The Return of the Two-Course Tuesday
Something rather wonderful has happened. After years of sad desk lunches eaten over keyboards, quick bites squeezed between back-to-back Zooms, and that grim pandemic-era tradition of eating alone in your kitchen while pretending to be "available," the business lunch is back.
And not just back — thriving, if the midweek lunchtime queues in Exeter are anything to go by. Professionals who spent years building client relationships through screens are rediscovering what we always knew: there is no substitute for sitting across from someone over proper food and an unhurried conversation.
The logic is straightforward. A Zoom call gives you thirty minutes of transactional exchange. A business lunch gives you ninety minutes of actual human connection — shared food, natural pauses, the kind of meandering conversation where trust is quietly built between courses. You learn more about someone over a decent steak frites than you ever will over a video call with connection issues.
Why Food Builds Trust Faster Than Any Meeting Room
This isn't just a nice idea. Robin Dunbar's Oxford work on social eating found that people who eat socially more often feel closer to those they eat with and more embedded in their community — and he links the effect to the endorphin system that underpins social bonding generally. It's why nearly every culture has some version of the business meal.
Think about the mechanics of it. In a meeting room, you're sat across a table in a formal setting with an agenda. There's a power dynamic. There's a clock. Every moment feels purposeful, which means nothing can be accidental or spontaneous.
At a restaurant, the dynamic shifts entirely. You're in a neutral space. There's food to comment on, wine to discuss, a waiter to interact with. The conversation can breathe. You can talk about the weekend, mention your kids, laugh at something. These "unprofessional" moments are precisely where trust gets built.
Nobody has run the study that tells you how many meetings a lunch is worth. But the mechanism is well documented: eating together lowers the formality of an exchange, and that is where rapport comes from.
We've written before about the art of conversation and how to move past small talk. Everything in that piece applies doubly to business lunches, where the ability to have a real conversation — not just a transactional one — is what separates a forgettable meal from a relationship-defining one.
What Makes a Great Business Lunch Spot?
Before we get into specific restaurants, it's worth thinking about what actually matters when you're choosing somewhere for a working lunch. It's not quite the same as choosing a restaurant for a date or a birthday.
Noise levels matter enormously. You need to be able to hear each other without shouting. A bustling atmosphere is fine; a dining room where you're competing with background music and the table next to you is a problem.
Service needs to be attentive but not intrusive. You want someone who'll keep your water topped up and notice when you need the bill, but won't interrupt a crucial conversation to ask if everything's alright every four minutes.
The food should be good but not distracting. You're there to talk, not to navigate a tasting menu with seventeen courses and a foam you need explaining. Reliable, well-executed dishes that don't require a performance review afterwards.
Location and convenience count. Central is better than remote. Easy to find, reasonable parking or public transport access. Your guest shouldn't need a treasure map.
Price should be appropriate. Not so cheap it looks careless, not so expensive it feels like showing off. The sweet spot is where the food is clearly good and the bill doesn't make anyone flinch.
The Best Spots in Exeter for a Business Lunch
Exeter punches well above its weight for dining, especially for the kind of polished-but-relaxed restaurants that work perfectly for a professional lunch. Here are the best options, depending on who you're meeting and what impression you want to make.
The Ivy Exeter
Best for: Impressing clients, hosting partners, or any lunch where the setting needs to do some heavy lifting.
The Ivy brought a slice of London dining culture to Exeter, and the space delivers. High ceilings, quality fixtures, and the kind of decor that photographs well without trying too hard. It's undeniably impressive without being stuffy.
The set menu is genuinely good value — at the time of writing it runs at two courses for £19.95, though the Ivy Collection changes it seasonally, so check before you promise anyone a price. Book through the Ivy Collection site to secure your table. The full a la carte is available too if you want to push the boat out. The menu covers modern British comfort food and international dishes, so there's something for every palate, including strong vegetarian options.
A word of advice: book for midweek, ideally Tuesday to Thursday. The room can get loud at peak times and weekends, and you don't want to be raising your voice to discuss quarterly figures. Midweek lunches tend to be calmer, with smoother service. The restaurant also has an intimate private dining room for up to eight guests — perfect if confidentiality matters.
Price point: £20-35 per person for lunch, or less on the set menu.
Hotel du Vin Exeter
Best for: A classic, no-risk choice that signals good taste without overthinking it.
The Bistro du Vin occupies a handsome space inside the Hotel du Vin, and the atmosphere strikes that ideal balance between elegant and informal. It's the kind of restaurant where you can have a serious conversation without feeling like you need to whisper, and a relaxed one without feeling out of place.
