please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
With just time to take in a couple of pubs in Exeter, before leaving Devon and with the Thatched House Inn closed on a Sunday evening, my first stop was the Great Western Hotel, next to Exeter St David's station. There's a good range of ales here. But, they were all pale ales - Thirst Class Magnum Pale, Exeter Avocet Ale, Orkney Northern Light, Skinner's Chapel Rock, Salcombe Devon Amber, Quantock Nice Try & Dartmoor Jail Ale. Locals were crowded around the bar. Others seemed a bit uncouth. I followed one guy out of the gents who was not interested in washing his hands. He then proceeded to use some fairly flowery language whilst criticising various politicians. Seemingly an outstanding model of the community! I didn't quite take to this pub. Whilst, it has a good range of interesting beers, there was a lack of differing styles and the clientele were more like the ones you'd find in a Wetherspoon's.
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Main change is the 'back door' entrance to the lower bar is now locked. ..er… that's it.
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A vast improvement since we visited last year. The horrible carpets have at last been got rid of (hopefully burnt), there is new flooring & furniture and the drinking area has been decorated & updated. 5 beers on when we visited on a Sunday afternoon, a good selection from Exeter Avocet at 3.9% up to Dartmoor Jail at 4.8%.
There are still a few improvements to be made - the toilets are pretty much the same & my wife reported that once you go upstairs the decorations are unchanged & the ladies toilet is still pretty naff (tap still drips too) - but I do believe that we might start visiting again on a reasonably regular basis. Beer quality (as always) was good.
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It's been over 4 years since we last visited the Great Western but, encouraged by the way the outside was being improved, we made another visit.
The inside is just as shabby as my last review in 2011. The carpet doesn't look like it's been cleaned since then and one of the CAMRA posters on the wall must surely be a museum piece. The faded curtains look the same. The ladies toilet (upstairs) had a dripping tap - my wife is sure that it was dripping 4 years ago too.
The place smelled dirty. There were a couple of old codgers inside who were presumably unable to walk up the hill to the Imperial. One person behind the bar who also had to check people into the hotel and clear up spilled beer. I felt sorry for her.
The place is disgusting. We'll wait until we can see that the decorators have been inside as well as out before venturing in again.
And get rid of that horrible carpet - please?
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As one tourist said as she checked-in "What do you mean you don't have an elevator!" Tried to book a room via internet only to be told they had double-booked me and I had to go elsewhere which I think was actually a good result! Yes indeed the sad old bar does have a tremendous selection of beers and mostly in good nick, but the entire place is in desperate need of some TLC !
and juging by some comments at the bar, the bedrooms are in a pretty poor state. However, this is a beer report and if you are waiting for a train, then wait here as you'll get a good choice and a good pint!
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I'm not sure I'd want to eat here and I certainly wouldn't want to stay the night but I would happily drink the day away in the magnificently shabby bar of this rundown hotel. The beer is tremendously well-kept and the seven handpulls working when I visited housed some magnificently obscure selections. The sort of pub you wish was outside every railway station you visit.
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Has a bit of a 'rough round the edges' feel (as in taped up cardboard repair to window in door to the back bar whcih looks like it has been that way some time) but it is friendly enough and does good ale. Pretty much your only option near StDavids station.
anonymous - 25 Feb 2014 21:26 |
Nice bar staff, well looked after beers and a nice quiet convivial bar to drink them in. What more do you need? There was a group of folkies playing their instruments in the corner too which further added to my liking of the place.
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Nice pub, bigger than it looks, spent a good few hours in here before and after Southend's dismal performance at St James's Park. Nine handpumps but sadly they've done away with the port stout, demand wasn't there apparently.
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As others have said the decor is dated.So what!f you want a great pint from local breweries then it has to be the Great Western. Always 7 or more on the handpumps and always in tip top condition.I have never had a bad pint here.Also the food is very good.Very good portions and very tasty.This is traditional pub grub and doesn't pretend to be anything else.
If you're looking for a proper"boozer" in Exeter look no further.
Roden - 13 Oct 2012 19:38 |
Excellent bar. Stayed in the shabby hotel but the 7 handpumps more than made up for it. Friendly barman and locals. Great atmosphere for a Tuesday night with visiting football fans having a jolly old drink!
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Nice atmosphere, friendly staff, excellent beer and VERY convenient for St David's station. Highly recommended.
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Visited yesterday beer ad good as ever but for a Best Western hotel the exterior is shabby and unkempt and the interior sorely in need of a refurb.
