Hubbox - Exeter

During my first negative experience, I ordered a cider and was served a bottle along with a glass that turned out to be dirty. I also ordered onion rings but found there were more dough than rings. It took ages to get through to the actual onion rings, which were overly greasy. I ended up drinking straight from the bottle instead of complaining, especially since the waiter shot me a pointed look as he passed by. Given that Exeter's best vegan spots require a trek and have less-than-pleasant hours, I decided to give Hubbox another chance after a long day. I visited again with a friend, and it was a much nicer experience: the atmosphere was relaxed, warm, and cozy, and there were appealing vegan options on the menu. We returned for more of their delicious rosemary fries and planned to try other heavier vegan dishes in the future. However, my last visit will definitely be my last, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. We wanted to go upstairs like before, but were bluntly told that it was closed. So, we sat at the chilly window on a gray, rainy day, feeling disheartened as we watched customers being seated upstairs. We ordered herbal tea, but the waiter initially said it wasn’t available. After ordering something else, he returned to inform us that our original tea order was, in fact, available, so we switched back. When the tea arrived, it was served in plastic cups, which immediately raised alarm bells. Upon closer inspection, the cups were worn, scratched, and discolored, while my friend’s cup even had an old lipstick mark on it. They looked like something you’d find in second-hand camping gear! How can a place be so unclean? I genuinely felt uneasy, imagining all the potential germs around. We were upset and wanted to leave, even though we were hungry and exhausted. When we informed the staff about the dirty cups, they merely looked at us blankly and suggested getting new ones without any friendliness or apology, as if it was the most obvious solution and we were overreacting. To make matters worse, we saw another customer drinking from a teapot that looked just as questionable. Overall, it was an incredibly disappointing experience that I won’t be repeating.

The food was quite good, but my meal was served cold. There are plenty of better options out there.

I tried one of the vegan burgers, and it was absolutely delicious!

I got a meat burger instead of the vegans. was just a general mistake, but is not up. that shouldn't happen. my own and my partner were very clear that everything should be vegan. I'm not going to come back.

Get there early or late and you’re sorted. They’ve revamped the menu and it now offers more and better quality veg options. The fries are the same skin on ones they’ve always offered and an excellent selection of craft beers