The Lighter Inn, Topsham in Exeter

A group of us met in Topsham for a walk and lunch. Not knowing how many would turn up, I had booked for 12. In the event, there were 17 all keen for a lunch. All credit to the team at The Lighter for accommodating us all on a very busy day, even managing when we turned up an hour earlier than planned. The food was excellent, the service too. Wholeheartedly recommend the smoky fish pie. Best fish pie I have ever eaten, and I have tasted quite a lot. Well done chef. Handshake from the South Devon Ramblers.

Lighter Inn plated roast was the best I have had for a long time. Great service and great relaxing place to eat. Well done the lighter good to see some places still can provide great meals.

Lovely spot on the Topsham Quay to watch the sunset with a pint!

Very underwhelming nearly £17 each for what looked like a microwave meal not impressed and would not recommend!

Really accommodating and friendly staff with quick service! Food and drink were absolutely delicious!! Highly recommend

I went for lunch with a friend. The steak in a ciabatta roll was so tough I could only eat half of the meat. My friend ordered the club sandwich which didn't have any chicken in it. When I took it back for her I was told that they don't put slices of chicken in it, the chicken is mixed in with the mayo. There was definitely no chicken at all in the sandwich she was served, it was just a piece of bacon, a bit of salad and mayo. I wouldn't recommend anyone eats there based on what we were served.

Great ambience, friendly staff, tasty food, inexpensive. I felt very comfortable here!

Met here when picking up family for a weeks stay in the area and impressed with the location and menu returned for the full dining experience later in the week and were not disappointed. Food good across a range of options, wide choice of beer and despite being very busy service remained friendly and timely.

Very nice pub overlooking the water. Food was good ,normal pub grub

Very dissapointed took my friend for a birthday lunch. Our fish finger sandwich was OK but the chips were luke warm and soggy. My husbands cheese and ham toasty was appalling the bread was all soggy and half the filling was under the sandwich ? Looked like it had been dropped on the floor and plonked back on the plate! No garnish or anything I wish I'd taken a photo of it. We sent it back and after 10 minutes he was asked if he wanted a replacement ??!! We had finished our meals by this time. Also the service was not great the man behind the bar was very surley and not very friendly..unable to make eye contact. We had a bad experience here a few years ago but thought we'd give them anther chance but I'm afraid we won't be returning ever again..

Excellent pub on the key side for something to eat, be it a light snack or lunch. We had the sharing platter, delicious. Good selection of real ales highly recommended.

Strolling through Topsham we ended up deciding to have dinner at the Lighter. We certainly weren't disappointed. Good food in a very relaxing atmosphere with great staff always willing to help. It's been a very long time, decades, since I last had a beer in the pub. Was nice to go back again. Geoff

Service with a smile. Food delivered quickly and hot. Not our first visit and not our last. Well done to all. Mentions for Pat, James and Freya.

A severe disappointment compared to previous experiences. Poor communication by staff and an unwieldy tablet-based allergy system. Despite being local we will not return.

There were an unexpectedly large number of guests for a Monday Evening, but we were greeted and found an alcove table for five people straight away. Staff coped brilliantly despite the number of guests, and made us feel welcome. We enjoyed a good meal. Excellent. We look forward to returning. September 2022. Another excellent meal with a last minute booking. Sept 2024. Unfortunately totally chaotic, will not return.

Great place super staff quick service

I haven't been to the Lighter since it became a Hall and Woodhouse. I have always enjoyed the pub with a great setting next to Topsham quay, a lovely indoor area and a great outdoor area now vastly improved. The atmosphere early was good with numerous drinkers and diners. The prices of food and drink were fairly high so I was expecting good quality food. I was unfortunately very disappointed with both the starter and the main course. The food was extremely mediocre and not worth the money. Service was good and was able to order everything through a phone app. I would go again for drinks but would not dine again.

Lovely walk around Topsham in the beautiful sunny weather. Stopped here for a drink and a bite to eat, was lovely.

Beautiful setting, don't expect fine dinning, it is what it is, but worth it for the setting

Lovely drinks outside in the early evening sunshine, perfect!

