The Lighter — Restaurant in Exeter

The food was lovely, but the two stars are for the poor service. On the same day we had a very positive experiene in Topsham which I have also reviewed; balance is key.

All of our group love pubs and love eating out and several of us have eaten at the Lighter Inn pre-covid and each time had a positive experience. However, our most recent experience made me question if I would bother going back, only it must be stressed, the food was very tasty.

We were somewhat coerced into using the app, which in glaring sunlight and no umbrella for our table, (in spite of all the surrounding tables being provided with one), we ordered food and drink online, as the staff told us they 'were rushed off their feet', and unable to take food orders at the table, only to see them leaning up against walls for a lot of the afternoon. I wouldn't mind but they still have to bring drinks manually, so how difficult is it to take a food order. The inefficency of the service saw 3 visits after the food arrival to our group to deliver cutlery and napkins...I blame this on poor training or no-one managing standards. Furthermore, on a very hot day (with no shade as we weren't given an umbrella) we were told we couldn't eat indoors as all tables were 'reserved', yet in the 3 hours we were there and popping inside to use the toilets, there there wasn't a single guest dining inside. Was was that about???

Hospitality managers everywhere, please bear in mind that not everyone will have the technology/ability/phone memory for all the apps we are all going to need in the future at this rate, so being more accomodating will be necessary as people begin to baulk against this and are more discerning as to where they spend their money. I can only speak for myself when saying I will be more inclined to visit the places that talk to us, not see us an irritation. We lived without pubs for a year; it has become apparent that it wouldn't be impossible to forego them in the future if they aren't worth the money being charged.

We had hoped that covid would have given the opportunity to professionalise the hospitality industry to make real destinations of our fine pubs, but the reality is that there is a workforce jaded (in spite of 16 months furloughed, or perhaps because of) and reluctant to make contact with paying customers, instead preferring a faceless and lacklustre experience, which, for the cost of circa £150 between us, I would not be in a hurry to repeat...

we found this lovely pub in such a beautiful location and before we arrived (travelling from Birmingham) we checked out the menu and were really looking forward to starting off our first night of our holiday.

Me and my niece chose the steak and I asked them both to be well done (I'm 13 weeks pregnant so can't have rare meat out of choice!!!) when the meals arrived my niece started eating hers, then I cut my steak up and it was cooked medium and oozing with blood and not cooked well done as requested when ordered. I took it back explained situation and the girl remembered me asking for it well done, apologised and said they'll do me a fresh one! Second time round... come out, full of apologies! I cut it open, and again still medium! Took it back full of apologies again and said they'll do me a new one... On the 3rd attempt they still couldn't get it right. I was so embarrassed to take it back the 3rd time my husband ended up eating it. So I just had a plate of chips.

They did give me a refund after the second time, which was appreciated, but even the man who served me was quite rude and abrupt about it. We know that they can do the steaks well done because my niece had a well done steak, but I don't see how it took 3 attempts to try and do another one and still failed. If I wasn't 13 weeks pregnant the steak would have been fine, but the fact that I'm trying to becareful on what I eat because it can harm the baby and even checked at the till before I paid for it, if it can be cooked well done they said yes, I still find it amazing that they knew the reason why I wanted it well done but still struggled!

I then spent a further £8.25 on chocolate brownie and 1 scoop of ice cream for my nephew and I wish I didn't because the chocolate brownie was just mush.

We spent over £97 on mains, as there was 8 of us in total, plus £8 on deserts and then there was at least 3rounds of drinks on top so got to be £150+ from us.

Its such a shame as the location of this place is perfect, the food just let it down massively which was really...

The food was okay but the main issue I had was with who I assume was the manager? They refused to serve me a beer because I didn’t have ID (I’m 20 and just left it at home) which is usually the correct thing to do! However I was at a big family meal and legally, pubs may serve people under 17 if they are drinking with a meal, or with other people over 18 who are buying alcohol. I explained this to them because I myself work in a pub and have done for a while, and had to complete a training course on the legislation surrounding identification of minors for alcohol consumption. The manager was really rude, didn’t listen to what I was saying and the irony of the whole situation is he had SERVED me only two days prior without asking for ID?! I feel it’s rude and quite invasive to ID people DURING a meal and not the correct protocol. He completely bluffed his way through the situation, claiming this pub was exempt from that rule, and that it follows different rules to other pubs. He also then had quite a lot of attitude when bringing our drinks over, refusing to properly call them out. Poor experience, I’m usually not one to leave reviews but I felt frustrated that at a meal with my own family I couldn’t enjoy a beer because the staff didn’t know...