The menu leans French bistro — think robust, earthy dishes with seasonal British produce. The set menu offers solid value, and if you dine before 7pm you get a complimentary glass of house wine, which is a nice touch for a client lunch that stretches into the afternoon. Vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options are all covered.
The setting — a converted historic building in the city centre — adds a certain gravitas that works well for more senior business meetings. It says "I chose somewhere thoughtful" without screaming "I'm trying to impress you."
Price point: Around £20-30 per person for lunch.
Cote Brasserie Exeter
Best for: Reliable, consistent quality with a view that does the talking.
Cote sits on Cathedral Yard, which means your guest gets a view of Exeter Cathedral while they eat. That alone elevates any business lunch from functional to memorable. The interior is warm and welcoming — classic French brasserie styling that never feels dated.
The food is dependable. French comfort classics — steak frites, French onion soup, seasonal specials — executed well and served without fuss. The prix fixe lunch menu offers excellent value, and the wine list is sensible without being intimidating. Service is consistently praised as prompt and professional, even when the restaurant is busy.
Midweek lunchtimes are generally the calmest, which makes it ideal for conversations that need a bit of space. The atmosphere is lively enough to feel sociable but controlled enough that you won't struggle to hear each other.
Price point: £15-25 per person for lunch. Prix fixe menu offers the best value.
Harry's Restaurant
Best for: A local institution with real character — ideal for showing you know the city.
Harry's has been a fixture of Exeter's dining scene for over three decades, run by the Pounds family since 1993. It occupies a stunning gothic building — formerly Harry Hems' 19th-century architectural sculptors' workshop — and the setting has a character that chain restaurants simply can't replicate.
If you're meeting someone who knows Exeter, choosing Harry's signals that you're part of the city's fabric. If they don't know Exeter, it's the kind of place they'll remember. The food is seasonal, honest, and sourced from local suppliers. Portions are generous. The arancini from the small plates menu is frequently singled out by visitors.
Open for lunch Tuesday to Friday from 12pm and Saturday from 11:45am, until 2:30pm; closed Sundays and Mondays. It's a proper sit-down experience — not rushed, not lingering — and the service matches. Check their current menu and book at harrysrestaurants.co.uk.
Price point: £20-35 per person for lunch.
If you're entertaining someone from out of town, Harry's is the strongest choice for showing off Exeter's independent dining culture. The Pounds family opened it in 1993 and are now three generations deep — that beats any chain, no matter how polished.
Cosy Club Exeter
Best for: A slightly more relaxed business lunch where the setting sparks conversation.
Cosy Club occupies one of Exeter's most theatrical dining spaces — a converted building with a chapel-style entrance, striking bar lit by surgical lamps, and an interior that mixes velvet lampshades with vintage curiosities. It's genuinely interesting to look at, which gives your conversation natural starting points that most restaurants don't.
The food is elevated comfort — modern British with seasonal small plates and crowd-pleasing classics. Set menus come and go with the season, so ask what's on when you book rather than budgeting from a number you read here. On warmer days, the outdoor terrace is a real asset.
The atmosphere is more casual than the Ivy or Hotel du Vin, which makes it better suited to lunches with peers, creative collaborators, or anyone where the vibe should feel more "catching up" than "formal meeting." Service can slow during peak times, so booking ahead is wise.
Price point: £15-25 per person for lunch.
Olive Tree Restaurant
Best for: Fine dining without pretension — when you want the food to be the star.
The Olive Tree is the restaurant inside the Queens Court Hotel at 6-8 Bystock Terrace, a converted Grade II listed townhouse a couple of minutes from Central station. The setting is elegant without being intimidating, and the focus is squarely on the food. This isn't the place for a quick working lunch — it's for the kind of meal where the conversation deepens because you're both enjoying it.
Worth a phone call before you book: the hotel's own site no longer details the restaurant separately, so confirm lunch service is running and open to non-residents on the day you want.
Price point: £30-45 per person for lunch.
Becketts Rooftop at Hotel Indigo
Best for: Making a statement — especially with clients who appreciate a view and a modern edge.
Becketts Rooftop sits above Hotel Indigo on Catherine Street, and the panoramic views over the city give a meeting an instant sense of occasion. The space holds around 100 seats, with an intimate feel that works equally well for a two-person catch-up or a small group booking.
