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Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
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Cuckoo Taproom & Bottleshop, Exeter
Exeter
EX1 2JB
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Real Ale Ray left this review about Cuckoo Taproom & Bottleshop
We called in here on a Sunday afternoon when there was a raging storm of wind and rain. For some unknown reason the barman had the double doors wide open to the elements. Thought maybe he was trying to air the place. So we took our beers up to the first floor and we were there a good hour and the front double doors were still open. Later on that evening when passing the same guy was sitting near the front window, not a soul in there and guess what, the double doors were still open.
Beerwise one cask which was decent Deya Gardeners Ale, plus we also went for the Vault City Stoopid Black Forest Gateau sour at £6 a half for a 6.5%, served in a proper Vault City glass.
On 24th October 2024
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3645 recommendations about 3645 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Cuckoo Taproom & Bottleshop
Craft beer and bottle shop of micro-pub proportions. One's attention is drawn to the chalkboard list above the keg taps on the bar-back as this faces you as you enter. However, on closer inspection, there are also a pair of handpumps behind the counter, and one of the was pouring ZZ Hop hazy pale from Arbor (£2.80, half) on my brief stop before catching a train. Being busy, but not crowded, on a Saturday afternoon, and this place made quite a good impression on my first visit.
On 21st January 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8679 recommendations about 8678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Cuckoo Taproom & Bottleshop
Classic long narrow shop conversion micro. A bit stark with the decor though the seating is at least standard rather than god-awful high-rise bum-numbers. A few fridges with a fair selection of wares, with nine craftykeg available. Barman was a bit too keen on gabbing to his mates but he did at least say as he was pouring that I could have a free can via a promo. For the record I had a Kernel Dark Mild and a freebie of Verdant Sundialer. Worth a nose.
On 5th July 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5552 recommendations about 5533 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Cuckoo Taproom & Bottleshop
This small shop converted, craft beer bar with a bit of a coffee house feel to it, has a decent location, just off Exeter’s main retail area, which seemed enough to entice a good mid-afternoon crowd of shoppers, tired parents and beer enthusiasts. The pub has a small, micropub-style interior, with smart modern floorboards and plain painted walls plus the inevitable large floor to ceiling shop windows at the front. Small round tables with metal chairs have been positioned under the front window and down the left hand wall, whilst longer tables run along the right-hand wall with a mix of chair and bench seating in support. The servery is to the rear of the room and has a white tile counter front and dark painted bar back with beer boards that I found a little tricky to read, partly because of the lighting above but also due to a great many bar blockers who prevented me from getting anywhere near the bar itself. The decor is a bit of a mixed bag - an old shop mannequin stands guard in the front window, wearing a pub t-shirt next to a small barrel with a potted plant on top. Shelves to the right hold vases, plants and other ornaments, whilst a large brewery advert dominates the left wall. Meanwhile, a row of fridges to the rear left are well stocked with interesting bottles and cans. A good alternative rock soundtrack played in the background and there was a nice buzz on my Saturday afternoon visit, despite quite a few kids being in attendance. The toilets require a trek all the way up to the second floor, and in passing, I noted that the first floor was being refitted, seemingly to provide an overspill seating area.
The beer boards listed at least ten craft keg lines and one cider, but amazingly, only one beer was under 5% abv, with most comfortably in double figures - at those strengths, I had to wonder whether the bar blockers were propping up the bar or if the bar was in fact, propping up the bar blockers. Given that I planned to visit several more pubs that evening, I opted for one of the single digit abv’s, ending up with the LHB Chocolate and Vanilla Stout, which was pretty tasty. I waited forever to get served as the couple in front of me tried samples of pretty much everything going.
This is a decent example of a modern craft beer bar with some interesting, if perhaps a little too pokey, brews at sensible enough prices. The upstairs seating area will hopefully alleviate the bar blocking issue, which would make the place feel a bit more welcoming, but regardless, it’s still a good bolt-hole from the nearby shops and a decent addition to the city centre pub scene.
On 23rd May 2022
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3350 recommendations about 3350 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Delboy 20 left this review about Cuckoo Taproom & Bottleshop
New micropub.
On 18th July 2021
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 1821 recommendations about 1692 pubs]