The Tasting Room — Restaurant in Exeter

Sadly it was quite underwhelming. The staff was lovely but the food was very sad and quite expensive for what we got. The pistachio croissant was a big let down too.

Edit (in response to the cafe’s reply):

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I acknowledge that my original review may have been brief, so I’m happy to provide further detail. I do believe my experience was underwhelming. My dad ordered the poached eggs and bacon on sourdough and when he received the food, it was a big slide of sourdough with two rashers of bacon and two poaches eggs falling to the side. The presentation was quite poor, the bacon was on the drier side and the meal was overall a little tasteless. I can appreciate that he got the exact order - poached eggs with bacon on sourdough - but having eaten that making other times, today’s meal was just underwhelming in comparison. I had the eggs royale, they weren’t bad but again, it was underwhelming. I found the hollandaise sauce to be quite industrial tasting. My mother had the eggs Florentine and she shared the same opinion. None of us said the food was bad. Rather, we found the food to be lacking in some regards, especially considering the prices charged for such. I live in London and was visiting for the weekend; for similar prices, I would expect a higher standard. The pistachio croissant was particularly disappointing for me. The pastry was stale and the creme did not taste of pistachio. Again, given the £4 price tag, I expected better. I did not indeed ask the staff to remake anything and perhaps you are correct in suggesting I should have. Of course, no place can please everyone, and I accept that this may not reflect the typical experience at your café. Still, I wanted to share my honest experience. That said, I do want to emphasise that the staff were absolutely lovely and contributed positively...

First and last time visiting. Young girl serving on the till had a really bad attitude. As I accidentally swiped my card on the sum up (tip) machine and only after was told to swipe the blank black screen to pay for coffee (not obvious!). The young girl just walked off without saying anything. So I was left wondering if I needed to wait for my coffee or take a seat. I then realised I’d been charged extra (for the tip). The girl was now back on the till and rather smugly said “well it does have a sign”. I politely asked for her to refund and she was really rude, tutting and sighing, like how could I ask for such a thing. Another member of staff came over and asked what the issue was, and she loudly said that I want a tip refund in a busy cafe. She made me feel really small. They then raided the tip jar to refund me. I then heard her making fun of me to another member of staff. I just sat in tears feeling upset and embarrassed. I appreciate a tip is small but like everyone, I don’t have a lot of money, and the customer service was lacking even before I mentioned the tip. Terrible...

One of the most amazing pop-up restaurants I have ever experienced. Have been here five or six times now, each time was sold out, filled with enthusiastic foodies waiting to be served the latest creations of chef Rob Dawe. Lovely atmosphere, largely controlled by his wife and Katie (no mean cook herself, who runs the best cake shop in Topsham). Usually starts abt 7pm and finishes by abt 10.30. Have attached the menu we enjoyed last night: mine was a veggie meal, but omnivores had pollock in a crab bisque, followed by a beef dish, instead of the polenta and veggie Wellington. All diners have the same tasting menu, unless veggie or any allergies. Can't wait to go back. Oh, by the way, it's take...