Double Locks Pub in Exeter

We had beautiful weather, so we sat outside beside the canal and had a wonderful time. The daily fish entree and the pork chop (with duck egg) were delicious. Service at the bar was a little disorganized, but, overall, we recommend The Double Locks very highly.

Great food, lots of tables outside, friendly staff and very nice location

We went for a mid week lunch time snack. We had shared a platter. It was fresh and look lovely. We sat next to the canal and enjoyed the weather. Great place, thank you.

Great location, but absolutely dreadful food and service. I had high hopes given the prime location, but unfortunately, the experience was incredibly disappointing from start to finish. We ordered haddock and chips, as well as a burger and chips — two simple dishes that should be hard to mess up. Shockingly, they managed to ruin both. The haddock was burnt, completely inedible and dry. It looked like it had been forgotten in the fryer for far too long. As for the burger, it arrived stone cold — not lukewarm, not just slightly cool, but cold, as if it had been sitting around for ages before being brought to the table. To make matters worse, the customer service was just as poor as the food. When I brought the issue to their attention, I wasn’t offered an apology or even a proper explanation. Instead, I was left standing around waiting for a partial refund — not even a full one, despite both meals being subpar. It felt like they couldn’t care less about customer satisfaction or basic decency. It’s a shame, really. With such a great location, this place has the potential to be fantastic, but they clearly don’t take pride in their food or service. I won’t be returning, and I’d strongly caution others to think twice before wasting their time and money here **MY RESPONSE ** Theo, l did contact you directly via email as requested —however, as expected, I received no response. This makes your invitation to contact you feel more like a gesture for appearances, rather than a genuine attempt to address the issue. Additionally, your message implies that one of the meals was enjoyed when it wasnt, as it was cold, and the fact that we were reimbursed for only one dish doesn't change the overall disappointing experience. It’s frustrating to see this portrayed in a way that suggests the situation was resolved fairly when it wasn’t. It’s clear this was more about damage control than actual customer care. *2ND RESPONSE* It's astonishing that you had the time to respond to my Google review by editing your initial response to further save face publically, yet completely ignored the actual issue I raised — the appalling dining experience we had at your establishment. If you're too busy to deal with legitimate complaints from paying customers, perhaps it's time to hire more staff. Judging by the shambles we witnessed — both in the quality of food and the painfully slow, disinterested service — it’s clear your standards have slipped well below anything remotely acceptable. Frankly, you're not just failing in the kitchen; you're failing in basic hospitality and management. A quick glance at your Google reviews shows we're far from the only ones disappointed . We expected a decent meal. What we got was an overpriced disaster served with a side of contempt. Fix it!

The staff were really friendly and it's really picturesque in the spring and summer. It's difficult to drive to but don't be put off. It's worth it!!

Out for a walk and found this pub, lot's of outdoor seating, staff very friendly, enjoyed my stop. Will definitely visit again.

Only stopped by for drinks, but was a lovely place & great atmosphere

Very nice to visit and have a cool drink by the canal on a hot day!

It’s a lovely pub in a lovely spot with lovely staff.

Good food. Good drinks. Friendly service

Lovely food , great service by all the staff especially ellie . Very friendly atmosphere .

Location, location, location! Tiny bar area, queuing up for ages in the narrow corridor so slow being served, but the staff are friendly. Food is mediocre small selection and overpriced (sandwich and crisps about £12, chips £4.50) . Outside on a warm and sunny day - this place is an great place to sit and enjoy your drink. Can get really busy with hundreds of tables.

I‘d consider myself a „summer regular“ at Double Locks having been here multiple times over the last few years. There were two ladies who stood out to me today though for the swift service (big time team work) and witty chat…thank you to Tia & Becky for making my experience even better than it already was. See you two again soon :)

Lovely experience, Ellie and Nathan were particularly cheerful and made the experience pleasant.

All round great pub after the canal walk.

Ellie and Nathan were both really really lovely, helpful and friendly! Food was fantastic and the brilliant service made it even better! Thank you!!!

Loved the location by the water. Lucy was a brilliant server, polite and friendly!

Lovely cosy pub by the canal. All dressed up for Christmas, with real fires and great outdoors in the summer.

