Below Decks — Restaurant in England

Below Decks – Customer Review ⭐ 1 out of 5 Visited: 21st June 2025 Occasion: Granddaughter’s 18th birthday We recently visited Below Decks in Torquay for a special family breakfast to celebrate my granddaughter’s 18th birthday. Unfortunately, the experience was very disappointing and did not meet expectations — especially for such an important occasion.

Firstly, the quality of the food was poor considering the price. The portions were small, much of the food seemed to be pre-cooked, frozen, or tinned (particularly the mushrooms), and the toast was limp and barely toasted — more like warm bread than anything else. It really didn’t feel worth what we paid.

Even more frustrating was the lack of coordination in service. Four breakfasts were served much later than the rest, meaning some of us had nearly finished before the others even received their meals. This really disrupted what should have been a relaxed, shared meal.

We also encountered a serious safety concern — our daughter slipped on what looked like cooking oil on the floor of the ladies’ toilet, which is directly opposite the kitchen. Thankfully, she wasn’t injured, but it clearly shocked her, and she reported it immediately to the staff.

Another ongoing issue throughout the visit was the lack of clear signage for the toilets. We were seated near the disabled toilet, and numerous customers came over, hesitated, and then walked away — mistaking it for the main toilet entrance. It became a distracting interruption throughout the meal.

We had chosen Below Decks based on good reviews and its lovely location, but we all left feeling let down. The problems we encountered are things that could easily be improved, and we would have raised them directly at the time, but as we paid in advance when submitting our order, we were given little opportunity to speak to a manager.

I don’t usually leave negative reviews without trying to resolve things directly first, but in this case, the overall experience was just too poor to ignore — especially for what should have been a happy family...

What a shame to have to give a local business a bad review but today's service was the last straw, I have been using below decks for years, the past year it seems to be getting worse! We have visited multiple times this summer spending most days over £100 a meal with our inlaws and our groups we dive with for breakfast, lunch and dinner and every time something gets missed or not given at all. Previous visits other people on the table get there meal and one person is sat waiting for there's until others are half way through the meal, other occasions coffees being brought cold because they have been sat at the bar waiting to be brought over, meals missing items or not as have been ordered. Then this morning 5 people had their breakfast brought over and I had ordered mine before the 5 people, then I asked for mine to one of the young waiters and he said oh its coming then 40 mins later now everyone had finished I went up and asked for a refund as I'd still not had mine, the guys inside said oh have u still not got yours I said no I'd like a refund everyone has finished eating one lad said you ordered ages ago I said I know! He said they are doing it now I said no I don't want it, he said not a all I said no its too late, he gave me a refund of just my breakfast not my drink or the toast that was given 40 mins ago without my breakfast, it's really disappointing as I've brought large groups here after diving ect and something seems to always go wrong. If this had been the first time I wouldn't have put a review but this has now happened multiple times in the year at various times lunch, breakfast ect and previous times no apology or nothing, also it was not busy when we arrived this morning so really...

What a shame for a place so beautifully situated on Torquay Harbour. We had a booked meal for 11 people for 6pm 30/4/25, all of the meals were pre-booked and a £10 deposit paid for each person. The food didn’t even start coming out until an hour later, and then came out in dribs and drabs spread out over half an hour! By the time most people had finished, the last two were just getting theirs. As I said, this was all pre-booked. When everyone had finished, nobody even came to clear the tables first over an hour again. When I did ask a girl if she would mind clearing the tables, she said yes but her face said that she wasn’t impressed that I’d asked. By the time we left, the tables still had t been cleared which is poor. They kept sending the wrong meals to the table also. Also sent us the bill for another table, and then when we did eventually get the right bill, they hadn’t accounted for the £110 deposit already paid. I will say that the young gentleman at front of house was very apologetic though, and seemed to care. At least one of the staff seemed to care. Overall, for somewhere we’ve wanted to go for quite some time, very disappointing. Was supposed to be a happy 21st Birthday meal but in the end...