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Detail Pages
Exeter Arms, Derby
Derby
DE1 2EU
Pub Type
Tenanted (Marstons)Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Steve C left this review about Exeter Arms
The Exeter Arms has a quirky snug room with seating and a fireplace behind a waist high panelled wall to the left of the entrance. To the right the bar counter faces towards the rear where raised seating runs up the right to a tile floored seating area with exposed brick walls at the rear. The bar counter supports premium keg and seven hand pumps that were drawing Dancing Duck’s Ay Up, 22 and Dark Drake alongside Thornbridge’s Hacksaw, Pedigree, Little Brewing’s TAJ and Snails Bank Mango Cider. Having loved the Dark Drake in an earlier pub I decided to have a pint of it here, top-drawer. This is a decent pub with very friendly staff, I’ll certainly be returning.
On 31st July 2023
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5228 recommendations about 5196 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
paulof horsham left this review about Exeter Arms
The Exeter is the multi-roomed home of Dancing Duck Brewery. It may not look much from the outside, but it's a veritable ale house inside, with 7 pumps on the bar serving up their own beer, plus guests from the likes of Thornbridge. Beavertown have a dual-headed keg font, with further taps for Tiny Rebel and Thornbridge. It's worth a bit of a wander inside to get a feel of the place and, while moderately busy early on a Friday afternoon, there were seats to be had in the various nooks and crannies.
Glad I came: my favourite of the small selection of the city's pubs that I visited.
On 2nd February 2023
- rating: 8
[User has posted 453 recommendations about 425 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about Exeter Arms
A pleasant pub with a cosy, homely feel about it, divided up with several seating/drinking areas. I had a pint of Dancing Duck Abducktion, very nice just like the pub.
On 3rd November 2022
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1871 recommendations about 1844 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about Exeter Arms
Another fine pub - this time promoting the dancing duck brewery.
Decorated to a high standard. Very quiet on a Sunday night.
Visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2w1lOlC
On 20th August 2018
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1337 recommendations about 1323 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Danny O'Revey left this review about Exeter Arms
Exceptional pub that has a bit of everything, not what you expect in the setting. Small front bar, various other seating snugs and crannies, subdued lighting & candles on the tables, various curios, decorations & settles. Lovely homely feel. Good choice of exceptionally kept ales, including the Dancing Duck beers
On 2nd December 2015
- rating: 9
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Exeter Arms
My first visit since the Dancing Duck takeover of the lease. It’s fair to say that they’ve upped the interior a bit (burnt red shades, partitions, feminine style touches) and turned it into a fairly middle class place (the area behind the fireplace is now quite a posh foody area with candles on the tables). However the layout, cosiness and ambience remain in situ with nice décor, proper fire etc. Of special note was the Leaded and coloured Exeter Arms window, replete with a dancing duck. Also found a previously undiscovered ‘cottage’ section at the rear of the conservatory, two rustic bare brick/stone rooms. An old wind-powered organ sits in the conservatory, recently broken by an over-enthusiastic punter and sadly no plans to repair it as “it only cost £50”; let’s hope they never pick up a cheap Rembrandt from a jumble sale, eh? We visited at lunchtime and food was definitely the main seller. Place was packed and space at the was at a premium so we had to lean on the bar, however the staff were friendly and helpful. Four Dancing Duck brews on, with Marstons Pedigree and Shiny Abyss as extras. My DD Quack Addict was in impressive shape. Also noted two proper ciders. I still really like this place and would say it’s a must-do in central Derby - but timing your visit is key for maximum enjoyment. 8.5
September 2010
A wildcard on the crawl as the school-time local of our organiser. I was really impressed by this one in context of the other Derby pubs I did on the same day. It’s not exactly an ale hotbed, but nonetheless is a solid Marstons outlet, with four of their list our ales on over a myriad of pumps including the lesser-spotted 'Marstons mild' (it says here) which was in good shape. The pub is laid out over a number of well-maintained rooms and there was a really vibrant atmosphere within; I particularly enjoyed the well-appointed conservatory area. Décor is pretty traditional, with items of note being the old seaside postcards on display in the gents a collection of timepieces and some foreign bank notes pinned above the bar. I was charmed by this one and would happily return. Rated 8
On 22nd November 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Exeter Arms
The second pub for me on the PuG crawl but this was probably my pub of the day. An excellent traditional multi roomed pub with a roaring open fire in the tiled floor main bar which greets as you enter. And from here you can move out into either the Snug, the top office or The Stage with its stained glass panels. And then a visit to the toilets outback reveals the undercover patio area with its large settees, from which you can access ‘the Cottage’ a whole additional room area that can be hired for private functions.
