The Old Firehouse Reviews Summary

Atmosphere

Pros:

• "It was busy and loud but full of atmosphere and general merriment."
• "Staff are really friendly and this bar has a cracking atmosphere."
• "Fabulously relaxed atmosphere."
• "Such a nice atmosphere here, fires burning and candles everywhere."
• "The atmosphere is very bubbly."
• "Ever so beautiful here, no matter the season! 😍 Candlelight, beautiful mood lights all year, friendly staff, multiple rooms, peaceful at times, ever social, great selection of drinks at affordable prices, FOOD!!!"
• "Lovely warm cosy pub with friendly staff and nice atmosphere."

Cons:

• "It's a big sports pub...it was a bit laddy for my liking. Shot drinking, footy chanting and noisy 'pool winning celebration' type folk."
• "The old firehouse used to be excellent... Recently it's gone downhill significantly."
• "Strange vibe inside too."
• "Not a good atmosphere for enjoying the pub meals. Smoke wafts inside through big open windows."
• "Used to be a great place to visit with lots of friendly faces and my favourite drink. Now unfortunately neither exists anymore, just a downbeat atmosphere and cold staff."
• "Over-rated pub with flat beer, unappetising food and indifferent service."
• "We were chilling having a really good time when suddenly a security guard came up to us and started to kick us out for no reason."

Service

Pros:

• "Service was great too."
• "The staff are always friendly and explain and apologise if they are busy and running behind."
• "Staff is friendly and the outside patio is really convenient on warmer days."
• "The staff are very friendly."
• "The skilled bar staff ensure that even at peak times, service is swift."
• "Welcoming, accomodating staff."
• "Friendly staff."

Cons:

• "Served today by a really rude and unaccommodating pseudo-hipster."
• "The server at the bar was so rude."
• "Bar maid totally disinterested."
• "I was served a flat pint of Devon Red cider and when I complained to staff I was met with an argumentative attitude with no recognition of my complaint."
• "Unhelpful staff who don’t understand what customer service is."
• "Was ignored by the bar staff."
• "Rude and pretentious."

Food & Drinks

Pros:

• "Great food during the day, huge freshly made pizza at very reasonable prices."
• "The pizza here is amazing. So huge!! Cheap and actually good."
• "The late night pizzas are awesome!"
• "Fantastic pizza and selection of beer, cider, spirits and good value house wine."
• "Amazing pizza, literally the greatest, and excellent value for money."
• "Pizza is amazing here."
• "Lovely vibe, massive delicious pizzas, open late and a great selection of ciders too."

Cons:

• "Drinks were overpriced, and there's always a massive wait to get served."
• "Most expensive pub in Exeter!"
• "The firehouse pizzas were famous a few years ago, they were huge, square, and served in wicker baskets, but unfortunately the pub has now swapped this for much smaller, blander pizzas in a cardboard box at the same price."
• "The nachos were good but definitely not worth the £11 we spent."
• "The pizza isn't always up to its legend."
• "A small selection of pizzas considering they are supposed to be what you go there for. They were also very average in quality."
• "I was disappointed in the pizza which tasted dry and the garlic bread not really that tasting like garlic."

Value

Pros:

• "One pizza does two hungry people which makes it pretty good value."
• "Utterly superb. If this enormous pizza in a basket doesn't satisfy your hunger, then I don't know what will! Pizza rivaled only by service. Delicious food. Exquisite value."
• "Fantastic value for money."
• "Great homemade pizza, we shared two between 3 and couldn't finish it all."
• "Good range of drinks that seemed reasonably priced."
• "Great beer and cider options."
• "Good local cider selection and a reasonable range of other drinks."

Cons:

• "Unfortunately there was no children's menu, so we ended up paying for food which neither my children ate."
• "Prices have increased a lot as per most things."
• "The price is also quite high compared to similar pizza restaurants."
• "Very expensive pizza (pizza used to be an unbelievable £5)."
• "All alcoholic drinks are easily around £5 or more each."
• "Pizza's were £18 to £22. !!!"
• "Expensive drinks and okay food."

Accessibility & Convenience

Pros:

• "Several levels, outdoor area partly covered."
• "Also convenient for the train station to get home!"
• "Really great place to go to before moving on to somewhere else or to come back to as it's open late!!"
• "Explained covid procedures and the app to download to order table service which included a free £5 deduction off the first order."
• "Also amazing pizza till late into the night and great local music."
• "This is a place that holds a legendary status among students at the University of Exeter and for good reasons."
• "Would recommend to any visiting Exeter!"

Cons:

• "It's popular with students because it stays open late, so it's always very crowded at weekends."
• "Would not recommend for wheelchair accessibility, and loos can be a bit badly kept into the late hours of the evening."
• "Would be nice to be able to book tables or just have a few more tables as it can be impossible to get seats."
• "However, please note that children and those underage aren’t welcome at this time."
• "They wouldn’t let us in with an under 18!"
• "Sometimes they also book out an entire floor so you have to stand around hunting for a seat."
• "Very popular with both students and locals so often very difficult to get a table after 5pm unless you phone ahead and book."

Security & Staff Conduct

Pros:

• "Our server was nice enough to redo this pizza asap and had refunded the amount paid for the inconvenience."
• "The security on the 5th June was very poor, however the general bar staff were remarkable."
• "The guys there were very friendly and helpful."
• "Maddy was perfect for our social, socialised with all our guest... give her a pay rise!!!"
• "The safe are friendly and helpful and pizza´s are famously great too."
• "Superb selection of proper cider and a fair selection of draught beer."
• "The skilled bar staff ensure that even at peak times, service is swift."

Cons:

• "The security staff kicked us out without any official reason."
• "While the drinks are good at this pub, the bouncers are rude and enjoy harassing customers they have kicked out."
• "This place would be perfect if it wasn't for one of the security staff, friends, family and myself have been spoken to rudely and harassed for no apparent reason."
• "Arrived in a group of four people... and then me and the only other man in the group were told we couldn't enter, as we were 'too drunk'."
• "The worst bar I‘ve been，the security staff kicked us out without any official reason."
• "We were chilling having a really good time when suddenly a security guard came up to us and started to kick us out for no reason."
• "Walked out when told they no longer offer a variety of flavors on their large pizzas with no explanation."