The Cathedral Cafe in Exeter

The food is good in this ancient building but get in early to avoid the crowds and grab a seat .Its worth having a coffee and cake here

Tucked away round a corner of the cathedral, I've lived in the area thirty years but only discovered this hidden gem a few months ago. I love it for its amazing setting, and the coffee is, I think, among the best in the area. I've only ever had the fruit scones, but they are (usually) fantastic - light and fluffy with a fair amount of fruit in them. (On one occasion I did get one with just a solitary raisin in, but it was an anomaly, I'm presuming they're homemade and you might get that from time to time). It's not the cheapest option, reasonable though. Check your bill carefully - I was overcharged by one coffee on a recent visit - honest mistake, I think. I'm not sure but wonder if some of the staff are volunteers. Service can be a little slow at the till, and they don't always seem that experienced/confident. However, the setting is so lovely, I'm happy to overlook the occasional little glitches.

Not visited for a long time and as going to the Cathedral for Carols ideal location, Good atmosphere , friendly staff. Food reasonably priced , only had a sandwich .

Went to Exeter on an excursion for the day. Walked around the brilliant Fayre that was there. As we looked we noticed the cathedral cafe that wasn't far from there. We went in and noticed how nice it was. There was quite a lot of people there, sitting and chatting. Lovely comfortable seating, a great selection of drinks and food on offer on the menu. There was soup, a selection of toasties. sandwiches, quite a lot available and they were very reasonable prices. There was lovely clean toilet facilities. The ladies that served us were very nice, pleasant and polite. They even brought the food to the tables for you if needed, some customers had mobility problems so this was so helpful for those who couldn't manage. It was a very pleasant visit at the cathedral cafe, so glad that we went there. I would definitely recommend it, a lovely cafe to enjoy a nice peaceful break.

Really nice café. The interior is beautiful. Great coffee, good service, and tasteful soup and sandwiches.

A light lunch - friendly staff - reasonably priced and good coffee - clean toilets - very busy at lunchtime

My go-to place for lunch in Exeter. Hidden beside the cathedral, the interior is beautiful and the soup, sandwiches, snacks and cakes are delicious. It is a lovely place to sit away from the shops and relax. I don't really want to share it. It is already popular eough!

The setting is lovely, next to the beautiful Exeter Cathedral. I got the wrong tea at first but this was corrected. We ordered a special toastie which hadn’t arrived after 20 minutes. After enquiring and being told it was on its way, one of the servers came to ask what we had ordered. Another fifteen minutes the chicken bacon and mozzarella ciabatta arrived with a few crisps and a very small salad with sweet corn. It was a sauce filler which looked like something you would put on a baked potato..It was slightly cold in places and did not taste nice- not worth the six pounds odd it cost- shame but we would not rush back.

A hidden gem if you want a quick lunch or cup of coffee. In the cloisters and served salads, soup and baked potatoes. We always visit when in Exeter

Adjoining the Cathedral this café offers you a welcome rest for tired feet after you have experienced the delights of the Cathedral itself; or else a meeting place with friends for a light snack, prior to exploring all the wonderful grandeur inherent in the magnificence of worship to Christ our Lord. The café is small and neatly laid out with benches and is self-service in nature; the stall I found to be extremely friendly and anxious to please and the fare simple but amply satisfying - all in all a grand complement to the ancient splendour that is the Cathedral

Situated to the rear of the cathedral in the cloister, welcome place for coffee and a snack, staff are friendly and service is good, I imagine that the cafe can be quite busy in the summer months. Worth a visit.

L had lunch here with my dad. The staff Were pleasant and helpful. The sandwiches Were fresh and Well made, and excellent value at £3.60 each. l Would highly recommend it.

It was only by chance that we stumbled upon quite small but good snacks. The path is cobbles which maybe difficult for people with mobility problems.

Called in for a lunchtime snack on a Saturday. The staff were very pleasant although the food was disappointing. We had toasted sandwiches. which appear to be about £2.50 more expensive than sandwiches which are not toasted, but we only noticed that after eating. My sandwich was meant to be chicken bacon and cheese, but all I could taste was cheese and it came with a garnish of 6 crisps with a few leaves and sweetcorn (hardly a side salad ! ) the setting was nice but maybe next time we would not order the overpriced toasties

The Cathedral Cafe is easy to find, located to the right of the main entrance as you look front on. Well sign posted. Beautiful interior with stunning ceiling and stained glass windows. Nice atmosphere, choice of seating available today must have been our lucky day - each table with bench seats will seat approximately six people. Decent choice of cakes etc a menu can be found on each table for a choice of soup and sandwiches. They even do a cream tea for £4.50 although did not try on this occasion. Easily accessible for disabled as floors are all flat and the front door opens both sides for easy access. Note - no disabled toilet.