It also benefits of being one of the two pubs in Derby, along with the New Zealand Arms, owned by the Dancing Duck brewery and there was four of their beers on the seven pumps available. These were Ay Up, Quack Addict, dcuk and the excellent Dark Drake.
Great pub, great beer, can’t say more than that.
On 22nd November 2015
- rating: 9
[User has posted 2109 recommendations about 1991 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Exeter Arms
Fine old corner pub with a variety of different seating areas in a number of different rooms and spaces. Traditional furniture and decor. Friendly welcome. Six real ales on handpump - with four Dancing Duck (e.g. Dark Drake, £3.30) together with Pedigree and Shiny Abyss as guests - plus a cider. Well worth the walk out from the city centre to visit.
On 21st November 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Exeter Arms
A street corner local close to a major road system,owned by Dancing Duck and showcasing many of their ales with some guests.The interior is charming and retains the original seperate rooms layout (snug to the left of entrance) and make sure you walk along the corridor to the gents to find a hidden away back room and an airpowered organ,sadly not in working order.
The bar is to the right of the entrance with a welcoming fire opposite.Several of the interior tables had candles burning and this enhanced the atmosphere as did the discrete music.There was a very friendly welcome from behind the bar for the PuG crawlers,and we were told that the former whitewash was removed to reveal the traditional wooden finish to the walls.It's all very charming and relaxed.
The seven handpumps were drawing a real cider,Pedigree ,Shiny Abbys and Dancing Duck Dark Drake(spot on ),Ay Up,Quack Addict and dcuk.This is a must visit on any Derby crawl,I would happily settle in here for a long session and this pub was ,for me,one of the highlights of an extensive pub crawl around the city centre.
On 16th November 2015
- rating: 9
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Exeter Arms
This purpose built street corner pub dates back to 1816 and takes its name from Exeter House - the former home of the Duke of Essex - which stood nearby before its eventual demolition. Amusingly, the pub's sign depicts the unrelated coat of arms of the city of Exeter. The pub was operated as a freehold, with its own on site brewery until being sold in 1970. It recently changed hands again, when the Dancing Duck Brewery took it over from Marstons. You enter through an etched glass front door into the main bar with a patterned tile floor and the servery running along the front wall to the right of the entrance. It's a fairly compact, dark wood servery with a lovely lit fireplace opposite creating a warm, cosy feel to the room. Some pew, bench and low stool seating has been arranged to the left, under a Dancing Duck Brewery window, an old hop lined portrait and some flying ducks. The window looks through into the snug, accessed by a door to the left of the entrance. This is a compact, tile floored room with pew and low stool seating and a little partitioning to create a bit of privacy. There is a nice old fireplace on the back wall and various black and white photos round out the décor. Over on the other side of the pub there is a raised stage with space for a couple of tables and two doorways opposite the bar lead through to the back room which has a mix of seating options, including some standard chairs on another raised platform and pews and low stools throughout the rest of the room. There are several pub clichés in this room, including an upright piano and some wall mounted antlers, as well as a huge candelabra and a TV screen which was turned off throughout my stay. A door leads out to a rear patio which has its own bar, named in honour of local philosopher Herbert Spencer. The pub was doing a brisk trade on my Saturday lunchtime visit, with almost everyone sat down eating, leaving most of the drinkers congregated around the bar.
The pub won the Derby CAMRA Pub of the Year award for 2013, so good beer was expected. On the hand pumps, Dancing Duck Dark Drake (£3.10), Abduction and Nice Weather were available alongside Marstons Pedigree, Dark Star Partridge, Liverpool Organic Cascade and a real cider. My pint of Dark Drake was excellent and wasn't surpassed during the rest of a long day of drinking around the city.
I liked the feel of this pub and whilst it did seem much more focussed on the food than drink, I arguably caught it at a bad time and I could imagine settling down for a decent session on a quieter day. This place will have wide appeal and I thought it was a great start to a crawl around Derby.
On 2nd March 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]