TJ's Restaurant in Torbay

Wanted to surprise our daughter for her 16th with a lobster. It was slightly out of season but TJ’s went the extra mile to source a fresh lobster as her surprise meal and kept the surprise going until they presented it to her. Being a foodie herself and being spoilt with choice from travelling and having parent’s & grandparents that grew up on the South African coast and are seafood lovers it was always going to take something special to make the evening memorable. The lobster meal was exquisitely prepared with all flavours from the sources & sides perfectly complementing the lobster. We had a very happy daughter who devoured every morsel without giving us a taste ! We had mussels & youngest had fish & chips which was all fresh & excellent. We loved the concept behind the desert menu which allowed us to try a combination of deserts as each portion was made up of 2 mini deserts. All were delicious and we struggled to decide on our favourite. Thank you to everyone at TJ’s for such a wonderful experience. Next trip to Paignton you will definitely be our first point of call.

We had a lovely meal here last night. Good views, delicious food and friendly staff. Would definitely recommend. The cheese and chorizo bread was particularly yummy!

Excellent food. The location is beautiful. Staff are very friendly. Good value for money. Excellent service. Laid back atmosphere

Service was polite charismatic and professional. Excellent food and very fresh fish naturally being on a harbour with choice being "catch of the day" this adds a nice solidarity in TJs motto of locally sourced, fresh fish and produce and sets this resturant aside from the many 'fish n' chips' diners and pubs around here. Would recommend and definately would go back!

The menu was varied with some nice dishes. We had starters and main. The children really enjoyed their steak, it was well presented and great flavour. I had slow cooked beef dish, which was delicious and beautifully presented. The team were helpful and friendly.

We eat at TJ's a lot because we love the food & the staff are lovely! They've recently started a new Christmas menu which we very much enjoyed with our friends on Saturday. Absolutely loved the turkey dinner, so full of flavour & delicious gravy! 3 of us had the turkey & 1 of us the hake, which he really enjoyed. 10 out of 10 every time & stunning views over Paignton harbour!

Staff were friendly and extremely helpful with my mushroom and gluten allergy. The food was absolutely delicious. We had a lovely evening. All topped with a stunning view of the sunset over the harbour.

Terrible food and pretty average service. Went last night for a meal (6th oct) arrived not long after it opened so there was only 3 other tables in the restaurant. Ordered a fish and chips….which was frankly the worst I have ever had. It was barely warm, and under seasoned. Tasted like nothing! The mushy peas was also cold and tasted of water. I should have just sent it back. My wife ordered a fish of the day which came with pasta and a lobster bisque sauce. There was no lobster bisque sauce, the fish was fine but under seasoned and the whole dish lacked flavour. It’s was a very poorly executed dish/ concept. We waited over 50mins for 2 plates of food that was well below average. We was so hungry that we just eat the food within 10mins and then left. I did tell the girl when we left how bad it was and my response was “I’ll let the kitchen know” A complete disgrace of a place who need to rethink their whole service flow or just give up and go! Honestly a total joke of a place! Most of the real reviews seen to say the same thing. Very disappointing, will not be returning and will not be recommending to anyone. Great view, that’s about it and I’m sure will continue to con people because of the location.

My parents and I were here a few weeks ago, and they managed to squeeze us in during their busy times. Thank god we could get a seat because their food was phenomenal! We ordered their scallops, prawns, mussels and seabass with pasta. They were all executed perfectly and blew me away. I would definitely be back in Paignton for the chance to eat here again.

Excellent food, all cooked fresh. Catch of the day was Sea Bream, delish 😋

Wonderful view from the outside terrace. Staff were extremely friendly and service was good. The food was delicious and we would not hesitated to recommend. Booking is advised to get outside seating.

Me and my wife enjoyed a fantastic meal here last night. For the starters, the mussels were fantastic and the calamari were amazing. Then for main we both had sea bass as the fish of the day. My wife had it with noodles and shrimp where as I had it herb crusted with a potato fondant. Both were fantastic. I cannot recommend this place more as the food and service were impeccable.

