City Gate Dining in Exeter

Superbly organised event by the team at Citygate. We hired a room for a wake and everything was perfect. Really helpful team of staff, great food and nothing was too much trouble. Highly recommended 10 out of 10

food and drink very good but an automatic imposition of a 12.5% service charge means we won't go again. It was very quiet on the day we attended

Delighted to have found this gem of a pub for our weekend visit to Exeter. Great room with really comfy Ben and large bathroom. Flowers and a free bottle of fizz left for our anniversary. Cosy parts of the pub for drinks and stayed for Sunday lunch which was amazing. Also only 10 mins walk St Favids train station and 2 mins to the main part of town

Really nice setting with great food and pretty reasonably priced for a nice hotel . Would recommend , rooms are really nice too

I booked based on good reviews. Unfortunately I booked Sunday lunch on a day they had some large bookings. We arrived at 1.30 and were given a table out of the main restaurant so immediately it felt that we had been squeezed in. We were told there would be a 10 minute delay on ordering, so we ordered drinks. They took our order, they had run out of beef so I did not get my prferred choice and then we had to wait until 2.30 before we received our lunch. There only appeared to be one girl taking orders, serving and clearing plates, too much to deliver good service. The food was fine although the last portion of beef which my son had was overcooked having sat around for probably at least an hour. When I asked to pay they added 12.5% discretionary service charge without checking I was happy to pay. I requested a refund which they did very slowly. Not a great experience, mostly due to understaffing I suspect as there were only two staff in the kitchen and the waitress appeared to be loading the dishwasher too. I felt sorry for the staff as it was not really their fault. We won't be returning.

We had the roast sharing platter for 2. Absolutely wonderful food

wonderful place! I go there to run my Italian language course, all the staff very friendly and very accomodating. Love it!

All good, friendly staff and nothing too much trouble.

I was really pleased to book a discreet room for morning coffees for a group of a dozen, to address them before we departed for an activity. Booking it was efficient and helpful. Later a couple of us returned for lunch especially because the City Gate had outdoor tables in pleasant shade and background music did not overwhelm our conversation. We enjoyed a shared fish platter, which was tasty, well presented and service was helpful and we didn't have to wait long. Nice bar service. We will come back.

We had a work dinner in the Gallery room last night, with high profile guest list. Jon, the event manager, followed us from start to finish during the planning of the reception, and our guests had a good time thanks to the good atmosphere in both pub and restaurant area. The bar and waiting staff was kind and helpful throughout the evening despite our chaotic arrival! The kitchen could facilitate all dietary requirements without hesitation, as well as non-alcoholic welcome drinks. Thanks to all staff at the City Gate for a succesful event.

We had a very nice dinner! Pretty interiors (lovely atrium and outdoor seating with heaters), yummy food (very generous portions) and an extremely kind staff. I highly recommend this restaurant.

We love this place, favourite place to eat and drink in Exeter

Great place. Lots of outdoor space and a basement bar too, although only open for functions generally. Good atmosphere and friendly staff.

Servers and hostess were very attentive and friendly. The food was very good. I had the burger and my wife had the fish pie.

One of the best sunday roasts ever! with a wonderful Bloody Mary. Nice and kind people

Only popped in for a pint. Lovely pub with a lovely walled garden and nice rooms filled with easy chairs. Sadly, the beer I had was very expensive and extremely average. Service was slow, but nothing to do with bar staff. Two customers chose their food whilst stood at the bar reading the menu.

We stayed 2 nights at City Gate and the food, service and atmosphere were 1st class. Kirsty went out of her way to make sure the 4 of us were looked after and kept happy at all of our meals. She is a credit to the hotel and we look forward to staying there again in the future.

Nice place to meet up with friends. Shale the ladies toliets were so small. And the time before it was filled with vomit in one toilet and the other toilet the lock was broke. Expected more from a business

Fabulous garden, as always. Absolutely amazing food - we both had Chicken Supreme. Just one thing - maybe remove "Supreme" from the dish's title as we were expecting a white / cream sauce. The waiter brought us gorgeous gravy on our request. However, our meals were "melt in the mouth" with the most fabulous flavours and the crisp was amazing.

