CUCKOO Taproom & Bottleshop in Exeter

Amazing bar. Huge selection of drinks. Beer fridge well stocked. Trained brewer (Joel) serving most nights. Intersection of visitors and locals at the bar makes for great conversation and elsewhere there are people playing interesting games. Exeter's finest geek retreat

Excellent adventurous selection of beers covering the gamut. Friendly management, super casual, central location.

If these guys don't sell a beer you like, maybe it's not worth drinking! A perfect example of a great independent taking pride in product with a really good local following. Well worth a stop if you're into your beers or to grab a few takeout. To note, I'm not just guided by the fun looking cans, although they're always pretty good.

Great place will happily drink again

Waiting for a bus after work. Bartender ignored me for 5 minutes was eventually helpful but took some coaxing to engage while he refused to stop regaling his sycophant groupies

Top place for beer in Exeter.Bottles,cans,draft and cask of the highest quality.

One of the few places in Exeter to grab a gluten-free beer. Very relaxed and friendly - would definitely come here again.

An absolute gem. We'll be back!

Lovely staff and fab vibe and really well kept/range of beers 👍 Highlight of trip to Exeter...especially when it stops you being caught in an absolute deluge on way to Exeter Bus Station!!!

Banging old fashioned, beer is also pretty great ;)

Amazing selection of beers and a very knowledgeable team to help you choose something you haven't tried before. A great find will definitely return.

Beautiful beer, no words can describe it! Stunning limited beer that no other place in Exeter can compare to. I had a lovely chat with Joel (owner) about beer and whiskey whilst waiting for the bus. A true gem of a place in Exeter which I will return soon. Delicious!!

What a great place for choice of beers with very helpful staff just let them know what you like in a drink and they will find you something nice.

A cracking bar for some great beers! My only issue is that, more than once, it hasn't opened on the time advertised. It is frustrating making the trip there to find it closed when it is advertised as being open. If they can make their opening times more reliable then they definitely deserve 5 stars!

Has a cracking selection of beers that constantly change on tap and are always very enjoyable. My only criticism is that it doesn't always open at the times advertised. Many times I have come here for a drink, only to find it closed when it says it is open on their Insta page. If they can sort that out, definitely five stars!

Fabulous local pub. Great food catered on special days. Joe is great to chat with!

Excellent bar and knowledgeable staff with good range of beers

Great little bar, helpful and friendly staff. Brilliant selection of beers 🍺 highly recommend. We will be visiting again

Such a great bar.. excellent atmosphere and what these guys don't know about beer isn't worth knowing.. equally good to go for a chin wag or watch the world go by on your own.

Amazing service. Informal banter with the barman who was also very knowledgeable. Drinks wise there was something for everyone. Of course they specialise in craf ale but they had spirits and wines too. Highly recommended and would definitely come again.

Excellent range of bottled and draught....visit and enjoy.

Decent craft beer bar. Friendly service. Even offered to swap our drink as it wasn't to my taste.

Went there on a friend's suggestion was not disappointed. Have a great selection of bottle and cask beers and lots of wines too.

Came here for the first time this evening with my partner and our group of friends, and we've already decided that we're going to become regulars here. The atmosphere is so lovely and welcoming, such a bright and friendly place to have a pint and and food. This evening they just started doing some new food, my partner and I had the chorizo and parmesan chips with salad on top and it was goooorgeous! Staff are friendly, kept very clean throughout, not a bad thing to say at all. Will absolutely be coming back again soon!

Great selection of cans and bottles! Some epic sours hidden in the fridges! Very good spot for a few drinks!

Nice selection on tap and canned. knowledgeable staff lovely atmosphere

Modern craft beer micro-pub. Half a dozen or so key-keg lines and a good selection of bottles, including some rarer ones from the USA and Belgium.

Great place. The workers really cared about what they do. Super selection of good Whiskies.

Quality beers, friendly knowledgeable staff and lovely clientele.

Great little specialist bar. Lovely wine ,ale and specialist lager/beer choice. Super nice people and lovely customers. Very nice to meet nice people in a nice chilled bar.

Lovely little brewery tap bar 🍺🍻 with an excellent selection of beers. Often visit for a lovely pint on the way home 😁

Always a warm welcome and fantastic beers. It's not cheap- but then the drinks available are genuinely an experience. I tend to only have one or two on my visits.

Fab micropub with a good choice of ales and ciders.

Fab place to try many craft and wonderful beers!

