The Hourglass - Exeter

In many towns across England, there are claims of having the oldest pub, and many pubs boast about offering the best Sunday roast in the country. However, I can confidently say that The Hourglass serves the most delicious roast beef I have ever tasted, regardless of the price. Although there are other options on the menu, I have chosen the beef roast on three separate occasions, and each time it has been consistently exceptional. The Sunday lunches are plated up with a side of cauliflower cheese to share. The generous portion of tender beef is perfectly cooked and served alongside flavorful vegetables and a delectable Yorkshire Pudding.

An evening with 7 friends started with a couple of pints in the main bar enjoying the warmth of the real fire and atmosphere, the ale selection was excellent with something for us all served by a friendly and knowledgeable barman. Moving through to our booked table we found a stylish dining room and attentive staff. We had the Christmas menu on a preorder and all enjoyed the traditional dishes with a modern twist. Great flavour and portions kept us all happy with the evening finishing with a superb cheese selection and decent ruby port. This pub is authentic and a rare find among exeters ever increasing plastic premises , looking forward to a return visit already ..

Extremely disappointing Christmas party lunch we were given sausage rolls, parmesan crisps, houmous and a few carrots/celery, Spanish omelette and chick pea chips. Everything was brown and slightly greasy. No relish or pickles, no salad, nothing sweet. No service to speak of not enough crackers to go round staff all complaining they were hungover! And the price we were charged for this?? £25 a head! At most it was worth £10. Still can't quite believe it. Have been to some fabulous events here previously but this was not one of them and sadly won't be going back.

We all had a roast and it was stunning lots of flavour. I liked the idea that the produce was local and it actually told you where everything came from on the menu all the different farms etc the service was very efficient the staff where lovely and friendly this was as the first time for us today and we shall definitely be back thank you.

We had a gorgeous Sunday lunch today. Our dog (we were the ones with the Japanese spitz) was made a fuss of and really welcomed. Extremely busy but cosy and a great atmosphere. Two of us needed gluten free and they had no problems catering for this, as we couldn’t have the cauliflower cheese we were given an extra dish of roasted veg and puree, this was a really nice extra so we didn’t feel like we were missing out. Great potatoes and gravy and proper beef, we’ll definitely be back!