Ship Inn in Exeter - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

This is the oldest pub in Exeter hidden away down a lane near the cathedral, with excellent fish and chips and great real ale. Friendly staff and good service

This is an enchanting place to visit. Full of history dating back to Sir Francis Drake in the mid 1500s. Great food wide selection wonderful atmosphere. Highly recommended.

Went for a beer. Lovely atmosphere; very historic, good well kept cask ale. Go upstairs for even more comfort in nice leather seats. Didn't eat so can't comment on that

Nice pub, great location, loved the atmosphere

We had passed by this pub and glanced in the last time we were in Exeter. This time when we were looking to eat we saw their board on the main street and remembered our passing it. We decided to go in and see what it was like. It's beautiful, like being transported back in time. Being a Sunday, we had the option of a roast, which I took. I have to say that it was the best roast that I have ever tasted away from home. My husband chose the pie (he didn't want to be disappointed by yet another tasteless roast). He said that the pastry was sublime and everything well flavoured. My son-in-law had a burger. He said that it knocked the socks off the one he had had around the corner by the cathedral. If you are thinking of going in here, please do!

Lovely old atmospheric pub right near the cathedral. It’s everything that a tourist would hope for, with the addition of good beer and food! However, the photo below shows the state of the door to the men’s room. It is beyond disgusting. The inside of the door was much worse, but I didn’t want to be seen to be taking photos in the loo! It is disgusting to think that staff and other customers are touching this and then serving food, handling glassware etc. this door should NOT be repainted- it should be removed and burned and replaced. I visited the website of the company who own this pub but couldn’t find a mechanism to report this sickening situation. Whomever is supposed to be managing this pub - isn’t.

Great place to be. Lovely pub with excellent food and very friendly staff. Best fish and chips I had in a long time! Loved the open mic session. Will definitely come back next time we are here.

Beautiful pub, the food is also very good! Perhaps the service needs improvement, because we waited 45 minutes before eating! Slow service and you have to order from the app or go to the counter.

This is a very old pub with low beams and limited space. It is down a passageway connecting the grassed area in front of Exeter Cathedral and the pedestrianised shopping area. The staff are friendly and the food is straightforward pub food. If you like old buildings this would be perfect. If you like more space perhaps you'd find it a little restricted. I enjoyed my visit to meet a friend. We had ciabatta steak sandwiches and non-alcoholic drinks but they have a good selection of beers. It would be an ideal place to have lunch or an evening meal after visiting the cathedral.

Super beautiful and really cute. The staff is friendly and knows a lot about the drinks. The food is plenty good and authentic for a pub..

Found staff very friendly but found the pub to be too dark.

Can't comment on atmosphere service or quality of the food. By far the worst pint I have ever been served. Three attempts at a pint of cider. Three attempts at a pint of San Miguel. Never again will I darken the door. Overall abysmal avoid at all costs.

Love this little pub .. great staff

Nice little pub hidden among…. Well- Exeter 😂 this is the definition of a hidden gem. Nice atmosphere and nice to find something with heritage. Not a chance anyone in the world could bite into the burger- but tasted awesome just the same- what a beast!

Rude staff more interested in eating or playing with TV remotes than actually selling beer. I have been coming to this pub for nearly forty years and have never been treated so badly.

Indi, Jacob and Hugh were amazing, so accommodating !!!

Que la légende soit vraie ou pas, on pourra dire qu’on a dîné au même endroit que le célèbre pirate ! 400 ans plus tard il reste une ambiance taverne historique très sympa. Côté assiette, une recette de pie inédite à la viande avec chou braisé.

The atmosphere was great, food was excellent and the staff friendly

Always bustling , Friday and Saturday evenings karaoke or disco , probably the best atmosphere in Exeter. Food pretty good .

Great service,friendly staff food amazing ,the Mac n cheese and vintage burger is a must! We came ere 2 years ago and still impressed !!

Mitten in der Innenstadt befindet sich dieses typische und vor allem traditionsreiche englische Pub. Es ist sehr beliebt, daher ist eine Reservierung empfehlenswert, wenn man am Abend essen will. Die Speisen und Biere sind dem Ambiente entsprechend und haben uns von der englischen Küche (Pies bzw. Bangers&Mash) überzeugt. Ein schönes Erlebnis und guter Einblick in die lokale Gastronomie!

