Colson’s Bar & Grill is a British restaurant in Exeter, located in the city centre just in between Exeter Central Station and Exeter Cathedral. The focus of the restaurant is on sustainable British cooking - the team here serves up traditional British cooking using ingredients sourced from local producers from farmers to dayboat fishermen, who drop the day’s catch at the restaurant less than 12 hours after landing at nearby Brixham, which is famous for shellfish.
The building itself has some history too - this site dates back to 1792, when it was a millinery belonging to one Mrs Colson. It remained a millinery and drapery for over a century, and the restaurant name honours the building’s history.
The interiors are sleek and sophisticated, with plush blue velvet and tan leather armchairs providing a place to sit in the lounge, where you can enjoy a pre- or post-dinner drink. The dining room swaps marble for chic wooden tables and herringbone floor, with an atmosphere that suits everything from casual dinners to celebration meals.
Meanwhile, the menu lets quality ingredients do the talking. Colson’s only uses ethical, sustainable producers from the local area, so everything that hits the plate is as fresh as it can possibly be. Oysters are often available in multiple forms (beer-battered or pickled, for example), and meat and fish on the menu is cooked simply over charcoal and allowed to shine. The menu at the time of writing includes starters like pressed chicken with pork, garden herbs and salted peach, and hand-dived scallops with white miso, coral butter and lime. Mains include dishes such as butter-roasted Cornish hake with sea lettuce and lobster sauce, winter pumpkin risotto with taleggio, pumpkin seed and braised chicory marmalade, and seaweed-cured stone bass with sea herbs and salted grapes.
As well as the a la carte, Colson’s Bar & Grill also offers an all-day menu of snacks and small plates, and a seven-course tasting menu that includes welcome cocktail and the potential of a wine flight for oenophiles.