Al Farid in Exeter

Absolutely stunning food! I rarely take the time to write reviews, but i was so impressed with the flavours and quality of food i just had to this time!! I will 1000% be back to this restaurant! Fantastic food/atmosphere and service!

After losing any hope of finding somewhere to eat, where the customers aren't shouting across the tables at each other to be heard. We fortunately stumbled across this delightful place. We were seated quickly, even though they were very busy. The service was very attentive and the food superb 👌 We enjoyed 3 courses and thought it very good value for money. Would return and recommend.

The food here is amazing. The service is efficient and the staff are friendly. Because the restaurant is situated in a Georgian four story townhouse the atmosphere suffers as a result due to the amount of stairs involved in getting to the upper floors which are limited in their capacity. Don’t be put off by this if you’re fit enough to climb the stairs as the quality of food more than makes up for the upper floor experience.

Great food and fantastic service every time!

Cracking food, but unfortunately had a troubled stomach for 3 days afterwards... Guess it's authentic!

Excellent experience! Delicious, super tasty dishes. Definitely a recommended place for a great meal. Congratulations to the chef! Great service too!!

This is my favourite restaurant in Exeter! I've been going since I was a child, and the food is always fab, and the atmosphere is lovely. The stairs are a bit tight but the staff are very friendly and they've got the most amazing quirky vibe!

We had the group deal and I can't explain how full we were all after. The food was exceptional, you got a great range and could ask for specific items if you wanted anything. It comes out in three "courses" - dips, more vegetarian centric, then meats and cheeses. Make sure to give yourself enough space for the "last round". If you're still hungry after all the "set" items come out, you can order more! It was really worth the money. I wouldn't say you need the tagine, unless of course you fancied it

Great find, interesting menu, lovely.

Wow, where to start? Lovely location with a cathedral view, quiet, and in an an historic building. Consequently, mind your head as you ascend to the first floor eating area. Is this Exeter or Morocco? The decor, furnishings, and ambience are superb. We were greeted by waiter who explained it was his first day. He needn't have explained, his service was excellent, polite, attentive. We had the lamb tagine. I'm salivating writing about it, one of those 'falls off the bone cooked to perfection' experiences. The accompaniment was delicately spiced, pomegranate be-jewelled rice. Beautiful. So special to have food brought to table in authentic morrocan pottery too. Well, we washed it down with a jug of their signature rose petalled gin cocktail. Bliss.

It's my second visit here, and while there's potential, some issues are really disappointing. Starting with the positives: the decor is lovely, and the food itself is generally enjoyable. However, I did notice that quite a bit relies on mixed salads and what appear to be shop-bought sauces—perhaps a bit more originality here would go a long way. Also, a small but impactful detail: those plastic containers used as decoration feel cheap and out of place. It would make a big difference to remove or replace those with something more polished. Now, onto the more concerning aspects. The attitude of the staff didn’t give the impression they’re particularly invested in the customers’ experience. I even overheard management saying they were “full,” which was confusing and off-putting since, as shown in my photo, I was the only one on the ground floor. It left me feeling unwelcome, as if they didn’t care about additional guests. What truly crossed the line, though, was when I asked for the bill. My card was taken upstairs to tap on the machine without me, leaving me out of the process entirely. This is highly uncomfortable, as it raises questions about transparency and trust—how can a customer be sure of how many times the card was tapped or what amount was charged? For customer confidence, payment should always happen in the customer’s presence. With some adjustments, I believe this place could really improve.

We had a delicious meal at Al Farid - a brilliantly quirky setting with great service and a tantalising array of mezze plates. I wouldn’t usually use three adjectives in one sentence but it was that good! Book!

Fantastic Wheat, Gluten, Dairy & Soya Free options. We couldn't decide on what to eat, so we asked the chef to choose with my food allergies taken into consideration. It was all absolutely delicious. The staff were all friendly & knowledgeable. The choice of food is amazing & we will definitely go back. The restaurant is tucked away at thexfar side of Exeter Cathedral green. The decor is eclectic, but works.

Absolutely delicious food and lovely restaurant. We got the 6meze for £40 between the two of us and were both stuffed. So so tasty, perfect lunch on a first visit to exeter

Not my cup of tea, I'm sure some people must love it but I found it rather boring and! I didn't like any of the dishes.

