A Foodie's Guide to Topsham: Exeter's Best-Kept Secret

Why is Topsham worth the trip for food?

Because a small estuary town four miles south of Exeter has two restaurants in the Michelin Guide, a proper Basque tapas bar, four historic pubs within a short walk of each other and one of Devon's best-known farm shops on its doorstep. If you have only ever driven through on the way to Exmouth, you have been missing out.

Topsham was once one of Devon's busiest ports, and its narrow streets of Dutch-gabled merchant houses still run down to the water. That maritime history shows on the plate: fish comes up from Brixham and Newlyn, and the estuary is never more than a few steps away. Almost everything worth eating is strung along one long road, Fore Street, which makes Topsham an unusually easy place to wander between lunch, a pint and a walk.

The businesses in this guide were checked against the Food Standards Agency register and, where available, their own websites in September 2026. Opening days change, so check before you travel.

What are the best restaurants in Topsham?

The Salutation Inn — for a special occasion

The Salutation Inn at 68 Fore Street is Topsham's destination restaurant. The former coaching inn has been restored by the Williams-Hawkes family into a restaurant with rooms, a glasshouse, a fishmonger and a yoga studio, and it appears in the Michelin Guide 2026. Chris Simon became head chef in April 2026; he trained at Ashburton Cookery School, cooked on superyachts and alongside Michelin-starred chefs in the Mediterranean, then ran his own gastropub in the South Hams before arriving in Topsham.

It is open seven days for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, with dinner served Wednesday to Saturday evenings and a roast on Sundays. Our verdict: this is the one to book for a birthday or a celebration with friends, because it does the whole day well. The glasshouse gives you the room of a proper occasion without the stuffiness that often comes with it.

The Galley — for seafood

The Galley at 41 Fore Street is Topsham's seafood restaurant, and it holds a Michelin Guide Plaque for 2026, having been recognised by the guide every year since 2021. It also carries an AA Rosette for 2026 and a listing in the Trencherman's Guide. Head chef Dan Kavanagh writes a menu that changes daily according to what arrives from Brixham Harbour and Newlyn Fish Market, and the butcher and greengrocer it buys from are on the same street.

It opens Tuesday to Saturday for lunch (12pm–2pm) and dinner (6pm–9pm), with both à la carte and a set-price option. Our verdict: if you only have one meal in Topsham and you like fish, make it this one. A daily-changing menu with suppliers you can walk past on the way in is exactly what a small estuary town should do, and The Galley does it with real confidence. It is a small room, so book.

Mesita — for tapas and sherry

Mesita at 3 Fore Street is a Basque tapas bar, restaurant and sherry garden, with a small bodega selling Spanish produce to take home. The cooking leans on imported Spanish ingredients — jamón ibérico, anchovies, albóndigas — with a list of sherries and Spanish wines to match. It opens Wednesday to Friday evenings, plus lunch and dinner on Saturday.

Our verdict: Mesita is the best answer in Topsham for a group that wants to share lots of small plates and talk for three hours. It fills a gap the town had for years — somewhere lively in the evening that is neither fine dining nor a pub.

Which Topsham pubs serve good food?

The Globe

The Globe is a 16th-century inn on Fore Street, part of St Austell Brewery, with a fire, rooms upstairs and a menu of pub classics. Our verdict: the pick when a group wants to turn a day trip into an overnight stay, because it is the one pub on Fore Street where you can eat, drink and sleep under the same roof.

The Lighter Inn

The Lighter Inn is a Hall & Woodhouse pub right on Topsham Quay, looking out over the estuary. Food is served from midday, and it is dog- and family-friendly. Our verdict: on a sunny afternoon, come for the estuary view first and the food second.

The Passage House Inn

The Passage House Inn on Ferry Road sits beside the ferry landing, with a changing menu of pub favourites, seafood and local produce. Our verdict: the waterside pub for walkers and cyclists — it sits right where the ferry crosses to the canal path, so it works as a start or finish to an estuary walk.

The Bridge Inn

The Bridge Inn on Bridge Hill is a different proposition: a Grade II listed pub whose interior is on CAMRA's National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors, run by the same family for well over a century, and famous as the first pub the late Queen visited officially, in 1998. It is about the beer and the building rather than a restaurant menu. Our verdict: not a dinner stop, but no Topsham day is complete without a half here.