Love the place. Great when the sun is out in the lovely garden!⁰

I held my husband’s surprise 50th birthday party at the City Gate at the beginning of July and I cannot praise the whole team, but especially Jon, highly enough! From the moment of booking, Jon was always on hand and very enthusiastic about helping me make the party what I wanted. From helping me choose the right room for the number of guests to showing me all the available options for food and drinks, to always replying promptly to any questions I had. All the staff on the night were super friendly and accommodating, right down to wheeling a TV in to the room for the Euros quarter-finals penalties before my husband arrived, so everyone was where I needed them to be, without the football fans missing a thing! Our guests said what a lovely atmosphere there was, that the food was tasty and it was great we could control the volume of the music, as well as having the option to use our own. We used The Gallery room which was fab as it was warm and the doors were able to open up on to a patio area which also meant that any smokers / non smokers were not segregated and kept everyone at the party together. I cannot recommend Jon and the City Gate highly enough for a party, great hosts, great food and a fabulous atmosphere. Thank you so much!

Excellent Sunday roast, good wine and beer selection, plus great service. Only minor niggle - could you get some blinds for the conservatory roof?

Visited with a group for an informal meeting and drinks. We were made very welcome, service was great and it has a lovely, warm atmosphere. Will definitely be back and would recommend.

We’ve just had Sunday lunch at the CITY GATE . The young girl Hannah the waitress was very good in every aspect . & I must say the roast pork belly & all the food was absolutely delicious with decent portions. Can highly recommend

Gluten free fish and chips!! And some of the best I’ve had. Cooked with GF ingredients and in a separate fryer. Such wonderful service, great ambience, and delicious food and drink. Very much recommend.

Amazing experience staying in Exeter and a wonderful surprise to find so many gluten free options. Incredible gluten free fish and chips

Wow! Had a lovely Sunday dinner here. Have been coming to visit Exeter for years and never thought of this place but definitely be back. Lovely bar area at the front, further back, a conservatory set with tables for dining and further back still, extensive garden with sheltered areas and variety of seating.

I go here about every week to work, and often in the evenings for drinks with friends. Food is expensive but tastes alright. Staff are absolutely lovely, and don't seem bothered when I hang around with laptop for 6+ hours. This is probably one of the most beautiful pubs in Exeter. Many seating options - cozy couches, dining tables, outdoor tables, pub style long tables. Good for many purposes indeed.

What a delightful spot. Clearly liked by locals and a huge bonus for hotel guests. My fish and chips was top notch. Wine service (many by the glass choices) was excellent. A pretty, glassed-in conservatory as a dining room off the pub. Breakfast this morning was delicious. A real reason to choose this hotel for an Exeter stay.

Didn't eat this time but had a few drinks with friends in the courtyard and was very cosy with the heaters on

Steaks were grey and had obviously been sat uncovered in the fridge for ages. Screaming children running loops through the restaurant. Doubt I'll be going back

Booked sunday lunch for 2pm - when we got there we were informed that you had run out of Pork and Caulflower cheese already! considering you offer lunch until 5pm I think that was a bit poor. Also asked for J20 which is a very popular drink only to be told you do not stock them, so then asked for a Rose Zinfadel, again told you dont stock this either. With Roast chicken i would have expected stuffing too!

I run a stand up comedy course and gigs at this hotel. The staff are frankly superb - nothing is too much trouble and their warm and professional approach to all their customers' needs is much appreciated. The food, drink and coffee, which I have every week, are delicious - moorish! Can't recommend this hotel and bar enough for a lovely evening out. Thank you City Gate team.

Have been in this pub a few times for drinks but never eaten until last night. Well the food was absolutely superb we had a shared platter between 3 of us and the scotch eggs were the best we have ever eaten. Absolutely gorgeous. The main meals were just as good all extremely tasty and great value for money. The staff were all really friendly and attentive. We will definitely be going back again soon.