In Topsham for a walk and relaxing moment. So to achieve this a pub and food shoukd be on the cards. We stopped here at The Lighter, great food, great views and great staff. A definite stop if you're in Topsham.

Lovely staff are friendly it was mint. from Manchester

Lovely staff & great food. The views are amazing x

Lovely staff, atmosphere and food - all in a great experience. Been a good few times and it's always consistent too, which is great!

We arrived just as the manager was about to close the kitchen but she greeted us and said she’d keep the kitchen open until we’d ordered. All the staff were very pleasant and the food was piping hot and delicious.

Food is great and fairly priced, decent service, lovely atmosphere, clean bathrooms. Only slight negative is the drinks areca little pricey. Overall a nice destination.

Visited for the first time last week. Staff were very friendly, and the pub is really nice inside. We all ordered via the app, and everything arrived quickly. Can't fault!

Food was good but not impressed with a 10% service charge when you have to go to the bar to order your food and get your own drinks ! What's the 10% for? Bringing the food out ?

good to have chill afternoon with tge nice view. for me tge sandwich filling tastes a bit too strong for me, if less mustard getting better balance with beer would be better, I think, as I cant taste any beer with it.

Lady who greeted us couldn't get us a table together but found us 2 tabled close together to sit so we didn't have to be turned away

Although the food was of a reasonable quality I felt it could have been better, seemed a little rushed, with the prawn sandwich with very fishy prawns, this may sound strange but with prawns if fresh have little fishy flavour! Also seemed a tad expensive for what was average food. Not impressed with the Gulls circling overhead not very hygienic. Shame.

Very blend food with no flavour. More like a microwave food. Had sausages mash and vegetarian curry.. Sausages not great quality and vegetarian curry was more like a blend soup

Awful Experience- Went to The Lighter in Topsham today, ordered food, went outside to the bench and when I went to sit down I put my hand in red sauce on the seat, then had to move other peoples empty glasses, then we waited patiently for over 40 minutes to then have someone tell us the oven and grill had broken and the engineer is now here fixing it?? Then when I ordered a prawn sandwich instead it came half filled with lots of lettuce with a few prawns with warm fries and a 15 inch hair in with the fries, I couldn’t eat any more. My wife wouldn’t let me go inside to complain. Then I ordered a cheesecake which after eating half of it I noticed a grey hair inside it also, this hair looked like a dog hair. I dread to think how that got into my desert. Then when I got the bill I saw I was charged £6.99 for a bottled soft drink and £9.99 for a large wine, the soft drink was very small and not tasty and the wine was served in a large glass and only a third full, in all we were told we were having a Monday discount which didn’t make any difference so for the whole awful experience it cost me and my wife over £50, I keep thinking about the hairs in the food and it’s making me feel physically ill.

Lovely spot on Topsham Quay and dog friendly, food isnt the greatest could really do with some TLC and an overhaul. We had fish and chips, fish was ok with a few chunky chips thrown on, mushy peas were watery. Double cheeseburger, burger patties were grey and overcooked and hadnt seen a grill, pretty tasteless, Burgers are better at a Wetherspoons.

The waitress was lovely but the food was not good

Amazing pub, always has been. Lovely spot, food looks great and nice friendly staff. I was however, very disappointed that they still don’t cater for coeliacs. They advertise that most meals can be adapted to gluten free but then state the food is likely to be cooked in the same fryer as everything else. This means you don’t do gluten free!! Please don’t advertise you can On your app when in fact you can’t . It can be quite harmful to some.

Always a good stopping point after a walk from Darts Farm or elsewhere. Reasonable weather on a summers evening meant we could sit and eat outside by the Quay.

Very disappointed with the food gone off salad but did refund me

Lovely outside seating area quick service

Rustic location, centrally located, cosy and delicious food in the evening. Super service, good selection of food and drinks. Highly recommended.