The food was excellent, very tasty and a decent amount, although I would have expected some bread with the soup starter. I would definitely recommend this place

Delicious food, great service and wonderful atmosphere. The stairs are VERY steep FYI and you need to book in advance.

This place is kind of crazy but in an entirely good way. Somehow they have brought a touch of the Bedouin to a 4-storey 16th Century building overlooking Exeter Cathedral. Al-Farid provides excellent Middle Eastern / Moroccan food in a fun atmosphere with relaxed but attentive service. Portions are generous. We went for a set menu for two, shared between three of us, with a couple of additional Mezze dishes. There was plenty for all with food left over that we took home in a doggy bag. Prices are very competitive, we spent £100 on a 3 course meal for 3 with a couple of drinks. Very impressive!

Loved it! The tagine is perfectly cooked. A bit pricey but worth it.

Best middle eastern food. Very wellcoming staffs. Food coming little late but worth to wait. My personal fav was cocktail

One of my go-to restaurants in Exeter that does amazing Moroccan cuisine. Their mezze of 6 dishes and their shish platter never ceases to disappoint. Portion sizes are big too which is great value for money. The only thing I'd wanna say is your food is so good that it often gives my boyfriend pungent flatulence, but that's a sign that he had a good meal!

We had a table on the 2nd floor and the stairs need some care when going up and coming down. A lovely welcome and good service though the evening. The food was delish and plentiful.

One of the best kept secrets in Exeter, Al-Farid is a gem of a place, delicious mezze and amazing meats. Great staff who were knowledgeable and welcoming. I will be going back.

This is such beautiful restaurant I have ever visited, I went on very busy night, Everything specially the service was so good, highly recommended to book in advance, it was the most beautiful restaurant and food I ever had in very long time. Thank you to Al Farid team Definitely coming back.

The food and people were very good, way too many stairs ,toilet below ground floor, very snug

Fantastic experience! Mouth watering food xx

Fab, authentic, tasty food and good service. Ask for a downstairs table if stairs are tricky for you.

Beautiful decor and so quirky. The staff are attentive and very friendly. The food is the crowning glory, a great selection and cooked to perfection. Must be the best houmous I have ever tasted. Just the best.

fabulous, delicious food and drink with friendly staff

Thought we would try this place while family were visiting. What a good choice! Everyone loved it. Between 6 of us we chose 18 meze dishes, all of which were excellent. Could not be faulted. Staff were really friendly and helpful. The ambience is great - very Moroccan. Service is good, with everything freshly prepared and cooked. We’re planning more visits with friends already.

found this restaurant on a very busy evening in Exeter and had to wait about 10 minutes for a table, lovely ambiance, staff extremely friendly and food was excellent

Hosts were fantastic, wonderful food myself and my dad could have stayed all afternoon lol. Will definitely go back again.

Booked in advance. Food is amazing but a meal is more than just the food. Building not suitable for many people with disabilities as over 3 floors and toilet down stairs to basement area accessed by narrow tightly winding stairs. Food was lovely but on arrival told only 3rd floor available and we would be on our own or could sit in the upstairs extension with others. Opted for the last option but people were just leaving when we got there so might as well as gone to 3rd floor! We were shut out in this poorly decorated room with perspex windows. We could see everyone else inside in opulent surroundings but every time staff left us they slammed double doors shut behind them leaving us isolated and cold. There was a table available after we arrived but before we could ask to move- someone else arrived and sat there-an obvious friend of the female waiter! Think they should treat customers equally. Shame as food was very nice!

Lots of healthy vegan food with protien. Most food here is also naturally gluten free. Very helpful friendly staff, fantastic location.

Went last month to try some Mediterranean food during our first visit to Exeter. The decore was beautiful and prestenting the culture. Staff was friendly and helpful. Some wall frames do explain that its a halal food place but it does sell alcohol and no where it says halal. Limited vegan options and only fish cakes are available. Located in city centre and close to park. No onsite parking available

The food here is incredibly good. The hummus, the baba ganoush, the pastillas…all of it excellent

Wonderful dinner, great selection of food, will definitely visit again!

We had a great lunch here. I had meze which was so flavoursome and my husband had the beef tagine which were both incredibly lovely and delicious. We had a homemade tropical drink which was lovely and refreshing.

The decor and food felt very authentic, and overall the experience was ok. The food was nice, if not amazing. I think the mezes are poor value. One our mezes was calamari, which is rubbery and inedible - we left it and gave feedback, but no recompense was offered. The service was superb; very polite and quick. Shame though that the waiters’ attire is street casual, rather than something more in keeping with the restaurant decor. Clean carpets wouldn’t go a miss.