I had a wonderful afternoon here. The bar were lovely, especially Lucy!!!! Defo coming back

Lovely evening out for drinks! Nathan was lovely ☺️

Lucy our server was absolutely amazing

My partner and I went for a Sunday roast on s bank holiday weekend, we arrived around 1pm, and we were then told that they couldn't take any food orders because the kitchen was busy with a large group, which seemed to be a birthday party of around 10 people. They were unable to give us an idea of when we'd be able to order food, beyond saying about 30 minutes every time we asked. In the end we left after having one drink, and we saw a lot of people do the same. It seems unwise to prioritize a party on a Sunday, when had the kitchen been open to everyone a lot more people would have ordered food

Roasts were lovely, service from Ellie was *incredible* even though they were v busy. Thank you!

Service is impeccable. Smiles and conversations from staff top notch. Had burger which was decent. It's near the river so great location.

Great vibes, lovely service, Nathan was excellent

Nathan was a little ray of sunshine!

Had a server called jazmin who was very kind while I was ordering my drinks and informed me that food would take a long time before ordering

Went on a huge walk the other day to here without realising how warm or how far i walked, I felt exhausted but then once i had a nice glass of J2O in there not only was the guy who served me a really kind guy and I felt refuelled from the J2O which made me able to finish my walk

We recently held a charity quiz in the marquee at Double Locks and can not fault it. The space was great, the food was great (one guest said, for example, said the sausage roll was the best she ever tasted) and most of all, the staff were all great. Really welcoming and helpful. Thanks so much to the whole team at Double Locks! Highly recommended for any function!

Such a lovely venue, but wow, £28 for a Plowmams lunch. Mad.

This is pub is in a fabulous location, even better when the weather is sunny. Order 2 of the Pork Belly Roast today, all we can say is amazing, understandably on a busy Sunday there was a little wait but it was worth the wait. Pork was beautifully cook, cauliflower cheese was best we have ever tasted. For dessert we had the rhubarb cheesecake, only thing to say is compliments to the chef, what a unique taste, never had one before and loved. All the staff were lovely, friendly and so customer focused especially Tia, what a lovely lady, so happy all the time, Thank you for an amazing trip, we will.be back again

The location is fab. The staff are so friendly.and welcoming . Just a great pub

Always a great place for a drink - very atmospheric pub in a fantastic location by the canal and within the River Valley Park. However, the vegetarian meal we had was a huge disappointment - a bit of tagliatelle with a bland tomato sauce thrown on it and miniscule sprinkling of cheese and herbs. Very poor value for money and could have cooked up something far more creative and appetising at home.

We order a Prawn sandwich and a side of chips £14.95 which all came on the same plate Good job we were sharing. No root veg crisps on plate as stated on menu very little prawns in sandwich on dry bread very disappointed

Good place but to be honest it's pretty expensive for what it is these days.

We finished our Easter egg hunt here and Ellie was so helpful with the kids hiding and handing out their eggs! Thanks Ellie!

Delicious chips and beer and nuts selection. Nathan was very friendly and made us feel very welcome. There was a log smoldering on the fire to warm us up from the rain..

Certainly one of , if not the worst roast dinners I have ever seen. Not edible. We were partially refunded. Why they bothered to bring it to the table for the 4 of us I do not know... even a Billy goat wouldn't have eaten it. This was on 6th April.

Great food. Great service. Lovely surroundings although it did take a while but the food was great 😃 👍 My allergy was taken care of very well. Had a lovely time would come back again . Nathan was wonderful

Very good and super friendly staff. Excellent service. Loved the food. Yummy plant burger. Beautiful, comforting atmosphere

We stopped by Double Locks on a rainy afternoon walk and it turned out to be one of the highlights of our day! The setting is just perfect – peaceful canal views, big open space for our Puppy to chill, and plenty of atmosphere. What really made it special was Nathan behind the bar. Super friendly, full of positive vibes, and genuinely welcoming – he even made a fuss over Rafah, who’s now convinced she owns the place. You can tell he enjoys what he does, and that makes all the difference. Great drinks, great service, and dog-friendly too – what more could you ask for? Highly recommend a visit if you’re in the area. We’ll definitely be back!

Amazing service. Great location. Nathan was on the ball. Looked after us well. Food was 👌 I had the haddock, it was so good 👍

Nathan was brilliant, super friendly and worked his socks off! Well worth the windy walk

Good pub grub, lovely location, good beer and attentive and welcoming service from Tia and Neve! A very nice place to spend a wet Tuesday lunchtime!

