The Botanist Bar & Restaurant Exeter in Exeter

Fabulous service from Katie, Josh and Sophia. The kebabs were amazing.

Served by Leighanne, what a lovely day out. Thanks you

Excellent food and drinks as always, can always rely on good service and a smile from the staff. Thanks 😊

Food was ok. At no point were we told about a service charge. Not on menu nor when booking in advance online. Only had a table of four. Apparently every table has a discretionary service charge added of 12.5%

Had a super time visiting the Exeter site- the baked Camembert is my absolute favourite menu item! Katie’s service however was even better!

Had a hen do meal last night in Exeter’s Botanist, food was delicious. Service from Jodie was quick, organised and very efficient! Very patient and friendly couldn’t have had a better waitress during our meal. Throughly enjoyed our experience highly recommend!

Had a lovely evening here with some friends, food and atmosphere was lovely. A huge thank you to our waitress Milly, would made the whole experience a millions times better. Would highly recommend for food or even just drinks, live music was a lovely addition on top of it all.

Everything inside the Botanist is Atmospheric and very Relaxing . The food is always Amazing and presentation Fabulous The Staff and Service is always Excellent ⭐️ A perfect place to Eat 👌🫶

Went to try out the lunch menu, it was absolutely delicious and very well presented. The mocktails were phenomenal too. The experience was even improved by our server, Micky, who was lovely and went above and beyond to accommodate us. Thank you!

Live music was great and we were able to move to sit close to watch which was nice! Lovely drinks and our server Katie was great too!

Good was incredible and service from Jody was fabulous! She is so friendly and gave such lovely service! We love to come here when we are in Exeter and especially now meeting Jody!

Lovely food, lovely environment and a lovely waitress called Jodie!

Nice looking place, music a bit loud to comfortably talk to my friends. Had a burger and cheesecake from a set menu. Burger was tiny and the top of the cheesecake wasn't set, all tasted OK though. Was chucked out at 10pm, cos they wanted our table, didn't know we had a time limit.

Great service from Jodie and the team. Food came quickly and was good quality. Would definitely recommend

Great place for a quick lunch break! Wide selection of drinks (Happy Hour for cocktails during lunch time). Delicious smaller versions of their famous hanging kebabs. Very friendly staff.

Amazing cocktails, amazing food, amazing roof terrace!!

Amazing service! Josh is so friendly and welcoming!

Jodie was amazing. Great service. Lovely atmosphere. X

Had a lovely meal at the botanist in Exeter meeting up with friends. Our server Millie was lovely. Made great recommendations and was so polite and friendly. Hope to visit again soon!

Had an amazing evening with friends here the food was fantastic & the service from Millie was good also (very attentive) the live music was a great touch too

Lovely afternoon for bottomless brunch. Service was great and Tallulah was so nice. Def recommend

Jodie was an amazing host! We had bottomless brunch and stayed in for more drinks. Very friendly. Highly recommended!

Lovely food and quick service. Jodie was very helpful and friendly. Would recommend!

Jodie was absolutely superb! Made our birthday meal amazing and a great experience! Would definitely come again

Had amazing service by Jodi made my dinner special!

Jodie was fab! We love her! Thank you for great service!

Jodie was polite and very helpful, she was quick and efficient as out waitress. Thank you for great service

Jodie was brilliant, food was lovely. She organised a special pudding for our 14 year old. We really enjoyed ourselves.

jodi was very kind and i would 100% recommend coming to the botanist because the food was brilliant and the waiters are very sweet especially jodi!! 🙌❤️

Great evening, dog friendly, lovely food, helpful staff… shout out to Jodie for looking after us. Thank you

Visited on 19th of Feb 2025 with my partner, the staff were very friendly and chatty, Katie was an absolute diamond and a credit to the team, listened to me and my partner go on about our long journey that we'd travelled to get there and even made a joke about us getting back safely, it was a very homely environment. She was so polite and made our experience a very welcome one! Thanks Katie

A huge thank you to Leighanne for making our best friend’s leaving party so so special. She made it the best. 10/10. Perfect!

Jodie was super helpful and lovely. Awesome food for lunch. Loved it!

Our waitress Millie was wonderful, very helpful and friendly. She helped my child with the menu and recommended the arancini! It was perfect!

