Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Exton
Hardens guides have spent 33 years compiling reviews of the best Exton restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 5 restaurants in Exton and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Exton restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Exton Restaurants
1. Lympstone Manor
British, Modern restaurant in Exmouth
Courtlands Lane - EX8
“The entire experience is extremely memorable” at Michael Caines’s “beautiful country-house hotel” which has “a lovely setting overlooking the River Exe”. (“Our meal began with Champagne and canapes in a wonderfully styled, tranquil lounge with perfect views out over the estuary and across the Lympstone vineyard. The sun was setting across the estuary and the voile floor-length curtains at the open French windows were billowing gently”). “The whole package has continually improved since opening in 2017”, according to one regular, and it’s “a classy experience that’s hard to beat”. “The cooking is of the highest quality, championing everything in the region, so it’s best to ignore your inner accountant and just ride the wave of the Estuary tasting menu”: “a masterclass in how to use top ingredients and complement them with exceptionally well-balanced sauces”. “Predictably it has a huge price tag” (£180 per person for the à la carte or £240 per person for the tasting menu) but no-one this year begrudged paying it. It’s one of the top-20 most commented-on destinations in our annual diners’ poll and satisfaction levels are impressive (“one of the best meals I’ve ever had”) so we share the puzzlement of some reporters at why it’s not more accoladed in some obvious quarters: “I‘m always surprised that the Michelin inspectors only award this establishment a single star”; “the food is easily two star, so no idea why Lympstone only has one”. Perhaps if Michael were French it would help…
2. The Galley
Fish & seafood restaurant in Topsham
41 Fore Street - EX3
Near the quayside of this beautiful Devon estuary town, a rustic bistro (“small, but that only adds to its charm”) which makes a “great place for a celebration dinner” based around “wonderful” locally sourced fish and shellfish. As of 2023, Jack Harvey, who learnt his craft alongside Marcus Wareing, is at the pass, having stepped in for former MasterChef: The Professionals finalist James Checkley.
3. The Salutation Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Topsham
68 Fore Street - EX3
“Good-quality food at reasonable prices”, including “brilliant local seafood”, is the attraction at this restored Georgian inn from locally born chef-patron Tom Williams-Hawkes (ex-Gordon Ramsay and Gidleigh Park) and his wife Amelia. In summer 2024 they rejigged the venue to operate as a café by day and a restaurant by night, with a new bar area.
4. Rockfish Exmouth
Fish & seafood restaurant in Exmouth
Pier Head - EX8
2023 Review: “We love the Rockfish chain” – and “Exmouth is our favourite”, say fans of Mitch Tonks’s West Country seafood group, which had eight branches as we went to press, with two more (Salcombe and Topsham) about to open, along with an online seafood market and a pioneering canned-fish operation. Despite being a multiple, it offers “top seafood, and the staff seem really passionate about the subject”.
5. The Pool House, Lympstone Manor
restaurant in Exmouth
Courtlands Lane - EX8
“High levels are set in this restaurant in the grounds of Lympstone Manor” – Michael Caines’s sleek venue overlooks the outdoor heated pool of his glamorous hotel and provides a contemporary and laid-back alternative to the more formal style of the main property. Given the fixed-price nature of the menu, there are cheaper places for a burger, pasta or Caesar salad, but overall feedback suggests that it stacks up for a taste of affordable luxury.
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