Although the actual pub is lovely and the staff are friendly it is very disorganised and the food is mediocre at best. I order Fish n Chips (a pub classic), the presentation was unprofessional with a huge piece of very thin fish and no more the 10 chips lying underneath it. There was a small half empty pot of something resembling mushy peas and the while thing was warm not hot. I finished off with an espresso which was cold. Nir a great experience.

Had a great meal for Father In Law's birthday, 8 of us in total, Beth our server was first class a credit to this establishment. We had a variety of starters, mains & desserts all very tasty. Would highly recommend

Good service, food lacking flavour and ingredients, s Fish pie mainly potatoes, no smoked fish or prawns although advertised as smoky fish pie?

Sadly, we were disappointed. I'm the end the options for vegetarian were a bit limited. The food was disappointing and portions were small. And the staff were a bit brusque when responding to queries. A shame as the pub seems to have a load of potential.

Had to wait 25 minutes for the deserts. Knickerbocker glories were served melted. Monday deal of 33% off food was not applied to the desserts. Problems reported to the Bar staff, whilst paying the bill, we just ignored.

Great pub went on Monday with 30 percent off what a great deal we had a great meal thanks cheers

Good value, amazing fish & chips

Lovely atmospheric pub (even on a wet Tuesday in summer!) Beer is well kept and is very dog friendly

Roast was average, 1 carrot, 1 parsnip, and some peas. 3 overcooked roast potatoes must have been on heat all afternoon, 3 slices of beef were fine and a big yorkshire pud, the only saving grace was that it was only £10 after 6.00pm on a Sunday.

Friendly staff. Very busy for a Tuesday lunch time. Food presented well with good sized portions. Nothing to much trouble for the staff.

Good welcome from cheerful staff. Good tasty food

Lovely staff. Plenty of seating. Food tasty

We went to take advantage of the highly recommended Friday offer of fish and chips for 2 for only £20. We only had the fish and chips and an admittedly large glass of white wine each and were surprised to discover the bill was for £43 because the wine was £11.50 a glass!

Nice place with first class food and friendly service. Had sausage and mash and macaroni cheese with bacon. Both very tasty and cooked well. Bonus was being Monday we had an offer on of 33% off! Can’t fault the place

Over £30 for a cheese toasty, soup, 2 luke warm bowls of fries and drinks. Daylight robbery.

Stopped for a pint and a coffee. Service was great, friendly staff, great atmosphere. Sat outside in the sunshine. Will definitely eat there, next time.

Lovely pub on the quay at Topsham, loads of outside seating on a beautiful day and brilliantly, they have three different Badger beers on tap: Tanglefoot, Fursty Ferret and Best bitter. What's not to love?

Lovely setting, good food , great value. Service with a smile. Certainly will return. ( so please get proper spoons for knickerbocker glory 😂 )

Called in for lunch and was not disappointed. Lovely inside and outside seating in a quayside setting.

We had a really disappointing experience at the Lighter Inn this evening. I am a coeliac, therefore to be gluten free is not a choice; it’s a necessity. There were little or no gluten free options on the menu and I was offered prawn cocktail, a chilli burger without the bun or a halloumi salad (without the halloumi!). I opted for the salad which consisted of new potatoes, tomatoes and green salad. When paying the bill I was charged £14 for a halloumi salad, when questioning this I was told that I could not be charged for a green salad as it was not on the menu and it was my choice to not have halloumi. To be a coeliac is not a choice! After some debate the salad cost was removed from the bill, in order to ‘get her out of my face’. I have never been spoken to in this way in a restaurant or pub. I am not the sort of person to argue or make a fuss about the quality of food or service lightly, but this was a pretty awful experience. In 2024 it is unacceptable to be faced with such a poor gluten free menu, but to then be told that a price concession was only made to get me ‘out of his face’ is unbelievable. The whole bill for two meals was refunded, which we did not ask for and I am quite certain that this gesture was made to get rid of us. Very upsetting experience and would not recommend.

Poor service, arrived at 10 pm to be told they are closed! As they don’t see the need to open till 11 pm (normal pub hours) due to a lack of customers! The fact that there’s was over 12 people at the venue already drinking and 4 more of us that had just turned up, then to be told if we wish buy a drink “the pub up the road the Globe will be open till 11pm”. I was shocked! We did go to the Globe and spent £56 on drinks and snacks, and received a very warm welcome. I’m sure we have all heard how the pub trade is struggling! And with this kind of awful service I can see why.