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The bar is a bit scruffy but the beers we had, from Dartmoor, RCH and O'Hanlons were in excellent condition. Not one normally to have burgers, I thoroughly enjoyed their Exmoor Burger, the barman was sociable and the locals welcoming!
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The Great Western, although a hotel, is a good old fashioned boozer. Seven pumps on the bar were dispensing ales from, among others, Bays, Branscombe and Dartmoor. I had two pints of RCH Pitchfork which were excellent.
The pub sits next to Exeter Station and is a good place to end a crawl of the city. I'll be back.
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This is a scruffy establishment full of old men.
It does however retain a rough and ready atmoshere, almost like a pub for the hardened drinker. It stays open extremely late being a hotel (i would'nt want to stay here though) and has a good selection of ales.
6/10
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The Great Western follows the trend of the other remaining pub in the Red Cow area of Exeter, i.e. near St Davids Station, by being distinctly shabby. At one time this was excusable to the committed drinker, as there was a decent selection of ever-changing beers, but whoever does the ordering now has a serious lack of imagination and the range of beers has now been reduced to around 7. As an example, over Easter they had O'Hanlons Yellowhammer and Port Stout, Brannoc, RCH PG Steam and Pitchfork, Courage Best and Dartmoor Dragons Breath. A few days later the Dragons Breath was changed to Dartmoor Jail Ale, and that seems to be the trend recently - 6 or so regulars and alternating 2 from Dartmoor. Sometimes they have one guest beer.
There are 9 handpumps on the top bar and another 9 down in the Loco Bar, but it's many years since I've seem those in the Loco Bar used and they're purely for decoration now.
The carpet in the areas around the kitchen entrance, gent's toilet and at the top of the stairs to the Loco Bar is in serious need of a good clean, and the toilets are distinctly scruffy, too - missing tiles where the paper dispenser once was, wobbly taps, missing soap dispenser.
I cannot deny that the beer is always very good, and the food when I've eaten there is OK too, but I just wish that there were a bit more variety in the beers and better surroundings in which to drink them.
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A proper Pub (OK it's a Hotel, but you know what I mean) with a top class range of beer served in pristine condition.
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Stay here quite a bit and the bar is very nice and welcoming with a great railway theme attached.. Had a nice little stay behind a couple of weeks ago on the friday with a friendly barman and friendly other hotel guests. The ale is pretty good and I enjoyed quite a few pints of the lovely Symonds Cider.
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An excellent pub right next to the station. Friendly staff and superb choice of ales. Well worth a visit.
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Visited this pub recently stopping off both before and after going to the Exeter football ground. The ale selection, taste and quality is superb - a really lovely, old world style with a LOCO Bar. Tremendous place to go and loose and afternoon or three. Very much worth a visit and I'll be back.
Mcloj - 18 Oct 2010 11:01 |
Close to St David's main line station, but some way out of Exeter City Centre, is The Great Western, a pub / hotel that, externally at least, exudes the air of an establishment that has seen better days and does need a good lick of paint.
A cosy and largely carpeted bar - The Loco Bar - is split level and has a number of different drinking areas. Perhaps not surprisingly, a railway theme dominates and there's several splendid paintings / posters to admire. The "Great Western" engine nameplate hangs proudly in the back room. Note also the old Great Western poster advertising a "Special Fast Excursion to London" on Saturday 5 July 1879.
A bank of 9 pumps was, on my recent evening visit, serving mainly local brews of which both the O'Hanlons Port Stout and RCH Pitchfork were in superb form. The pub is listed in the CAMRA 2010 Good Beer Guide.
Staff here are clearly enthusiastic and knowledgeable about beer and I was served promptly and efficiently by a barman who was a dead ringer for David Seaman, complete with ponytail. Amongst various posters and flyers advertising forthcoming beer festivals was a rare sighting this far west of the latest issue of London Drinker.
This is clearly not your average hotel bar and it appears to have a good following of regulars. Notably, Seamus O'Donnells, a pub branding itself as Exeter's Number 1 Irish bar and situated virtually opposite, was closed and boarded up.
The hotel restaurant - The Brunel restaurant - seemed quite busy for a midweek evening. Food is also available in the bar till late.
It's a bit of a hike from Exeter City Centre - about 15/20 minutes, and even longer if you take the scenic route along the river towpath - but I think it's a hike worth making. This pub is at the top of my list for a revisit when I'm next in Exeter.