Didn't realise it was a Greene king pub, the pub itself was nicely kept to it's original state, the ales on tap were nice and the food was exceptionally good. Would highly recommend this pub!

Quite quiet on a Sunday . But it is so pricey

Was served by Lily and Georgia, absolutely phenomenal service! Would 100% return!

Well, what to say about this piece of history? You must visit this pub, even only for a short drink. Enjoy the old historic ambience and read something Francis Drake! Don’t miss it.

A very nice and very old pub (mediaval times) close to the cathedral. Some evenings with live music. At the first floor a beautiful and calme area for dining. The food was very good; classical pub foid, daily specials and evening roasters. Very friendly staff.

Went for a few pints and ended up with Sunday Lunch - Roast Beef & Pork Belly - was an excellent portion size, great taste and the Thatchers Haze went down far too well…

Great selection of drinks, very helpful and friendly staff, good food. I do recommend The Ship as a pleasant place to socialise with friends. BUT please, sort out the toilets. Especially the ladies. Only one was in working order and the bolt on the door on the one loo in operation needs to be dealt with.

Great staff. Lovely steak and ale pie. Beautiful little pub. Happy days.

Great little pub, great history, amazing food, proper old fashioned pub with an up to date menu and drinks 😁

Great pub to have drinks with friends and family. It is always full of happiness and it is a good pub for everyone staff are awawesome

Had a lovely steak meal with a friend

Run out of Sunday roasts. Wine was awful. Poor selection of real ales

A perfect English inn to visit an have a few beers in

An enjoyable pub for the most part. The food was superb although I'd say portion size wasn't as big as it could be. Staff were super friendly and helpful.

Great service from Aria she has a lovely smile, the food is good comes out on time. The pub is clean and tidy and the beers are always poured correctly

Always a great night out! Not even sure why it's so good! Lol

Very nice rooms and very comfortable beds can't fault the cleanliness as well I will be definitely going back. Nice friendly staff. A bit of a trek to the room but well worth it in the end

Lovely old fashioned pub, wished we'd had more time there.

Very warm welcome, caring, calm. Variety of dishes offered, of good quality.

Lovely old school booze , cracking pint and some lovely chicken wings, really friendly and helpful staff, great find, will definitely return when In the area

Bland food, tasteless fish, dry peas. Pleasant atmosphere and fast service, very pretty places, copious dishes.

Lovely old pub . Excellent value for money meal . Great staff very friendly and helpful. Our meal while it may not be haute cuisine it’s just good honest pub food , not pretentious and three times the cost . Good work keep it up .

Beautiful old building, a classic pub that has always been a pub. The security was friendly and kind enough to give us a very interesting history lesson about the place.

The ambiance is just magical just like being on an old galleon. We ordered food and beers the service was top drawer. We had a starter and main and the food was excellent. It is overall very well priced and the crab stater excellent. Well done to the ship.

First visit to the Ship as visiting for Rugby. Food was amazing and staff were above and beyond, bearing in mind it is a busy pub. I will definitively return next I am next in Exeter

Visited for a meal on a very busy Saturday night. Despite being very busy, the service was outstanding.

Cosy pub with normal British pub food.

The staff are friendly and can pour a great tasting Guinness. It’s good to still have proper pubs in Exeter. Will visit again soon.

A great old traditional pub, very welcoming and friendly. The food was wholesome and hot. I had the steak and ale pie and for desert I had a delicious frangipane. The best bit was due to the fact it was a Monday and raining I was offered a free pint. Needless to say that lifted my spirits, no end. Would definitely recommend and hope to return soon.

Excellent pre rugby meeting venue.

Well located near the cathedral, for a reasonably priced meal. There were 6 of us wanting a quick lunch and it did take longer than we had hoped to be served. Nice old pub with atmosphere and food was OK for the price: it filled us up.

Came here once to watch the open mic night, and another time to catch up with friends. The atmosphere is very homely and the barstaff are super friendly and welcoming. The only thing is that i think there should be a security guard or something as a couple of men did get rowdy and made me and my friend a little uncomfortable at one point. Other than that i couldn’t fault the place and i had a great night!

Lovely lunch after shopping for an outfit for my sons wedding.

Best pub I’ve tried in the UK. Great food.

We only stayed for a drink but will be back for a meal. Wonderful venue... so steeped in history. Very central and easy to find.