Great selection of beers, better when a bit more busy later in the day - more of an atmosphere

Fantastic selection of beers on tap. I like my Belgian and the fact that this bottle shop hasn't given in to stocking the strongest beers they can is fantastic. The chap behind the bar when I asked was very knowledgeable and pointed me towards a German beer he personally drinks. What more of a recommendation do you need. Every time I stay in Exeter for work this will be first point of call. The quality of the beers on tap was fantastic. Lovely and fresh. All in all just a great place to have a couple and relax. Ps. Music wasn't half bad either.

Very good selection of IPAs, expensive and if that isn't ur thing probably not for you

Nice little bar, there was no steating downstairs when we arrived but luckily there were some spaces upstairs. A decent selection of draft beers, but all quite pricey & full of millennium hipters!

Such a great selection of beers. Friendly place, friendly and knowledgeable staff. Highly recommended.

Lovely beer, great atmosphere and welcoming staff. If you're a fan of craft beer and good vibes, this is the place for you.

Great beer, great atmosphere, perfect tables for board games too!

A great selection of craft ales and lagers. There are other drinks on offer too. Everyone who works here is great and super friendly and there is always a chilled and relaxing atmosphere inside

Wonderful and cozy place with wide selection of beverages

What an absolute joy this place is. Fabulous beer, knowledgeable staff, comforting atmosphere. Get involved.

A** wonderful place to hang out

Wonderful beer selection. Craft beers 🍻 Top Draw draught stout 11.5. American Saison. Highly Recommended

Superb bar with a unique offering of beer. There’s something for everyone here, especially lovers of craft beer and stout. The staff are excellent, pub spotless and music superb. Don’t like what’s on draft? Double fridge full of wondrous things to take away. Exeter should be grateful for being lucky enough to have such a diamond.

BEST PUB IN EXETER! Also has MarioKart. Beer selection is otherworldly. Heroic and kind landlord.

Great beer, great staff. Really nice the music was not deafening. But - why are the lights on full blast? It's like being at school. Maybe offer task lighting for games and dim it for the ambience ?

We absolutely love Cuckoo. If you want to try craft beer or cider there really is no better place. There are always a variety of drinks on draft and a huge array of bottles and cans in the - beware this stuff if often strong abut always delicious - every time I try something different and every time I am delighted - drinking beer really doesn't get any better than this.

An excellent spot for a craft beer, catering for all tastes from hoppy pales, punchy sours to thought provoking stouts

A fantastic welcoming friendly atmosphere with a great range of drinks and experiences to be sampled. The jewel in an otherwise quieter spot of Exeter. Joel and the team have an obvious and contagious passion for beer, brewing and community.

Great beer, amazing knowledge from the staff.

Doesn't sell coffee, the owner had long hair before Dave Grohl

The absolute best bar in Exeter. Friendly and welcoming staff, brilliant selection of craft beer incl. non/low alcohol. Really tastefully decorated and clearly well cared for.

110+ beers apparently. Nice place to chill out.

Great atmosphere and selection of beers

Absolutely awesome night with these guys last weekend. Great laughs and Banter. Very knowledgeable and passionate in their trade and serving amazing unique ale. And if you've ALEments,👈see what I did there?, too extreme for embarrassing bodies THE DOCTOR IS IN THE HOUSE!!! See yous soon guys.

I concur with the other reviews here - my first visit to the UK fortunately included a stop in Exeter and a recommendation to try Cuckoo - couldn’t have been more on the mark. Great ambience, knowledgeable bartender and incredible recommendations. Highly, highly recommend.

The only bar with a Nintendo 64 🙌

Lovely variety of different drinks with some very unusual

I love this place, a small taproom and bottle shop but boasts an impressive variety of beers. The owner is very friendly and always happy to answer any beer related questions

First time visiting Exeter. Visited a few great pubs and this was one of them.Well worth a visit

Come here every now and then with a couple of our work friends. Lovely chatty atmosphere and a great selection of non alcoholic beer. The staff are always really nice giving great suggestions.

As the name might suggest, a fantastic range of beers and ales. Lots of seating though was very quiet during my afternoon visit.

Excellent bottle shop/taproom. Joel is really knowledgeable about beer and so clearly has a passion. Great beer, great atmosphere and a passionate owner. What more could you ask for?