Very disappointing. Slow service, below average food. One main sent back , just unpleasant. Alternative offered, but again an unacceptable delay by which time the other main had been finished and cleared. FOH staff apologetic and bill adjusted, but overall probably our worst dining experience.

We chose TJs for my wife’s birthday meal after a lot of deliberation on where we would eat. On the 15th September we were very disappointed with the service. Our meals were very nice on the whole but my port & stilton mushroom starter was served on soft slices of baguette (like you buy part baked) and surprised me to not be on sourdough toast or crusty toasted bread. My wife’s pate starter was generous but with the same barely toasted bread and only 3 small pieces, we had to ask for more bread. My friends ordered duck which we were told had sold out, but this hadn’t been mentioned as the menu’s had been passed to us, with the lady saying, “Oh, I should have told you that” Overall the service was very, very slow. We were having a nice evening but sat without drinks for about 15 minutes before I asked a passing waitress for some wine for two of us. I also asked for a jug of water which I was surprised not to have been offered. We were disappointed with this too, I would normally expect filtered water or some lemon slices to remove the chlorine flavour but it was room temperature tap water and quite distasteful. We would have stayed for dessert but after 2 hours we decided to leave to enjoy the rest of my wife’s birthday at home. I don’t know what has happened here, we’ve had some lovely meals and evenings here but there has been a sad drop in service with a few simple tweaks needed to restore the usually excellent food quality. Sorry TJs but I’m hoping my critique is constructive and helps you recover.

The food was great the main fish courses we had were delicious. Unfortunately on the evening we visited they were short staffed and service was very slow.

Wow over priced food not cooked very well 😔

Great friendly restaurant, we had the hake it was amazing. Only open for evening meal. It has a balcony but you may need to book early.

Unfortunately this was a disappointing visit !! We sat down at 7.30 to be only served our drink options at 8.15 . We then waiting a further hour for our starter and then another hour for the main . We didn't end up leaving till 10.30 which left us short for time for things afterwards. It's such a shame the food is amazing!!! and high standard and the taste is incredible like something I haven't eaten before each flavour is divine. But service was shocking not only the timings but no cutlery was given to our party of 5 we grabbed our own that was dumped at the bar !! And one dish didn't come out for starters so we called them after 20 mins of waiting. They said they forgot so went to cook it. We won't be visiting again because of these incidents and I think for the price of food which was the higher end!! Which I would be happy to pay for if the service was there. I would say this restaurant is just not up to standard and won't be re-visiting

We had such a wonderful evening at TJ's whilst on holiday with friends. The food was absolutely delicious (we all had fish options) and the staff very friendly and helpful. We started off on the harbour side of the balcony but given the intermittent drizzle, moved further in to be under the cover. The view was still stunning! It took a while for our dinner to be cooked and brought to us, but I'd much rather that and know it was cooked to order rather than have quicker service. And with good friends, fine wine and a stunning location, there's no need to rush!

Ordered the mussels for starter but due to the bad lighting couldn't see what I was eating. Kept getting what I thought was grit in them, on closer inspection realised they were covered in barnacles some of which had broken down on cooking! These should be scraped off prior to cooking. Also had quite a few beards left on. The main was also quite disappointing, the promised confit tomatoes were sun dried tomatoes from a jar which didn't go with the dish at all. The small amount of spaghetti was drowned out by a vast quantity of stringy, undercooked green beans. The 2 prawns had been charred on 1 side and overcooked, note turning them over so this wouldn't be seen doesn't disguise them! All in all it was expensive for a mouth full of grit, mussel beards and stringy beans. I would not recommend this restaurant

Excellent food and service. Highly recommend. Good wine list. Friendly atmosphere and child friendly. Near harbour.

Had a lovely meal here, with great views over the Harbour. Good atmosphere and good value.

Excellent food the garlic bread nibble was soaked in butter and very moreish We were offered thechooce of sea bass or hake my wife loved her sae bass and the deep fried hake was tasted so good

Food was incredible, staff were great highly recommend!!

Excellent food and wine, great service.

