Exeter Arms in Rutland

We met family here today for lunch, absolutely great! The pub is clean, well appointed, tasteful decor, staff were all friendly and helpful, toilets were spotless. A party of 5, we ordered whitebait and trout for starters. Whitebait was generous in portion size and cooked to perfection, trout was well presented, all were delicious. Mains were chicken supreme, sea bass, steak and a risotto. Plates were hot, food was hotter! And all of it was well cooked, well presented and delicious. The setting is delightful, worth the 2 hr drive for both parties to meet, I recommend this place on all counts. This will be our family meet up point going forward. If you’re local to Barrowden use this place, support it, it deserves it. Shame we live so far away!

It was pie and quiz night at the Exeter Arms. I had a Stilton and brocoli pie, and my husband had a chicken balti pie. We both really enjoyed them they were delicious. The accompanying veg was also cooked to perfection. Since Will and his family have taken over the running of this pub and restaurant, I can not fault anything. Every meal we've had has been perfect, the atmosphere here is great and really friendly, and the staff do an excellent job. This is by far the best pub in Rutland

Spent 4 days in the lovely village of Barrowden, and we did venture to the local pub, the Exeter Arms every day - and why not! The food was great, the beer great, the setting in the village overlooking the green and pond was exactly what you would visualise for a typical traditional countryside village. The landlord and landlady were so welcoming, as was the locals.

Nice to have a country pub close to Peterbough that can be used for lunch meetings, very nice setting and the food was really good and tasty, will certainly go back.

Love the great atmosphere in this pub. Always friendly, great food and reasonably priced. Looking forward to summer in the garden bar!!! Well done team!!!

We had Sunday Lunch and it was excellent. The only minor problem was a long wait between Starter and Main Course, but we weren’t in a rush, so not a problem. The village is beautiful, the pub is just how an English pub should be and the staff were brilliant as well. Food quality was top notch, I had mushrooms to start - not your normal white button variety, but a great selection of really nice mushrooms. We both had roast beef for our main course, and we couldn’t fault it. Nice beer as well - we’ll be back. Thanks to your team.

Second visit to The Exeter Arms in a month, having come for dinner in June. Sunday Lunch was just as delicious as the evening menu. We were the last table in but everything was still available, and we didn't feel at all rushed. We both had roast beef and was beautifully presented and delicious. The staff were friendly, kind and warm and we had a really lovely time! We'll be back!

Fabulous meal. Very enjoyable evening with the family. Looked after us as always. We will be back.

Absolutely fabulous food… finally the village has a pub and landlords that welcome you and serve you an amazing meal…. Thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.

A wonderful evening with outstanding food, a very warm welcome and beautiful surroundings. Highly recommend.

A delightful spot for fine cuisine. The courgette risotto was perfect and Henry westerns cider just the ticket.

Booked a table here as we were staying in a cottage in the village. The food we has was excellent, along with very good service. We decided to skip starters and had a main with a desert.The pub was welcoming and I can strongly recommend anyone to eat here if in the area.

Warm and welcoming stylish pub serving exceptional food. The best risotto I have ever eaten. The Exeter Arms is beautifully decorated with real attention to detail. We were blown away with the food, it felt like high end dining in a relaxed pub setting. A super warm welcome, the staff and service are a credit to the new owners. Cannot wait for a return visit!

We had an excellent meal at The Exeter Arms with friends. The meal was beautifully presented and delicious. Very helpful staff and a lovely atmosphere.

According to Trip Advisor I should 'share the good, the bad and just OK' and don't make it personal.. couldn't agree more and my first review was just that. I said the portion sizes were pathetic for the amount charged and one dish had to be returned because it was cold. Very disappointed. The owner replied that based on my review history I always give negative reviews and I'm a keyboard warrior. Out of 14 restaurant reviews I have given, 8 have been 4 & 5 star, 2 were 3 star and only 4 were 2 & 1 star. They also claimed that I had said I came to try some food and if I didn't like it I wouldn't pay. All 4 of us were not satisfied, all had small portions & one had cold food that had to be returned but we still paid. They said they followed up after the meal and we were all happy, not true. They asked for honest feedback, we said the fish was cooked well (positive feedback) but the bhaji was way too salty and all portion sizes were too small. They said we left happy with our experience and would be returning soon. An absolute lie, none of said we would be returning. They said they are interested in constructive feedback, good or bad, well that's what I gave but instead of taking it onboard, they attacked me for being a keyboard warrior. It's a nice place, clean and welcoming but the prices are very high for what you get. In my opinion, there are better places around and I think 2 stars is fair and even more fair to keep it as 2 stars after the initial reply that I got.

