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Ratings and reviews

RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere

Details

CUISINES
Bar, British, Pub
Special Diets
Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options, Gluten Free Options
Meals
Lunch, Dinner, Late Night, Drinks
View all details
meals, features
Reviews (358)
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357 results
Traveler rating
229
72
24
12
20
Traveler type
Time of year
LanguageEnglish
Traveler rating
229
72
24
12
20
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All reviews steak the pub short menu for sunday lunch lovely evening beer celeriac roast
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Reviewed 5 days ago via mobile

Went for dinner last night with three friends. From the get go the service was super friendly and attentive throughout the evening. We all had the cod main course and it was Michelin star worthy - every element was delicious. There was a bit of...a wait between main and pudding but this is as far from a fast food chain as you can get… Hard to think the pudding would excel as much as the main but it did - it was heavenly - chocolate tart with chocolate and almond pastry, salted caramel and delicate, decorative chocolate tuile biscuits. If this place doesn’t get a Michelin star for this sort of food there’s no justice in the culinary world! The best thing is that it’s the nearest pub to where we live so we are super lucky.More

Date of visit: March 2024
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Reviewed 3 weeks ago

We have travelled to Exeter several times over the last few months and been very disappointed with the selection of restaurants available. They are mainly chains with poor food. Then we found The Hourglass and ate there for the first time last week. It will...now be our regular dining venue when in the town. The menu is not extensive but there is enough choice to cater for all tastes. The quality of the ingredients is high and the service was attentive and friendly. We are looking forward to returning soon.More

Date of visit: February 2024
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Reviewed January 18, 2024

It is difficult to say anything positive about this pub but 2 of our 4 meals were passable but the two steaks were the poorest we have ever tried to eat. Not sure if there was a trainee chef tonight but seriously lacking with poor...cuts of meat, tasteless and cold peppercorn sauce. The monkfish was served with inedible greens with no potatoes or other dish. £110 later for these 4 courses and entirely underwhelmed. The 2 desserts were served 10 minutes apart and were also watery and tasteless. Coffees served, no teaspoons and no sugar. Asked for the latter and it never arrived. Painfully slow and indifferent service on a quiet night. An automatic service tip on the bill of 10% was also as unexpected as it was annoying and misguided. £180 in all. The only positive aspect were the Mr Controversial pieces of art. It may be just a bad night but looking at recent reviews it is at best a hit or miss experience at this place and what a shame where it was highly recommended to us. I will not be returning but will go to The Conservatory instead in future.More

Date of visit: January 2024
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Reviewed December 20, 2023

Many towns claim to have the oldest pub in England and equally many pubs claim to offer the best Sunday roast in the country. All I can say is that The Hourglass has the finest roast beef I have ever been served at any price....Other menu options are available but it’s been beef for me 3 times now and each meal has been consistently superb, none better and none worse. Sunday lunches are served ‘plated up’ with only a side dish of cauliflower cheese to be shared. The generous portion of very tender beef is cooked perfectly pink alongside excellent vegetables and a Yorkshire Pudding to die for.More

Date of visit: December 2023
Helpful?2  
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Reviewed December 20, 2023 via mobile

An evening with 7 friends started with a couple of pints in the main bar enjoying the warmth of the real fire and atmosphere, the ale selection was excellent with something for us all served by a friendly and knowledgeable barman. Moving through to our...booked table we found a stylish dining room and attentive staff. We had the Christmas menu on a preorder and all enjoyed the traditional dishes with a modern twist. Great flavour and portions kept us all happy with the evening finishing with a superb cheese selection and decent ruby port. This pub is authentic and a rare find among exeters ever increasing plastic premises , looking forward to a return visit already ..More

Date of visit: December 2023
Helpful?1  
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Reviewed December 19, 2023

Extremely disappointing Christmas party lunch - we were given sausage rolls, parmesan crisps, houmous and a few carrots/celery, Spanish omelette and chick pea chips. Everything was brown and slightly greasy. No relish or pickles, no salad, nothing sweet. No service to speak of - not...enough crackers to go round - staff all complaining they were hungover! And the price we were charged for this?? £25 a head! At most it was worth £10. Still can't quite believe it. Have been to some fabulous events here previously but this was not one of them and sadly won't be going back.More

Date of visit: December 2023
Helpful?1  
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Reviewed December 17, 2023 via mobile