We had a lovely meal and Helen looked after us, food was great and service was excellent 👍 would highly recommend

Fantastic restaurant, with amazing service. Food was exceptional and served in a timely manner. Lovely views from the terrace. Homemade breads were delicious and seabass cooked to perfection. Highly recommended.

Wow! What a wonderful place. Great service, amazing food & a stunning view.

Great evening, food was fantastic

We came here yesterday for my birthday meal very disappointed. I wanted lobster but had none. we ordered pre starters they came out then our normal starters came out while we was still eating the pre starters. Then our main meal came my husband’s lamb was over cooked and tough my steak wasn’t to my liking. For the price we paid I would have liked better service and food.I will say we was very disappointed and wouldn’t recommend here. Shame because beautiful view.

It was my first time visiting T,J I decided to go for the sautéed port and Stilton mushrooms starter which was excellent followed by mussels for main course which is my favourite meal both meals where fantastic the service was excellent would recommend this place too anyone will definitely be returning next time I'm in Paignton

Lovely restaurant in a great spot in Paighton harbour, unfortunately let down by the service (maybe they were having a bad day). We were greeted at 5pm when they opened and although we had a reservation they told us that we had to clear out by 8pm which felt entirely achievable when we walked in. Little did we know how slow the service would be. We were given 20+ minutes to look at the menu. Served warm bottles of water, and the service was generally quite inattentive and poor, we were one of 4 parties at 5pm when the restaurant wasn't busy, kids meals were quite poor, the mini sausages were cheap jumbo sausages from a chip shop, and the peas were hard and undercooked, the scallops I had hadn't been cleaned thoroughly and left a gritty sandy texture in my mouth. The muscles were great though as were our mains of fish of the day, although the red wine juis was a bit overpowering for the hake. The table wasn't cleared quickly, in fact they forgot to clear the starters when they brought out the mains. We waited 30+ minutes to get the desert menu and decided in the end not to bother. The staff were very friendly and chatty so in all a mixed review. The mean for 2 adults and 2 children came to £97.35 so quite expensive for the experience. It might be better on a different night with just adults. We may try it again.

This restaurant has great food and THE best view in Paignton. As it was my first time visiting the area, i explored all around but always ended up coming back here for both food and drinks. Also, many thanks to Helen who was ever so lovely and very polite, making me feel comfortable and welcomed each time i went. Defo coming back here with friends next time i visit! I would recommend the sea bass for the mains 👌🏽

Visited after having a fabulous meal here in 2021. Very disappointing this trip, no scallops or lobster available which is what we’d wanted to have. Service was exceptionally slow and it took 75mins to get our food. The food we had was lovely once it arrived. We had booked for our last night here, next week but have now cancelled our reservation.

Food was amazing, was a bit of a wait but what do you expect when, food is cook fresh.

Lovely restaurant, relaxed atmosphere and superb food. After asking to sit outside we enjoyed a great meal overlooking the harbour. We both had the sea bass which was cooked perfectly and finished are dinner with a trio of desserts of white chocolate cheesecake, lemon posset and chocolate orange brownie. It was just a shame there weren't any scallops available as a starter. Highly recommend

Unimposing place, tucked away. Super original menu, all seemed to be homemade or sourced locally. Was tricky to narrow the choice, everything was so appealing. A little pricer but the portions were huge so still very good value for money. Highly recommend

Very much enjoyed our dinner here, the food was delicious! Staff were friendly and it had a lovely view. We didn’t have a dog but it was a dog friendly restaurant.

Lovely setting food was lovely service however was very poor and we were given a table right by the door very chilly and not very relaxing was very disappointed has I had booked this restaurant for my husbands birthday dont think we will be goin back

Pre booked before arrival glad we did food was good even got the teenagers on seafood😋

Having visited the restaurant during lockdown and being a fan of the food and service we decided to revisit while on vacation. Upon arrival we were sad to see the decor had significantly changed. The walls were a bland grey and lacked detail. Nevertheless we...

Booked in at 18:30 with a view to trying lobster. 2 caught fresh that day so was in luck. Food was incredible, the restaurant itself was lovely and the staff were fantastic. Only minor drawback was waiting around 45/50 mins for the food but is not a deal breaker about me recommending this place as a place to eat!