My room was lovely and I had a fabulous long bath that was very much needed! The young woman who served me dinner was very attentive and the food was good. However, at around 11:30pm, a very intoxicated man was banging and clattering in the corridor that my room was located on. He was shouting and banging on doors. I opened my bedroom door to find him slumped on the floor between bedrooms. He told me he couldn't get into his room. I went down to reception to see if I could find a member of staff to help, but there were none around. All the lights were off in the bar, and not a soul to be seen. I went back to bed, hoping the drunk guy would find his way back to his room. At midnight, he tried to get into my room, pulling and pushing at the door handle. Again, no staff to be seen whatsoever. I rang down to reception, not really expecting an answer but I didn't know what else to do. Finally, the drunk guy disappeared, but I did feel quite unsafe. The next morning, when I checked out, I explained to the two members of staff on reception what happened and asked what I should do in an emergency. I didn't get an apology. Instead, all I got was a quite startled response telling me that there was an emergency contact number behind reception that I could call if needed. I would have had to squint to read it, quite frankly. Please put some more staff on reception at night time - it wasn't even midnight!

A big 'thank you' to Jon & Team. A fun evening in The Gallery for our daughter's 21st Birthday. The staff were efficient & helpful & worked hard to make sure we were well looked after & had a lovely evening. The good food & efficient service was very much appreciated by 12 hungry students. Great venue for a relaxed & informal gathering.

Lovely pub with some great beers on tap, and a nice quiet room to stay in. Staff were very friendly and helpful.

Probably the best roast dinner we have had in ages ! Great service as well , we will definitely be back !

Exellent Meeting/Training Room!!! :) Great Atmosphere!!! :) Great Service Too!!! :)

We booked a table for 8 for a six nations game, All went well with drinks and food but disaster struck about 10 minutes from the end of the game when the large screen tv decided to pack up!! So we were all scrambling for our phones to see if England had beaten the mighty Irish!!! And they did! Just! So, it was a very unfortunate end to what should have been a famous victory!! Nobody's fault of course! Just a bit of anti-climax!

The Sunday Lunch wasn't huge but it was delicious I will be back , crackling mmmmmmm

Had a very nice Sunday lunch. Food was well prepared and good quality and the service was top class. We would definitely book again.

Really fantastic place. I had a one night stay and could have stayed much longer. The room was so comfortable, spacious and had fantastic touches throughout. The staff were very friendly and helpful. Will absolutely stay here again.

Very good location close to the city centre and the cathedral. Rooms are very well presented and staff are amazing especially Kirsty. Thank you. Fantastic English breakfast 5*.

Fabulous rooms - lovely boutique style and the welcome port and shortbread biscuits were very welcome after a long journey!

We booked a fairly last minute Sunday roast at City Gate. Really happy with our decision, the food was definitely the highlight but it was also well priced and we had efficient, friendly service. Will definitely return.

We had a warm welcome from the very accommodating staff here. This is one of the best places ever to eat gluten free fish and chips!!

Friendly staff but unfortunately the room was not as described - shower didn’t work properly (most of the water still came out the bath tap despite being on the shower setting), toilet flush panel was broken, dangerous plug socket was coming off the wall and the milk provided had gone off. A shame as some of the other touches were thoughtful (eg port glass and flapjack pieces).

Me and my boyfriend came to stay for Valentine’s day and it was the best hotel room we have stayed in, affordable and yet it looks so luxurious. The two ladies who were working that night I never got your names were so kind and helpful. I myself work behind the bar at a hotel so I know how tough the job can be but they were amazing. Room was as incredible as shown on pictures, super cosy, clean and the ceiling shower in our room was just 10/10 relaxation. We literally wanted to stay in that room forever. Food was delicious I had the Pan Fried Chicken and my boyfriend the Mushroom Pie, breakfast was also very tasty. Would highly recommend for a romantic getaway. Lovely atmosphere.