We had a lovely lunch, tasty fresh food, efficient service and good options for both vegan and gluten free diners. Highly recommend!

Excellent restaurant in the heart of Exeter. Ask for the first floor table near the window for the best experience. Food was excellent and staff very friendly and efficient. A true taste of Morocco. Don’t miss the cardamom coffee and baklava for dessert.

This restaurant has become a favourite when we visit Exeter. We had a selection of Mezes and they were all good

An amazing restaurant, service was amazing and food was spectacular.

Well, the food is good, but the portions are very, very small in relation to how expensive they are. Charging almost £50 for 6 small portions and a coffee and a drink is absurdly high. If I then convert that to the euro, that's almost €60. For this money I can get much, much more elsewhere. The food was still good, but that aspect really hurt. I'd rather go to the 1st in Vienna and eat a schnitzel there and at least be full.

Shared a Meze selection here in this historic old building, everything i had was delish & authentic, including the Arabic coffee afterwards.

Lovely little gem of a place with great food .

Fantastic place, superb food and a brilliant atmosphere. Great service. Highly recommended

Lovely restaurant situated on the Cathedral green. Friendly staff and the food was excellent. I'd also recommend trying the home made lemonade.

Great menu and delicious 😋 Easy to find, beside Exeter cathedral. Reservation recommended.

Party of 9, all had Meze which everybody really enjoyed. Too many good dishes to pick a favourite but I'll deffo go back to try some more. City centre, on Cathedral Green so a great location too. 5-8 min walk from Princesshay car park.

Close your eyes and order you will love everything in there… friendly very thoughtful stuff. The only thing is everything in there is very squishy. I’m guessing because that’s an old building.

We travelled to Exeter from London and someone recommended Al Farid to us. We were pleasantly surprised and loved the food! Maddy our waitress looked after us so well and gave us very good service. Set in a nice old building in cathedral square with good Moroccan theme decor!

As always, Excellent food and fantastic service

It felt like I was back in Marrakech so I give the atmosphere 5 stars. The food is okay, I felt like it was slightly pricey for the portion size and it took a really long time for it to come. Overall we enjoyed our meal and staff was friendly. - We really enjoyed the home-made lemonade. It tastes intensley of rose water, so just be aware of this if this is not your thing. - I felt like the babaganoush could of been smokier, as this one was bland and lacked texture or flavour. - Our main the aubergine gateau was fantastic and I highly recommend ordering this. - the meatballs mezze were also very very tasty

A portal to Morocco in the heart of Exeter. This is a real business staffed and run by real people. I heartily recommend a visit.

Been there a few times now and it's been great every time. Amazing and friendly staff, also generous (they gave me a baklava on my birthday)! Food is incredible, with lots of options for vegans and vegetarians but great meat and fish dishes as well. The tapas/mezze gives you so much choice and allows you to choose a bit of everything. It's also a gorgeous building with a lot of history - built in the 1400s if I remember rightly? This place is absolutely one of my favourite restaurants.

Amazing food, lamb tagine was one of the best meals I've had for a long time!

Amazing all round!! Been a few times now and has been very good every time! Especially nice the staff are still there!! Shows it is a good place to be ! Both customers and staff!!

Food was over cooked and to dry.very disappointed?

The staff were amazing, the vibe was wonderful and the food delicious 🤤

Had an amazing meal at this place. Food is delicious and the decor is absolutely gorgeous. Slightly on the pricier side but totally worth it.

Very good place to eat .. food is great ..would recommend trying them

Fantastic food. Fantastic service. Vibrant atmosphere and quality pricing. Will definitely be returning

Absolutely fantastic. Very unique. The food spot on. Prices are reasonable. The iranian dishes 10 out of 10 highly recommended this place.

The food here was really lovely. It was a bit on the pricier side for the size of the dishes we received (we had 6 Meze plates for £45ish), however each dish had a beautiful taste and was made well. The food arrived very quickly too. I'd recommend this restaurant to a friend.

Amazing food in a great setting. I’d definitely recommend visiting Al Farid to everyone, some of the best food I’ve had at a restaurant in years. I had the beef tagine with saffron rice, incredible!

