Rockfish — Restaurant in South Hams

We booked the Rockfish well in advance, we know how popular it can be. This time we had two vegan guests with us, so we made a note online at the time of booking. We received a confirmation email the day before our reservation, it’s our favourite fish restaurant in Dartmouth, and we were relieved that our daughter and boyfriend who had joined us on holiday would be catered for. However, just hours before the meal, we received an email stating that they were unable to source any vegan buns to accompany their only vegan option, the Beyond Burger. I tried to call the restaurant, but it was a recorded message stating they were unable to take calls during this busy time. Luckily, we were staying in holiday accommodation just around the corner, so we decided to pay them a visit. We spoke with the manager who confirmed that they were unable to source any vegan buns. We asked if we could try and buy our own , he said they had tried all of the local bakeries, but we were welcome to bring our own. This was less than two hours before our booking. My husband and I sourced a selection of vegan buns from the local Co op supermarket around the corner. When we all arrived at the restaurant, we were informed by the waitress that all of the local beers had sold out, and no Aperol, and all the local specials sold out. My husband had asked earlier in the day if he could reserve a local fish for later, but he was told this was not possible. We tried to order mussels and were told they had sold out. A couple on a table nearby arrived later than us and were presented with mussels. I ordered scallops as a main, which although tasty, were a little on the small side. My husband had the lobster, again, very small for the price, he struggled to get any meat from the claws. My daughter and boyfriend were tucking into their Beyond burgers with their Co op buns, and were excited about the bottomless fries. They polished off 2 pots of fries, which is easily done as the pots are fairly small, but when they tried to order a third pot were told by the waitress that the kitchen was now closed, which was hilarious as we were surrounded by tables who were all still having dishes delivered to their tables! We asked for the bill - we had been charged full price for the burgers, even though the manager had promised a discount as we had sourced our own buns. They offered to deduct the drinks from the bill, at which point my husband regretted ordering tap water. A disappointing experience from our favourite fish restaurant. We felt...

Just left this very disappointing restaurant, absolutely pd off . It felt and looked good on entry , and initially we were pleased that we chose the Rockfish . We asked about the offer , of " unlimited chips" , and were told that it was part of the menu that we could have unlimited chips. We ordered our Haddock and our Cod and Chips, plus a mixed salad and mushy peas as extras . We were asked what water we required ( as it was included in the menu, ie sparkling or still) . Also we were asked what sauces we required ( as the Mayo, Tartare and ketchup was included) we asked for Tartare and ketchup. Also we had a bloody Mary and a bottle of beer . The meal arrived reasonably quickly, and the girl ( waitress) went off to other people. No sauces , so I went up to the waitress, who was with another customer, and asked where the sauces were,? and was I supposed to get them myself. She pointed to them !! So I took them back to the table. At no stage were we asked about whether we wanted extra chips ( as they were unlimited) Also no water was brought to the table ( we ordered still water) . We were ignored at our table by the waitress. I eventually caught her eye, and asked where the unlimited chips were ? Also, I said that the water never arrived either !! She said "sorry" and that was that !! She didn't ask whether she could get more chips or the water ( of which we were being charged for) . But she did ask if we wanted the sweet menu ! Which after the poor service we'd had, there was no way we wanted anything else at this place . I asked for the bill , which was delivered promptly ( at least something was ) and was charged £49 for 2x fish & Chips , two drinks etc , this also included a £1 donation !!! ( Too who, I haven't got a clue ) . I paid the £49 , and left . Never again will I go to a Rockfish restaurant . I never complain as a rule but like I said earlier, we were completely pd off , and wished we'd gone to the Cherub...

Had an unexpectedly great meal at Rockfish last night. What do you get if you combine the freshest fish and seafood with deep fat frying techniques...you get Rockfish and the experience is excellent. My wife started with the “Half Pint of Norwegian Prawns”, which she loved, and I had the tempura prawns, which were as good as tempura gets outside Japan...so pretty damn good. I followed that with fresh Brill, served in all its buttery glory, and my wife had the turbot....these dishes were winners as the fish was so fantastically fresh...probably just out of the sea that day and the preparation let the freshness shine through. There is nothing quite like fresh fish prepared simply. We got a side order of mushy peas with curry sauce too - these were fantastic but completely unnecessary...even if you don’t like mushy peas though, the addition of the curry sauce makes them absolutely delicious. The onion rings are worth mentioning also - pickled onions deep fried in the most delicious batter...this is a combination that I have never seen elsewhere and we pretty much inhaled them. If there is one thing I recommend here, it is the onion rings.

Overall, this is a restaurant that buys the very freshest ingredient and then prepares them in a way that lets the flavours shine. To call it fish and chips seems, in a way, like a mild insult...but it really is fabulous fish & chips and Rockfish are clearly very proud of it, as they should be. We enjoyed our meal tonight more than we did the Michelin-recommended restaurant just down the street, where we ate the night before for 3 times the price. That...