We had a lovely valentines meal on Saturday. We sat by the window overlooking the street which was lovely. The food was delicious, I had the botanist bowl and my husband had a messy burger which were both delicious and beautifully presented. Our server Jodie was fantastic polite, and knew the menu inside out and didn’t even have to write our order down. She made us feel welcome and it was a great experience. We will be back.

The food was delicious and our waitress Millie was lovely. She had lots of recommendations, was very attentive, and was lovely to chat to. Thank you!

Came here recently for a birthday and was an incredible night. Great vibes, great food and our waitress (think her name was Milly???) was so lovely and helpful, excellent service!!

We had a lovely valentines meal, which was only made even better by our server Milly. Highly recommend the strawberry and elderflower mojito. Will definitely be back !!!

Excellent food and drink. Made more enjoyable by our server Katie who made us feel very welcome,and nothing was too much trouble. Highly recommended

Great looking restaurant and atmosphere. The food wasn’t great. Chicken kebab meat was cold and chips were anaemic (undercooked). Husband ordered made beer, which was served flat. Asked to change it and they brought another flat pint. Went to the bar to change it again and barman said he was ‘too busy’. Asked for the manager who apologised and changed the beer. Wouldn’t return.

Food too spicy for our liking . Covered in chillies . Service unfortunately was very poor. Then to top things off we were overcharged .

Great service especially thanking katie

Friendly staff, great menu choice! Would definitely recommend

Really enjoyed our meal, food was great and excellent service from Millie. Definitely worth a visit.

honestly Jodie was amazing tonight super service and definitely would recommend after her help !!!

jodie was our server today, service was really friendly, food and drink came quick on a busy night! 10/10

Jodie saved me and my family from a housefire and she also stopped a bank robbery amazing person, great service

Loved the valentine's meal and Jodie was very attentive and made the whole experience complete!

Was booked to go to the ivy for a valentines date but didn’t think the menu was to my liking so we spontaneously came here. We had a fantastic time for a Valentine’s Day date. Not only were we given the option to have the main menu rather than just the Valentine’s Day menu, but I was reassured that if the food I had ordered it could be adapted to make it more to my taste. Amazing cocktails. All the staff were great but our main server Jodie was fantastic - friendly , helpful, welcoming. Glad I chose this place to eat. Jodie you are an asset to the botanist. Hopefully see you again soon on our next visit here

Ben was fantastic! His warm and attentive service made our visit to Botanist truly memorable. He was friendly, knowledgeable about the menu, and ensured our experience was top-notch. Highly recommend asking for Ben if you’re dining here!

Super lovely vibes, cocktails are amazing and food is lush too! Bit on the pricey side though and leg room is limited as the tables are a bit crowded together!

Very nice food. Our waiter was Jodie, she was lovely Nice aesthetic and environment Would come back

Came to this establishment, the place was spotless and the staff were incredibly friendly. Jodie was our waitress and she was polite and very helpful. Will be recommending this branch to friends and family! I hope Jodie gets the recognition she deserves 👏🏻. Big thank you to all the team for our delicious food!

Great service Eloise !! Food was lovely and good service. Thanks allot

Lovely food! And amazing service from out waitress Jodie!! Definitely be back again!

Brilliant food and exceptional service from Jodie!

Great service thank you Eloise , great meal too! Defo recommend for a good night !

Great vibe and amazing customer service from Jodie :)

Katie was absolutely amazing, such a lovely waitress made us feel so welcome and our experience was so great because of her superb service

Great service, very friendly staff! Not the biggest selection of food, but what we had was really good.

Quality Bottomless Brunch at the Botanist Katy was a great ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jodie was a great server let’s goooo!

Katy was amazing and was fantastic tonight. The atmosphere was extremely pleasant and I had a lovely evening.

Always a good experience here. The food is great and the staff are always happy to help.

Katie was our server tonight and she was great! Super tentative, super lovely and great service.