Two small glasses of very ordinary lime and lemonade, £15 ! Unlike me , be prepared to say,"No" and walk away before ordering here.

Visited here for a wake. The food was good being a mix of both hot & cold dishes. Always difficult when there is not an exact number of guests known. The staff were heloful and I saw good communication between the manager and the family. As this is not a place I was familiar with I was impressed by what they delivered.

Only stopped for a cider and a packet of crisps but the service was great and we sat outside in the sunshine also great

Sunday lunch, beef so tuff left nearly all of if. Complained and got 'I will tell the chef' as a response. Won't be going back.

Pleasant enough, a great view, plenty of seating, but as usual for Topsham a bit over priced

Great value for money. Friday fish and chips two for £20. Told wait time 45 minutes but can either 15 minutes. Pleasant friendly staff.

Having been to The Lighter for several fantastic Christmas work meals, I arranged for a surprise birthday party here. From start to finish, Debbie & her team were brilliant! Nothing was too much to ask and we had a lovely time! Even catering for us on a busy Bank holiday weekend, we felt taken care of. Food was great & service excellent. Thank you for your all your help! 😊

Top Mac & cheese, finished with an Argentinean Malbec! Courtesy of deb our waitress x

Great food, excellent service - staff amazing Especially James and Pat.

Origins date back to 13th century as part of the old Customs House. Popular pub with plenty of seating inside and outside close to the quay. Good food and a nice selection of beers. Friendly staff. The position of the old fireplace can just about be made out, now that it has been extensively modernised.

Great food with an amazing atmosphere. The place was busy but the service was still top notch. Plus the view is spectacular.

Service and food was amazing. Jackie as well as all the bar staff were very helpful. 10/10 would recommend.

Great food and great views from the beer garden

Great pub in a really good spot - the manager was really accommodating of my wife's dietary requirements and we couldn't thank her enough. Our second visit this year and will definitely be back.

Mojito was not correct, big chunks of ice, made with lime squash, couple of lime wedges not muddled or squeezed, not enough mint, placed on top without any muddling, dried lime slice?? No straw. Nachos came with a weird cream cheese with a gross jelly texture, maybe non fat or stabilised? Tired salsa was mostly liquid, flavourless guacamole, very little meat sauce.

Just because this place is on the quay and looks nice and buzzing, don't make it your first choice for food.Ive done many reviews an iam honest about the food I've been served but this one I would not recommend. Chilli con carne with beef should be with beef, not just beans, and the rice should be hot, not just warm .My food was just OK, nothing special for the price . Yes, it was acknowledged by the manager, and a refund was given as the food was hardly touched but I felt the standard of food wasn't there and we were one if the first people to be served so it wasn't busy.

Lovely setting, quick service and good choice.

We traveled from the US to see Jackie and Debbie. Always such a pleasure!

Warm friendly Hall and Woodhouse pub, usual beer selection.

Only had drinks was gonna get a coffee but only soya milk

Friendly welcome, great service and the fish and chips were delicious! Great offer for two good portions.

Lovely experience. Loved the customer service and attention to detail with the drinks! The fish pie was awesome. Thank you xxxx

Phoned to ask for a table with a view as it was a birthday lunch. Lovely lady sorted that for us even though we booked on the actual day. Pub was very busy and we did have to wait for quite some time for our main meals. But staff were great very friendly food was good. So unless your in a real hurry or don't want a wait, which may just have been because the sun was finally shining 😄I recommend

Great food and exceptional service 👌🏼

Poor service, wrong drinks brought to the table. It seems that the bar staff can’t tell the difference between orange juice and pineapple juice. Apparently they come in similar bottles.!! After about 40 minutes the food came. My food was cold and I asked the waitress if they could bring me a hot meal. She wasn’t best pleased that someone had the audacity to complain and she took the plate away and brought it back within a couple of minutes saying, comically, to mind my hands because the fish had just been put back in the fryer and it was hot. Pity the food underneath was still cold. Coulda’t believe that my friend had a meal served to him that he didn’t order and was told that if he wanted what he ordered he would have to wait. It was only because we were with friends that we didn’t walk out. All in all a very unpleasant experience. Won’t be back.