Really nice lunch today at the Double Locks, with excellent food and good beer. Great service from Tia on the bar and Neve sorting out the food - super-friendly and pleasant. Thanks all!

Friendly service from Tia and Neve for lunch on a rainy day in Devon. An enjoyable afternoon with a beer or two.

We had Sunday lunch, pork belly, I had this on a previous visit but despite the meal being good quality and flavoursome, the gravy was excessively salty and rather ruined what should have been a good meal. I complained about this last time but te same salty gravy was on the plate, the waitress said that a number of other diners had said the same thing. Sadly the chef and kitchen haven't been listening to any of the customer feedback. Staff, service and location are otherwise great, particularly the ploughman's sharer

£4.50 for a portion of chips and not even hot When asked for hot ones they were literally heated up and were dry and hard Insanely high prices for very average food

Lovely roast lunch this afternoon for myself and my mum. Thank you Ellie for your smiley and kind service.

We went for a great walk, and we had a meal in Double Locks with my partner. The food was served very quickly, and the service was really good. Unfortunately, I wasn't fond of chips, but the burger was really nice. The drink that I wanted was not available, but the other option went really well with my burger. We find it a bit odd that you can not order every drink by the app. The place itself is really nice and has got a very good atmosphere. It is definitely in a great loaction. I recommend this place to go for a drink and some food.

Overcooked fish batter to the point it tasted burnt. Great drinks!

Lovely spot for lunch/dinner/drinks - bar staff are really nice and helpful, especially the assistant manager Jonno. Food was excellent, will return.

Lovely day out, good food, great service and a lovely location!

WORST EXPENSIVE ROAST DINNER IN EXETER! We ordered the "Ultimate roast & the vegetarian roast" and we waiting an hour for 4 plates and what arrived was 4 rock solid potatoes, 2 small burnt carrots, 1 undercooked parsnip, cold beef, and chewy pork meat with a pathetic pinch of cabbage covered in a tiny amount of watery gravy, with a giant burnt yorkshire that crumbed into a powder in your mouth. All for £24 per plate!!! Several other tables said their's were the same as well and we all had a laugh about just how bad the roasts are here. We, and other tables had to order some chips to actually feel full up. I never normally complain about these things and just won't go there again, but I have to say, I would be extremely embarrassed if i was a chef and serve this shit to people and charged them £24 and made them wait for an hour!

Fabulous location for a lovely eve supper - but food choice and quality appalling (all buns or chips or mash)..even the fish + chips came with a measly portion of peas ( tartare sauce size) and fish was all batter! Wine choice disappointing and cheap/ low quality.

The pub restaurant truly shines with its exceptional service, even amidst the bustling crowd. A heartfelt thank you to Ellie for delivering a remarkable 5-star experience! 🙌

Have been frequenting the Double Locks since it was a one room bar in the eighties ... Still a magical place with a super team and great food.

The surroundings of the pub are lovely but the que for the bar is massive and the food is awful. Bar staff lack any training and any ability to be polite.

Arrived at the very picturesque area having negotiated narrow and hazardous bridges and roads. The venue looked very attractive and welcoming, however…. Upon ordering food from an over keen waitress who had hardly given us time to sit down, we were informed that many of the menu items were unavailable making it difficult to choose an appropriate meal to meet our varying needs - vegetarian (1option). Non meat eater, no fish available. 3 children - no children’s menu available. Having ordered food, it was served in good time but my goodness!! A plate of food with meat, teaspoon size portion of cabbage that tasted vile, a speckle of gravy and a very crispy overcooked Yorkshire pudding that was cold. A small platter then arrived containing roast potatoes, parsnip slithers and carrot slithers. This was then shared among our group and resulted in each of us receiving 1 slither of carrot, a slither of parsnip and roast potatoes that were inedible due to clearly having been left under heat. The potatoes were impossible to cut, dry and rubbery and would have made excellent balls for Wimbledon. The waitress enquired if everything was ok and we raised our concerns to which she said there was nothing she could do. We asked for more vegetables explaining that we literally had next to nothing to eat. She returned after making enquiries and stated that no more vegetables were available! We also asked for extra gravy as there was next to none on our plates. The food was awful and inedible. As we finished what we could eat without breaking our jaws on the overcooked food, the waitress appeared with 2 jugs of steaming hot dripping gravy that she held over the head of an 11- month old baby seated in a highchair. She was alerted to the danger of this and I held my hand over the baby’s head in an attempt to avoid any gravy dripping on her. Instead of moving away from the child, the waitress then raised the jugs higher above the baby’s head. At this point we had had enough and asked for the bill, settled the bill and then expressed our concerns and disappointment to the manager who stated that there was nothing she could do. The whole experience was diabolical, waiting staff clearly need training and the kitchen staff would do well to go back to college to upgrade their NVQ 1 certificates. I will never return to this venue while the current staff are employed.