Good. HEAVENS. We had made a trip up from Plymouth and now I'm irritated that it's gonna have to be a bi-monthly trip just for this place. We arrived on a quiet and quaint Monday afternoon. Seated quickly and the hostess absolutely knew her stuff in terms of cocktails. Took into account my tastes and matched it to the ideal cocktail like a cocktail cupid. Every cocktail packed a proper punch, but it was still delicious and the flavours weren't overpowered by the alcohol. Anyway, partner ordered three small plates. WHICH WEREN'T SMALL AT ALL. Good lord, they were generous servings at worst. I stole a piece of her Korean chicken and there was that much I don't think she even noticed. I ordered the pork belly kebab and it's presentation was matched with its taste in terms of quality. How pork can be melt in your mouth is beyond my culinary understanding but their chefs absolutely mastered it. Again, pleasing aesthetically and to the pallet. I will absolutely go again, heck I already want to go again as their dessert menu was STACKED. Alas, I was too full, so I'm already planning on what to have next time.

Overrated and overpriced. We had booked a table for 2, over the phone, but when we arrived there was no reservation on the system. Fortunately there were tables available. Initial drink orders were taken promptly but when my husband ordered a second beer later into our meal, after 15 mins he had to ask a different sever for this. The Korean Fried chicken starter was the best dish for quality and portion size in the whole meal. The squid, was OK, but nothing special and just 6 pieces, not whole rings. The beef burger was small, especially for the price, and my hanging prawns amounted to 6 very salty prawns with some pepper & onion slices and a small bowl of rice. I raised the issue of how salty the prawns were and was told it would be fed back to the kitchen, but nothing more came of that. The Giant sharing cookie dough is a joke. A small skillet, nothing Giant about it. Maybe the 2 strawberries, 8 marshmallows and pot of biscoff crumb is what makes this Giant compared to the classic cookie dough dish! The dough had been under heat too long as it had a burnt taste around the edges and underneath, which we left and mentioned to the server. Food alone came to an overpriced £80, including an added 20% service charge, which we didn't bother asking to be removed, but even at £65 this was not worth the small portions and poor quality. Having now read other reviews it seems our experience is sadly very nornal. I note the lift was still out of order, having been mentioned back in December. We won't be eating here again.

Shocking customer service, was overcharged £32, ordered 4 x lunchtime menu meals, noticed on arriving home we were billed 4 x main menu meals. Messaged several times, eventually got through on the phone when it didn't ring out, the manager wouldn't speak to me but a waitress told me I'd get a call back same day, a week later still no call, tried calling again today and just rings out continuously

HONEST REVIEW! Good points: Our table was ready when we arrived at 3pm Bad points: 7 of us were squashed into a booth only suitable for 5 people The toilets are like a swamp. Men’s was even worse, 1inch of water on the floor! And the whole of the bathroom stank of piss Once seated it took 20 minutes for our drink order to be taken - they didn’t have the rose we wanted. It then took another 20 minutes for us to be told they didn’t have the wine we ordered however did have the rose we originally wanted. Food ordered after 30 minutes of arriving - 15 minutes later they didn’t have any lamb kebabs so 2 of us had to reorder different meals We could see one of the chefs turning the meat on the grill with his hands. No tongs etc Raw chicken hanging kebab Everyone had cold chips Asked for drinks with no ice, drink came with ice More drinks ordered - 20 minutes later we were told they had no rose left. The manager, who was fresh out of secondary school didn’t know what to do or say. She was just as horrified as we were. The longer we stayed the worse it got. 7 of us ended up only paying £10 each due to all of the freebies. Wouldn’t visit again

My wife and I including our 6 year old son stumbled across The botanist today whilst out shopping today in Exeter. 2 hours later we left having completely forgotten what the purpose of our visit to Exeter was 🤦🏼‍♂️. The food was delicious, I could have genuinely eaten it again. The service from Talluiah was first class, attentive without being too much. Definitely somewhere to revisit next time we’re in town. Highly recommended. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Shocking service, food didn't come! I came here for the second time for a late lunch. We waited for an hour before the manager came over to our table to tell us the food would arrive soon, and it still hadn't arrived 20 minutes later! We had to just pay for our drinks and leave. Meanwhile nobody seemed to be working in the kitchen for most of the time we were there. This is not the first time I have had issues with service at this restaurant. I came here over the Christmas period for an event, where we waited 2.5 hours for our starters, another hour and a half for our mains when all the food was preordered! Don't come here if you don't want to make a day of it!!!!