Yay .. we have our pub restored to its former glory under new management - friendly ! Great Sunday lunch and reasonable priced .

We have been to the Exeter Arms several times in the past and having heard it was under new management, we were keen to see what it was like now. Well we weren’t disappointed. Fantastic welcome, fantastic service and excellent food. Definitely be back & wishing the new owners all the very best,

New owners and wow what a difference. Smiles, great service, great food. Really a fab local and country pub , well worth a visit.

What more can you want from a village pub, fabulous food, great wine list, friendly cosy atmosphere! We visited on a busy Friday night, bar staff were quick to serve and waitress catered for our every need. We will definitely be going back soon!

New owners so thought we would book a table and we were not disappointed. Very friendly welcome even though the bar area was busy and we were served drinks before being shown to our table. Great advice given when deciding upon which wine to choose (rose and a red) and the waitress was friendly throughout whenever she visited our table. Food for all members of our party of 6 was fantastic. Will definitely return.

Have to say had a wonderful day at the Exeter Arms. Food was good and the service was great. We were not hurried and would highly recommend.

I feel compelled to write a review for this pub which we rediscovered after the first lockdown. What a start for the new landlord and lady! However, when social distancing was still a priority, and the building was closed, we would go to Barrowden to...

Went out for a change of scenery, took a while to get served as locals got priority, but staff were friendly, until the landlord came out and moaned at the local team (bringing new potential business) at 9 o'clock, saying the two lightbulbs were "costing...

Turned up with no reservation for garden express menu to be abruptly told we needed a reservation for any food by landlady. No explanation for incorrect website information. No apologies for discrepancy. Begrudgingly accommodated us if we finished quickly. Good food and service but exceptionally...

Manager or landlady is the rudest person and should not be working in hospitality. She should work in inhospitality. Seems annoyed to have customers and has a set of rules taped to every tree, surface, and chair leg including not being allowed to even step...

An absolutely beautiful pub in a lovely setting. All laid out beautifully at the back. ( only tue outdoor bar/grill available) Food was delicious and served promptly and accurately by younger staff members. However a busy day/summer has clearly taken its toll on the landlady...

Wouldn't recommend if vegetarian, had a token mushrooms on toast or a ceser salad on offer. Very meat heavy. Need to catch up with the times

Very disappointed, we were told on the Wednesday we are still ok to just turn up without a booking and eat outside to actually turn up on the Saturday night to then be told we need to book a table so all in all a...

Visited today for lunch. Lovely setting and lots of shade to sit under to enjoy lunch. As soon as we got there the lady who seemed to be in charge of the bar was so rude and unfriendly. I felt sorry for the other members...

We had a lovely evening. Absolute Delicious food cooked and eaten outside in a gorgeous setting. Will definitely be returning.

Arrive to be greeted by Marina (from Madrid) in a manner that encapsulated the evening. Warm, friendly with a casual approach that was certainly not intrusive. Open air cooking and dining from a wood fire was innovative and utterly delightful. We had the mushrooms with...

Visited yesterday for Sunday lunch (8 adults & 3 children) and I can honestly say that I have never felt so unwelcome in my entire life. Our booking was at 3pm and we received a very rude & abrupt phone call on Saturday telling us...

There were delightful gardens round the back where we found plenty of parking space, we chose to eat on the front terrace, bathed in the warm sunshine overlooking the pond. 3 of us, 1 vegetarian, all commented on how tasty the dishes were. Would like...

Being Barrowden 'born & bread' have usually visited the Exeter Arms on my birthday for a Beer (or 2). Went this year & whilst there looked at the Menu & decided on a Lunch with my Partners Sister & b'inlaw. Booked there & then for...

On route to Rutland water we decided to find a pub to stop at for some lunch. We found The Exeter Arms in Barrowden and wow! What an absolutely fantastic pub. We were blessed with a wonderful sunny day so chose to sit on the...

Such a delicious menu and brilliant staff. The Piri piri prawns were amazing and the Stilton soufflé also delicious. Dog friendly in the bar area also which is great in the colder weather. Will visit again soon.

