espresso parfait with walnut ice cream. We will definitely come back and I'm already recommending to friends.

Lovely evening with friends, went for 3 courses, all delicious. Good selection of wines. Small restaurant but quite a good ambience. Service very good and will definitely go again. If you like your fish, this is the place for you.

We had a lo Ely lunch here, its a smashing quaint restaurant with estuary views

A truly wonderful find in Topsham. Incredible food, great wine list and brilliant front of house. We will definitely be back the next time we're in Devon. Thank you

A lovely restaurant, great wines , starters and desserts. Rated down due to the main course of monkfish. My friends fillet was raw in the middle and had to be sent back and cooked through. My monkfish had a massive bone through the middle which meant I had much less of the delicious fish than my friend who had no bone. I’ve never had monkfish on the bone but the (nice) waiter explained it can be served like this. I think a heads up would work as you do get much less than the person who just gets a nice juicy fillet!

We booked here for a family birthday celebration. We were given the upstairs dining room to ourselves as there were 12 of us. We pre-ordered from the lunch menu and we couldn’t have been more welcomed! Food was beautiful, I think across the party we probably tried almost every item and it really was all delicious (including vegetarian options). It was very reasonably priced for the quality and service was friendly, relaxed and unrushed. There were some staffing issues on the day for the team but we would never have guessed as everything was just lovely. We will absolutely be back and I would highly recommend.

First date night of 2024.. what a good choice, small independent business (which we always support) the place and atmosphere was really relaxed and the owner (sorry didn't catch his name) was very good, the food was excellent, the Devilled Gurnard was another level was the Monkfish & Sea Bass, the carrot cake with walnut ice cream was exceptional, all the food was delicious... I gave 3 stars for the service because we had empty beer bottles and dishes on the table nearly the whole time, I can only assume the servers as nice and polite as they all were possibly lack experience..in saying that we will definitely be going again ..the overall experience was a very good one 10/10 👏👏👏

Came here for lunch to celebrate a birthday and the food was lovely and service excellent. Highly recommend, we will be back!

Loved it! Delicious dinner! Occasion - twin ladies birthday! Entree for me was pickled garfish, definitely tasty!...My main was venison, could have had a larger portion but it was tender and very tasty! Puddings are another treat.... you will find out if you go! Being a driver I had only one glass of wine ...a new wine to me but one I shall very soon be sourcing a bottle of, Passione Rosso (full Italian red)...friendly unobtrusive staff made for a very successful birthday night celebration.

Our first time here but definitely not our last, it was the perfect atmosphere for celebrating my birthday, the food was delicious, a superb restaurant with lovely staff and good champagne

Interesting food. Small but beautifully presented dishes so you can enjoy three courses. Reasonably priced wine.. our Vignonier (sp?) was very nice. Friendly professional service.

My wife and I went to the Galley for an anniversary meal, except we nearly didn’t as she had forgotten to book, only when we phoned to enquire the time of our sorting did we realise we had forgotten. Fortunately the Galley were able to accommodate us at the time we should have booked, many thanks! The food is simply delicious, with enough on the menu to satisfy meat eaters, vegetarian s or pescatarians. As you can see for the pictures the food is beautifully turned out and tastes amazing. The most amazing part to be honest was the price, three courses for two plus wine and a beer all for £100, would have happily paid twice that for the food. Take a visit you won’t regret it.

Will definitely be back again! Great meal 👍

Such an enjoyable evening. Beautiful dishes and friendly service.

We had an incredible meal at the Galley - we shared 3 starters, 3 mains and a pudding, all of which were absolutely delicious. Our favourite was the scallops, but everything we tasted was amazing. The atmosphere was really nice too - it was awful weather outside, and the restaurant was so lovely and cosy. All the staff were so friendly too, and all our food came nice and quickly. Would recommend to everyone!!

Excellent food. Mainly fish but with a meat or veggie main option. Very accommodating to slight changes which was appreciated given a slightly different dietary requirement. Great presentation. Popular. Booking recommended.

Great food, fish dishes perfectly cooked, venison served well rested and not over seasoned, and excellent attention to veg, sauces and sides. Would definitely recommend and will definitely be returning. Thanks!

Cannot fault the food. We had 3 courses of hot, tasty and beautifully presented food. However the service was very very slow and not terribly professional. The cutlery and table wear mediocre. Given it is the end of October the room was cold as the front door was propped open. Given all that I would go back for the food but not the overall dining experience.

Really good bread and butter make an excellent first impression and the meal was top class. One thing that would elevate the experience even more would be better quality, finer wine glasses as the ones in use are heavy and more like pub glasses. I had mushroom risotto, venison and Devon cheeses. Very good value.

Another lovely evening with spellbinding food. How can a risotto have such amazing taste and texture? Cosy and informal so a very relaxed evening.