On Tuesday I had luch at City Gate in Exeter with my toddler. After the warm welcome we ordered lunch, staff was kind and helpful, the menu was great for toddlers too! I really enjoyed my steak and chips, it was exactly how I asked to be done. The atmosphere was cosy and the fireplace is nice there. We’ve been here before and it’s always nice to return!

We had a staff party for the second year in a row here and it was perfect again! We used the Cellar Bar which is a great venue for some drinks, some food (various party platters), and some music and dancing! Our personal bartender Ollie was super friendly and quick, and gave the organisers regular updates on bar tab. Also helping out was Maisie who'd come down from upstairs when it got busy. Thank you both for looking after us so well :) and thank you to the team for booking us in and dealing with nut allergies and veggie options. Only suggestion would be having separate signs for each individual food platter so guests can figure out quicker which is which rather than the whole list together.

We hire on of the rooms for a private event and it couldn't have gone better! Jamie replied immediatly to my initial contact email and he was super helpful throughout! On the day, the room was perfectly set up, the food was amazing and service was perfect. Cannot thank them enough for facilitating the event at such short notice.

This hotel was an amazing find. Really close to the city centre, well decorated, comfortable, and the staff were really nice and friendly I would definitely come back.

Great stylish pub with rooms with great food, friendly staff and very central! have stayed here several times, its great value.

Great stay - we'll certainly look be back! Great relaxed atmosphere

Booked a table 5 days before. Had a call ONE HOUR before to say that the kitchen was closed as they had a wedding so our booking had been cancelled. Will never visit again because of this! Even had the nerve to email me the following day asking how my visit was!!! This was going to be a birthday meal for my sister who was staying so we had to find somewhere else. Luckily we had a lovely meal at a restaurant just down the road.

Great Sunday lunch when visiting our son at university. Lovely environment, good location and fab food.

Nice decor along with comfortable furniture, a very nice pint of Guinness by the fire, will definitely try the food next time.

Place, warm welcoming, posh, I like it

An excellent Sunday roast, supplemented by good service. The restaurant is spacious yet welcoming.

The rooms are very luxurious, comfortable, and clean. The food they've served is absolutely organic and excellent! My only issue is the service. When I called City Gate Hotel that I'm near, the service lady on the phone gave me the wrong direction that unfortunately got me lost for quite some time and later admitted she doesn't know the area around city gates hotel. It was a total disaster and shows the lack of education. Overall, I recommend this hotel to everyone as the food, the room and the people are very friendly.

We reserved a table on the City Gate website for six people to meet for drinks on an evening before Christmas. This process was very easy to do on line. Confirmation and reminders were emailed to me before my visit which was reassuring. When we arrived the staff were very helpful in letting us have a choice of seating. The bar staff were friendly and welcoming. There was a good selection of real ales including several draught Christmas ales. We had some bowls of chips as a snack and these are well worth trying. Some of the best the I have tasted!

Busy thriving pub ! Much larger inside than it seems ,only one good ale on the bar and it was a Hanlons !

Nice venue, however the service was incredibly slow considering we all prepaid £40 for three course. The starters were an hour and a half late. The communication via emails was also poor and the staff had no access to amend any orders, had to be from the manager only, who seemed to never be present.

We love the city gate Nice feeling and situation. Good for all seasons and occasions

Rip off! £40 a head - food was over an hour late for the first course and then took 45-60 for the next course to come out when we had finished. I wrote that I had allergies when booking however this wasn’t adhered to and I was given food that would have given me a reaction had I not checked it through. I was then only given one option as an alternative. The turkey was incredibly dry, we were given two potatoes, one stuffing ball and one parsnip with a tiny bit of swede each. The dessert was tasty however absolutely tiny! Was maybe the width of two fingers and ten centimetres long- when you think that it cost the equivalent of £13 a course it was definitely not worth it. We were offered a free drink as an apology for the wait which then took over an hour to get! Genuinely don’t waste your time for a big event.