Excellent, although the tables are a little small . Great food and atmosphere 👌

Just amazing…. You are just arrived to a different world as soon as walk trough the door. Very good decoration, authentic interior mixed with a friendlt and relaxed atmosphere. I feel sorry for the team cause the lot and tight staircase. I get this evening from my colleagues as a birthday gift… I wasn’t disappointed. Our waitress Freya was just amazing. So friendly and informative, kind and her service is immaculate. Not just with us, but as a hospitality manager I kept my eyes open when she was serving other tables. She is true credit to the businnes. Compliment to the chef too, the food is excellent well presented and very tasty. It was hot, good portion size and original flavours. Long strory short, definitely recommended and I definitely back when I visit Exeter again! Thank you! ✌🏻

Great decor, great food and Rob is very customer focused! We knew what we was ordering and went in not expecting to be super busy on a Thursday evening and they were almost fully booked!

Delicious Moroccan & Lebanese food, highly recommended 🥳

Food is always great! Been here on my birthday a few times for dinner and it's my go to place to come with friends or my husband! It's authentic food and variety, I feel it sets them apart from other restaurants in Exeter! The service is always personal and very friendly. The food is full of flavour and comes out quickly, the cocktails are limited but stays true to its authenticity (very yummy too) The location is perfect if you are going out after. Keep doing what you are doing! I will continue supporting and spreading the word about this amazing restaurant! ( Also love the shsha)

We ate here yesterday for the first time and it was so good, the food was fresh and perfectly cooked, the wine was good and the service was perfect, thank you we'll definitely be back 🤗

Great experience at Al-Farid, unique to travel several floors through tight stairways to get to the top floor. We enjoyed an all you can eat curated menu from the chef, this consists of different dishes served every 20 minutes. A real treat within Exeter

Lovely food and service. Relaxed atmosphere. Tapas had very good selection and was very tasty

Great restaurant, went after a bodybuilding competition and it was exactly what we needed! Feasted away on incredible food and plenty of it! Staff accommodated us (group of 6) despite being fully booked, they found us an area which was lovely. Would highly recommend.

Our waiter was so warm and friendly - we unfortunately didn't manage to get his name. It seemed like a busy night when we visited, but service was still relatively quick. And the food was exquisite. We ordered a mezze platter with 6 dishes, each of which was spot on, grilled squid which was cooked to perfection, lamb tagine which melted in the mouth, and a round of lemonades which had a hint of rose water in them. There wasn't a single dish that I'd rate lower than an 8. Needless to say, I'd definitely go back. As an aside, their menu has several vegetarian and vegan options so it seems a good place for groups with diverse dietary needs.

A mesmerising experience. Beautiful decor throughout that’s reminiscent of the pages of Arabian Nights, excellent service and fantastic food full of flavour.

Visited during lunch with my family, very good choice. We had a set menu for 4, the started in itself felt like a main course. For the main course we had the mixed shish and 2 tagines, one with lamb one vegetarian. The meat was cooked to perfection, the lamb was falling of the bone, felt like we are having a feast. And to finish it off with a fresh mint tea!

Amazing food and friendly service.

We thoroughly enjoyed our first dining experience at Al farid Restaurant. The homemade food was delicious, the service was great, and the atmosphere was beautifully authentic. We ordered a selection of Mezze and tagine for our group of 8, and there was plenty of food to go around. There were also plenty of options for vegetarians and vegans, which we appreciated. We highly recommend dining at this restaurant. Thank you.

After a wonderful trip to Marrakesh, my family and I visited Al Farid Restaurants last month for dinner on a Friday with a group of four. We ordered the mix shish platter for two and six different mezze dishes, which were all delicious. The service we received was top-notch, and we were impressed by the beautiful building and decor that reminded us of Marrakesh. As someone originally from the Middle East, I rarely find restaurants with food of this quality. A big thank you to the entire Al Farid team - we highly recommend this restaurant.

