Rockfish, Dartmouth, Devon, 24.06.10

"Fish so fresh, tomorrow's are still in the sea." This fantastic sentiment comes from restauranteur and seafood expert Mitch Tonks as he opens his second Rockfish restaurant on Dartmouth's harbour frontage. The first Rockfish rose from the Fishworks ashes on Bristol's Whiteladies Road and quickly established itself as a reliable favourite. However, this new Dartmouth venture is "Seafood and Chips" to Bristol's "Grill and Seafood Market", perhaps suitably reflecting the its proximity to the English Riviera and pleasure cruises galore.

We joined Rockfish in its first week and were disappointed to just miss service at five minutes past nine on a busy June evening despite closing time advertised as nine-thirty. Undeterred by this, and by not being able to book a table (a beautifully casual but un-British "just turn up and you should be fine"), we made it in the following night.

There is a buzz in the air- a full restaurant with pastel shades, wooden tables covered in paper table-cloths, and dozens of fascinating if not slightly voyeuristic family holiday snaps posted casually across the walls. The buzz soon turns to chaos but an air of forgiveness lingers- the wrong wine is brought, orders are pimped round the tables as the fresh-faced waiting staff desperately try to account for a stray battered haddock.

The principle is simple- fairly posh fish (from cod to lemon sole) which is battered (or breadcrumbed) with a choice of accompaniments to include the obligatory chips, mushy peas, bread and butter, a glass of sauvignon or a even a cuppa. Half a dozen oysters start proceedings brilliantly without breaking the bank. After a quick reminder to the waiter, the cockles are nostalgic but suspiciously a bit vinegary. Much of the fish is landed just along the coast at Brixham, but a request for breadcrumbs instead of batter is ignored and the batter is a little overbrowned . Luckily the fish survives and remains moist and flakey. Each component arrives in a cardboard tray with paper liner- a nice "fish n chips" touch but very much out of touch with the apparent recycling culture. Dozens of them are later spied spilling over the kitchen bin. Let's hope they were later salvaged, after all, the paper table cloths did advertise "100% good for planet earth". The "adult" knickerbocker glory has a hint of booze and is delightfully camp, but as the detritus from the main course has not been cleared it becomes a cramped affair and another gentle reminder to the waiter.

This place has great potential and a really positive vibe, but we met it during some serious teething. The service needs extending beyond 9pm; the waiting staff need to pay more attention to simple detail; and the tables need uncramping. With a bit less chaos and a bit less litter, Rockfish will almost certainly have great success as Dartmouth's summer season approaches.