We had a wonderful lunch at City Gate, the waitress and staff generally were so accommodating and helpful. The food was top notch! Will definitely be visiting again soon.

We went for our Work Christmas Do, we were all there in plenty of time, asked by the staff to sit down for 6.45 there was two larger tables in the back of the pub, one for us and another for another group, we were all seated by 7 and had drinks, we waited and waited for the starters to come out, but nothing happened, no one came to say why we were not getting our food, our manager had to go and find someone only to be told that they were short staffed, the other group were also waiting, we finally had our starters at nearly 9oclock which were very poor, supposed to be Duck Rillettes, it was a very poor it was basically Duck meat and onion in a small pot and two stale pieces of bread, I had to ask for butter just to make it able to be stuck to the bread, but buy this time we were so hungry that I ate it, the main came out which was ok, Christmas dinner but again small portions I think not had two Brussels Sprouts which were like bullets, and finally, the desserts, mine was a chocolate mousse which looked like it had been sat for ages as it was very watery and unpleasant, I didn’t eat it, we were very disappointed with the hole experience, they couldn’t cope with so many people, other people that had come in to eat at the front of the restaurant were getting fed but both of our group and the other larger group were just left waiting, they couldn’t even bring us out some bread to keep us going. Wouldn’t recommend them for a Christmas Party!!

Very friendly staff and great vegan options on menu. Will definitely go back. Food was excellent.

Great service friendly staff our Christmas Meal was lovely and enjoyed by everyone thanks the city gate.

Great location. Warm and comfy in the lounge. Food and service was excellent.

Me and my girlfriend had our little ones gender reveal here and was honestly amazing, everyone had a great time. Lovely place and amazing staff! Would highly recommend to go here if you have a large group of friends and family or for food! Proper gem of place. Thanks you!!

Good to meet up for drinks. Some nice private areas if you are in a group. Nice atmosphere, even on a Wednesday. Just beware of parking as you have to pay in all carparks after 6pm now

I had the Special of the Day - market trout. Small piece of fish for £20 that was very dry, and I felt like it had been under the heat lamps for awhile. Slow service. I would suggest going elsewhere in Exeter. Fur coat and no knickers place.

Perfect ambience, sat by the fire and had a Baileys coffee pre lunch. Staff were friendly and courteous and seated us in the restaurant with the menus. So much to choose from. I had the Toad in the hole with broccoli it was huge and beautifully cooked. followed with the Fruit crumble and ice cream. We will definitely be visiting again

Excellent food Ready to watch the rugby world cup final

Enjoyable date night here - great service, food and wine. Dessert cocktails were great too. Quiet despite being near the city centre - but it was a Monday night!

Youngs Brewery Pub, with a fantastic Bistro attached. Had Chicken Liver Paté to start, which was excellent, followed by a gourmet sausage Toad in the Hole for main. The main was the star of the show, and was not only delicious, but was a really generous portion for the price and quality: just what was needed on a rainy autumn day.

Me and my newly wedded wife held our wedding reception here a few weeks ago, and everything was just perfect!! We visited initially a year ago, checking out various venues to hold our reception here, and everything fit the bill (seperate area for afternoon dining, private downstairs cellar bar for the evening). Throughout the next year, Jon the events manager helped us plan and organise everything and make our ideas a reality. Fast forward to the big day, and it all went perfectly! The food was outstanding, the staff were all wonderful, and all of our guests had a fabulous time. Jon truly went above and beyond to make our day run as smoothly as possible. If you are looking for a venue to hold your wedding reception, look no further. You won't be disappointed.

Me and my newly wedded wife held our wedding reception here a few weeks ago, and everything was just perfect!! We visited initially a year ago, checking out various venues to hold our reception here, and everything fit the bill (seperate area for afternoon dining, private downstairs cellar bar for the evening). Throughout the next year, Jon the events manager helped us plan and organise everything and make our ideas a reality. Fast forward to the big day, and it all went perfectly! The food was outstanding, the staff were all wonderful, and all of our guests had a fabulous time. Jon truly went above and beyond to make our day run as smoothly as possible. If you are looking for a venue to hold your wedding reception, look no further. You won't be disappointed.

