Cosy Club — Restaurant in Exeter

While i did not eat at the establishment, i attended on Saturday with a friend and upon arrival was greeted very well by a young female who i now know to be the shift manager, she pointed out a free table where we could enjoy a quiet drink while soaking up the festive atmosphere. We were seated right next to the bar area with just the bar separating us from the kitchens serving hatch. My husband was also at the venue with his work colleagues for their Christmas get together. With in half an hour of arriving we were greeted to the unpleasant view of a male member of staff standing by the serving hatch unpleasantly stuffing his face with a burger, other members of staff stuffing food into their mouths and proceeding with full mouths to take food out to customers..... God help any one who wanted to ask a question or make a pleasant exchange as when they returned to the serving hatch most were still chewing on the food previously consumed. Whilst seated i noticed that the proprietor of the company my husband worked for had requested to speak with the shift manager, this did not surprise me due to how long they had been waiting for food. The manager went to the table and everything seemed calm from a distance, untill the manager then started using her hands and arms in what appeared from a distance to be quite menacing. She then returned to the bar and unleashed a verbal torrent of unpleasentries aimed at the party my husband was with, stating they have no right to complain, its Christmas what do they expect, they are just old men(she obviously at the time did not realise we were in any way linked to them) it was so unprofessional and she mentioned rather loudly that she was swore at...... This would never have been the case i know the gentlemen who were talking to her and they would have been professionally and polite getting their point across, a male member of staff attended our table and cleared 2 empty glasses and apologised for the torrent we had just witnessed . The eating of food continued even though there were customers who were still waiting for there food, Another member of staff then came to the area behind the bar and announced about another table 'bad news that table want there pudding before they leave' how is that bad news if that is what they booked in and paid for? . Nearing the end of the evening the manager came over and gave us a complimentary drink for greeting her politely on our arrival and looking festive we accepted and then proceeded by invite to join my husband and his colleagues. They did not finish their night with their full meal which again is so unprofessional and dissapointing. Apart from 1 member of staff as we left no one acknowledged we were leaving or offered a good night greeting or apology for the service. I personally feel that this female should not be a shift manager as she clearly is far out of her depth and certainly is not in any way professional when dealing with problems...

Cosy Club, Exeter. Once a hospital, now a restaurant, which is a bit like turning your old school into a cocktail bar. You sit there with a burger and chips where somebody once had their appendix out. The ceilings are high enough to lose a kite in, and every inch of the place is covered in furniture that looks like it was donated by aunts you don’t like. It’s a curated mess, but it sort of works.

The staff are absurdly good. Smiling, attentive, as if they’ve mistaken you for someone important. They’ll even let your dog into the lounge, which is a surprise. You look around, half expecting someone to say “No dogs, no smoking, no fun” but instead they bring you water for the mutt and act like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

The food is solid in that chain-restaurant way. I went for a burger on our visit. The burger is rib meat, which means flavour, fat, and an excuse for charging you more. They suggest adding Brie and bacon, which isn’t advice so much as an invoice. The fries arrive in a tin that looks generous until you poke around and realise it’s half-air. But the burger stays together, tastes decent, and doesn’t drown you in condiments.

But. The meat’s from Cornwall, which is nice, but we’re in Devon. Cows here also have ribs. And the price is the sort of number that makes you start thinking about whether you should have cooked pasta at home.

However, you sit there, full of meat and fries, the dog snoring under the table, and you think — this isn’t bad. It’s not great, it won’t change your life, but it’s not bad. Food delivered in a jumble-sale cathedral that used to hand out death certificates....

We visited you for lunch yesterday, just a month away from Christmas during an ongoing Pandemic where businesses are still struggling with supplies and staff - I understand the stresses this brings. We were a large group (14) which I appreciate is not always easy to cater for. We choose you for location, price, variety and your flexible approach to dietary needs. Unfortunately there was an issue with the temperature of a three of the meals, which you instantly offered to rectify. Sadly this was brought to your attention in what I felt was a rather vocal, curt manner and it was also suggested that we had waited too long for the food - the individual concerned had in fact arrived late. Two meals, one of which hadn't arrived at that point as it had been requested you delayed it, were rejected and the other two you offered to replace but the offers were rejected. You very kindly waived the charge for all four and dropped the charge for some drinks. There was plenty of time for replacements meals to be served and enjoyed which would have been much better than listening to people moaning about being hungry. Your waiting staff handled this impeccably. The majority of us enjoyed our food and your service, paid in full and left a tip. So, yes there was a problem, sadly it was over reacted to, but you dealt with it as best you...