Orange Tree - Torquay

We booked this as part of a long weekend in Torquay having walked past it many times in the past. We had a friendly welcome and were seated quickly. We had all looked at the menu before hand so had a good idea of what we wanted and were really looking forward to it. Unfortunately overall the food didn't live up to our expectations. My husband had the lobster bisque with a scallop which he enjoyed, my one friend had a beetroot and goats cheese starter which was nice enough, but two of us had scallops. I saw other reviews saying for £16 they would have expected more than the three scallops they had, so I was more than surprised to just get two, and they were not great, and lacked something. For mains I had lamb, which was again a very small portion and for some reason mine was smaller than my husbands lamb, it was nice enough and in a very tasty sauce but served with green beans, carrots and something we were told was swede but it was white and tasteless. We also were given both daphenouise potato and mini wedges, both nice enough but not sure why we needed two types of potatoes. Our one friend had hake which he said was nice but that was served on top of even more potatoes. My other friend had chicken which she really enjoyed but it was served with fridge cold veg which took a while to be heated up and she had almost finished her chicken when it came back out having been heated up. Overall for the high cost it was very disappointing and didn't really live up to our expectations.

Superb food stopping two doors away for a break ,staff very nice.thankyou

Another superb evening in The Orange Tree Restaurant. Great welcome from Maira and Milena. We had the same table like last time (great memory). We treated ourselves with the Taster Menu for my wifes birthday and we had bottle of our favourite bubbles (Cristal Champagne). Each course that came out was superb and the service from new staff was very polite and friendly. As usual our experience was outstanding. Vittorio’s cooking was the absolute best. Best taster menu in Torbay, definitely be back soon!

Where do I begin. The food was ok. The starters were ok. My girlfriends scallop was severely overpriced compared to most other restaurants. 16 quid for 3 scallops with garlic butter? The mains were pleasant enough and probably the best part of the meal. The pannacotta dessert also had very weak flavours. We ordered a bottle of wine to come with the starters. Didn 't get it. Just got an apology and that was it, so ordered two glasses instead. Later we ordered dessert wine. That came after we had finished the desserts. The staff weren 't that attentive or enthusiastic. Also during our visit we overheard other customers saying the food was pretty 'secondary ' and another man had his beef too chewy which they did nothing about. I know other restaurants that would have replaced it for a whole new dish for him. This restaurant is mediocre at best, and should not be allowed to charge the prices it does.

Expensive for what was delivered. Old fashioned and unimaginative menu. Outdated decor. The steak was OK, but the vegetables were bland and tasteless. And certainly not reflective of the prices being charged. The service however was friendly and attentive