For some calm and non-chain lunch, my Father and I visited during some busy Christmas shopping and had some of the best ever soup - thank you so much! Tomato soup with some bread was just ideal and so tasty. We were going to return for cakes later, as they looked good, but ran out of time.

Go round to the right of the Cathedral itself and there you will find its cafe. Quite small but very friendly it offers a warm refuge on a cold winter's day. Not a huge selection of food and drinks but what there is good!

Lovely cafe, with the usual array of cakes, teas and coffees. Very friendly staff. Would recommend even if you are not about to visit the Cathedral.

We had a quick lunch here after visiting the cathedral. A reasonable choice of sandwiches, cakes & scones. Indoor and outdoor seating.

Peckish and with a bit of time to kill I saw the sign to the right of the west front of the cathedral. Opened till 5 on this Saturday. Impressive stone tracery and good stained glass. Plenty of character, history and some good Plain tables. Welcoming staff served a decent pot of tea and a fair sized chunk of rocky road. Just what I needed and very good value.

I am so glad the Red Coat our guide pointed us in the direction of this wonderful cafe. This is where we will come every time we visit.

We just couldn't walk past the inviting site of the tables on the lawn of the Cathedral Cafe, and since it was Elevenses, well... Inside is a modern and very clean and inviting casual style cafe which really has that ecclesiastical feel to it.

We had lunch in the Cathedral Café after doing the roof tour and the Cathedral itself. We only had a light lunch of soup, cheese scones and salad and drinks. The cappuccino was great and so was the elderflower and apple drink, but the soup didn't have any taste and the salad was rather tired which was disappointing. The staff were great but rushed off there feet as everyone arrived at 1pm and the setting was lovely with fresh flowers on the tables and the beautiful stained glass windows. The prices were not expensive.

Ok so you are in Exeter. You want a cafe that isn’t a chain, a greasy spoon or has unpleasant surroundings. If you do want freshly prepared food, and a break from the hustle and bustle of the town, with a nice quiet surrounding, then find the Cathedral cafe. It’s situated to the right of the cathedral and has a large number of tables both outside and in. The cafe offers many lunch options, including different sandwiches, toasted ciabattas, jacket potato’s, quiches and soups. They also serve cakes which looked delicious. We ordered a lovely quiche, a freshly homemade soup, of which was carrot and coriander and came with a smaller sandwich, a toasted chicken, bacon and mozzarella ciabatta, and a brie and chutney sandwich. This all came to £25 with a couple of drinks. It was freshly prepared and came out really quickly. The staff we saw were also very friendly. All in all it was a great lunch and we would definitely visit again.

Vlak naast de kathedraal, verscholen in een oude kapel. Een heerlijke plek om te genieten van rust en heerlijk eten en drinken in een bijzondere, hartelijke en inspirerende sfeer. Binnen of in de tuin.

This cafe is very quaint. It offers a large selection of drinks and food. The hot chocolate was the best I had tasted. The cakes were delicious

The Groupon deal for the cathedral and cream tea is amazing so if it's still on grab it!

We were in Exeter City Centre and went into The Cathedral Cafe for Breakfast. Lovely Old Building and plenty of space with lots of Tables Inside & Outside allowing you to sit in Peace and admire the beautiful architecture & stonework. Fairly extensive Menu. Overlong Breakfast, Lunch and Snacks with tempting Home Made Cakes on View to wet your appetite. Our choices on this occasion were a Bacon Sandwich each Cappuccino and a Pot of Tea. With fresh drinking water available the visit was a pleasant surprise.

We stopped by the Cathedral cafe this week for a quick coffee and were pleasantly surprised at how good it was.

The food is good (particularly the soup) the staff are friendly and the prices are reasonable. It can get a bit busy at times but when you have a great place that tends to happen.

This is a jolly café - perfect for a sit-down after visiting the wonderful cathedral.

Wanted something light for lunch so had a cream tea.

