The best restaurants serving Mediterranean food in Exeter South West

Love this restaurant and cannot wait for it to reopen, food was always absolutely amazing, my two kids love going here and are always made to feel welcome by the owner and his staff. Such a shame a fire forced them to close last summer, but hopefully will reopen soon

Our journey home to Birmingham from Newquay led us to Al-Farid in Exeter, a restaurant we'd chosen based on its strong online reputation as a top halal establishment. Unfortunately, our experience was far from satisfactory. Upon arrival, despite having a booked table, we were told to wait for our seat. While the waiting area was pleasant, it was an unexpected delay. We were eventually taken upstairs to our table. We ordered the set menu, selection for 2, specifically asking if it would be enough for the four of us (2 adults, and boys aged 7 & 9), and were assured it would be. The starter didn’t take long to arrive, and it both looked amazing and tasted very good, giving us a genuinely pleasant surprise. However, the main course, a mixed grill, was a massive letdown. It looked amazing like the starters, but its taste was awful. The potatoes were undercooked, and all the meat was overcooked and tasted burnt, as if it had been grilled for far too long. We hardly finished the main, marking it as a total disappointment. We found it difficult to get a server's attention to highlight this issue. When we finally spoke to the manager, he was very apologetic, but he didn’t offer to replace the mains. Even if he had, we likely wouldn't have accepted, as the meal was taking longer than we expected. We simply asked for our Baklava, which was part of the set menu, and ordered a couple of coffees. When the bill arrived, we were expecting a percentage would be taken off due to the inedible main course. Instead, only the coffee we ordered was taken off the bill, which was a little disappointing. The total bill was £86, a sum we felt wasn’t worth what we ate. Regarding the restaurant's ambiance, the deco was very authentic, although it felt a tad tacky. The tables were very close together, making us feel slightly uncomfortable with other diners very close to each other. Overall, our visit was a disappointing experience for a place that was recommended highly online. We found it to be overpriced, overhyped, and overrated.

Brilliant food, friendly staff. We had not booked but they fitted us in. Recommended to book a table if you are there at weekend. Food was fresh and delicious. Lamb shish was lovely, salads dips and breads all fresh. Baklava was amazing.

Very pleasant light lunch on canopied terrace. Excellent fresh soup & brie/ cranberry toasties + coffee. The centre is welcoming and a little scuffed which makes it very 'Arty' with amiable staff. Would have given it 5-stars but there is no need to have plastic grass dotted about?!!!

La comida era absolutamente genial, fuimos con algunos amigos y pedimos varios de los platos de tapas para compartir con una botella de vino. Sinceramente, fue tan delicioso que realmente nos encantó, y el servicio fue bueno. La única razón por la que son 4 estrellas y no 5 es porque la ubicación no es excelente, está justo enfrente de la salida del estacionamiento, por lo que de vez en cuando se iluminan los faros que brillan en el restaurante. . tal vez algunas persianas o vidrios polarizados ayudarían? Sin embargo, no me puedo quejar de la comida, ¡volveremos!