Brightside Roadside Dining Exeter — Restaurant in Teignbridge

So this review is bearing in mind my review I had made for "Route 5" which was Brightside's predecessor and a regular place to eat at for myself and many friends/family.

Firstly I'll say, despite my love of Route 5 and how amazing it was I was willing and happy to give this new venue a go with an open mind.

First impressions were that it has a lot more of a 50's feel to it then 80's, with a dark orange and yellow interior and an avocado green toilet. The overall lighting is quite dim, but the cleanliness of the building was spotless!

Service was as expected nothing to make major notes about either for or against. However, I did find that the tip or service charge was automatically added to the bill regardless on weither or not the service was up to par. This did not impress myself or my father who used to like to tip the actual person who served us if they did a good job.

As for food that's where it all fell apart. I have rarely seen a menu as limited yet as expensive as I saw today! I, after getting into the building just before noon, saw both the morning and evening menus (images provided). There are several items that are still on the evening menu from breakfast and overall very little variety especially when compared to "Route 5".

I myself got the Brightside Breakfast for £12.50, as did my dad. I however, as a fussy eater, do not like tomatoes or mushrooms so had asked for these to be removed and was surprised when I was told nothing extra could be added to replace these. For drinks I ordered a Hot chocolate for £3.50 (average price) and my dad a Salted Caramel milkshake for £4.50.

The hot chocolate was basically hot milk with no flavour and my dad's milkshake was more ice than ice cream. The food was basic. The beans were clearly Heinz and in a very small pot, sausage (yes just one) had more herbs than meat, egg (yes also just one) was over done though still runny, the toast was small and a bit burnt and the potato croquettes were way too squishy. The only praise I could give was the bacon was excellent! For £12.50 though I think not!

Overall I have to say I'm so disappointed in this new restaurant, I won't be going back or at least not in a hurry. To be very open and honest most of the staff that carried over from Route 5 have left which says a lot.

Hope this helps others in deciding whether or not...

We were regular visitors to the Route 5 that this replaced, so we were keen to see what the excellent Loungers team could do with it.

The first thing you notice when going in is the almost obsessional theming. I can only applaud the design team for their attention to detail. It genuinely feels like an unreformed cafe, unchanged from the 80s. Now whether you think that's a good thing or not is up to you. Personally I was more impressed than I was actually liking it. Mostly I think that was to do with the very yellow lighting (sodium style, for the lighting geeks) which took a good ten minutes to get used to. Even the bathrooms meet the theme, with avacado porcelain everywhere.

Service was extremely friendly and welcoming, introducing themselves and even making recommendations for the indecisive.

The menu is quite small (especially compared to the oversized Route 5 one it replaced) but has some good options.

The food we got was really tasty, especially the ham (pork belly), egg and chips. The quality was good, although portions aren't huge, especially on things like chips which were a bit on the stingy side for my liking).

Unfortunately, there was a service hiccup and one of our table had their order missed completely. They did rectify it, but the rest of us had finished by the time it arrived. I suspect that may be a process problem more than staff. Inkeeping with the theme, everything is scribbled on order pads and then immediately entered into the POS. If it was me, I'd let the theme go a little and give the staff handheld POS to improve that.

So food good, staff friendly, decor obsessionally kitsch.

That leaves the price, and honestly I think they've aimed a little high here.

Four of us ate a main course and drinks (no pudding), and paid over £90. That is a little steep for a diner, even one with food at that quality.

They say they want to roll these out nationwide, and if I was to offer my advice they should keep going with the food, it's good maybe be a bit less with the theming. You can keep the good bits, without losing the charm look at the price point. I used to stop regularly with the children as an after school treat at Route 5, but that just isn't viable option...

I came here with an open mind,having been a regular customer of Route 5 before. With the "roadside diner" moniker,it brings up memories of Little Chef,Happy Eater etc.... As soon as we pulled up,it did look bright enough outside. But as soon as you go inside it becomes very underwhelming... With the decor,it could be vibrant with the colours used,but unfortunately not with the lighting this wasn't the case. The waiter was very polite,took the time to chat and recommend items and take our order.... that was the last time we saw him.... The menu didn't have a great choice, in fact it was very disappointing.... The next waitress was ok,bought the food out .... The food,you could tell was of "catering quality", would've thought with what they were charging,it could've been locally sourced ingredients ... The portion sizes were very small, my wife chose the spaghetti and meatballs, 3 very small meatballs were hidden under the spaghetti ... This dish reminded me of yhe the "meal for one" you find in the chiller at Tesco...... microwave meal at its best in my opinion but not the case with this place... I was recommended to try the burger..."you won't be disappointed " I was told..... Well,when it came out,I was disappointed, burger was smaller than the bun "fresh" salad on burger probably lost the will to live,and it was slathered in sauce which made for a very messy experience added to that,a portion of waffle fries....well I say portion, I counted 8 1/2 waffle fries..... The price was not reflective of the food served. When it was time to pay,if it wasn't for my wife asking to see the bill, then I would've HAD to pay the 10% service charge....of which the lovely waitress tried to hide.... When asked why the 10% was added, we were told it was for staff tips..... I didn't pay it,I might add. The whole experience has made it clear that we will not be frequenting this establishment again. I should've gone to McDonald's...