Keeping It in the Family: The Seahorse, Dartmouth

Ask anyone at Rockfish where else to eat in Dartmouth and the answer comes quickly, because it's in the family. The Seahorse is frequently named one of Britain’s best seafood restaurants, with many people dropping the “one of”. The restaurant sits on the embankment a few minutes' stroll from Rockfish, looking out over the River Dart. Mitch Tonks opened its doors in 2008, and today it's led by his son, chef patron Ben Tonks.

The story runs deeper than one restaurant. Mitch's obsession with great British fish began with a fishmonger's in Bath in 1998, grew into FishWorks, then The Seahorse, and eventually Rockfish, now twelve waterside restaurants along the Devon and Dorset coast. Different chapters, same belief: that the fish landed on our doorstep is the best in the world, and it deserves to be treated that way.

So the two restaurants share a philosophy you can taste. Britain's freshest fish, menus that change daily because the tide and the Brixham boats decide them, everything cooked simply and with respect. Where they differ is the occasion. Rockfish is often combined with a day by the water, made for everyone; The Seahorse is the long lunch or evening you dress up for, then never want to end.

At The Seahorse, behind each service there's a rhythm: the boats unloading in Brixham, the charcoal being lit, the tables laid, and at 5pm the whole team sitting down to eat together before welcoming you in. The hospitality lives in details you might not notice straight away. Tablecloths pressed after every sitting, orders always taken by hand with pen and paper, menus personalised for the nights worth remembering. It has that quality you find in the great neighbourhood restaurants of Venice or Lisbon: full of locals, families and regulars for whom it has simply always been part of life.

Ben grew up surrounded by busy kitchens and food markets from Tuscany to Seville to Venice, and it shows in how he cooks now: the sea, the seasons, and fire, served with a joy and generosity that runs through the whole room. His young, spirited team honour the ethos Mitch built while bringing something entirely their own to it.

The awards agree. The Seahorse has held a place in the National Restaurant Awards Top 100 for more than a decade, and Food and Travel Magazine named it Restaurant of the Year outside London in 2025.

If you love seafood and you're heading to the South West, put it on your list. Lunch at Rockfish on the water, a walk along the embankment, and an evening at The Seahorse. Dartmouth will do the rest.

Visit The Seahorse website

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