Modestly sized this cafe is right next door to the cathedral and serves reasonably priced fare. Helpful staff though it was a little slow to get hot drinks. Clean toilets.

Leckere Kuchen und Kaffee, freundliches Personal. Von dem Espresso ist abzuraten, bitter wie Galle und scheußlicher Geschmack.

Lunch on two consecutive Fridays, Not a very extensive menu, but food was presented well and fairly quick service. Chilli jacket potato good size,chiabata,lot of filling but too much for me.Prices reasonable.

Having had an entertaining and educational tour of the Cathedral we thought we'd pop into the cafe. We both chose the leek and potato soup as it was such a cold day.

I absolutely love this cafe. It's a wonderful place to get a cup of tea and a scone or toasted tea cake. They have lovely soups and rolls as well; it can be slightly drafty by the door, but it's a very friendly and cosy cafe.

Just wanted a coffee really and this cathedral cafe was just the ticket servicing good coffee and food snacks available. Located near to Exeter Cathedral.

se prima di entrare nella cattedrale fate una sosta nel cafè vi farete un'idea i quello che vedrete all'interno... vetrate con mosaici, pareti con bassorilievi gotici.... Avendo visto come preparava un caffè espresso ho voluto provare.. assolutamente un vero caffè espresso italiano, tanto era buono che gli ho fatto i complimenti e lasciato una buona mancia!

Just popped in for an early morning cup of coffee. Excellent friendly service. Very nice cup of coffee and reasonably priced. The setting is gorgeous and so peaceful. Highly recommend to Exeter people and visitors.

I was pleased we could reserve a table at a busy time in the school holidays. And the food on offer was good value, albeit a limited selection. But very good e.g. baked potatoes, quiches, salads etc. However the web site shows a couple of children's offerings which were not available, and the girl at the service area had no knowledge that the web site showed these.

We love visiting Cathedrals and there's invariably a coffee shop attached or nearby. This particular Café is in part of the attached ancient buildings and is a very pleasant place to spend a little time, sipping coffee (or tea) and sampling a cake! There are toilets available inside the café itself, so don't worry about using the ones outside, for which you need a special code to enter. The code is available from the desk at the entrance to the Cathedral itself. Service was pleasant and professional and the food and drinks were of good quality. We were there late morning and were keen to return for afternoon tea before returning to our holiday cottage. Unfortunately, we arrived just gone 4.00pm to find it had already just closed. To be honest, that seems a little early given that the Cathedral is one of the main tourist attractions in the city of Exeter and there were still plenty of people around, despite the rain. I'd definitely recommend this place, which is quieter and less commercial than the other offerings nearby.

very cosy cafe, good choice of coffee and cakes. plesant, helpfull staff. just what is needed after walking around the Cathedral

Lovely setting around the side of Exeter Cathedral. However the coffees our group had were cold and when I complained to waiter, his response was 'oh dear' and he walked away to the kitchen of the cafe! Will not be returning for coffee when there are so many other equally lovely cafes in Exeter.

When visiting Exeter there was a massive Craft Fair on the Cathedral Green and the city was heaving. This eatery was comparatively quiet and easily disabled accessible. It was a hot sunny day and I took advantage of sitting inside when I went there for some lunch. I had the pepper quiche with salad and a cold drink. Really tasty and enjoyable. Later in the day I met up with some family and friends and we sat outside with drinks and cakes. The disabled toilet was accessible via a door from the courtyard but that door needed a code. Luckily someone coming out held the door open for me to go in. However, I still have no idea from where I would obtain the necessary code.

The café is situated just around the corner from the cathedral. The building is very traditional, wood and stained glass windows. Light meals are served, my wife and I had the jacket potato and salad for lunch, lovely. Staff are very friendly and helpful.

We stopped here for a welcome cup of coffee. Lovely room, very pleasant to sit for a short break from the bustle. Let's face it how often do you have a coffee with a bishop at the next table. The only downside was the constant trek of people coming to use the toilet, Exeter is not endowed with a wealth of public toilet facilities!

The ideal place to silence tummy rumbles before entering the hallowed portals next door - Satisfying soup, cauli cheese on the day we visited, with a hunk of good fresh bread, scrummy filled rolls and a splendid selection of cakes.

Great building and tucked away to the rear of the Cathedral. Worth going into to see the interior and had a good coffee and cheese scone in there. Staff member very helpful. Surprisingly quiet in there and excellent value.

