Shoals Restaurant Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Food amazing - battered fish was the best ever had."
• "The scallops in ginger and chilli were some of the best I have ever eaten."
• "By far the BEST Fish and Chips I’ve ever tasted."
• "The food itself was truly remarkable, with flavors that left a lasting impression."
• "The food was very good, cooked to perfection and fresh, portions are hearty."
• "Great selection of local and fresh fish."
• "Delicious food - starters of prawns and scallops, both outstanding in flavour."
• "somewhere where they know how to serve mussels, that's with a bowl for the shells and warm water with a lemon for your sticky fingers."

Cons:

• "Was slightly underwhelmed by our dinner here. The food was all tasty but I found the accompaniments to the fish that were on offer, pretty uninspiring."
• "Food quality was OK. Scampi was more like fish goujons, Crab sandwich had some weird dressing that took away the taste of the crab."
• "Scallops were delicious, sadly the monkfish goujons were overcooked."
• "The scallops for starters were overcooked in a dressing where the chilli drowned out the flavour of everything else."
• "The fried sea bass unimaginative and overcooked. Excessive use of cream and butter in one dish led to indigestion."
• "both my partner and I found the scallops were a little on the rubbery/dry side and they'd run out of whisky sauce."
• "My son ordered tiger prawns and they came out raw."
• "Good sized portions and reasonable priced. All the ingredients are fresh however they may have added too much seasoning to some dishes which takes the taste away from the fish."

Service Quality

Pros:

• "Attentive staff and great view whilst eating dinner."
• "The staff were so friendly, attentive & the place had a relaxed atmosphere."
• "Friendly service from Mia."
• "The service was impeccable, so friendly, attentive, and automatically bought extra side plates as they knew we were sharing."
• "Staff are always welcoming and friendly (thanks Koen)."
• "Great café/restaurant on the shores of Brixham. Food is delightful, and the special board is full of fresh fishes and seafood."
• "Great place to walk to and get something to eat or drink. Very nice food and very good selection of drinks available, dog and children friendly with a good children's menu."
• "The staff were very friendly and the location overlooking the Lido and sea was lovely."

Cons:

• "Service was lacking had to ask twice for water, I didn’t receive a spoon like others did for my main."
• "Big minus is the quality of service! Once we had mains it took a good 20 minutes before anyone came over to clear the plates."
• "The food is great and the view is nice but the staff are really poor."
• "The staff were very rude when we asked about the possibility of one of the empty 'unreserved' tables."
• "We pointed out that it wasn't clear that we would be seated at different tables. We politely asked if we could join the tables as we wanted to celebrate as one group. The lady with the red hair proceeded to roll her eyes at us, sigh loudly, mutter under her breath."
• "Nice but overdone usual seaside cafe decor with strange layout leaving half of customers unable to see the great view. Terrible service."
• "The staff maybe could leave it longer to ask of everything is ok, but better that way I guess."
• "The staff were very friendly and the location overlooking the Lido and sea was lovely. However, the food wasn't good at all."

Atmosphere and Location

Pros:

• "Great location, great food, great service. Well worth the walk from Brixham."
• "Beautiful location. (See photos!) Friendly staff and really good service."
• "Amazing location, nice food and great service."
• "Atmospheric, iconic views, wonderful fresh food all offered by hard working hosts."
• "Great location for this quirky little restaurant overlooking the sea."
• "Great location. Whiskey scallops are delicious. Next to the lido."
• "A breath of fresh air. Such a wonderful place to eat away from home with my family after lockdown."
• "Location is everything, and there this cosy little cafe delivers in droves. Set overlooking Shoalstone pool and with a panoramic view of the sea."

Cons:

• "In a way I feel this restaurant is a victim of it's own success, having only 5 tables inside can make the experience feel claustrophobic and loud."
• "Having only 5 tables inside and cooking in the restaurant can make the experience feel a wee bit stuffy and loud."
• "The location, out of town and punters reserving and not attending is obviously putting a strain on the business."
• "Fabulous food just a shame they are not allowed lighting outside who made that decision is barking mad. A beautiful location yet by 7 pm getting dark and very difficult to see the lovely food."
• "New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, salt and pepper squid, Scallops and monkfish and the sun glinting of the sea all outside surrounded by superb views."
• "A reluctant two stars for the recent trip to Shoals. We’ve been a few times before and never had an issue but the service and kitchen was extremely slow."
• "Although it has mainly fish on the menu there are other dishes that will suit the non-fish lovers."
• "Unfortunately we didn't get an opportunity to try the restaurant, felt staff were very rude when we asked about the possibility of one of the empty 'unreserved' tables."