For more of the county's best pubs, see our guide to the best pubs in Exeter.

Where can you get breakfast, coffee and lunch in Topsham?

Route 2 at 1 Monmouth Hill, just up from the quay, is a café bar with four self-catering apartments above it. It sits directly on National Cycle Network Route 2 — hence the name — and serves full English breakfasts, pancakes, homemade cakes and weekly lunch specials, using meat and veg from the Topsham butcher and greengrocer. Our verdict: the obvious breakfast stop if you are cycling down the estuary trail from Exeter.

fore. at 62 Fore Street is a daytime café open Wednesday to Saturday serving seasonal bowls, wraps, salads, cakes and coffee to eat in or take away. Our verdict: the pick for a takeaway picnic on the Goat Walk, but only Wednesday to Saturday, so plan around its days.

Kiln at 39 Fore Street is a café listed on the Food Standards Agency register. Our verdict: worth a look for coffee on your way along Fore Street; check its own social media for current opening times.

Where can you buy great food to take home?

Fore Street is still a proper shopping street. SALT, the Salutation's fish counter, deli and takeaway, opens Monday to Saturday. Country Cheeses at 26 Fore Street is a serious cheesemonger (our Devon cheese guide explains what to look for), and there is an independent butcher at number 67 and a greengrocer at number 64. Our verdict: SALT is the stop for fish to cook at home, Country Cheeses for a cheeseboard to take back to a dinner with friends. If you are planning a BBQ with friends, fish from SALT on the way home is hard to beat.

Is Darts Farm worth visiting from Topsham?

Yes. Darts Farm sits just outside Topsham at Clyst St George and is a destination in its own right: a food hall with butchers, a deli and The Fish Shed, plus several places to eat. The Farm Table is the main restaurant, The Yard and Cow & Cacao cover coffee and all-day food, and The Terrace Bar overlooks the estuary. Cider now comes from The Cidery, a tastings bar run in partnership with Sandford Orchards — our Devon cider guide has the wider story.

Our verdict: plan on half a day rather than a quick shop. It also runs a seasonal events programme, so check the calendar before you go.

What else is there to do in Topsham?

The Goat Walk is a narrow path along the estuary wall at the bottom of the Strand, with some of the best sunset views in the area. Further south, Bowling Green Marsh, an RSPB reserve, is excellent for birdwatching, especially in winter.

Topsham Quay Antiques Centre is a multi-dealer centre across several floors of a quayside warehouse. Our verdict: a good hour's browse between lunch and a pint, but check its opening days before making a special trip.

The Topsham Ferry, run by Exeter City Council, crosses from Ferry Road to Topsham Lock Cottage on the canal side. It is seasonal and weather-dependent, so check it is running before you plan a route around it. The Topsham to Turf ferry is a separate, seasonal service, so check its current timetable before relying on it; the Turf pub itself can also be reached on foot or by bike along the canal.

For a longer day, the Exe Estuary Trail continues south to Exmouth, and the Salutation's rooms appear in our guide to the best pubs with rooms in Devon.

How do you get to Topsham from Exeter?

You do not need a car, and on a busy day you are better without one.

By train: Great Western Railway runs from Exeter Central and Exeter St Davids to Topsham on the Avocet Line. The station is a short walk from Fore Street. Check times on the day.

By bus: Stagecoach buses between Exeter and Exmouth stop in Topsham. Route numbers and frequencies change with each timetable, so check before you set out.

By bike: The Exe Estuary Trail links Exeter and Topsham along a largely traffic-free route by the river — one of the nicest short rides in the South West.

By car: Parking is limited and the streets are narrow. For a group, the train is genuinely easier, and everyone can have a glass of wine at lunch.

Why is Topsham perfect for a group day out?

A day in Topsham sounds low-key when you suggest it and ends up being the highlight of someone's month. The shape is simple: train down, breakfast at Route 2, browse the antiques, walk the Goat Walk, lunch at The Galley or the Globe, a half at the Bridge Inn and tapas at Mesita before the train home.

It needs almost no planning, costs less than a big night out, and gives you the kind of unhurried time together that food and connection are really about. For more ideas closer to home, see our guide to the best restaurants in Exeter.

Topsham restaurants: frequently asked questions