This Moroccan cuisine is not the real Moroccan restaurant.Giving the outlook of the restaurant looked like Moroccan cuisine and making huge money n tarnishing Moroccan delicious food. Nothing was good enough,also in the end was served with which looked liked ready made staled baklava and bogus tea....and the lady forgot to serve tea.... Highly disappointed Would never recommend to anyone

We came from london and we ordered £125 four person meal And honestly speaking that food is not enough for four people only 2 people can eat that Lamb tagine was fine but mixed grill portion was very small With this price u can have luxury meal in centeral london i dont understand why no one given this feedback before Please do not order 4 person option as this is not enough also make sure check before order as you will be surprize when they add extra bill for starters also they completely forgot to bring tea which was part of deal Lamb tajine was nice and mixed grill was no where near to nice I recomend eat Germen donner kabab instead I can say more but i have said enough Hope owner make quick changes to their food quantity in order to maintain upcoming business

The quantity of food was very less as we ordered the main platter for 4 people. It was not enough food.Even though we had ordered the platter they still charged us for our starters where as in most restaurants they would be expected when ordering a platter. The service wasn’t great because as we asked for desert they forgot to bring our tea and without any explanation just went and got it. The place was also quite messy and wasn’t cleared up properly, as we were sat 2 floors up there was a lot of mess hidden behind a counter. In the hour that I was there I also saw a couple of spiders which was a horrific sight when eating and especially when you have younger children. As my family have some tall men around 6 foot, they found it hard to walk around and up and down the stairs as they had extremely low ceilings. My family came here 10 years ago and I’m sorry to say I didn’t have a good experience and don’t think I will dine here again.

Good food, easy choice for carnivores, vegetarians and vegans alike. Seasoning slightly on salty side. Tables on the uppermost (second) floor very low and extremely uncomfortable to eat at. The second floor has normal height tables, so best to book those in advance. The stairs are very steep and difficult to negotiate. Nice ambience and middle-eastern decor with piped Moroccan music (a little loud at times). Fine for younger or fit and healthy, go-ahead oldies. I would not recommend eating at the low tables and would eat elsewhere if they were the only option available.

Superb serendipitous find on Good Friday with spaces for lunch. Meze selection was perfect!

Went for a group of 6 and we had the meze platter each. Felt like I didn’t stop eating, the service was amazing. Continuous dishes brought out, amazing quality, can’t wait to come back. 5 stars!

Absolutely amazing, went for a works function and I can honestly say this was some of the best food I have ever tasted 10/10 Am looking forward to going back soon!

The decor of the restaurant is lovely and the location is close to all the views within the city.

Great middle eastern food, friendly staff and nice atmosphere. Do remember to ask for a normal table if you have long legs.

Wow, what an amazing place, delicious Mediterranean food, great service and spotless atmosphere 💯 we will be back very soon

Absolutely fantastic food and the service was wonderful. Thank you for a lovely evening! ✨

Met the manager, he told us in Farsi that everything is halal except the sausage. Which coincidentally, is what we ordered the first time we came. Completely disappointed. I’ve contacted the restaurant some time after that and they stated it has changed to halal, but i am not sure if I can trust them after that. A quick look at the website and there is not one certificate to confirm that, so for all I know they could be making the claim up. How unfortunate! Edit: the owner responded with “a few years ago”. But just last year January we came by and we were told the sausage was not halal.

What an amazing place. The food was cooked perfectly and busting with flavour!! I Highly recommended visiting this lovely establishment.

Great food well worth the money

Great food but some of the seating is uncomfortable - all in keeping with the atmosphere I suppose.

Meze was fantastic and a great quirky place to bring friends family and anyone for an authentic dinner, the cocktails are rather good too!

Oh my goodness what a treat it is to dine here. The food and whole experience was just wonderful. I'm thinking of relocating to Exeter. Thank you to all the amazing front of house team who are so friendly and the miracle workers in the kitchen who gave us a stunning meal. Special thanks to Jacob for making dish selection such fun. My lamb tagine and my friends mezze selection was heaven (not to mention the baklava!) Hope to be back soon!

Lamb shank tagline and rose lemonade fantastic.

Great experience, largely thanks to our wonderful waitress, Freya. From the moment we were seated, Freya's warm and welcoming demeanor set the tone for the evening. She was attentive, knowledgeable about the menu, and made excellent recommendations that enhanced our dining experience. Not only was Freya efficient in taking our orders, but she also went above and beyond to accommodate any special requests we had. Her professionalism and genuine friendliness truly stood out, making us feel valued and well taken care of throughout the meal. In addition to the outstanding service provided by Freya, the food was delicious. Each dish was very well prepared, presented, and bursting with flavor. The ambiance of the restaurant was also lovely, creating the perfect atmosphere for a memorable dining experience. Overall, I cannot recommend this restaurant highly enough, and Freya's exceptional service played a significant role in making our evening special. We will definitely be returning, and I hope to be lucky enough to have Freya as our waitress again.