Best Thai and Southeast Asian Restaurants in Exeter 2026

What Is the Best Thai Restaurant in Exeter?

Thai Orchid on Cathedral Yard is the best Thai restaurant in Exeter for a proper sit-down evening, and it's the one we'd send a first-timer to. It faces Cathedral Green, it has set menus built for sharing, and nothing else Thai in town gives you that setting. For a big, easy group booking, Rosa's Thai on Queen Street is the more practical choice. For a takeaway away from the centre, there's Just Thai at Matford.

Here's the thing about Thai food that makes it perfect for a dinner with friends: it's built to share. A Thai meal is a table full of curries, stir-fries, soups and rice, with everyone reaching across and trying everything. It breaks down the stiffness that can creep into a meal out. You're passing plates, recommending dishes and arguing about whether the green curry beats the massaman. That's exactly the kind of meal that turns a casual dinner into a real connection.

Every venue below was checked in September 2026 against the Food Standards Agency register and, where they have one, the restaurant's own website. We haven't included star ratings or review counts, because those change weekly and can't be kept honest. Where we quote a price or opening time, it comes from the venue itself.

The Thai Restaurants Worth Booking

Thai Orchid, 5 Cathedral Yard

Thai Orchid sits at 5 Cathedral Yard, EX1 1HJ, on the edge of Cathedral Green. It's still on the FSA register at that address. The menu is classic Thai restaurant cooking: green and red curries, pad thai, stir-fries, seafood and a decent spread of vegetarian dishes, plus set menus built for a table to share.

Our verdict: Choose Thai Orchid when the evening matters, like a birthday, visitors from out of town or a first dinner with a new group. You're paying for the setting as much as the food, and the setting is worth it. The set menus make it simple to organise because nobody has to wade through the full list. The room isn't fashionable, but with the cathedral lit up outside, nobody at the table will mind.

Practical: It's a small, popular room, so book ahead for Friday and Saturday. We haven't been able to confirm the current opening hours with the restaurant, so check before you go, especially early in the week.

Rosa's Thai, Guildhall, Queen Street

Rosa's Thai is at Unit 22, Guildhall Shopping Centre, Queen Street, EX4 3HP (the postcode the restaurant gives). Its own site says it was the chain's first restaurant in the South West, seats 80 and is about four minutes' walk from Exeter Central. The listed hours are 12 to 10pm Monday to Thursday, 12 to 10.30pm on Friday and Saturday, and 12 to 9.30pm on Sunday. There's step-free access and some outdoor seating.

The group-dining details are what make it useful for us. Rosa's has a private dining room for up to 30 guests and a Feast Menu from £25 per person (small bites, classic Thai mains and mini desserts, according to the restaurant). It also advertises 20% off food for students all day from Sunday to Thursday.

Our verdict: Rosa's is the Thai restaurant in Exeter we'd pick for a group of eight or more. It's central, open every day, has a room you can close off and a set feast that takes the admin away. It's a chain, but according to the restaurant the menu is built on co-founder Saiphin Moore's family recipes. It's the easiest "yes" in the city.

Just Thai, Matford

Just Thai is registered with the FSA at Matford Home Farm, Matford Mews, EX2 8XT, on the southern edge of the city near Marsh Barton. It's registered as a takeaway (with Teignbridge District Council) rather than a sit-down restaurant.

Our verdict: Treat it as a takeaway rather than a night out: collect a spread and eat it at someone's kitchen table.

Practical: We couldn't confirm its menu or opening days from a primary source, so check days and hours directly before driving out. You'll need a car or a taxi.

Where Can You Get Pho in Exeter?

The place for pho in Exeter is Pho, at 18 Queen Street (EX4 3HP, per the restaurant), just across from the Guildhall. It's the city centre's dedicated pho restaurant. The chain's Exeter page lists opening hours of 12 to 9pm Sunday to Thursday and 12 to 9.30pm on Friday and Saturday, with wheelchair access and an accessible toilet. You can book, click and collect, or order delivery.