One caveat, and it matters if you are booking a lunch: the woodfired pizza the place is known for is only served from 3pm, Sunday to Thursday. The bar itself opens at noon, so a midday meeting means sharing boards — cured meats, cheeses, seasonal bits — rather than a hot lunch. Treat Becketts as the late-afternoon meeting that turns into a drink, which is what it is genuinely good at, rather than as a one o'clock table.
Reservations run through Hotel Indigo Exeter.
Price point: £15-30 per person.
Stage
Best for: When the food needs to do the heavy lifting — a meal your guest will genuinely remember.
Stage, at 31 Magdalen Road, has been in the Michelin Guide since 2022 — a Guide listing rather than a star, which is still rare company for Exeter. The kitchen runs a surprise tasting menu that changes with whatever the garden and the foragers turn up, so you do not choose your dishes. This isn't a quick-bite-and-back-to-the-office situation — it's a considered meal that signals you've done your homework.
If you're entertaining someone who genuinely cares about food — a client who follows restaurants, a partner in the industry — Stage is the restaurant that will make you look like you have impeccable taste. Because, frankly, choosing it means you do.
Price point: the top of this list. Check the current tasting-menu price when you book — it moves with the menu.
For more options beyond the business lunch context, our complete guide to Exeter's best restaurants covers everything from fine dining to casual brunch spots. And if your client is staying overnight, our Exeter hotels guide will help you recommend the right accommodation.
Exeter's Private Dining Options
If confidentiality matters — or you simply want an uninterrupted conversation — several Exeter restaurants offer private or semi-private dining rooms worth knowing about.
The Ivy Exeter has an intimate private dining room seating up to eight guests, ideal for sensitive discussions or small board lunches. Hotel du Vin offers private dining in their converted historic spaces, with bespoke menus available for groups. Becketts Rooftop can arrange exclusive hire for larger events, while Harry's Restaurant can accommodate private bookings during quieter midweek services.
For networking events and larger professional gatherings, Exeter's coworking spaces also offer meeting rooms that can be combined with catered lunch options — a useful alternative when you need presentation facilities alongside the meal.
The Unwritten Rules of a Good Business Lunch
Choosing the right restaurant is half the battle. The other half is getting the social mechanics right.
Timing
Arrive five minutes early. Book for 12:30 or 1pm — early enough that you're not eating at 3pm, late enough that the kitchen is fully operational. Allow ninety minutes minimum. Rushing a business lunch defeats the purpose entirely.
The Bill
If you invited, you pay. No awkward dance, no splitting the bill, no passive "shall we...?" Just take the bill when it arrives and handle it cleanly. If your guest protests, say "You can get the next one" — which also plants the seed for a future meeting.
Alcohol
Follow your guest's lead. If they order wine, you can too. If they don't, don't make them feel odd about it. A growing number of professionals don't drink at lunch — or at all — and nobody should have to explain why. We've explored the social side of sobriety in more depth elsewhere.
Phones
Put yours away. Fully away. Not face-down on the table where you can see it light up — in your pocket or bag. If you're expecting an urgent call, mention it at the start. Otherwise, give your guest your full attention. It's the single most powerful thing you can do to signal respect.
Beyond the Bill: Why Business Lunches Build Better Relationships
The business lunch isn't just about closing deals or impressing clients. At its best, it's about building the kind of professional relationships that sustain you over years and decades — the people who'll recommend you, advise you, collaborate with you, and genuinely have your back.
The relationships that advance your career aren't built in boardrooms. They're built in the moments between the professional conversations — over a shared dessert, a genuine laugh, or the kind of honesty that only surfaces when the setting is right.
This is something we think about a lot at Dinners With Friends. The dinner table — whether it's professional, social, or somewhere beautifully in between — is where human connection actually happens. If you've been relying on Zoom calls and email chains to maintain your professional relationships, consider what might happen if you simply invited someone for lunch instead.
Not a "networking lunch." Not a "strategic relationship-building exercise." Just lunch. With a person you'd genuinely like to know better. Over food that's good enough to be worth the trip.
That's not a business strategy. That's just being human. And it works better than any strategy ever will.
If you're new to Exeter and building a professional network from scratch, the business lunch is one of the fastest ways to establish yourself. For those working remotely, our guide to working from home and feeling connected explores how to combat the isolation that makes professional relationships even more important. And if the idea of professional networking makes you wince, try our guide to genuine professional connections — it's about building real relationships, not collecting business cards.
For a more relaxed professional setting, Exeter's gastropubs offer excellent food in environments where the atmosphere does most of the work. And if you're looking to explore the city's food scene more broadly — perhaps with a client visiting for the day — our guides to the best coffee shops and cocktail bars will help you plan the entire itinerary.