Ian Berriman of "SFX" was highly positive of the episode, calling it "frigging ace" and praising Collins' portrayal of Queen Victoria. He particularly praised Davies' writing and the tone of the episode. IGN's Ahsan Haque gave the episode a 7.8 out of 10 rating, highlighting the cinematography and special effects used on the werewolf. However, he thought that the story was "entertaining" and had a "few exciting moments", but it was unsatisfying with elements such as the werewolf chase feeling out of place for "Doctor Who". For the website in 2010, Matt Wales named "Tooth and Claw" the seventh best Tenth Doctor episode. However, Dek Hogan of "Digital Spy" was less positive about the episode, finding it a let-down after the series opener, though he thought the wolf "looked great".