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Visited again yesterday lunchtime, O'Hanlons Port Stout, Yellowhammer, Dartmoor Jail ale, Bannoc and something from Northumbria brewery on tap. Quite busy and only one girl serving behind tha bar and shuttling out food from the kitchen which made service a bit haphazard, but still a great hotel bar. I notice that there is a 'budget' hotel being built opposite St Davids station now, lets hope it doesnt take away too much trade from the Western....
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Wide range of beers in friendly pub catering for people from all ages. O'Hanlons Port Stout was stunning. Serves a wide range of reasonably priced food. The attached hotel offers good value accommodation.
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Ales from O'Hanlons and RCH dominate - the latter's IPA and Yellow Hammer in perfect nick. Somewhat tired interior, locals congregating around the bar and a bit Twin Peaks but not unfriendly. Good place for a pint after missing your train, will definitely visit again, but the irritating golden oldies - Gold FM? - on then radio could be done away with.
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Several hand pumps, a great pint of Yellowhammer (O'Hanlon) and Jail Ale (Dartmoor), and nice staff who didn't mind the brief invasion of a bunch of Newcastle fans en route to Plymouth. And after the game, they gave us a carry-out to drink on the train. It doesn't get much better than that!
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the gwh probably has the biggest choice , but as i'm slowly learning that doesn't mean its the best, that said still a good pub , but probably overates itself a bit , choice jail ale , branocv , stargazer from yoville ,rch ipa , courage best , o'hanlon's port ale, pitchfork , quality weren't bad , but it was brilliant either.
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Refer to Jan 09 and 08 reviews,nothing changes. Beer fest in town yesterday and the Gw has 5 ales on,one of which was John Smiths Cask of all things! The Branoc was excellent mind you and was served by pleasant staff,but the last poster is having delusions if there were 18 beers on when he was in. Can i ask-is it laziness or what that makes this pub have such "untapped"(pardon the pun!) potential? Could be SO much better.
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For accomodation the rooms are adequate and reasonable value.Has up to 18 handpumps of beers mostly from obscure micros,some good but some practically undrinkable.
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Finished our Topsham/Exeter crawl here, still a fine hotel bar serving a cracking selection of local ales. Amazed to see that Tony Wardle is still alive and was present in the bar, or maybe they have had him stuffed.
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Last years comment still applies,though there were more beers on this year and those sampled were good. Worthy of a visit but no longer a "must visit",which is sad because with a little bit of effort/interest this place,given its location,could be one of the best in the land.
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Start of an Exeter crawl on Saturday. Ales included Darmoor Jail Ale, RCH IPA, Pitchfork and Steam Sale, Exeter Avocet, Poachers Billy Boy and Branscombe Branoc. Jail Ale and Avocet were excellent. Food was good value and well cooked.
Well worth a visit.
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The best Christmas tree in Exeter!
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Echo recent comments. Although dated decor 9 beers on and the ones we tried were fine. Simple food menu , filling and value for money lunch. Maybe the best onion rings we've had...... Local and further afield beers.
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As soon as I say that it's a bit shabby, they do up the Loco Bar. I wonder if Raj reads this? The green colour grows on you eventually - it's quite pleasant now - more like a cocktail bar!
If you don't like an excessive head on your beer, try and get one of the female staff to pull your beer rather than the main barman. Just because O'Hanlon's Port Stout is a stout doesn't mean that it has to be served up like a pint of Guinness with an inch of froth.
So, now that the Loco Bar's looking nice, can we have some new seats in the top bar as well, please?
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Excellent range of beers, but food was fairly average - a bit disappointing considering the place's reputation.
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Truly a great beer drinkers pub situated right next to St Davids station. The range of ales is second to none. Also the 24oz mixed grill was awesome - far better than the boil in a bag rubbish at the Spoons next door(and only �6 more expensive). If you're in Exeter and like ale then this is a must.
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Went there at the weekend on the Sunday evening and there was a good few people in the main bar - great range of 8 beers on including O'Hanlons Firefly - lovely.
Whilst it is a bit shabby it was still a relaxing place, it lived up to my expectations of a classic railway hotel. I would visit it again (but probabbly as part of a trip to a few Exeter pubs).
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Yes its a bit shabby but if you go into a pub for the beer rather than the decor, this is one for you.
There are 9-10 handpumps here with both local and further away ale. Well worth visiting if you are waiting for a train.
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Seems to be getting shabbier by the minute. The handpumps in the Loco Bar are now purely for decoration (even if some of them do have pump clips) and all real ale is now pulled from the top bar pumps, so go up to the top bar to see what the full range is and order from there.