Sunday lunch for four of us, we loved the beautiful garden and hope to return in the summer to sit outside as it’s so pretty with a fabulous weeping willow. Everything from starters to the delicious Sunday roast and four different desserts was exceedingly tasty,...

Popped in for lunch and the roast beef was fabulous! A gem of a place with lovely staff and great menu

Tastefully refurbished about two years ago, this is a cracking pub for food or just a drink. The JHB bitter was in top order! A lovely pub in every respect.

We enjoyed an evening meal there last week. The staff could not have been more welcoming and helpful, ensuring that our evening went well. Everything was excellent; the food with generous proportions, regrettably leaving us with no room for pudding, the beer and the service.

Lovely pub and surroundings , we both ordered rib eye steak , the steak look good when it arrived ,however it was absolutely swamped in garlic butter which when melted then soaked into all the food on the plate and making it inedible as it...

We just stopped for lunch and enjoyed our meal. Friendly staff and an attractive quiet village. Large gardens ideal for walkers and dogs.

we went to this pub for an evening meal as had heard good reviews. beautiful setting and extremely friendly and helpful staff, who made us feel welcome. the garden looks fantastic too good if you like steak ! but I don't eat red meat I...

The nicest beer garden we have ever visited with our dogs. Very friendly and helpful staff. Enjoyed lovely food from the outside kitchen.

We decided to leave a good review even before we had left here tonight (Wednesday 4th August. Having then logged on to tripadvisor, I was really surprised to see the very recent negative reviews and I have great sympathy with the proprietor's responses. In short,...

Service without a smile Not sure how there aren’t more reviews like mine. The service was soooo rude and couldn’t have been less helpful I was quite shocked. We arrived about 5 minutes early and we’re just in the garden but we’re told off. We...

First Visit: Two Sirloin Steaks, one pepper sauce one stilton. Both very good (should be for £26 each) On terrace. :) Second Visit : BBQ garden, Strips of beef in bun. Pretty good, some gristle. :I Third visit: BBQ garden, Sausage in bun. Just ok....

As we came out of lockdown in April I wanted to meet up with a mate for a Saturday lunchtime drink and bar meal. After a bit of research I found the Exeter Arms in Barrowden and with its extensive beer gardens and highly regarded...

My friends and I were staying at a local Airbnb and the pub was a 2 minute walk. The staff were very friendly and the food was amazing! Great find in a stunning location.

Another very good experience of the new Argentinian barbecue operating through and despite the covid restrictions. There is ample room in the garden for social distancing. The ambience makes you feel relaxed even with restrictions in place. The garden is huge, so no issues with...

We ate here on Saturday for the first time. The garden was well set up to cope with the covid restrictions with well spaced tables. The staff were all very friendly and worked really hard to make us welcome. We arrived during a busy period and they were really apologetic explaining up front that we would have to wait twenty minutes before we could place our food order - we really didn't mind but were grateful for the heads up. The menus was good - plenty of options and everything we ordered was really excellent - grilled sardines, halloumi and green beans, plaice and chips, steak - all really good. The setting is lovely - a very well kept garden with an outside bar and table service. We all highly recommend this as great place to meet and enjoy good food with good service.

April 2021 - Now they are open again we had lunch outside on Wednesday. Having had an excellent meal there before lockdown we were looking forward to it.However we both ordered 'Burger with all the trimmings' at £9.00. Chips extra £8.00 for two.The burger came on a hard roll (bit stale) with only a limpid piece of tomato and a few strands of rocket. Nor sure what 'all the trimmings' were supposed to be!The burger was a little dry so very disappointing to pay £13 for a very plain burger and chips.I t was also strange that it was 'pay as you go' so we had to pay 4 different times - drinks, food, more drinks, coffee!. Have to also add that the coffee at £3.50 for instant coffee (no decaf available) did not add to our enjoyment.Probably have to think twice now about going back.

In these times, The Exeter Arms have gone above and beyond to create a great outdoor space for food and drinks. The BBQ setup outside is next level with ribs smoking away and a myriad of other options. The bar is fun and table service prompt. Our waitress Katy was a hero, keeping our beers topped up and everything ticking over smoothly. Cheers!