Location surrounded by stained glass and the seats are now made more comfortable with cushions. Standard cafe fare but has lot's of character.

I've visited the Cathedral a few times but I had no idea about the lovely cafe and really recommend it.

We visit here a lot. Reasonably priced, with a great choice of fresh dishes, plus a good selection of cakes, biscuits and tray bakes (plus freshly baked scones). On this occasion we chose chunky vegetable soup, which was delicious.

Lovely place, the food was scrumptious and the tea was nice to. The prices are not to bad, compared to outside the green?

The cafe has self service for for drinks and cakes and this is where the problems/comedy began.

Lovely homemade cake & drinks tucked away inside a corner of the cathedral at a reasonable price. Plenty of space

Whilst visiting the Cathedral, we took the advantage of the cafe for lunch. Excellent range of home produced English food served by friendly polite staff in cloister like location - a gem to eat in, and quality for money.

Although some items are only available at limited times the menu is sufficiently broad that you will find something to your liking and at a reasonable price.

Only had a coffee there but it was a beautiful setting and friendly staff. Great for a break if the tour is too long for you.

This is a lovely meeting place for wonderful coffee and hot chocolates to die for ! Service is friendly and efficient . On fine days it is lovely to sit outside facing Cathedral green and watching comings and goings. The choice of drinks is varied and of excellent standard . One of our party succumbed to delicious scones another chose a heart warming soup and declared it the best ever . We have stopped here several times for a respite from shopping and have never been disappointed .

Delightful cafe that compliments the cathedral. This was our pit stop before we continued the visit to the cathedral.

An excellent place to have a snack during a visit to Exeter. Whilst the café was full the chatter was subdued. Ideal for adults or quiet children.

Very clean and nice food, great for a cuppa and cake, gardens are very peaceful and you forget how close you are to the busy town

Have called in here a number of times for coffee - which is very good. This time however we decided to have lunch. There is a limited choice (which is no bad thing) but the quality was very good. This time we were too late for the breakfast menu which finishes at 11.30 - I can recommend the scrambled egg on toast.

after visiting the cathedral we popped into the café. had a very enjoyable tea and scone. it is just like sitting in the cathedral its self, the staff were very helpful and friendly

The cafe serves a good breakfast and is excellent value. The staff are helpful and the surroundings unusual

After spending a couple of hours looking around the Cathedral we went round to the cafe for lunch. The food is excellent and the staff are all very friendly.

After a long wander round the Cathedral or even after local shopping it is an excellent place to sit and unwind. In summer you can sit in the open courtyard by the Cathedral.

Noted sign for tapas. Tried to order bottle of wine since advertised bottles from 12.50 pounds. Only wine was single serving. Good wine but not what advertised. Food was great.

Although the Cathedral is worth paying for, the cafe takes the calm away. The coffee/tea must have been made with Holy water and the cakes made with manna from the Old Testament. Honestly!!!!! Where do you get your prices from?

I really don't know about the cafe in ge neral. All I can say is that we had the best cheese scone every. it is a comfortable place, and was full, so maybe that says all you need to know

This cafe seems very popular at lunchtime. We were lucky to get a table! Had a very enjoyable lunch at a reasonable price. The quiche was very nice.

We popped in for lunch,what a great find,good quality food,and cakes,lots of homemade goodies,the staff are fantastic,we were served by a lovely blonde haired girl,who it turned out is the manager,it soon got busy and easy to see why,good food good service good prices,what more do you want,perfect.

To the side of the Cathedral is an ancient doorway through which you enter the cafe. It is basic but beautiful, ancient stone walls and wooden benches. Food is served at one end of the cafe where you can collect hot and cold drinks and snacks and order hot food. Much is self service and you may be asked if you mind sharing a table but the welcome is warm and the food is excellent value and wholesome. It is my favourite central venue for a coffee stop or light lunch - give it a try!

If you fancy a break from the hustle and bustle of Exeter city centre (which is well worth a visit) then the Cathedral café is a little gem. Under a splendid vaulted roof you can enjoy really good value refreshments and light meals/afternoon tea and admire the stained glass windows and stone floors. We had lunch on a very busy Thursday before Christmas but had no problem finding a vacant table. There is a good selection of light snacks and cakes and service was prompt. The tables are cleared in a timely fashion, too. The furniture is plain and simple but that goes with the setting.