Delicious home made food, thick chips, had to ask for my steak to be put on the grill a little longer, could have done with more peppercorn sauce, waitress friendly and attentive and brought our drinks over

Such a quaint pub, steeped in history and atmosphere. It gets top marks for being dog friendly too. Came for an anniversary meal, and was not disappointed. Super food and drink, well presented and very reasonably priced. What is not to like?

Lovely bar Great staff and good selection of drinks and ales

Lovely old pub near the cathedral.

Another great pub in the wonderful city of Exeter.

Steak was chewy. Very nice interior.

The food is absolutely impeccable, and the service is outstanding. The venue is completely secluded, tucked away from the city, boasting obsolete historical architecture, and offers an extensive selection of beers and ciders.

They know how to feed and can move from country to country for you for a pre booked set menu. Real ales add to the experience.

What a fantastic old pub, apparently haunted, worth a visit

Awesome food awesome staff and awesome atmosphere our first time here me and my bestie went for evening meal and stayed for the Karaoke it was just fantastic!

Fabulous food and amazing staff who work tirelessly under pressure to deliver great customer service. The fact that dogs are welcome and given equal service by providing treats and water is a bonus. Simply the best old pub in Exeter. Thankyou

I was in the ship and the staff are very welcoming and friendly thay have people skills which is important

One of my favourite pubs in town! The food was delicious - I had a burger and chips. Aria was so attentive and made sure we had everything we needed, including changing the sauce that came with my burger. Thank you aria! We will be back.

I booked the Ship for 3 on a Saturday night after reading the reviews and we weren’t disappointed. The venue was very busy so it is essential to book a table. What an excellent venue. Once ordered our food came quickly, you can also order from your table via the App. The beer was especially good and well kept, prices too were good value and it was a pleasure to be served by the cheerful hard working staff. Will definitely go again.

What a massive disappointment, we have been here many times before for food and it has been delicious but this visit was so disappointing as all 4 of our roast that came out looked lovely but they were all cold so we mentioned it and they replaced them but AGAIN they were all cold again which should never have happened. My daughter went to complain but was not even offered an apology and the manager didn’t seem bothered at all which was a little upsetting , if this was my business I would have been so apologetic and also given them a drink on the house .

It's a lovely pub but if your sat at a table near the men's toilet the smell is very unpleasant we sat by the machine and had to move due to the smell. Which is a real shame as its a nice place.

Found by accident, a charming old pub full of character. Sir Francis Drake apparently liked it here, if it’s good enough for him, it’s good enough for me! A good selection of real ales, which always attracts me. Got there early on Sunday lunchtime before it got too busy, the food coming out looked great, but when I went past later on, it was packed in there so it’s obviously a popular pub.

We took my daughter back to Uni and stopped here for lunch at her choosing. It was a great place, decorated well with wood ceiling beams. We sat upstairs at a coffee table and needed to pull up a chair because it was busy. The food came very hot and fresh and was all delicious. I had macaroni and cheese, which was the perfect portion size and came with salad. My daughter had the soup, which was also delicious. My husband had a burger. He liked the sauce. I’d recommend the ship!

Nice food, nice people, nice atmosphere . So sorry for the damage and disruption after the bad weather. Miss the regular visits and super food, can't wait for the re-opening.

It is OK but rather on the cold side and we chose to eat upstairs where it is warmer. The place oozes history and character and it such a pity the scaffolding that supports the ruined burnt out former Clarence hotel is still in situ after so many years as this makes the access rather dismal once inside it is a different world entirely. The lunch we ordered was very nice but only a snack hence my four star rating.

Ok place not the atmosphere it used to be

We loved this pub for a birthday meal. The food was great, and the service was excellent

Stopped here for lunch after completing Christmas shopping. It was busy, and the food took a little while. But it was very nice. Fantastic old proper pub!

Delicious food, I had seafood duo and partner had chrleese and bacon burger. Atmosphere is great. Food is prompt and piping hot and delicious. Would highly recommend for food and drinks, but may need to book a table as is always very busy.

Clearly favoured the locals. Put in our karaoke request and completely ignored. Not impressed.

Bad smell of urine on the ground floor. Needs some work on the gents toilets extractor

Had Christmas doo here. Was very busy which was bice. The night was in full swing The staff did well with how busy it was! The food was decent came out in a good time. Good selection. Unfortunately for me the room upstairs was way too hot. No air con over heated quite easy. Asked for a window to be opened but got refused. Overall was a good night.