We had been for a lovely walk around Rutland water and wanted somewhere fairly local for lunch. We found this beautiful place by chance and we couldn’t have asked for anything more to make our experience any better. We had Christmas dinner and it was absolutely beautiful... especially the roast potatoes. They were to DIE FOR!! We were allowed to bring our dogs in whilst we had dinner and they laid peacefully by the fireplace. Thank you for having us x

Visited this pub for lunch, only two days after the second Covid lockdown ceased and this area moved into Tier 2.This pub was taken over and renovated earlier in the year. We hadn't had a chance to visit for obvious reasons.Went for lunch on the 3rd December and it was really fantastic. The owners were very welcoming, their Covid measures were very thorough, which made us feel exceptionally safe.Food was great, local produce perfectly cooked. Had the pie and a pint, followed by lovely puddings.I have lived in the area for years and never been to this pub. Will certainly be going again very soon.If you want a traditional village pub, with great food and service, this is worth the journey.

6 of us had a meal on Friday night. Two of us had Venison, which was delicious and cost just £19. The others had Fish, Chips and Mushy Peas, which cost £13, which was a bargain as each person had two fillets of fish and plenty of chips and all was really tasty!The hospitality and service were exceptionalWhat a pity the pub has to close after Wednesday because of lockdown. Can't wait for them to be allowed to reopen again

This Pub has changed hands a couple of times since we first visited 6 years ago and the new owner is to be heartily congratulated in bringing this pub into first class shape. I cannot fault it. A really nice enthusiastic well dressed and smart team serving excellent drinks and food with a really good menu. From all the overheard comments of others there everyone was happy! It is absolutely clear nothing is too much trouble for the new owner and one can sense the energy and professionalism of the new owner with a considerable array of upgraded finishes ad furniture all done with great style. It is also fantastic to see the efforts and energy that this new owner has put into integrating positively with the village, from the vicar to the local (community) shop. Covid-19 has not daunted this team from doing everything they can to make life more enjoyable in these difficult times.

(Note re Covid-19 - the pub offered a full lunch service today 11-10-20 - not just delivery or take out as indicated on a notice on Tripadvisor)Great pub and great meal, beautifully presented on hot plates with surprisingly speedy service from very polite staff, albeit only three tables were taken at 12.30 Sunday when we ordered. The refurb includes few soft furnishings, so do be prepared for a noisy background hubbub even with the pub less than half full. We’d booked their bay window overlooking the village green and lovely pond with duck house (the clear water is very shallow but full of fish). DELICIOUS food - I had a perfect rendition of roast pork with apple sauce, small beautifully roasted potatoes, cauliflower cheese, greens, stuffing, Yorkshire pudding and delicious gravy. Our first visit under the new ownership, and we’ll be coming again as soon as we can.

Six friends met for a walk in Barrowden and had booked in for a lunch. During coronavirus we were very pleased with their rules in place. We were served a lovely lunch, well presented and extremely good. Served hot by great waiters who were friendly and polite. Will certainly be returning . Well done, we wish you well for the future.

The new owners opened and closed again on the first day of Lockdown, terrible bad luck, poor things. But they had the spectacular idea of serving drinks and takeaway food from a window for 2 hours every evening throughout summer, which really gained them a lot of following I think. Its no wonder the pub is always packed whenever we go for lunch or dinner now and we have been about 5 times since July.The best thing is the ever changing menu, I am still waiting for the mozzarella and asparagus starter to come back on as I will never forget it! However the Portuguese prawns are a delicious alternative for me. I only eat fish, no meat but there is always a nice fish dish for me to eat. Husband always enjoys the mixed grill or Porterhouse steak.The service is quick, friendly and efficient, (I really don't understand the bad review by Scruffy4 from August ‍♀️) and the décor is warm and homely, modern without detracting away from the beauty of the period building. I especially like the Rutland map used as wallpaper! We have not been in the garden or outside kitchen area, but I am sure we will next summer.This place has definitely turned into something really good with the new owners and we will return many times in the future i am sure.

We visited the Exeter Arms for Sunday lunch. They took all the precautions very seriously and as a result we were able to relax and enjoy our lunch. I usually go for the roast beef on these occasions and often find myself disappointed but not on this occasion. The beef was tender and succulent and the roast potatoes were the best I have ever had in a restaurant. My fellow guests did not have the roasts but were equally delighted with their meals. Beers and wines were very good and service was just the right pace. If I had one small quibble I thought the mussels were a bit small but they were very tasty.