Great service & lovely affordable food as well as making us welcome with 2 dogs .

The food was okay but the main issue I had was with who I assume was the manager? They refused to serve me a beer because I didn’t have ID (I’m 20 and just left it at home) which is usually the correct thing to do! However I was at a big family meal and legally, pubs may serve people under 17 if they are drinking with a meal, or with other people over 18 who are buying alcohol. I explained this to them because I myself work in a pub and have done for a while, and had to complete a training course on the legislation surrounding identification of minors for alcohol consumption. The manager was really rude, didn’t listen to what I was saying and the irony of the whole situation is he had SERVED me only two days prior without asking for ID?! I feel it’s rude and quite invasive to ID people DURING a meal and not the correct protocol. He completely bluffed his way through the situation, claiming this pub was exempt from that rule, and that it follows different rules to other pubs. He also then had quite a lot of attitude when bringing our drinks over, refusing to properly call them out. Poor experience, I’m usually not one to leave reviews but I felt frustrated that at a meal with my own family I couldn’t enjoy a beer because the staff didn’t know correct pub laws.

We had the fish Friday, was very nice .

We had a great time. The staff are excellent and thats what it is really all about. Good customer service.

Very average food. Prawn cocktail needs improvement, tiny prawns,and not many of them on a bed of old shredded matted lettuce. Helpful staff though,couldn't fault them.

Love Topsham, but avoid this place at all costs... The person (🐽) refused to offer a table because we were only drinking... I drink champagne darling.. You lost more money off me today than some fool eating your microwaved gross food..The Globe, just 2 mins away is the place to go...

The Lighter Inn is always a great place to eat with delicious food and a drink. Good venue selection whether popping in for for lunch or an evening meal. It's a popular venue so reserving a table might be a good idea at the weekends.

It is a few years since I last visited The Lighter. Same busy warm atmosphere, same friendly and helpful staff, good beer but unfortunately the food is no better than average now. The menu is pretty much what you'd expect from a chain pub with no daily specials board. Portion control definitely applies so adequate but not 'hearty'. Main meals were ok but unexciting and lacked care in presentation. Choice and quality of desserts was poor. Nevertheless, if you're looking for a nice place to meet up with friends, drink some good Badger beers and aren't too fussed about the food then this is a good place to go. It will be lovely in the spring and summer when the new outdoor terrace, facing the river, is finished. The bar staff are a credit to the pub.

Ive been coming here for some years now and had great meals but sadly this time a little underwhelmed with the food and service. This great spot is always going have its tables booked up quickly and I suspect the restaurant has sat back and doesnt now really have to try very hard. But I've been to many restaurants now where the competition is much higher and the service and food can be outstanding in comparison, with very small touches that can make a massive difference to customers that don't cost a lot. I'm only posting this as a supporter of the lighter inn and as a criticism to help the restaurant go further and that it can be more successful.

Very nice pub on the old quayside in Topsham - good ambience and a warm welcome - our lunch was extremely nice and prices reasonable - recommended !

We had a great lunch, though we were spoilt for choice on the menu. Definitely will have to return to sample the rest. Greeted warmly. Very good attitude to allergies, felt very safe. Don’t often say that these days in other eateries. Overall a great experience. Looking forward to seeing the new outdoor seating area.

Popped in for lunch as we were meeting our daughter in Topsham. Great food, dog friendly with dedicated dog area, and very relaxing. Loved our visit.

A super chilled out pub with great food and friendly service. Dog friendly and perfect for a long lunch. Burger was fantastic, as was the fish pie and canneloni. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit after a walk around Topsham which is a pretty little village.

Wonderful location coupled with great staff, delicious food and a thoroughly enjoyable Sunday afternoon. Definitely one to visit again and again.