I've had some really nice meals in TJs, but I went with my wife and friends just after covid, and 3 of us were really sick after the cod with clams. 2 years later and we decided to give it another go as anyone can get a bad clam. I opted against seafood this time and had the lamb shank, which was lovely. The service was also great up until the main course. After we finished our main courses we waited for 20 mins with our empty plates in front of us. They then got cleared, and we asked for the desert menu. We were informed that there was only one desert menu, and it was doing the rounds, so we would have to wait. After another 30 mins of waiting, we decided to finish our drinks, pay at the counter, and leave. Main course was lovely but after that we were just ignored. Missed out on another 40 quids worth of desserts and drinks and lost their tip. We are local and run a hotel in Paignton. We won't be returning and won't be recommending in the future either. Such a shame as it was mostly down to there only being 1 dessert board which diners had to wait to be passed around.

Great Catch of the day prepared in several different ways with different sides. Really tasty. We will go again when in the region. Peter, the owner of the Channel View Hotel recommended the place and we were not disapointed. Thank you. It was great.

We were introduced to TJs by Sue, who was working in the Anchors Rest (downstairs from the restaurant). She told us about her sons Richard and Andrew. Richard works in the bar and Andrew who owns and chefs the restaurant. We booked for my birthday...

This was our favourite restaurant in Paignton but sadly something has gone badly wrong since the previous owners let. The food when it eventually arrived was excellent. It started badly with no acknowledgement from the gentleman who we assumed was the ‘ meet and greet,...

Nice little restaurant and very nice food. It’s such a shame that the outside area, stairs and main entrance have all been forgotten. They are tired, dirty and covered in weeds. In the outside eating area are dumped gas bottles, jet washer ( obviously not...

Great fish restaurant on Paignton harbour. Fish of the day cooked in your selection from four choices. Great service -only gripe is there was no craft or real ale on offer

Had a wonderful meal here . . When we arrived other guests were moaning about the staff and the time it was taking to get their food .. no idea why! We were greeted with a smile and seated instantly. Our drinks were with us within minutes and our food was less than 15 minutes after we had placed out order. The food was delicious and the chef came to say thank you to us after we asked the waiter to pass on our delight and gratitude for a wonderful meal. Seated outside overlooking the harbour at sunset was just beautiful. Excellent place, wonderful food and great staff.

We had some hiccups with the service but the apologies and quality of the food more than made up for this. Two waitresses worked so hard - I don’t know how they managed to stay so calm! Starters and lamb shanks were delicious.

Service was very very bad waited 25 minutes before having to ask for drinks when they finally came over we asked how long for the meal would be and was told 20 minutes meal arrived 55 minutes later no serviette’s disappointing end to a great...

Anniversary dinner, super location so far never been disappointed with food or service, keep up the good work

The pan roasted Fish of the Day #4 was absolutely amazing, definitely recommend to try this delicasy!

Lovely food and waitress who was so happy and polite. Amazing views, everything was lovely. Only issue we had is unfortunately we cut out experiance short as was sat next to a couple, we believe may have been the manager but unsure who made it very clear she wasn’t happy with us there. We could see her pointing and whispering at us from the moment we got there (3 of us came in quite young) and it made us very unformtable to the point we left. Such a shame as the place is lovely and the waitress was so kind. But manager (maybe) was very rude and unwelcoming. Hopefully she cheers up with those lovely views they’ve got.

I ordered a starter - mussels made with cider cream and bacon lardon, just want to say its very tasty and nice, the portion is really filling too, im already full before i had my main. Thanks😊

We visited the restaurant as it looked lovely overlooking the water, view did not disappoint. The waitress was friendly and informative with all dishes. All our meals were excellent and hot, and came in a reasonable time frame. Would definitely come back.

We were at TJs at the same time as the poor review re brioche and couldn't have had a more different experience, although we arrived relatively sober! It was a sunny evening and we had spotted the terrace overlooking the harbour on our late afternoon...

