Sabatini Exeter — Restaurant in Exeter

When we arrived at Sabatini, we were shown to our table with very little warmth or welcome.

Once seated no one from the staff paid us any attention for a while, or came to take our drinks order. When the food came - we had the prawns to start which were tasty and probably the best and only highlight of the night, followed by two pasta dishes - the Nduja carbonara and the chicken and Gorgonzola paccheri. The carbonara was ok with a little spicy kick but is an uncomplicated dish. The paccheri was fairly boring with 3 small pieces of chicken, and little depth or richness of Gorgonzola in the sauce - the paccheri were also completely stuck together with the sauce hardly coating the majority.

There was little interaction from the staff this whole time - however we were then suddenly told we had to leave as the table was needed in 15 minutes and our bill brought to us. To be honest we were pleased to leave!

The atmosphere in the restaurant and the decor were perfectly nice - we also saw cheesy garlic bread and pizzas that looked nice so would recommend that to others if visiting. Ultimately would suggest choosing a different restaurant if you love your pasta and want to be treated as a valued customer.

It was such a shame as we had high hopes reading reviews, always try to avoid restaurant chains and wanted to support an independent...

So we ordered take out, pizza & boneless bites, last weekend. We were absolutely amazed, it was great! Sometimes take out pizza can get a little wonky by the time you get home but this did not. The pizza crust is so amazing, it stays perfectly crispy and doesn’t get soggy. The boneless bites were on another level. I think it’s the mix of their amazing mild sauce and the type of boneless chicken bites they use, because it’s now hands down our favorite boneless bite location. We travel from the Pocono area just to get good pizza & we’re happy we found them.

We enjoyed our take out so much that we went to eat in the restaurant this past Friday. They have two; one is a bar atmosphere so no kids are allowed which is understandable, so we had to eat on the pizza side since we had our son with us. It’s a very cozy and welcoming restaurant. It’s kind of small feeling but it opens up into multiple dining areas. The staff was all so nice and the service was fast even when they were fully booked up, every table seated, and we still had fast service from start to finish.

Only downside is being cash only, on the pizza side (bar takes cards), but they do have an onsite ATM if needed. I would strongly recommend trying their pizza, we are going to branch into the specialty pies next but for now, the plain pizza...

Okay. Caveat. I'm a chef. The service here was great. But the food was... Err... A joke. At ~£15 for local fish and triple cooked chips, you'd expect a) the fish to be local, b) the chips to be triple cooked. Neither were true. The fish came in frozen (you can tell because when it's cooked it 'leaks' into the inside of the batter and creates large cracks between the flesh, so it disintegrates when you eat it). And the chips... I saw the chef himself pour out of a bag into a deep fat fryer. My wife ordered the sirloin steak and chips. The steak was less than 1cm thick. Anyone who knows anything about cooking steak knows that means you must flash cook it ultra high heat, and render the fat as best you can. Instead, it was pale, overcooked and the fat was still raw. Then, the sauces. All from premade bottles. The starter of squid, I would swear was cuttlefish.

So, basically, if anyone thinks this is high standard food, then I'd recommend you head to marks and Spencer, spend £10 on the premade meal deal, as it's better and cheaper. But... As I said... Service was good. I got a free limoncello when I pointed out to the waiter that the chef was pouring chips from a McCain bag. Guess he hoped I would write...