Fantastic place with stunning beers, love it :)

Exactly what I want from a little craft brew house... Knowledge and friendly staff

I'm definitely going back! What was planned to be just a little stop off for a quick drink on our way home after a night at the Phoenix turned into us there for a lot longer and not wanting to leave as last orders were called! The welcome we received was very warm, with the manager serving at the bar, very kindly discussing the flavours of various drinks and offering samples from a wide selection before we made our choices, then chatting away happily with us as if we were friends! The decor is calm and relaxing, with a modern style featuring well thought through furniture. The window display is quite quirky, with a mannequin - hinting to the premises' history as a shop I guess, and there's plenty of plants around to make the place feel homely. There were plenty of seats, and we chose to perch at the bar. I'm not much of a beer drinker, but I can appreciate a taproom that has curated an excellent menu of local and specialist drinks for the discerning beer fan. There were also soft drinks and snacks on offer. From the posters in the window you could tell there were events coming up, including a birthday party in July...so I'm definitely checking that out and coming back again. Would highly recommend for an unusual and cool spot for a drink in Exeter. Thanks for welcoming us! Cheers Cuckoo!

Incredible place, insane beer, ok staff (just kidding, they're awesome)

Knowledgeable staff, welcome environment, will definitely visit again

Great choice. Range of beers. Knowledgeable Staff

Great selection of beers with friendly, knowledgeable staff

Lovely taproom, great selection of beers, and really friendly and helpful staff. Joel and the team are the best!

Easily the best beer bar in Devon

Met a guy called Andy, showed me his nipple hair that was as thick as an eyelash. Best night of my life.

Great little bar with excellent beer selection and great atmosphere. Will recommend to anyone!

An awesome selection of beers and the odd perry too. Well worth a visit.

Best flat white in Exeter. Beer is nice too especially the hoppie cuvee.

Great selection of craft beers!

Wonderful little tap bar. Great selection of beers, friendly staff and atmosphere

Excellent selection of ever changing craft beers and a knowledgeable and friendly owner.

This place is absolutely amazing and has to be the best venue we visited whilst in Exeter for craft beer. They have something for everyone with a good selection on the taps from sours and stouts to NEIPA and everything in between. They also have a well stocked fridge to take some goodies home with you. Bar staff very attentive and couldn’t do enough and even let us try a sample to make sure we wanted it. A very friendly venue from the customers to the staff and will definitely visit again when in the area.

Good selection of interesting beers on tap and in can.

Great place...long live the Cuckoo!

Cool coffee spot; delicious rice milk cortado, the best in town. Went beautiful with my toasted tea cake. Would recommend 👌👌

Unbelievable find. Bringing lots of exciting beer to Exeter. Very knowledgeable owner as well!

Any place that can tolerate me in a state is a 5 star establishment - jokes aside, really lovely and friendly staff, especially the owners; with a great selection of small batch and craft ales, ciders, and wines to choose from. I'd be careful to order more than 2/3 of anything at a time, it's good stuff!

There's a constant rotation of taps so there's something new every time you go and it's very affordable for what is served there. Owner is clearly passionate about the craft and the ambience is great. This store truly is one of a kind for Exeter and I would strongly recommend going.

The range of different styles of beers available is exactly what Exeter needs, fantastic service as well

Excellent range of craft beers, excellent staff, just excellent!

Amazing atmosphere and amazing beer. I'm definitely going back

If fosters is your idea of a good time, keep walking buddy! Fantastic beers, nice atmosphere and wonderfully friendly staff - Bars like this are a joy in times like these

Fantastic cosy bar, brilliant beverage range and incredible owners who stock their own brews! Support an independent business and check it out

Fantastic pub really helpful staff love it worth a visit

amazing atmosphere, amazing beer

Nice space, laid back atmosphere, amazing beer, perfect sized tables. Looking forward to upstairs being sorted soon!

Huge selection of craft, very cosy atmosphere and a very friendly, knowledgeable owner!

Nice place. Felt like a "pop-up" pub. Modern. Quirky random ales.

Joel’s love of beer permeates through cuckoo and as you browse the fridge and tap list seeing breweries scarcely heard of you realise that exploring the ever growing and ever exciting world of bear is a dream he shares with his customers. Joel offers excellent insights into what May suit your pallet and what he has in new and is excited to try himself. Aside from the beers the savoury snacks include a variety of locally sourced charcuterie meats, nuts and crisps. Cuckoo also features a fine selection of spirits including a whiskey selection that outperforms most of Exeter's venues and some high quality gins. I truly recommend you pop in and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and great menu.