Where to Eat Around the Bay

The English Riviera's three towns each have their own flavour — literally.

Brixham is the place to start if fish is the priority. One of England's busiest working fishing ports, it lands an extraordinary variety of catch daily, and the town's quayside restaurants and fish merchants make the most of it. Crab, lobster, sea bass, scallops — eaten within sight of the trawlers that brought them in, this is as fresh as British seafood gets.

Torquay's harbourside has the widest spread of restaurants, from relaxed café-bars spilling onto the waterfront to more polished dining rooms with bay views. The town's size means real choice: Italian, Indian, steakhouses and independent bistros sit alongside the expected seafood menus. For coffee and a lighter bite, the seafront cafés between Torquay and Babbacombe are reliable stops, particularly after a clifftop walk.

Paignton fills the middle ground — good-value seaside eating, fish and chips on the front, ice cream, and family-friendly pubs a short walk from the sands. It's unpretentious and cheerful, and none the worse for that.

Across the bay, pub Sunday lunches are a serious business. Devon roasts lean on local beef, proper crackling and the kind of portion sizes that make a long afternoon walk feel earned. Village pubs around Cockington and the inland parishes do this especially well.

One standing rule: book ahead in summer. The bay gets busy, the best tables go early, and the places worth eating in tend to fill. For the freshest catch cooked simply and eaten with a harbour view, little in Devon touches Brixham on a good day.

— People & places