We all had a roast and it was stunning lots of flavour. I liked the idea that the produce was local and it actually told you where everything came from on the menu all the different farms etc the service was very efficient the staff...where lovely and friendly this was as the first time for us today and we shall definitely be back thank you.More

Date of visit: December 2023
Helpful?2  
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Reviewed December 17, 2023 via mobile

We had a gorgeous Sunday lunch today. Our dog (we were the ones with the Japanese spitz) was made a fuss of and really welcomed. Extremely busy but cosy and a great atmosphere. Two of us needed gluten free and they had no problems catering...for this, as we couldn’t have the cauliflower cheese we were given an extra dish of roasted veg and puree, this was a really nice extra so we didn’t feel like we were missing out. Great potatoes and gravy and proper beef, we’ll definitely be back!More

Date of visit: December 2023
Helpful?2  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed November 18, 2023 via mobile

We had our cricket club presentation dinner at the hour glass . Venue , staff and food were all fantastic ! Thanks to everyone at the hour glass for making our night so fabulous !!! Will be going there for family meals regularly now .

Date of visit: November 2023
Helpful?3  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed November 10, 2023 via mobile

What a wonderful pub with out of this world amazing food , fantastic service and accommodating the dog too . Would definitely come back again .

Date of visit: November 2023
Helpful?3  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed November 5, 2023

Great little pub , amazing food, best Sunday lunch had for a long time . The beef was so tender and tasty. Staff very accommodating and attentive .. a must ..

Date of visit: November 2023
Helpful?2  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed November 5, 2023

Great little pub, wonderful Sunday lunch & good ales...all locally produced. Friendly, efficient service. Lovely laid back atmosphere, dog friendly too...a proper pub!

Date of visit: November 2023
Helpful?2  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed October 29, 2023

Went here on basis of what we had heard about the chef and the food was outstanding and the most incredible value for money for a set lunch. Sadly this was undermined , and let down by , the management of the front of house...who mishandled our attempts to make a future booking so badly that we cancelled the it and left as very disgruntled customers , not that anybody cared about either of these facts . Fine dining , which this is , is more than just the food itself so we wont return and indeed have returned to our usual go eatery in Exeter who , unsurprisingly , bit our hands off for the two bookings we have now made and which the Hourglass didnt want . Clearly their success means they no longer care about trying to regain customers for the future nor having unhappy customers walk out sharing their views which is a shame given how talented the chef is and how hard he must work to produce the amazing food he does.More

Date of visit: October 2023
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Reviewed October 28, 2023 via mobile

We had a lovely evening here on a busy Friday night. Really warm welcome at the bar and the place was buzzing. Quite hot in the bar area though! We went downstairs to the restaurant when we were ready and it was a nice atmosphere...and a bit less hot than upstairs. We ordered wine (lots of reasonably priced bottles on offer). We had starters of homity pie and mackerel. Both were very good and good portions. We then had mains of the cannelloni and the venison. Both were good but the venison dish was a bit colder than I would have liked and not much sign of a blackberry sauce as advertised which was a shame. But good portions. For dessert we ordered the brown butter cake which we both agreed was divine. Overall we enjoyed our evening and would come back. It’s so nice that the menu is constantly changing as well, and they cater well to gluten free.More

Date of visit: October 2023
Helpful?2  
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Reviewed October 15, 2023 via mobile

I love this place. Went on a busy Saturday night for a family birthday celebration and the atmosphere had a lively vibe. Ate downstairs for the first time which was great. Food was imaginative as always with excellent flavour combinations and the ingredient quality and...preparation are decidedly a cut above, particularly for the price point. Specifically, the venison was the most tender I’ve ever had and the homity pie delicious. The wines are well above average and good value for money. The staff are super friendly as well - service was a little longer than usual and they apologised before we even noticed and offered a free round of drinks. Hats off to the whole team there and thanks so much for making us a special event even more special.More

Date of visit: October 2023
Helpful?2  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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mxwal96
July 8, 2016|
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Response from happydad1 | Reviewed this property |
Sorry didn't notice but remember Leffe being there - enjoy
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The Hourglass, Exeter - Restaurant Reviews, Phone Number & Photos - Tripadvisor

Frequently Asked Questions about The Hourglass

The Hourglass is rated accordingly in the following categories by Tripadvisor travelers:
  • Food: 4.5
  • Service: 4
  • Value: 4
  • Atmosphere: 4.5