Pho serves pho the proper way. The broth comes with a plate of herbs, lime, chilli and bean sprouts, and you season the bowl yourself. Alongside it are Vietnamese curries, rice and noodle dishes, spring rolls you wrap in lettuce and fresh summer rolls.

Our verdict: If your group includes someone who's coeliac or avoids gluten, Pho makes it easy and nobody has to compromise. For everyone else, a steaming bowl of pho is about the best thing you can eat in the city centre on a cold, wet Devon evening. It's also a gentle price for a weeknight catch-up. Go early in the week if you want to hear each other talk.

Is pho different from Thai noodle soup? Yes. Pho is Vietnamese: a clear, long-simmered beef or chicken broth with flat rice noodles, spiced with star anise and cinnamon. Northern-style pho is plain and clean, while southern-style pho is sweeter and comes with a bigger plate of herbs. Thai noodle soups such as tom yum lean on lemongrass, lime and chilli instead.

Where Else Is Good for Southeast Asian Food in Exeter?

Tyepyedong Noodle Bar, 175 Sidwell Street

Tyepyedong is a family-run noodle bar at 175 Sidwell Street, EX4 6RH, and it's still on the FSA register there. It serves fuss-free pan-Asian food cooked to order: noodle soups, rice and noodle dishes with Chinese, Japanese and Southeast Asian influences, and plenty of vegetarian and vegan options.

Our verdict: Tyepyedong is the place you go every week, not once a year. It's quick, honest and good value. A regular, low-effort standing dinner is one of the most underrated ways to stay connected on a budget.

iFood Thai Taste, 116–117 Sidwell Street

iFood Thai Taste is a Thai takeaway at 116–117 Sidwell Street (EX4 6RY), inspected by the FSA in 2026. It does the classics: curries, stir-fries, pad thai and tom yum. Our verdict: It's the one to order from for a Thai night in, when you pile the containers in the middle of the table and let everyone help themselves.

Somboon Thai Shop, 153 Sidwell Street

Somboon is a Thai grocery at 153 Sidwell Street (EX4 6RT). It's well worth a visit for Thai ingredients that are hard to find elsewhere in the city. Our verdict: It's the first stop if you're cooking Thai at home, and it's only a few doors from Tyepyedong and iFood. Sidwell Street is quietly Exeter's most useful stretch for Southeast Asian food.

Is There Good Japanese Food and Sushi Nearby?

Readers who search for Thai often want a wider Asian night out, so here are three more that are all trading at their listed addresses.

Goto Japanese, 38 New Bridge Street

Goto is a small Japanese restaurant at 38 New Bridge Street, EX4 3AH, down towards the river. The menu runs from sushi and sashimi to ramen, katsu curry, tempura and bento. Our verdict: It's the best choice for three or four people who want to order a few rolls and a couple of hot dishes for the table. The room is small, so book.

Shimizu Sushi, 10 Well Street

Shimizu is an independent sushi restaurant at 10 Well Street, EX4 6QR, near St James and the university. The FSA last inspected it in July 2026. As well as sushi it serves ramen, donburi and bento, and the vegetarian and vegan choice is better than usual for a sushi restaurant. Our verdict: It's a relaxed independent for a small group or a date, and a better bet than the chains.

Wagamama, 16 Bedford Street

Wagamama at 16 Bedford Street, Princesshay, is what it is everywhere. Our verdict: It's worth knowing for one reason. When six hungry people can't agree, the long benches and quick kitchen get everyone fed with no fuss.

How Do You Order Thai Food for a Group?

If you've only ever eaten Thai the British way (one person, one pad thai, maybe some spring rolls), you've been missing the point. Thai meals are ordered for the table, and everyone takes a little of everything with plenty of rice. For a group of four to six:

• One curry. Green, red, massaman or panang, with whichever protein most people will eat.
• One stir-fry. Pad kra pao (holy basil) or cashew chicken are reliable.
• One noodle dish. Pad thai or pad see ew, for a change of texture.
• One soup. Tom yum for spice lovers, or tom kha (coconut) for something gentler.
• One salad. Som tam (green papaya) cuts through the richer dishes.
• Plenty of jasmine rice. At least one portion each. Rice is the anchor.