The roof top fire pit is the only thing that makes this a 2 star and not a 0. Besides that, the service and food was on par with a bad wetherspoons. - Had to ask for a menu - Had to ask for cutlery - Cocktails were messy - Hanging kebab was very bland - Chips were over cooked. - servers on phones - Food was properly some of the worst I’ve ever had.

Went today for a Christmas lunch with girlfriends, we had opted for the Christmas set menu at £29.95. Starter was ok but if you don’t like spicy then the chicken would not be for you. 2 had the sea bass, the fish was dry and the potatoes undercooked. 2 had the turkey kebab , turkey dry and didn’t taste like turkey, roast potatoes soggy and some were overcooked but had obviously been hanging around for a while,not a pleasant experience.

Absolutely terrible, we went here for our Xmas do, I understand it’s a busy time of year but we waited 2 and 1/2 hours for our mains, and to be served horrible tasteless food! I had the turkey hanging kebab ( had to share between x3 people) served with roast potatoes which were okay, hard carrot and Brussels sprouts! Also had the sticky toffee pudding (you think you can’t mess that up) sauce was thin and basically a light sponge cake! Service was okay,Also most of the seating was faulty and a colleague fell off her chair! Lastly the toilets were flooded all evening, definitely won’t be going here again!

If there was an option for 0 stars, that's what I would leave. I attended here on Friday for a work Xmas party, we started the night by sitting on wobblily chairs, resulting in one of my colleagues falling on the floor as the leg snapped! It was then followed by the world's slowest food service- 2hours!!! finished by the blandest, cold, poorly presented food. Do NOT recommend.

Terrible Service and shortage of food. No Xmas vegetarian option left, pitta bread shortage for starter, was one cut up for 6 of us. Puddings were so tiny pieces and tasteless. Toilets disgusting. Lift broken.

Quite possibly the worst meal I’ve ever had. Waited 2 and a half hours for the pre-ordered mains which was definitely not worth the wait. I had the turkey hanging kebab, and I must say it was absolutely hanging. Dry meat, hard carrots, cold potatoes and poor poor presentation. The toilets were disgusting and flooded. All in all I will never return or recommend anyone to eat here.

We came on Saturday 14th for a girlie day out lunch and it was terrible I ordered 2 things in menu and they didn't have it, the staff look scruffy with short skirts, my mums sausage and mask was terrible, will not be returning or advising people to go

Freezing cold in the restaurant and even colder in the toilets. Very long wait for average food and disorganised uncaring staff. We were a big christmas party who pre ordered and I would have expected better given the amount of money we were spending.

Insufficient vegetarian starters, sold us more beer but couldn't be bothered to take the order for the whole table Insufficient bread, had to pop in to Tesco to top up. Dinner dry and toilets packed beyond belief Honestly shit

Very enjoyable evening with excellent service 👍👍

This place looks lovely but that’s where it stops! We waited 30 minutes and no one came to take a drinks or food order in that time so got up and left! They served a table that came in way after us. The manager looked right at me as we got up to leave and didn’t even ask if there was a problem! Don’t be fooled by the fancy decor of this place!

Below average food with a stonking service charge which wasn't advised ahead. Bit rubbish really

Large group of us went this week for a Christmas Party, never again! Took 35 mins for first round of drinks to arrive, even then, some drinks were missing and some drinks were wrong! Food came out in dribs and drabs, so we weren’t all eating at the same time, even then the food was lukewarm. The table next to us got up and left as after nearly 3 hours the only food they had received was starters! If you have problems in the kitchen tell your customers from the start!

The worst service and food I have had in years. Honestly shameful. Chicken when it came was cold. I got my meal 40 min before my friends. Terrible.

We had our university society ball here tonight and it was absolutely amazing. We all had a great time and the staff were amazing. Although all the tables weren’t together, it was still great. I’d like to give a special mention to Ben- I believe he’s only been working there a few weeks but omg he’s amazing! Should definitely be made a team leader or something. His mannerisms were spot on and he was so well spoken. It was really refreshing hearing such a well spoken young lad!! Would definitely recommend this place for a party or general function- the food is great and service is even better.