We visited Rutland Water for the weekend. Having spent a lovely afternoon cycling around Rutland Water (highly recommended), we arrived at the Exeter Arms early Saturday evening. We were drawn by recent 5-star reviews. Wow! Barrowden is a picturesque English village and the pub is in its centre, opposite the village green. On arrival we walked around the beer garden behind the pub and were met by Landlord Mark. Alas, as autumn was nearing it was turning colder and the outdoor bar and kitchen (with Asado grill) were closing. We went inside where we were greeted by Landlady Kate. The interior is a delight warm (roaring log-burner), cosy and welcoming. Add to this an excellent selection of real ales; what more can you ask for. Despite the COVID restrictions the owners and staff manage the situation effortlessly, making the whole experience feel very “normal ”. On the way to our table we passed the wall-chalked menu from which we both chose steak and ale pie. Mark explained that all dishes are made to order and that the pie is one of the popular dishes. We soon learned why! Beyond doubt one of the tastiest we have had with melt in the mouth flavoursome beef, accompanied by home cooked skin-on chips and perfectly cooked veg. We shared a lemon posset dessert which was just sumptuous. Very reasonably priced for food of this quality, young friendly attentive staff, what more could you want. Book it!

We were visiting the area and staying in Barrowden. Decided to try the local pub on our first evening. Decor is lovely and inviting, as were the hosts. Drinks were good and well priced. Food was spot on. We all had pub menu favourites like pie, fish and chips, etc. Every dish was as you would wish to find in all pubs but rarely do. Simply done but good base ingredients cooked properly. I would recommend to anyone passing through.

Called in for lunch on a beautiful sunny Sunday. Mixed welcome but the GUY behind the bar couldn’t have been more helpful. The food was absolutely delicious and incredibly well presented. The pub is lovely and the setting couldn’t be more gorgeous. Have visited most pubs in Rutland and this is one of the best.

This is a quintessential pub and restaurant set in a beautiful village. We had the Tiger prawns to start which were tasty, huge and perfect. Roast beef with all the trimmings followed. What can I say, tasted amazing. Brilliant pudding and service, totally faultless. Can’t wait to return. A must visit.

I wasn’t going to write a review initially but looked at others out of interest to see if our experience was a one off. Sadly it’s not. This place is so unwelcoming I don’t know why they bother, actually they don’t. We are familiar with the Covid rules and restrictions and are happy to oblige when premises have introduced their own safety measures but when entering a near empty bar and being put in a corner where the other two tables are occupied defies disbelief. There is an entry and exit but no guidance once inside on how to get out.That point as side (and we could have left and we would have if not already paid) the lady behind the bar is so sour it makes the whole place miserable. There’s no ‘hello, what can I get you’, no conversation, nothing. Such a sad, depressing atmosphere, we couldn’t get out quick enough.Also having read the responses it’s apparent that they feel they have got it right as there is a constant thread running through them regarding staff attitude and customer service followed by responses full of self justification. I await my response with interest.

We first came to know of this pub during lockdown when it was possible on a fine day to sit out on the green and enjoy a take-away pint - what a treat. We were keen to try their food so finally got a booking for dinner. We weren't disappointed. The menu is very interesting and the food is delicious. Clearly there is a very good chef at work in the kitchen. A lovely starter is the celeriac and smoked mackerel salad - so tasty. The carpaccio of beef is similarly appetising. As a main course I had the risotto of cauliflower and stilton with walnuts - an inspired combination and my partner had lamb cutlets with vegetable skewers and creamed spinach. We enjoyed this so much we went back the following week and were similarly wowed by the food on offer. Pricewise it is very good value. The staff are very friendly and helpful. The Covid measures are well thought through and organised. Having only just discovered that the owners are new and had barely taken over before the lockdown we are so impressed with the quality of their operation. They deserve to do well and we will be back.

Lovely cosy place, with friendly service and great food. We had the spaghetti alla vongole, and the chicken supreme. Really delicious. We shared a slightly-underwhelming malt chocolate tart to finish, but otherwise a lovely evening.