We went for roast dinner with the family. I booked a month in advance for 9 chairs and 1 high chair. There was no high chair when we arrived. Also there was no kids menu despite this being advertised! We ordered roast beef and roast pork. When the food arrived there was 1 slither of carrot, 2 slithers of parsnips, very hard roast potatoes and one very crispy yorkshire pudding and a very small splash of gravy. The veg came out in one platter so until we served up we didn't realised it was only one slither of carrot each so we had to pass the carrot around to make sure everyone had one slither. A Waitress came over (a very young lady) to the table to ask if everything was OK to which we said no - we all asked for more veg and gravy. She said of course and went of. She came back moments later saying I can't get you more veg but I can get you more gravy. We said it was bad and she said it's out of her control and she would let her manager know. We said OK we will have more gravy. Gravy arrived 30mins later after we had finished dinner. When she bought over the gravy she held it up over the babies head. We asked her to move the gravy and she just moved it up higher!! To which grandma put her hand over the babies head. And the young waitress was very rude replying well I couldn't get the gravy any sooner! The manager came to give us our bill - seemingly unaware of the issues raised so when she asked is everything ok we let her know whilst we paid for the bill. She said I am so sorry no one told me there was an issue! She said after I had paid full price 'I am sorry there is nothing more I can do for you' we told her about the safety of her staff there were only 3 waitresses on which was not enough. She then accused us of being rude. I said I have paid full price we don't want a discount we are just trying to give some feedback of what was a very poor meal for over £140 (no drinks as bought separately) will not return. Excellent location and they seemingly get buy on this with no customer service, poor food, small portions and poor skills of all the staff.

Would have given 0 stars if possible. No children’s menu available only smaller portions of an adult roast. Not ideal if a child has a dietary restriction. Minimal portions, 2 potatoes and a quarter of a carrot per adult. When asked if we could have more vegetables we were told no and that it was the end of service. Asked for more gravy, gravy was brought to the table after we had finished our meals and the waitress held the two clearly hot and dripping gravy jugs over my babies head, risking burning her. The manager was unhelpful and kept saying “I wish you’d said something” despite multiple members of my party having said something. The only redeeming feature is the canal and that’s not provided by the pub anyway.

Even when it's closed it makes lovely picture. Nice to see a working canal lock.

Great pub in a beautiful setting. Quick service and great food

Great service from Tia & Bex in main bar despite huge number of people a double locks today.

The food was of a good standard & we were all pleased the fire was lit as we were all cold & wet. Atmosphere was good as was the service.

A little more expensive than other pubs, I think, but beautiful setting, great beer and food. Dog friendly too!

Awesome place to visit and have a meal or a party. Enjoyed Apple fig crumble the most.

Great service by Becky and Tia behind the bar Generous portions for the roast. The meat was excellent. Would be 5* food but the Yorkshire's were a little overdone!

Really nice pub. Nice drinks, nice pub,nice staff . 👌👌

Very friendly staff and a lovely location watch out for the very tight bridge lol

As we live within walking distance we frequently pop in for a drink, usually during the day as it’s a lovely walk along the canal. As we had family staying we booked for dinner and it was lovely. The food was delicious and the service fast and friendly. The atmosphere completely changes in the evening but we enjoy any time of day.

Very pleasant experience. A warm and friendly place to stop for lovely Sunday Lunch catchup with family. Team very accommodating. Will return for sure

Very pleasant experience. A warm and friendly place to meet family for a Sunday lunch. Team very accommodating and our waitress Sam was great. Roasts were fab. Will return.

Never disappointed at Double Locks ! The food was great (as always), the service super friendly (thank you Tia !) and the atmosphere perfect. Ideal Sunday lunch, basically !

