The Best Pubs in Exeter and Around
Ask five locals to name the best pubs in Exeter and you will get five different answers, all defensible. The city has Wetherspoon classics with serious architecture, a riverside pub with rooms, a student favourite that has become a citywide institution, and (a short drive away) one of the most photographed pubs in Britain. This is the working shortlist we hand to people moving into the area.
Riverside drinking: the Mill on the Exe
If the sun is out, start with the Mill on the Exe on Bonhay Road. It is a converted paper mill on the riverside, just a few minutes’ walk from the city centre, with waterside gardens looking out over Blackaller Weir and the Millstone footbridge. St Austell Brewery has owned it since 1994, so expect Tribute and Proper Job on the pumps. Food runs noon to 9pm daily, and the pub also offers eleven rooms upstairs if you want to skip the journey home. Mains are ££, the garden is dog-friendly, and on a warm Saturday it fills early.
Walk five minutes south along the river and you are at the Quayside, where most evenings have at least one pub spilling onto the cobbles. The Welcome Inn down in Haven Banks and the Prospect Inn on the Quay itself are both reliable for a pint after a riverside wander.
Late-night Exeter: the Old Fire House
The Old Fire House on New North Road is the kind of pub that has become shorthand for student Exeter, though plenty of staff and locals are in there every night too. The building used to house horse-drawn fire engines; today the appeal is the late kitchen, a busy upstairs, and a candle-lit ground floor that fills up by 9pm at weekends. Pizza is the move, and it is one of the few places in the city where you can still get a hot meal at midnight on a Friday. Expect £, busy crowds, and no booking.
Wetherspoon classics
Two Wetherspoon pubs in Exeter punch well above the chain average. The Imperial on New North Road sits inside Elmfield House, an 1810 Grade II* listed building with an orangery and conservatory that is genuinely impressive. The garden is huge, breakfast runs until noon, and the cask list is among the longest in any UK Wetherspoon. The Sawyer’s Arms on Cowick Street in St Thomas is the southside equivalent, useful if you are based on that side of the river or coming back from a walk along the Exe valley. Prices throughout are firmly £.
Heavitree and the eastern locals
Heavitree, the suburb east of the city centre, still trades on its brewing history (the Heavitree Brewery Co. once supplied much of Devon, even if it no longer brews). The Horse and Groom on Fore Street Heavitree is a community local a few yards from the original brewery site, and the Royal Oak nearby keeps a loyal following despite no longer serving food. A pint at either is a useful detour after a Ludwell Valley Park walk; both pubs are about fifteen minutes by bus from the High Street.
Worth the drive: Topsham pubs
If you want to taste the best of the wider area, head down the Exe Estuary to Topsham, about four miles south of the city centre. The Bridge Inn at Topsham was named Devon Pub of the Year 2025 by The Daily Telegraph and remains one of Britain’s most unspoilt pubs: still in the same family since 1897, still pouring real ale from a hatch into your hand, with no food beyond a ploughman’s. It is a museum piece you can drink in.
A short walk away, the Salutation Inn is a contrast: 300 years of trade, a serious kitchen under Tom and Amelia Williams-Hawkes, a fishmonger counter on site, and rooms upstairs. The bar opens at 8.30am seven days a week for coffee and pastries. Food sits in the £££ bracket for the restaurant; the bar menu is more accessible.
Getting between them
Topsham is twenty minutes by car, slightly longer by the Avocet Line train from Exeter Central or St David’s. Parking in the village is limited at weekends; the station is the smarter approach. Many Topsham pubs allow dogs in bar areas but not restaurant areas, so check before you sit down.
Choosing between them
For a sunny afternoon, pick the Mill on the Exe or the Bridge Inn. For a wet Tuesday, the Old Fire House does the work. For breakfast at 9am with a pint of Tribute in front of you, the Imperial. None of these are secrets, but together they cover most of what you would want from the best pubs in Exeter, across price, mood, and weather.
Planning a longer weekend? Browse our Central Exeter food and drink section for more on where to eat between pints.