So very disappointing as we had a fantastic meal in August 2022 so decided to take our friends there .Waited 30 minutes to order then one stater arrived around 30 mins later , the other 3 starters still had not arrived 50 mins after placing...

This was our favourite restaurant- until now. The restaurant wasn't full, but we had to wait more than 1 hr for our 3 starters and another 1.5 hrs for the mains to arrive. The service was shocking. We were repeatedly asked by the 3 different...

TJ’s has been our go to place for the last 8 years when holidaying in Devon but since the previous owner retired the place has just gone down hill. Last year we gave it the benefit of the doubt but we tried again this year...

Very disappointed. visted TJ restaurant Four of us. For Dinner. Expected to all eat together. First starter came out, Then 5 mins wait for the others. My partner had calamari, which was very over cooked. The other starters reasonable . We had to ask for...

Heerlijk gegeten, supervriendelijke bediening, prachtig uitzicht en toen wij er waren was het ook nog eens niet te druk. Top, een aanrader!

Service was a bit slow but the food was excellent thanks

Hadn’t booked but managed to get a table. We were warmed up front there may be a delay as they had staffing issues but it was all good. Decent menu and good food, not silly expensive either. We were very pleased with food, service and...

What a fabulous, quaint, beautifully located Restaurant. We chose it based on the reviews and we were not disappointed. My wife is Coeliac and (I assume) the owner took real care over this in talking through the menu. We both had fish and I can...

We had a good night and apart from the prawn cocktail, which came in warm/hot glass, so the lettuce was cooked and the sauce like orange/pink water, the food was really good. I didn't make a remark at the time as I thought perhaps its...

Delicious food and lovely people. We haven't booked the table but were accommodated anyway.

A really special evening with great service and exceptional food. So glad we booked, it was busy later on. We booked early and ate early too. The food was exquisite!

What a superb menu We are fish lovers and the menu impressed The presentation and taste of both the starter and main course was impeccable. This restaurant is a little gem hiding away in a corner of Paignton. It's worth the effort to seek it...

Beautifully cooked fish, wonderful service and an amazing location with a lovely view of the seafront. A lovely place for an evening meal.

What a wonderful little gem great food and a lovely welcome too ,this place is a must visit to anyone going to Paignton

We booked in advance for TJ's it's always busy and you can see why. We have been before but its been a few years since. The food is focused on seafood but there are other options too. I was delighted with my choices or Calamari...

Food was lovely and they catered for my food intolerances. Portions could be bigger though!

This is our favourite place to eat locally and it just gets better every time we come! I had the risotto which was so full of flavour, absolutely delicious & beautifully presented and the side salad which was so tasty with a lovely dressing, not like the usual few bits of lettuce and a couple of tomatoes that you get in other places. Other half had fish (hake) & chips & what looked like proper homemade mushy peas. Didn't have room for desserts but had them last week & they were moreish! As always, the staff were lovely & really looked after us 😊 Highly recommended

This is a proper hidden gem. Don't be fooled by the simple appearance of the entrance on Cliff Road; this is really worth a visit! Visited as part of a group of 4; I had the scallops which were divine and the other starters looked and tasted equally enticing. The duck main course was cooked to perfection and other party members who had steak or fish of the day reported equally high standards. The trio of mini-desserts is a nice touch too. It is often said that we eat with our eyes first, our noses second and taste gets the last look in. All 3 senses were treated to a feast at TJ's. Bravo team TJ, well done!

Excellent quality food served by friendly and welcoming staff.

Visited TJ's Bistro on sat 10th Dec for our work from home christmas party. Greeting warm and welcoming, advised the specials and chef's recommendations. Had the scallops and prawn cocktail for starters, fabulous. Main was steak cooked rare and done to perfection. Pork was tender...

Fantastic food, beautifully presented, amazing flavours and great service. Definitely recommended and will be visiting again.

Delicious fresh fish. Disappointed with the slow service. We didn’t have dessert having waited ages to be served. The restaurant was not busy so perhaps they were short staffed. Would definitely visit again and hope the service improves.