We stayed in the village last weekend in a holiday rental and visited the local pub. We booked a space and were fortunate that it was a lovely summer day. We sat outside and had a variety of drinks and food that were excellent . The staff were extremely helpful and checked throughout our stay that everything was ok . When it started to rain ( slightly ) the staff offered us a picnic bench underneath shade which was great for everyone. The pub has an outside bar and grill due to covid and I have to say immaculately Clean toilets which as we all know is extremely important even though they are porta loos ( again because of covid !! ) we would definitely recommend this place And I understand from what we were told that the new managers had only just opened when covid struck !! Well if you continue providing the same excellent customer service that we experienced you will be fine !! Good luck and thank you

We had our first meal out, after lockdown, in the garden at The Exeter Arms. We had a great night out. Fantastic atmosphere. Mark and his team could not do enough for us. Food was wonderful. Recommend the spaghetti with lobster - yummy. Can’t wait to go again.

My family and I visited our local pub for the first time since it has been under new management. It was such a refreshing change from how it used to be! We sat outside in the garden (which has had an outdoor bar and grill built) and the atmosphere was bubbling and friendly. The staff were lovely and attentive, the landlord was happy to chat to everyone and knew everybody by name. We ordered some food from the grill spontaneously, it came quickly and was delicious. Overall such a lovely treat after lockdown, we will definitely be making regular visits!

I stayed in their car park in my Motorhome as my son was sailing at Rutland. Electric hookup and a flat pitch was a plus. The pub itself is a stunning country pub over looking the village green. Six of us ate and the food was fantastic and good value. The family could not have made us feel more welcome. Thank you so much. You made a cold and wet winters night very pleasant.

What a lovely country pub in a lovely Rutland village, we were out for a drive in our new motorhome and phoned the Exeter Arms to see if we could stay overnight on the car park, no problem was the answer , they even have electric hook up .We were given a table in the bar as we had our Rottweiler Evie with us who made herself comfy by the log burner.I had the game casserole which was delicious, the wife had the veg curry also very good .The Grainstore Bitter was excellent, service was prompt and polite, all in all a very enjoyable evening,we will return .

We visited the Exeter Arms during a short break staying in Barrowden. We thought it was a lovely pub, with a logburning fire, games available and wonderful service and attention, especially (although not exclusively) from the landlady who took great attention talking to and engaging with our 2 boys. We thoroughly enjoyed the food on the first night, steak night Wednesday. We were coincidentally staying over Halloween and the landlady encouraged our boys to go Trick or treating around the village the next night and to come into the pub as part of it (little encouragement needed!). This we did and we were so glad - the atmosphere was lovely, a real community feel and what was especially nice was that we were made to feel very welcome and included. We ate there again rather than cook in our cottage and the food again was excellent. All in all, beautiful village, lovely pub and great, welcoming service and fond memories for our family. Thank you and we hope to return at some point in the future.

We recently had a lunchtime visit to this pub. A lovely meal eating in a relaxed environment with family and friend's. Would recommend and would visit again..

Welcoming owners, spotless pub in a beautiful village. Well presented delicious food. What's not to like!

We went on a Saturday evening to celebrate our wedding anniversary. The food was excellent, melt-in-your-mouth steak followed by apple crumble and custard. All pipng hot and beautifuuly cooked and presented. Add to that the friendly and warm service and we had the perfect evening. Thank you.

Visiting my mother in the area, we always like to take her to eat at the Exeter Arms. We find the food (starters, main and dessert) to be delicious and consistently of a high standard. The owners are very friendly and welcoming and the atmosphere inside the pub/restaurant is very cosy and the view outside over the village green and the duck pond very pleasant. Thank you for another enjoyable evening!

Food was awful and service was even worse. The guy on the front of house should be working in a hair salon, couldn’t stop talking and took ages to serve. I also saw him scratch his balls and then sniff his fingers, was disgusting. Food was luke warm and when I complained It wasn’t well received. Won’t be returning.

Potential to be a great little pub but poor service and run by a rude little man, who I think deliberately put a pube in my coffee. Food was ok but overpriced.

Just wanted to say thank you for my celebration at the pub last week. Great food and great company. Topped off my Birthday celebrations really well. Richard

Went here on the 5th for the local car rally. And the service by ALL staff through the evening was exemplary. They had an outside bar on along with your basic barbie. The pub was fully booked for evening meals. The village was heaving with classic cars and owners so if the staff had become fraught it would not have been surprising.There is no excuse for the credit card fiasco, however, in all the times I go to the Exeter I have never known any of the staff to be rude at all.The only reason I haven't given it a total top mark is that the beer is expensive.