Beautiful pub, delicious roast ! Highly recommended to visit the Douvle locks, either for just a coffe of for foo. You won't be disappointed. Tia who was our waitresse was just brilliant and very friendly and efficient.

Wow! My boyfriend and I had our first date here over a year and a half ago and decided as we both had the day off to come back and recreate the wonderful time we had here. Well more than pleasantly surprised the lady behind the bar was wonderful so chatty and friendly and couldn't have been more accommodating, you could instantly tell her upbeat and bright personality wasn't just because it was her job but genuinely just enjoying talking to people and that it enhanced her in the job she was in. Definite favourite of the locals you could easily tell, in the bar area. We were instantly told what wasn't available on the menu to save disappointment, and we very happy to choose from the remaining menu which included lots of different dishes to accommodate everyone. Not just the service put the food was lovely previously when we had food we shared a ploughman's this time we had a starter and main and what an absolute treat, definite value for money no complaints here! I myself work in hospitality and know how important it is to receive reviews and definitely wanted to leave one and than kthe front of house and kitchen team - on a personal note thank you to Tia for making our visit so wonderful definitely will be back. *Delicious and high quality food (portion sizes really good value for money) * Friendly and helpful staff * Loads of seated space *Dog friendly * Great selection of drinks * Orders available on app or at the bar * Safe and friendly location with a support of regulars *Highly recommended Thank you - Jazz and Adrian x

Best Pub burger I’ve ever eaten - Absolutely incredible. Thankyou

Great pub lots of great views of camel and area plenty of seating fantastic old pub atmosthere great beer and food not to be missed

It a nice place to eat and drink and chat

We've usually had good experiences here, but yesterday wasn't one of them😟 Firstly we were told there would be a 45 minute wait but only after we'd bought and paid for our food and drinks. When it did arrive - which actually took an hour - the food was very disappointing. I had a battered fish sandwich but the fish was far too small for the sandwich which meant I had more mouthfulls of bread and lettuce than I did of fish! The waiter offered to replace it but not wanting to wait another hour, I declined. I would have been happier if better recompense had been offered, but no. My wife's fish wasn't a whole lot better. It's such a shame because we like the pub and the wonderful location. We might be back but not for quite a while after that experience.

A family and animal friendly pub to eat and chill. It is also a good place to rest and enjoy the riverside view after walking/jogging around Exeter.

Returned to a pub that has fond memories for me as a student 41 years ago! Fantastic location on the Exe canal adjacent to the locks. Great ale and food, a welcoming place to rest awhile before kayaking, walking or cycling back to Exeter quayside or onwards to the river exe estuary and maybe a cross-river ferry to topsham!

Stunning views I. The summer. On tge edge of a great cycle track

A great warm venue to visit right alongside the canal, dog friendly with loads of ground to stroll around. Great meeting point for the quiet relaxing atmosphere

Always a great spot. Regardless of weather.

A great location but very popular because of this and the food and service perhaps suffer a bit as a result. Decent enough but far from noteworthy, still worth a visit though.

We have been coming here for years and are always made to feel welcome. The staff - Tom and Sam are very friendly and helpful.

Great pub, my favourite in Exeter

Lovely lunch first day of they year.the pistachio tart that we were suggested was amazing.definitely we will visit again

Great place to stop for a drink after a lovely walk along the river. Very cosy inside and lots of seating outside by the river.

Had a nice boxing day pint of yellowhammer. Lovely atmosphere and a nice place as usual (been going years)

Lovely atmosphere and very friendly staff and it’s brilliant that you can take your dog into the pub and they are welcomed just as much as the people absolutely loved our visit

All round cracking lunch, thanks to our lovely waitress Daniella

Stumbled across double locks while walking the dogs, we’ve never been here before but it had a delightful ambience and daniella was very attentive.

Came into Double locks for a birthday lunch, and had a delicious burger - Daniella was really helpful and smiley

A lovely traditional pub with a good choice of ales and a nice food menu all backed up by wonderful staff - Daniella was really helpful and enthusiastic.

The hog roast bap was delicious and great value.

Nice food bit pricey but fantastic location. Was too busy when we went but staff did very well just that time of year

Very cosy pub. Friendly and efficient staff. Overall a very happy family meal

Wonderful pub, our server Flo was lovely and helpful. Truffle fries were yummy.