It really needs some money spending on it in order to attract the customers back (the bucket's been under the sink in the gents for ages). At one time recently, my wife and I were the only two people in the Loco Bar, at 9pm on a Saturday night - even though there were 9 beers on tap. Shame, really.
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7 ales on when i visited last with yellowhammer, branoc, london pride and best of all port stout being regulars, friendly locals and service, worth a visit
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very accomodating town pub, handy for the Station (of course!) and excellent selection of ales in top condition.
start your Exeter crawl here! and end it here before falling onto the train home!
its a big place, plenty of room inside....
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Visited same day as Exeter Winter beerfest,the range was down to 4 by the time we left,when you'd think they'd have made an effort none was apparent.
Yeah the GW now is not a patch on,say,5 years ago.
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Called in again last week. The beer choice had improved a lot compared to my last two visits, lets hope things keep getting better
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Things are looking up at the Great Western. A full range of 9 real ales including 4 unusual guests these last few weeks, plus they've a new chef who produces some excellent bar meals.
Some years ago their restaurant was very well regarded - if the bar meals that we've eaten recently are anything to go by, it might be worth checking out Brunel's Restaurant again - the menu certainly looks interesting.
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Called In again at the end of July. Choice of beers was very poor by the usual standard. Only worth a visit if in the vicinity, dont go out of your way to visit. Lets hope it improves
paulb - 18 Aug 2007 20:33 |
It might seem a bit churlish to complain that there are only 9 real ales available, but when you consider that just 2 of these are 'guest ales', it makes more sense. I can remember when beer buffs would come in to see what was available, consulting their palmtop computers to see if they'd tried them before - not any more.
Still an essential stop if you're anywhere in the vicinity of Exeter St David's Station, but it dearly needs a cellarman who is more interested in getting in some variety rather than the standard Archers and Cottage fare.
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visited the pub last week. Not as good as before, only 6 ales on !!
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Went here on Saturday(7th Oct)with Terry and Bertie and we had a very nice evening sampling lots of different ales>My favourite was the O'Hanlons Yellowhammer.The friendly(new) barmaid poured an excellent pint,no need to ask for a top up here!Food was good too and plenty of it-we opted for the omlette and chips.Great place to spend some time while waiting for a train or not!
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Ideal haven 4 an after work ale, tons 2 choose from. Drinking blackcurrant stout here the other day which was one of over a dozen on tap.
All really well looked after too.
Gr8 food aswell especially their "monster pie and pint deal"
My Rating 8/10
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Homely pub which is a real ale heaven.
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I've been drinking here for over 8 years. While it might not be as good as when Trevor was manager, it's still an amazing place for real ale. What other pub can you go into to be greeted by a row of 9 handpumps, with another 9 in the 'Loco Bar'? Recently they seem to have settled on 6 regular ales (Branoc, Landlord, Bass, London Pride & O'Hanlon's Yellowhammer & Royal Oak) plus up to 6 guest ales. I can forgive the rather tatty decorations when I've got a choice of 12 different beers to drink!
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Beer quality very good but this bar is really for those who don`t mind a smokey atmosphere.Building itself in need of some TLC.
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Great place for real ales - there is a good selection at all times and they have a festival once a year apparently. Not however the most picturesque pub in the area...
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Well kept and varied ales inc local O Hanlons. Friendly and accomodating staff. Clean functional rooms (with some sky channels) Reasonable room rates. Just the job when visiting Exeter by train
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Loads of different ales to choose from and generally I found it was pretty well kept.Also a great place to fall into after a long train journey
James - 13 Nov 2004 21:29 |
Great hotel bar but has gone downhill recently due to a change of management.
Paul - 30 Aug 2004 14:41 |
Always very welcome & welcoming.
A superior Hotel bar / Inn
Gill - 30 Mar 2004 13:40 |
Comfortable accomodation, good resturant and a great bar with lots of guest ales. Don't worry if there is one you aren't too sure of, they will let you have a taste before buying a pint. Can get VERY busy at weekends
Colin - 24 Mar 2004 11:20 |
Visited this pub last week, 12 differant Real Ales available, food was good. Dogs also allowed,
paul - 13 Jan 2004 19:45 |
An hotel bar, how quaint?
This is a well located bar with the atmosphere of a pub run within the hotel by the manager and his wife.
Always local beers on, normally London Pride and 4 - 6 others. Welcoming. Also a 5 minute dash from the station.
Use it or lose it, it is pretty popular.
Tim (CAMRA) - 16 Oct 2003 18:35 |