We so enjoyed staying at the City Gate. Primarily due to the warm welcome, friendly staff, fantastic food, gorgeous room, delightful interiors and great location. It couldn’t have been more perfect!!

Had a nice Sunday roast in here. Trimmings you don’t always get (red cabbage, root vegetable mash) although strangely no green vegetable.

The venue is absolutely stunning with staff going above and beyond. Special shout out to Jon who helped me plan and coordinate the surprise and contacted me in moods that helped keep it a secret. Will definitely go back.

Delicious roast dinner. Beautiful outside area. See you again.

I would highly recommend the city gate . We had an amazing day . From the very start Jon was so helpful his friendly approachable manner makes you feel at ease . He talked us through the menu which was such a help as you’re...

Another great Sunday lunch at City Gate

Well this was a find. We thought we were at a different place when we wandered in and sat in the rear conservatory. However we had a fabulous meal that came to £82 for 3 course with 2 large wines. A lovely seasonal menu was...

Came here for a work party. John and the team looked after us brilliantly. It was well organised, tasty food & staff were helpful & polite. Outside garden area makes a great party venue for a large group & the pub is really convenient for...

We were the entertainment on Saturday night, the staff were fantastic,so friendly and please to help us at the end of the night. Plus the food was so good 👍 Great place to hold any party 🥳🎉

Love city gate. Amazing food, great drinks, and the staff are lovely.

A super cute pub/restaurant/hotel that you should definitely check out!! Their garden is quaint and lovely to eat in in the summer. The nacoise salad was really refreshing (and vegan!) and the garlic dip that came with the triple cooked chips was so so good. Exactly what we wanted!!

Friendly staff, tasty food, quick drinks service. Nice area outside for socialising with plenty of seating.

We had our staff summer party here and have been a couple of times now. Really friendly staff, lovely decor and outside seating area is nice. Food is great and they cater for people with allergies. Highly recommended!

We have had several work parties here and the City Gate have always been very helpful, especially John and his bar staff. They ensure that you have a great time and there are many options for drinks and food. The pub has a wonderful atmosphere...

A massive thanks to Jon for helping us throw a fantastic office party. I cannot rate him and the other staff highly enough. Everyone commented on how nice the food was and how beautiful was. If you're planning an event in Exeter, this is the...

Beautiful food - generous portions and taste wonderful. The garden is looking lovely at the time of year and our team enjoyed the 3 courses. Jon was so accommodating with booking and his team are a credit!

Wonderful place, excellent attention, food and environment. We enjoyed a lot with my friends and will definitely return! Great job everyone at City Gate! ♥️

Friendly helpful staff, very nice lunch good location , pleasant beer garden.

Didn't eat here but had a beer. Good service. Good beer. Nice beer garden. It was earlier in the day so wasn't massively busy but lovely place and would go back.

My wife and I stayed here for 3 nights over the Spring bank holiday weekend. Room was very nicely decorated. The bed was a very large king size. Very comfortable and nice linen bedding. We slept well every night. Good shower. TV had all the sports channels, which was a great bonus. Nice bathroom with good shower and big fluffy towels. The air con was a bit hit and miss but the excellent staff did all they could to make us comfortable. The breakfast was superb with lots of choice. I had the full English every day. The poached egg done to perfection as was the bacon. All items on the plate were good quality. Service was superb. We also had food on a couple of evenings and everything we ate was superb. Every member of staff we encountered were friendly and efficient. They all seemed very happy to be providing an excellent service and seeing the customers appreciating their great service. The excellent service and wonderful quality of food and accommodation made our weekend We won't be staying anywhere else when we return to Exeter. Thank you everyone who served us. You were fantastic!