The Hour Glass Inn

The Hour Glass is one of Exeter's oldest working pubs, a Grade II listed building on the corner of Melbourne Street and Colleton Row, just south of the Quay, with records of a landlord here going back to 1847. Through the 1800s it served as a meeting hall for local societies - loan clubs, sick and burial funds - the kind of community role pubs used to carry before the welfare state existed, and it still trades on that same close, backstreet character today.

It closed briefly before Exeter Brewery took it over and reopened it in 2021, restoring the building rather than reinventing it - original features, low ceilings and a proper local feel are all intact. The food leans on honest, well-sourced Devon ingredients rather than a long menu, and the beer list reflects the Exeter Brewery connection alongside guest ales. It's a short walk down from the city centre but feels like a different pace entirely once you're through the door, a genuine neighbourhood pub rather than a tourist stop.