As a rule of thumb, order one dish per person plus one. Four people order five dishes and rice. Take small amounts, keep rotating, and don't pile your plate like it's a Western main course. Thai kitchens send food out when it's ready, not in courses, so order tightly and add more later.

Why Is Southeast Asian Food So Good for Dinners With Friends?

It comes down to how the meal works. Western dining is mostly a row of separate meals at the same table: you order, it arrives, you eat, you look up. A Thai table is one meal you all build together. You pass things along, try dishes you'd never have ordered and notice what your friends like. Vietnamese pho works in a similar way. It's one bowl each, but everyone is squeezing lime, tearing herbs and swapping tips on how much chilli to add.

Oxford psychologist Robin Dunbar's research on social eating (University of Oxford, 2017) found that people who eat with others more often feel happier, more trusting of others and more engaged with their communities. We've covered the science in the psychology of sharing food. Sharing plates also make things easier for anyone who finds formal dinners daunting, because "have you tried this?" is an easier opener than any icebreaker.

Can You Cook a Thai Feast at Home With Exeter Ingredients?

Yes, and it's one of the cheapest ways to host. Three Asian grocers we'd use, all trading at their listed addresses:

• BHL Oriental Food Store, 1 King William Street (EX4 6PD). It's a good all-rounder for fresh Asian vegetables, sauces, noodles, frozen dumplings and Japanese and Korean goods.
• Somboon Thai Shop, 153 Sidwell Street (EX4 6RT). It specialises in Thai ingredients and fresh Thai herbs.
• 168 Oriental, 3 Summerland Street (EX1 2AT). It's strong on dry goods: fish sauce, coconut milk, noodles and rice.

Stock up on jasmine rice, red and green curry paste, fish sauce, tamarind, palm sugar, rice noodles, and fresh Thai basil, coriander and lime leaves. With a wok and a stack of bowls, you've got the makings of a proper shared dinner at home.

What About Thai Food Outside Exeter?

Exmouth doesn't have a dedicated Thai restaurant. Wing Sing (12 Littleham Road) and Silver Sea House (62 Exeter Road) are Chinese takeaways that do some Thai curries. They're fine after a walk on the seafront, but they're not Thai specialists. For a full day out there, see our Exmouth beaches and bars guide. Topsham is all seafood and pubs, so for Thai you'll be heading back into Exeter. Our Topsham food guide covers the rest.

Our Quick Picks

• Best Thai restaurant in Exeter: Thai Orchid, for the Cathedral Green setting and set menus to share.
• Best for big groups: Rosa's Thai, with a private room for 30 and a Feast Menu from £25 a head.
• Thai takeaway out of the centre: Just Thai, Matford (check days and hours).
• Best pho in Exeter: Pho, 18 Queen Street.
• Best for gluten-free: Pho, which is accredited by Coeliac UK.
• Best everyday noodles: Tyepyedong, Sidwell Street.
• Best Thai takeaway in the centre: iFood Thai Taste, Sidwell Street.
• Best Japanese: Goto, New Bridge Street.

For more on eating out in the city, see our best restaurants in Exeter guide and the best Indian and Asian restaurants in Exeter. If you're feeding a plant-based crowd, try the vegan and vegetarian guide, and our Exeter date night ideas cover quieter evenings for two.

The Bottom Line

For its size, Exeter does Thai and Southeast Asian food well. There's a dining room with a cathedral view, a central chain that handles big groups properly, a takeaway at Matford, a Vietnamese pho house on Queen Street, and a stretch of Sidwell Street that covers the rest. Next time someone suggests dinner, suggest Thai, order for the table and pass the plates.