Tucked between the River Exe and the ancient city walls, this cathedral city has developed a dining scene that punches well above its weight, shaped by independent restaurants, local producers, and a genuine passion for quality at every sitting.
Whether a morning coffee by the water, a long pizza lunch, or a fine dining dinner worth travelling for, Exeter delivers with understated confidence.
This guide gathers the very best of what the city has to offer. From the neighbourhood bakeries to the intimate restaurants.
Coffee and Brunch in Exeter: The Best Morning Spots
Exeter’s café culture has flourished in recent years, anchored by a handful of independently run spots that take both coffee and food seriously. These are the places worth seeking out for a slow morning or a well-earned weekend brunch.
- Boatyard Bakery: Settled along the waterfront, Boatyard Bakery brings a carefully considered approach to bread, pastry, and coffee. The bakes are beautifully prepared, featuring pastries, sourdough loaves, and seasonal specials that change with the week. Arrive early; the best pieces rarely last past mid-morning.
- Quayside Distillery Floating Bar: Few brunch settings in Devon match the Quayside Distillery Floating Bar for atmosphere. Moored along the Exeter Quayside, this distinctive venue pairs its setting with a menu of thoughtfully prepared drinks and food. On a clear morning, there is nowhere quite like it in the city.
- The Common Beaver: The Common Beaver has built a loyal following among Exeter’s residents, and for good reason. The space is warm and unhurried, the coffee well-sourced, and the brunch menu reliable in the way that matters most: consistently good, season after season.
- The Tasting Room: Nestled in the city’s independent quarter, The Tasting Room offers something quieter than a typical café experience. The focus here is on flavour, whether in the cup or on the plate, and the setting reflects that same deliberate attention to detail.
- Lilac Bakery: Lilac Bakery occupies a particular place in Exeter’s morning ritual. The pastries are the draw, beautifully executed with a rotating selection that keeps regulars returning. Coffee is taken seriously too, making this one of the city’s most complete café destinations.
Pizza in Exeter: Where to Find the Best Slice
Exeter’s pizza scene is small but accomplished. These three venues each bring a distinct character to the craft, whether through neighbourhood brewing credentials, considered toppings, or a more casual, bread-first approach.
- Topsham Brewery: A stone’s throw from the village of Topsham, a short distance south of Exeter, Topsham Brewery pairs its locally brewed ales with a pizza menu of real quality. The combination of a working brewery and wood-fired food makes for an evening that feels genuinely local. The setting, along the estuary, is quietly spectacular.
- Portal Pizza: Portal Pizza has become one of Exeter’s most talked-about openings in recent years. The menu is concise and confident, the dough carefully fermented, and the toppings sourced with a level of consideration that sets it apart from the city’s more casual options.
- Between Bread: Between Bread leans into the informal end of the pizza experience without sacrificing quality. The focus is on good bread, honest ingredients, and a relaxed setting that suits everything from a solo lunch to an early evening with friends.
Fine Dining in Exeter: The City’s Most Celebrated Tables
Exeter’s fine dining offer is more varied and more accomplished than many visitors expect. Across six distinct venues, the city serves up everything from contemporary tasting menus to deeply considered wine lists and decades-old neighbourhood institutions.
- The Stage: The Stage brings a considered, modern approach to its menu, with cooking that draws on seasonal produce and a clear sense of place. The setting matches the food: refined without formality, and all the better for it.
- The Hour Glass Inn: The Hour Glass Inn occupies a 13th-century building near the city centre. The kitchen delivers food that respects its surroundings, rooted in quality British produce, served with warmth and without pretension. One of Exeter’s most enduring dining rooms.
- Herbies: Herbies has been feeding Exeter for decades, and its reputation as one of the city’s best vegetarian restaurants is thoroughly earned. The cooking is assured, the atmosphere genuinely welcoming, and the menu proof that vegetables, treated with care, need nothing else.
- Calvo Loco Tapas: Calvo Loco Tapas brings a Spanish sensibility to Exeter’s dining scene, with small plates designed for sharing and a wine list to match. The kitchen is confident and precise, and the resulting experience, lively, flavourful, and unhurried, is one of the city’s more transportive evenings out.
- Harry’s Restaurant: Harry’s Restaurant is a neighbourhood institution, the kind that a city builds its reputation on quietly, over years. The menu is classically inclined, the service warm and attentive, and the room carries the comfortable ease of a place that has been doing this well for a very long time.
- Rendezvous Wine Bar: Rendezvous Wine Bar distinguishes itself through the breadth and intelligence of its wine list, paired with a kitchen that understands how food and drink should work together. A destination for those who approach the table with genuine curiosity.
How to Eat Well in Exeter: A Few Practical Notes
Exeter’s best restaurants are, almost without exception, independently run, which means booking ahead is always advisable, particularly at the weekend. Many of the brunch spots operate on a first-come basis, so earlier visits are rewarded. The Quayside area and the city’s independent quarter around Gandy Street are particularly well worth exploring on foot, with several of the venues in this guide within easy reach of one another.
The city also connects comfortably with the wider South West. Topsham, just a few miles along the Exe Estuary, is a short drive or a pleasant cycle, making it easy to combine a visit to Topsham Brewery with a walk along the water.
St. Leonards Quarter, Exeter
St. Leonards Quarter is a beautiful collection of new homes in one of Exeter’s most desirable neighbourhoods, designed for those who want to live right at the heart of the city.
Located on Topsham Road, St. Leonards Quarter puts residents within minutes of the River Exe, Exeter city centre, and the independent shops and cafés of Magdalen Road – the very places featured in this guide.
Every home is built to a high specification with energy efficiency at its core. That means EPC ratings of A and B, triple glazed windows, PV panels*, and contemporary fitted kitchens.
St. Leonards Quarter is well connected by rail, bus, and road. Making it easy to enjoy the calm of a residential neighbourhood without losing touch with everything Exeter has to offer.
Register your interest or request a call back to learn more about St. Leonards Quarter.
*To selected properties