We went on spec as hadn’t booked a table and we were met by really friendly bar staff and owners. We were a little but disappointed by the menus as it was very limited however what we had ie fish and chips was very good and goats cheese tart which again was ok nothing really special. We were also bit disappobted that the children’s meals didn’t have any mash potatoes as our 20 month grandson struggles with chips. However it was a very pleasant meal.

If you like being spoken to politely and prefer to be present when your credit card is used then this is NOT the pub for you!

Had a great time here. Had dinner in the bar as we were on holiday and had our dog with us but it was just as lovely as the restaurant. The menu was concise based on local food and everything we had was delicious. Even better than that was the lovely lady who served us who totally understood the ‘trick’ to taking a 4 year old out for dinner- our little boy had a fab time and loved his food and the experience.

We've eaten (and popped in for a drink) several times over the last month both with bookings and as a walk in. We've always received a warm and friendly reception. The food and service is exemplary. We'll definitely be visiting this lovely pub more often.

We were a group of walkers looking for a small lunch, regretting stopping off here.

Spent a lovely couple of nights in this picturesque location. The landlords have retained a lot of the original character, and provide a warm and friendly welcome.

We tried the Exeter after an absence of many years. The owners are very friendly, welcoming and helpful. The food we had was all good quality and it felt like they genuinely cared that you had a good time. We will certainly return.

Lovely meal, perfect staff, exquisite Czech lager and on top of all that the weather was too good to sit inside.

Visited with friends for lunch after another walk along a different section of the Jurassic Way. A perfect place to end a walk and lunch was as good as before. I had the turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce sandwich, very reasonably priced and came with chips and salad. Great beer on tap too, from The Grainstore Brewery, a great local brewery.

We booked lunch on a Saturday for friends and family. Lovely welcome from Joanne and Tom. Excellent chef clean plates (all round), food at reasonable price. Log fire, view of village green. Looking forward to going back soon !

We stayed overnight at the Exeter Arms and were so pleased that we did. Upon arrival Tom and Joanne (owners) treated us like family. Unfortunately traffic issues delayed our arrival until late afternoon. This caused us to arrive “just as lunch service was winding down”. Thankfully the kitchen was flexible and put together some quick items that satisfied our hunger. They did this while their kitchen was in the process of shutting down. Very impressed and made us feel very special.

Visited today with friends following a walk along part of the Jurassic Way (featured in the top 20 UK walks in The Times on Saturday 6th October 2018). The pub is at the start (or end) of two legs of this walk and is a perfect stop off for lunch after completing a section of this walk. The pub is well looked after and lunch was just right. Sandwiches were what we had but there is a full range of food to satisfy all tastes (the full menus are downloadable on their website). Could not fault the venue, the food or the atmosphere and the service was faultless. Food is complimented with a wide range of drinks including local beers in a well kept cellar. Planning to do another part of the walk soon so that we can visit again.

We came here around a week ago for Sunday Lunch. The food was lovely. What I loved most was how accomodating they were with our little 2 year old. Joanne the landlady brought her some colouring books and pencils and made an effort to talk with her. The atmosphere is very nice as there was a lot of people there but not too crowded.We will definitely come here again very soon!!

In a lovely “typical” British village setting this is a find. Yes the landlady speaks her mind - but even 3mins to close of kitchen, having rung ahead they gave us a lovely late Lunch and witty repartee to male us feel very welcome

This was a visit that left me stunned for the rest of the day, and not because of a good experience. We hadn't booked for lunch, but they had room, so we sat on a table near the bar. An elderly lady came in, and was told that they couldn't feed them for about 40 minutes, and it didn't even appear to be busy. Then another group of four came in and were told 'People who have made the effort to take the time and book are given our full attention, those who haven't will be served as and when we have time to do so.'

Ate a lovely meal here while staying in a cottage in the village and were made very welcome. The fish pie is to die for and other meals looked delicious too. Highly recommended.

There is an extensive and varied menu only problem is knowing what to choose. The pb is in a lovely location and has super view to the village pond and a hge rear garden. Good choice!

After a lovely walk with my wife and two dogs we stumbled across this gem of a country pub. Overlooking the village green and duck pond, we were made very welcome by the charming hostess. Sat in a window seat looking out across the beautiful countryside, we had a great choice of real ale and superb food. Oakham ale is the best! The food we chose was fantastic, beautifully presented and well cooked. In fact, the menu was a great surprise on a lunchtime. An extensive beer garden with things for the kids too. Definitely recommend this pub to all.