One of the best meals I have had for a long time. Exemplary service from a friendly staff. Can’t wait to go again.

Worth a Michelin. Very well presented subtlety flavoured food. We are all pescatarians, lots of choice. Hard to decide which of the courses was the best. Chablis was excellent. Prices really amazing for this level of cooking.

Lovely seafood lunch. Superb food thanks

Had a great evening at The Galley. Delicious food, excellent service and lovely atmosphere. We'll definitely come back again 😊

Putting it simply - top 5 restaurants in Devon. I had little expectations but had one of the most pleasant dining experiences. Everything is made smart and with a touch of love and care. The space is on a small side bit somehow all the tables are arranged in a way that you have lovely views, privacy and easy access to the amenities. Food is a both very locals in terms of ingredient and combinations but done and served in a fresh, artistic way. Every dish is a masterpiece of fresh local ingredients and flavour - texture combos perfectly made to show local food in all its fine dining glory. Wine list is interesting and moderately priced. Do pay a visit!

Highly recommended and super food with very welcoming front of house. We will be back!

This place is incredible, the food is unreal and the value is fantastic. Had fantastic service with Kitty, she had amazing knowledge or food and wine. We loved our experience would highly highly recommend!!!

This was a lunchtime wedding anniversary treat. The food was delicious and the staff were friendly and helpful.

Great staff, great food. We cannot fault anything. Very nice wine too. Portion size excellent for us both. Will definitely visit again.

Beautifully cooked fish and lovely views over estuary from first floor

Yesterday was our second visit to this charming restaurant the previous one was in November with some friends. The following comments in this paragraph relate to both visits. The food is exquisite and presented beautifully. The restaurant is comfortable and relaxed.The staff are friendly helpful and knowledgeable. Great selection of wines. The prices are about what you would expect. Service was little slow yesterday, the team were working hard and the place was busy, for food to be freshly prepared to this standard you would expect to wait, but we ran out of time and had to leave before ordering a desert. A loss to the restaurant and to us. My wife and I visit restaurants regularly and we are not fans of large portions, but it has to said that portion sizes at the Galley are small enough to be commented upon both times.

Celebrated another year of getting older 🥳 with one of the most exquisite dinners I had in a very long time. A contemporary experience that is simply unrivaled here in Topsham/Exeter. Sophisticated yet non pretentious, everything was exceptionally tasty, easily one of the best dining experience’s we’ve had in some time. 🙌🏻🔥

Excellent small restaurant in Topsham. Booking recommended. Parking can be a bit tricky. Highly recommended. Not quite Michelin star, but not far off.

Four of us went for lunch and were really impressed. Really friendly relaxed service, a great atmosphere and the food was brilliant too 👍. Can be tricky to get a table so book in advance but having sampled it I’m not surprised it’s so popular.

We ate there today to celebrate our wedding anniversary and were very pleased to find that the new chef has not only maintained the previous high standards but exceeded them. All three of our courses were exquisite in taste and presentation, the service was superb and the atmosphere was calm and quiet until a group of three rather loud ladies sat at the table next to us. The set-price two or three course lunch menu offers a good choice of fish and other foods at a reasonable price for the quality and we will look forward to another visit to try some of the other options. Highly recommended, but very popular so book in advance.

We wasn't planned to have dinner at Topsham. The quality of food was good, very nice seafood dishes with reasonable price. Lovely Dinner made a perfect day in Topsham.

Lovely lunch and very attentive service

My partner and I came for dinner. It was a lovely vibe, the service was top notch, very friendly staff and very considerate with dietary needs. The food was gorgeous. We both had scallops to start and halibut as a main. They were deliciously moist and full of flavour.

From the sourdough bread and truffle butter, the mussel risotto, pan fried halibut, white chocolate and rubharb mouse, to the coffee and petit fores, every mouthful was exquisite. Definitely about quality rather than quantity, but good value and fantastic service.

Amazing food and friendly, professional service 👌

One of the best restaurants in Uk . Perfect service, perfect food Enjoy

Mrs Simpson is remembered amongst other things, for saying - one can never be too rich or too thin. I would say that this restaurant takes that maxim to heart. I should have been warned by the two slices of sourdough bread served with a teaspoon of butter prior to the meal, a little like Yorkshire pudding or pasta is served before a meat course. The two scallops (no coral) each were served in a small puddle with a shaving of a pickle in a large bowl. Followed by about 2” of fish sitting on top of one small cauliflower sprig and some seeds. The fish and the scallops were fresh, well cooked, tasty but alas we like food and when we go out we’d like to feel as tho’ we’d had a meal, we hadn’t. It cost £29 each - actual cost of the ingredients - maybe £3? In all it was the Emperor’s new clothes.

