The Fat Pig

Beautiful non chain pub with their own ales and generous Sunday roasts. The actually ran out of pork by 1.30 as it was so popular today :) yum! Highly recommended!

Their Sunday roast is true to tradition and done right — meat, veg and yorkshire pudding doused with a healthy serving of good gravy, and served with the appropriate sauce (apple for pork, mint for lamb) on the side. The pork is especially worthwhile, because…
they raise their own pigs for this and at their sister restaurant, the Rusty Bike! And their obsession with pigs is clear: funny little statuettes and artwork are scattered around the cozy dining room. So duh! Go with the pork, have a pint, and have a jolly good time.

I had just had a stroll around Exeter Quayside having enjoyed a Devonshire Cream Scone and during the positive affirmation conversation our table had, we discussed what it was like to harness positivity and attract our desires.
We wanted a pub a really good pub.
So tottering around some ruins and up a cobbled windy street like something from a Hovis advert, there in front of us like a beacon was the Fat Pig.
It was the one we’d seen in a local glossy Exeter city guide in the scone shop earlier! At the time, I remember thinking note to self, must sniff out this pub Fat Pig, like a piggie for truffles in the woods.
I was channelling getting an amazing pint and a Sunday Roast, the rest of my crew, more just wanted somewhere warm and good booze. Unfortunately the– I now know, legendary Sunday Roast has a short window offering locally conscious ethical gastronomic feasts between 12 – 3, they are apparently truly amazing, sadly I missed out.
If in anyway I am disappointed by an establishment, on go my metaphorical white gloves and will find something scathing to mention in a review. #I’maHaterifyouCan’tcater
However I was still experiencing a sugar rush having had an enormous scone earlier, I was not too sad about that. But!!! The brew gods were good to us and not only put this terrific boozer in our path, but we’d stumbled in on a local home brew contest, where the winner got to have their batch brewed in the pub’s own basement brewery.
This little piggy could not have put a trotter wrong.
Wow, the ales were amazing, I particularly liked the Big Boy, citrusy and delish. With Sunday lunch thankfully cleared away and the contest in full swing there was even a band jamming too. This pub was heaving full of really welcoming friendly locals, not a table of silly rowdy squawking students in sight.
Exeter’s answer to the Rovers Return if Michelle Collins had awesome tattoos and wore her hair in victory rolls. A good old fashioned boozer with local drama, teaming with altruistic local producers and gave a really warm welcome.
It was the sort of pub a Colin Firth film only wishes it had as a location, festooned with moustachioed, hipster cardigan wearers. We went back another night and tried the gastronomy belching out of the smoker. Smokers Delight in situ, the smoked ox check was rich and delicious, melt in the mouth and subtly smokey. The chef was also happy to cater to tweaking our orders to suit. All it took was a flash of the gnashers with a smile and a pretty please for a bit of extra, smoked garlic. Amazing stuff.
Fun, festive and fancy!

Finally a pub with my name written all over it! Ok, not quite. Thanks to my trusted Unilocal!app I found this place. It’s on a quiet street off the main track, but once inside you’ll just be happy you found it! They brew their own beer in the basement and looking at the food being carried out made me regret having dinner before we showed up. Next time I’m in Exeter, I’ll be back!!!

Expensive and peopled by an odd collection of roll yer own wardrobe types and poncey Exeter out for the night. Food average. Not terrible but rather off-​putting.

Good pub serving a fine selection of local ales. Sister pub to the Rusty Bike, serving good food but tends to get crowded esp at weekends, but lets go for it as it supports local brewers and farmers.
Cheers!!!

Lovely little pub with the only problem being how full it gets of an evening. Relaxing on a Sunday after lunch with the papers and a bit of live music is my idea of a good weekend, well spent.

I do like this pub.
Good choices in drinks & very well done food.
I’ve been here a few times & I’m always surprised about it’s hidden location!
Worth seeking out though.