This restaurant is truly fab. The decor, the ambience and the setting are all wonderful. The staff were all so attentive and knowledgeable and the chef produced the most wonderful food. You could pay a whole lot more and receive mediocrity elsewhere. Cannot wait for...

I found this gem of a restaurant on TripAdvisor and it recommended me to book. I am so pleased we did. Its quite a small restaurant but in a beautiful location over looking the harbor. The food was amazing. We had their mussels (Cider for...

First time visiting TJs restaurant, 💯 won’t be our last. Amazing meal and staff . We had fresh seabass and a sirloin steak for mains. Beautiful setting, with meals to match. I couldn’t praise this place more.

A really great restaurant. Fantastic vist with the family, the best food and great service. Will defo come back. Also, the view over the harbour is a massive plus. Thanks for a great evening and superb food.

Cannot recommend this place enough! Here visiting Paignton with family and visited TJ’s for my mums special birthday meal, and wow was it special! Local larger which was very tasty and a great drink to try in a great setting. The food was absolutely outstanding,...

We were very happy with our visit to this restaurant. I had a very nice fish and chips where you could taste the freshness. The atmosphere was great and we really had an enjoyable evening.

Please don’t be guided by the recent negative reviews… I booked prior to them being published and I was tempted to cancel on reading them but I’m so pleased I didn’t. We went with our two daughters (10,12). Staff were attentive and friendly, drinks and...

The food was excellent but the service was not particularly good.

We unfortunately decided to eat here as a family of (2 adults and 2 children). The 2 of us that eat fish with our meal (Scallops and Muscles) are now dealing with expected food poisoning. Having already had to send back the wine ordered for...

My family have been going here for years my son chose this for his 14th birthday meal out unfortunately for the first time ever the service was at first rushed then when we asked to see the pudding board we waited 15 mins not a...

We booked for 2 nights well in advance only to find out it hadn't been booked despite email confirmation . They rebooked us. We had lacklustre starters within 10 minutes after which we were found spoons then after a wait of 1 hour 15 minutes...

Sadly the amazing quality of the food was overshadowed last night by the very long wait for anything to arrive at our table, whether it be drinks or food. Such a shame, we were there to celebrate and just ended up feeling very hungry. Watching...

Last summer my family and I ate here and were so excited to return, as it was the best meal out we had ever had. Roll forward to this year, and I'm sorry to say that the amazing experience we had previously enjoyed, was not repeated. The service was incredibly slow, despite not being busy. It was very difficult to get anyone's attention when needed at any point. The food was good in general, however my fondant potato was extremely burnt, I was surprised that it was still served. For starters, 4 of us had ordered cheesy garlic bread. When another member of the table was ordering their started, he checked that the starter he wanted didn't have garlic in. The waitress checked that he wasn't allergic, which he isn't, just hates it! Roll on to when our food finally arrived, all 4 'garlic' breads were cheese on toast. This was raised, but the waitress never hot back to us. My 8 year old has ADHD and autism, so sitting still for a prolonged length of time isn't easy. We were there for nearly 3 hours, despite no desserts. We ended up getting up and paying on our way out, after waiting 15 mins for the bill to be bought over after asking. The whole experience was very disappointing, especially as we were all celebrating a birthday, and had been really looking forward to returning. Safe to say, we won't be in the future.

So so so good food and an amazing view from the balcony. Fresh catches served daily.

Visited for the first time food was excellent setting very nice we sat outside overlooking the harbour. Many thanks to all crew

Great food. Great location. Decor a little dated.

Absolutely sumptuous. Shout out to Megan for single handedly serving everyone brilliantly and unintrusively. Had the seabass with linguine. Best meal I've ever had. Donna's steak was gorgeous. Highly recommended

The fish dishes were so good, such a delicious combination of ingredients, we loved it. The staff was very friendly provide very good service.

I’m quite fussy and my expectations are high when it comes to eating out. I was in Paignton for the evening and took to TripAdvisor to find a suitable restaurant that served fresh fish and went for TJ’s Restaurant. The menu outside really got me...

Food was delicious and service was great too. The terrace has lovely views over the harbour; definitely worth a visit!!

The calamari salad is amazing. Best I've ever had!