Lovely intimate restaurant fantastic food and wine excellent service great place for a special occasion, couldn't fault anything about this wonderful restaurant we will definitely return and highly recommend it.

Superb classical seafood dishes from MasterChef finalist James Checkley. Go now whilst it's still relatively cheap! Update: Just been again and had probably the most consistent 3 courses of any place we've been to.

Don’t go if you feel hungry. I chose Halibut as a main course and everything on my plate could have been balanced on a dessert spoon. Fine dining is one thing but taking the p*ss is quite another. Everyone in our party of 6 felt that we had ‘taster’ size portions delivered as a main course. The starters and desserts were even smaller. It all tasted very nice but was it value for money? No! I have never been anywhere where I felt nearly as hungry after leaving a restaurant as I did before I went in!

Fantastic meal and I would say ridiculous value for money. Definitely will be going back. Great service too.

Food perfectly cooked and presented but we left feeling hungry £186.00 for 3 people with the set menu was also very expensive for what it was We will not be returning as we felt that it was not value for money

Beautiful little restaurant with amazing dishes on offer. Attentive, knowledgeable staff. A must visit, will definitely be back.

Wonderful dishes with a focus on local produce. Service was incredible. Attentive and knowledgeable staff with a friendly and welcoming attitude. They went to the lengths of writing up a menu for a vegan member of our party which also tasted incredible.

Food is absolutely fantastic! Imaginative AND also delicious! Service was friendly and informative when it came to the wines. Also, for the quality of food, really good value.

We went to the Galley last evening for the first time - to celebrate my husband's birthday. We love Topsham but had also followed the progress of James, the head chef on Masterchef . The meal and total experience exceeded even our high expectations. Staff were friendly and helpful but unobtrusive....there was a relaxed ambience ...and the food was absolutely superb. We will definitely be back - probably the best restaurant meal we have ever had. !

First time visiting after it's closure during 2023 Fabulous meal as before but smaller portions. Attentive service and a lovely ambience.

The Galley Topsham has left the best impressions! If you really like food then go ahead and book in. Delicious starters, mains, and desserts. I would highly recommend this restaurant if you live in Exeter/East Devon! I would like to come back here again.

Good food, good service and there is nothing as good as this anywhere near Exeter .well done Galley !

The food is okay. However，their service gives us negative feeling. The waiter never refilled water to our cups，yet they refilled other tables. We felt be ignored，and I don't know is that because we are foreigners or we sit on the corner.

What a lovely surprise. A lovely relaxed lunch, lovely pace and not rushed and beautiful and superb food combinations at a Michelin star level. Well worth a visit and on the list of must visits in Devon.

Wonderful restaurant in a lovely location. The food was amazing - some very thoughtful and complex dishes. For me the highlight was the bream dish.

Fantastic food at a very reasonable price. It was good to have a decent choice of wine by the glass as well.

The food was very average, visited this February and no-one in the group is at all hard to please but all felt we would be more satisfied from a chippy. Not at all a bad price however! If you want top quality Michelin rated fish and chips there is a place I prefer in Plymouth called fletchers

This is a wonderful restaurant. The chef is very good indeed and front of house is run by the son of the owner who is most welcoming.

Excellent fish restaurant with a thoughly deserve Michelin star

Have eaten here a few times now ,the food is exquisite, the service is amazing, I love it 😊

My Mum said that the lunch she was served was one of the best meals she had ever eaten!

Lovely food and very attentive service

Great value excellent seafood with friendly service

Had a pleasant evening meal here, with above average standard of cooking. Menu was interesting with a focus on fish and seafood, though several dishes in short supply. Ambience was good, and would definitely return to sample again

What a wonderful experience. We were very lucky to get a last minute table due to somone just cancelling. Everything was faultless, every item cooked to perfection, presented beautifully without being too fussy. Staff couldnt be nicer or more informative about the food and wine. For the quality of the food and the overall experience it was also good value. Will definitely try to visit again when in the area.

Had the 6 course tasting menu here on NYE, well what can I say... INCREDIBLE! A beautiful little dining room, fantastic waiting staff and expertly crafted food. Absolute perfection, thank you so much.

Wonderful. Staff attentiveness, menu (food and wine), value for money, ladies toilet cistern and evening. Gem of a place, that everyone needs to be aware of.

I've reviewed before but its probably worth adding that the seafood banquette I had on Friday was possibly the most delicious starter I've ever had. And the people who work there are really nice.

Although small, tables are quite close if you can get over the waiting staffs rear end being very close it's worth it. The food is amazing and not expensive. Good selection of wine and not overly expensive. Have already recommended to friends and family.

Delicious food and wondeful service. Thoroughly enjoyable. Compliments to the chefs, every course was a delight and clearly made with love. Thankyou