Would never have found it if not for Qype — a bit off the main road, nothing really nearby. Great food and relaxed atmosphere, highly recommend.

Thanks to Qype for getting us to this little gastropub tucked away behind the main shopping area of Exeter. We were just passing through and found a rumbly in our tumblies and had no idea where to stop.
We found The Fat Pig to have an adequate menu for budgets and diets. I had the pork belly roast (£10) and a Malbec, while my veggie friend had a gorgeous salad. We both enjoyed our meals and service.
The pub itself has a nice range of booze behind the bar. I can imagine it would be a good place to get a drink. Based on it’s location, I wonder what kind of crowd it gets on the weekend. There are no TVs, so it is not your usual loud crowd pub for sports events.
All in all, it was a perfect stop with ample (paid) parking just across the street.

Tucked away in a back-​street, near the Corn Exchange, this is a gem of a pub. Three beers on hand-​pump, a real cider and the first time I’ve seen Holsten Export on draught in I don’t know how many years…
The Exeter Brewery’s Avocet and Ferryman were in good nick, but the real highlight was the rather drunk bloke at the counter who proceeded to spill his bowl of soup all over himself and the floor. Comedic genius.
Food looked and smelled good. The barman suggested that we should try the Hour Glass pub near the river, he wasn’t wrong.

This is a modern pub. done very well in my view. I had a pint of ale called Reservoir Dogs from a brewery called Cottage Breweryand it was possibly the best pint I had had in Exeter. The other two ales that were on were unknown to me too, so I wish I could have stayed a bit longer! The décor is simple and modern, with the highlight being and incredibly cosy looking back room (lit by daylight), down towards the toilets. The pub serves foodin fact it refers to itself as a gastropub. but thankfully it doesn’t have the food first feel that many gastro pubs do. The pub name might put me off eating here though, unless I go for a salad :) Can get ridiculously busy when people get hungry. It is better when it is not so packed.

Top quality food, great beer and a simple but good wine list, with a comprehensive range of spirits, friendly staff and landlord. Music from a variety of local muscians on a Sunday Lunchtime. This pub is exactly what Exeter needed!

Having had a squeezed drinking session in there for a friend’s birthday I thought I would give it a second chance and eat there. My friend and I arrived on a quiet Friday lunch time-​only us and two other customers. The barman let his guard drop as there were so few customers and adopted an attitude that I deem to be over casual. Even on a busy night the staff will take an age to serve a cocktail or simple pint. On the whole I found their attitude lacking and themenu over-​thought. I got the impression that if you didn’t like it, you could lump it. Shame because if it had been good I could excuse the smallness of the venue and applaud the fact that they were trying.

This pub serves great food — I mean really lovely, and has a good atmosphere. I have some reservations because I think the bar staff are just too confident and relaxed — taking agggges over making a cocktail whilst others wait an unacceptable time for their drinks (this has happened to me twice).
My main criticism is the silly little stools — come on, to pay decent money for very lovely food yet be perched on stools instead of a comfortable chair — it just makes everyone think ‘Where are we going next?’. The pub is also very small and can feel a bit claustrophobic when busy, but having said all of this — it is an asset to the city and I would recommend a visit!

Having previously had a good lunch here, I tried to take my daughter here for a saturday evening treat. Having been told by the management that they have a strictly ‘no reservations’ policy we arrived early (7.15), only to find that there were no spare places apart from a reserved table for 10 diners. Obviously the no reservations policy will be waived if they have the prospect of 10 customers, but not for 2. On principle, we didn’t wait for another table to come free.

Great addition to the City. Friendly newly converted back street pub close to car parking. Used to be a dive but has been sympathetically renovated with reclaimed bar and furniture. Small but perfectly formed. Food and drink is excellent and good value. Tapas and varied starters. Main courses are generous. Beer and wine excellent with some good value Spanish wines. Cosy outside courtyard which is being prepared for summer. Really good.