Second time I have been here and been disappointed. The upstairs bar was heaving at 6.30pm on a Saturday but they only had one member of staff behind the bar so took 25mins to get served. They served us dirty plates for the sharing starter and the hanging Christmas dinner thing was awful. The gravy was greasy, veg was over cooked and the meat was undercooked. I don’t think a pig in a blanket is meant to be the same colour as a piece of turkey breast. Even the server who cleared the plate admitted it looked raw. The toilets are also rank. I don’t care that they’re unisex but they were filthy, freezing and flooded with brown water. The only positives were the decent cocktails that numbed the rest of the experience.

Had a lovely Christmas dinner with work group. The steak was cooked well although it was a bit cold, probably to make sure everyone have the food at the same time. Our server was Talullah who was so lovely and amazing, and always made sure we got everything and happy with the service xx Probably the cleanliness of the toilet could be improved though.

Absolutely awful service!! Booked a table for 8:30, staff took our order at 8:20, burger and a kebab so wasn’t hard and by 9:35 still wasn’t here, other tables complaining about raw and cold food, awful place and drinks are very overpriced and are flat! Avoid at all costs

Attentive, friendly service. My cocktail was nice, but my partner’s was rather bland and oddly balanced. The gambas pil pil was very nice, but the roasted cauliflower was overpoweringly sweet and not very edible, and the halloumi fries were too soft and felt undercooked slightly. Overall underwhelming, but the server made the experience a lot nicer.

First time here for my birthday with friends, nice atmosphere, a musician was playing guitar and singing which was too loud to have a conversation. The food was good but what let it down was the disgusting toilets, clearly not been cleaned in hours, avoid the loo! There was a toilet seat missing! You'd expect a food establishment to have nice toilets.

Lovely food & great customer experience! Our server Jodie was amazing and very attentive. I would recommend their hanging Kebabs… as they definitely live up to the hype. ( halloumi kebab in picture)

The servers were all very nice and helpful. I had the botanist cocktail, which was great. There was live music which was very nice to listen to. We ordered a pork belly kebab and the kofta kebab. Both were very nice. However, I did not enjoy the toilet situation. It was pretty uncomfortable going into a toilet and seeing a line of men. It's a unisex toilet which you are not made aware of until you go in. In one room there's a line of male toilets and a line of female toilets. The cubicles do have a sink in them but as a female it was uncomfortable going to the toilet listening to a group of men talking outside your cubicle. Another negative was I did get very ill after the food. I ate the pork belly kebab and found myself very sick for the rest of the evening. I believe it was the kebab as I had not eaten anything before this in 4 hours and felt completely fine and did not eat anything after.

Took 40 minutes for food to come and they forgot deserts and they were stood around talking

Do not book The Botanist Exeter for a celebration meal. I booked The Botanist Exeter, to celebrate an intimate wedding. It was a group of 24 people. I contacted the restaurant by email two months before the date and to request certain edits to be made to the menu and seating requests etc. They over promised by email and under delivered on the day. Apparently the staff working that day had not been informed, by whoever I was emailing, that we had made requests. The service was slow, food overcooked and some of guests ended up paying for food they did not order. I have attempted to contact The Botanist but have been ignored so far. All I want is for a complaint to be made so other people do not have celebrations dampened by poor communication.

Friendly staff, in a good location and easy to.find. The food was good. I had a chicken ceasar. Shame the service wasn't as good. Table was sticky and needed a proper clean and i asked a server to wipe it down. But all my server used as a dry paper towel. My server never came up to my table to ask if everything was OK. It would have been the least bit appropriate to be asked how everything is or if I needed anything etc. So when paying for the bill, I asked to take the service charge off. Keep in mind I had to wait almost 45 mins for my ceasar salad.

Went in sat for 10-15 minutes with no service. 👍 left without ordering

Disgusting. Mold and mildew in every nook and cranny of machineries, especially the ice machine. Then-manager shrugged it off. Got told off for wiping the bottles of its dust and grime (normal protocol for any self-respecting bars, not even Coolings is this disgusting and they’re a dive bar). Would not throw a red nickel their way.

Clean, cozy, food is delicious, waiters are friendly and attentive. Of the minuses, the table for 2 people is very small.

Bad service, if i could give 0 Stars I would. Its too dark and the music is too loud.