Quayside Distillery

Exeter's Quay has seen plenty of trades come and go, and the city's only craft distillery has set up among them. The draw here is the vacuum distillation process, which works at lower temperatures to capture botanical flavours that conventional stills tend to cook away. It makes for spirits you cannot easily replicate elsewhere, and the whole operation sits on the water rather than tucked away on an industrial estate.

Three things run alongside each other: a bar and cafe serving brunch, lunch and cocktails, a gin school where you choose your botanicals and distil a bottle to take home, and private hire for celebrations on the water. A further waterfront venue is due to launch in 2026. Book the gin school ahead if that is what you are after, and treat the canal-side bar as the low-commitment way in.