The Merchant Exmouth Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Three of us have just had the most DELICIOUS Tipsy Afternoon Tea at the Merchant in Exmouth."
• "Food was incredible, such a wide range of drinks and staff where lovely."
• "The steak was very good, the fish and chips were tasty."
• "The cauliflower wings were excellent as was the rest of the food."
• "Had the Nachos sharer as a starter and the Steak for a main, excellent quality, cooked to perfection and reasonably priced, spot on."
• "The food was really good, fresh and hot with large portion sizes and came to the table quickly."
• "The food was very tasty & generous portion."

Cons:

• "Slow service, frozen mixed diced veg with the roast."
• "Our Steak arrived and was tasteless, and the fish & chips were obviously frozen with cardboard chips and mushy peas that went hard as concrete before we had chance to eat them!"
• "Food disappointing, steak was tasteless and chewy, chips bland."
• "Food was bland. Desert of berry cheesecake was rubbery and felt like it had been quickly defrosted."
• "The burgers were nasty. Most of the food had obviously come out of the freezer."
• "Every dish we had wasn't hot enough."
• "All the food was cold or the wrong thing. The kids chicken nuggets were raw inside (very dangerous)."

Service

Pros:

• "Great pub, the chap behind the bar is immensely customer focused."
• "Another visit for some excellent food and service."
• "The staff were helpful and friendly."
• "New assistant manager was very friendly and attentive, nothing was too much trouble."
• "Service superb, food excellent and the drinks brought to the table with a smile."
• "Clean, comfortable with excellent service."
• "Very friendly helpful staff and an excellent meal."

Cons:

• "Unfortunately I'm very disappointed with my visit today. I requested a face to face with the manager he sent his barmaid who shielded and deflected for him."
• "Obviously poor communication between kitchen staff and bar staff."
• "Waited 2 hours for our food told it was because we didn't order on app."
• "Shocking, bad management, not enough staff, food service very very slow [one and half hour wait] then substandard."
• "The service was awful slow and very confused."
• "Terrible experience, i do not recommend this restaurant at all, never ever."
• "We mentioned all issues to the staff and they failed to provide us with an apology or any money back for the inconvenience."

Atmosphere & Decor

Pros:

• "Really atmospheric traditional pub."
• "Large pub with food operation on the Strand, the main square in Exmouth. Good offering of cask ales which probably equals the nearby Powder Monkey in choice. Spacious with variety of seating areas. Music in background."
• "Dog friendly pub, friendly staff welcomed us all including the dog and gave us a full explanation of what was happening during covid."
• "The Merchant has had a bit of a makeover and now is a trendy pub with lovely decor and the food is really good."
• "The place was clean and tidy with comfortable surroundings."
• "Very nice decor."
• "The pub is as close to perfect as is possible, great staff, beautiful beer garden and great ambience."

Cons:

• "Pub very quiet."
• "The very many mirrors are rather unnerving."
• "Looks like an amazing pub outside and in however, lack of staff, limited alcohol [I was served echo falls @ £16]!!! and poor delivery."
• "The smoking area must have been literally at the back garden doors as all you could smell was cigarettes."
• "The tables outside are hilariously wonky."
• "It's a shame some people can follow the rules, walking around without masks on, not following a clearly marked one way system and oblivious to other people."
• "Then waiting on deserts which lead to getting abuse of some people of what I would call scroats that was drunk and didn’t have a clue of what well presented and mannered people looked like."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Very good value for money and a good variety of wines available."
• "The meal was excellent and very good value for money."
• "Good value for money."
• "Well done to you all, and I still can't get over the prices how low they are."
• "Best rump steak I've eaten for a long time and not expensive."
• "Thank you the Merchant for offering great food at a great price, a rarity at these hard times!!"
• "When questioned informed food price is 50% off on Mondays."

Cons:

• "Food was too expensive for what I paid, wouldn't recommend to anyone especially not to big eaters as the portions were totally hurendous."
• "Went to The Merchant and spent £40 for two burgers and two drinks. I expected a good quality considering I’m paying higher prices."
• "Never been so disappointed with a meal! We visited whilst on holiday, we had burger and chips and sausage and mash, cost £26 with a drink! What a rip off, the portions were children sizes."
• "Portion sizes quite small. Personally I would not eat here again."
• "We spent £50 for 4 meals and only really 2 of them were edible."
• "Food was too expensive for what I paid, wouldn't recommend to anyone especially not to big eaters as the portions were totally hurendous."
• "Waited one and half hours for food [quoted 40 min] was told it would be a banging roast mmm I beg to differ."