Cannot comment on food as we did not eat there during our visit. Traditional pub in the very centre of the City. Good service and atmosphere.

Popped in for drinks after the Christmas market. Very busy pub with beautiful character. The waiter told us they had, had a record week, which is great to hear. Sadly this meant some drinks were running low. Would recommend a visit and will be back for food at some point.

Very busy pub near the cathedral

Food was delicious & a great portion . Staff were friendly & welcoming. Lovely place to go

Excellent historic city centre pub, everything you'd expect 👍🍻

Always visit here when in Exeter always buzzing but never wait long for service

Really good always try eat there lovely food x

Went for the open mic night and really enjoyed it. Songs were sung by singests, and drinks were drunk by drunkards. It was good.

Really Love it here staff are amazing and very accommodating always there when you need them, Food is incredible definitely recommend the Ship Burger, Friday and Saturday are very fun very good atmosphere staff are friendly and the door staff are friendly too and very smiley.

Decent food (Christmas pudding was terrible though, rubbery and bland), good beers and nice atmosphere. Worth a stop if you're passing.

Great night with my friends. Steak was lovely with a amazing peppered sauce. Staff polite and kind could not do enough to make sure all was ok. Made feel very welcome, never been there before but would go back anytime.

Very busy on a Saturday night. Good real ales and whisky. It had a couple of bottles of hibiki which is a good Japanese whisky. Charming historic pub near the cathedral

The food was amazing great presentation and fresh and tasty. it was a busy pub great to see. We had a great evening at the ship inn

Food great, staff friendly and helpful. Lovely meal after Christmas shopping in this lovely atmospheric pub. A must to visit when in Exeter.

We ate here on a Monday evening, not too busy & a nice atmosphere. Staff were very friendly, however we were disappointed with the food. This was pretty average & overpriced. 2 of us had the Christmas pudding, which was almost inedible as it was so hard. It had clearly been reheated in a microwave oven, & I was unable to finish mine. I felt it inappropriate to complain at the time as we were entertaining a relative. The Abbot beer was excellent though!

I am very disappointed with this place. I was planning a visit to the Christmas market with my family and knowing how busy it would be, wanted to book a place to eat to round the day off. On arrival at The Ship, it was heaving as expected. We queued at the bar to give our name for the reservation and we were sent upstairs. It appeared to be full upstairs when we went up but gave our name to a waitress and told her we had a reservation for 4-30 ( it was 4-10 when we got there). She didn’t appear to be able to find the reservation but eventually after speaking to another waitress she did. The waitress then asked a table of 4( who were still eating) to get off the table. We were obviously prepared to wait as we were early! The original waitress said we had to order drinks downstairs but could order food upstairs. Not ideal as it was so busy but ok. I went down to order drinks which they got wrong as it was so loud. We went back up to look at the menu and choose but we’re then told we had to go back downstairs to order. I repeated what we were originally told but they said the info was wrong. I asked to speak to the manager, who appeared and told me we would have to go downstairs as they were short staffed. I said they wouldn’t be able to hear me and had already got the drinks wrong. I was told again that they were short staffed and didn’t have a till up there. I suggested they shouldn’t have taken the booking if they couldn’t staff it and he then said ‘ what do you want’ and proceeded to take my order on the till! On to the food. We ordered two steaks, one medium and one medium rare. Both arrived well done and like shoe leather. We had two burgers which were ok. Cutlery didn’t arrive until 5 minutes after the meal as the waitress had to go downstairs for it. For four people they brought 2 forks. The waitress cleared a plate as soon as one person was finished instead of waiting for all to finish. Nobody checked if the meal was ok, nobody offered sauces or told us where they were. The service was poor, food terrible and attitude even worse. Shocking end to a good day for us.

Nice atmospheric pub but my food was inedible. I had the ciabatta steak sandwich and the steak was all fat! I didn’t want to make a fuss in front of family so didn’t complain. Supposed to come with salad but there were just a sprinkling of lettuce leaves. Went home hungry but rest of family said food not bad but miserly with the fries. The waitress kept clearing plates away before rest of party had finished. She remarked on one occasion “hasn’t he finished yet” as one of the party was a slow eater! Not impressed.