Crab Shed Salcombe — Restaurant in South Hams

Firstly I think i need to start by saying that the food is absolutely fantastic. The views and the backdrop were wonderful. The service by the seemingly lead waitress, however, was absolutely appalling and ruined the experience entirely. We arrived just after midday (I would recommend you book, as we had not which was a mistake). We were told by the older, leading waitress (wearing pigtails) that they were too busy without bookings - completely fair enough. We lingered by the main entrance to see if we could book for later in the day or in the week. A younger, very attentive waitress then told us actually we do have a couple of tables down on the bar stools if we were happy to eat there for lunch now. That seemed perfect for us we only wanted a light bite and we didn’t question as she had offered. We were seated at the table and given menus. The older waitress came barrelling over and was firstly very rude to the younger waitress, and then very rude to us. Told us since we had “gone against what she had asked” when we’d been told it was full we could only have two cold options from the menu as they were far too busy. She turned on her heels and left. We were a bit stunned but continued to look at the menu. We clarified that the couple seated next to us had not booked, had seated a couple of minutes before us and had ordered hot food. On ordering our food, we were curtly told by the same waitress how “righteous” we must feel for getting a table .. We did not really, we just felt pretty shocked and embarrassed by how we were being spoken to. Ten minutes later another couple were seated next to us, without a reservation, and were again able to order hot food. Our food arrived; one salad and one sandwich - it was beautiful. We ate it quickly so that we could pay up and leave for being made to feel frankly so uncomfortable. Her service would not even receive one star - rude, abrupt and frankly disgusting and ruined our experience. The food would however receive 5 stars as agree with all previous reviews that this was fantastic. Staff attitude goes a long way in building a restaurants reputation, and unfortunately for us the reputation of this lovely restaurant has been tarnished. We can appreciate stress can manifest itself in different ways, but rudeness is frankly unnecessary. And for any wanting to try, I would recommend not turning up without a...

We booked this place months in advance, on the back of these reviews but were very disappointed with the welcome and service we received from the owner,

A mature lady well out of her depth, overworked, under staffed with underlaying emotions , How it got all these good reviews on other platforms, only her and her conscious alone will know,

Ended up leaving after starters and a few soft drinks, as the mains were not even served but she was going around barking out orders and telling us to to hurry up when the mains ARE served, which by now we had waited over 45 minutes and she wanted us to finish in 10 minutes, as the table was booked for someone else after us, we could clearly see empty tables around us The parking is atrocious which took us over 40 minutes to find , which she takes no responsibility for or mentions when you book so book at your own perils she hides behind “we only serve fresh food” when she runs out, She didn’t even have normal coke as she had ran out, how she can justify that as fresh food I will never know She wouldn’t put the heaters on as they were not working and she knew they were not working All in all I run and own various Leisure establishments including hotels and business centres and travel all over the world and know all the implications that entails but this ......disappointing on all fronts maybe it’s time to retire and let someone else do it with more enthusiasm and conviction but don’t spoil other people’s enjoyment if you’ve got out the wrong side of the bed The place is not even worth one star the way we were treated but had to select one No doubt this will not be published on other platforms as she advertises with them and they’re not going to print a negative review against her so I will avoid it like a Plague Next time But if she ever turns up at any of my places I will make sure Our staff show her how you treat customers irrespective of their background, or what part of the world they come from Shame on you lady others customers are complaining about you too, so maybe it’s time to get off your high horse and go on a retraining...

Decided to come again for supper before we had even sat down for lunch!

Not a big place, but was almost always full even midday on Monday lunchtime. That tells you something. Lovely view over the harbour.

The crabs are obviously the star here, being landed and picked literally next door.

Superb quality, and not hugely expensive compared to London prices.

Crab bisque was lovely and rich. The potted crab was perfectly spiced. A special of Frito Misto had such light and crunchy batter. And the scallops also sublime, the local ones are very light touch and only available for a few months a year. All excellently and simply cooked.

Crabs, both dressed and whole are super fresh and come with decent fries. Mussels from Fowey in Cornwall. Salads are also really good. Local lobster with garlic butter is also fantastic but I often think good crab can beat lobster. Awesome crab sandwich with mayo and lemon.

Nice range of Salcombe Brewery beers and also wines that match well with the seafood.

Only a few slight niggles. The bread could really do with being better. The wholemeal for the sandwiches is good, but the ciabatta with the crabs was a bit flabby.

Crab shed fries are a lovely idea, but do end up a bit soggy.

And parking. I know it not their fault, but the council are being ridiculous if they think they can enforce parking in an area with absolutely no signs or machine and expect you to know that the carpark outside is somehow part of the one all the way down the road separated by dozens of boats and a fence.

But that doesn't detract from how brilliant this place is. Came three times in a week. Will be back as soon as we...