The Bike Shed Bar - Cocktails and atmosphere, plus the best toilet in town

An odd name you might think for an underground bar and theatre, but this is just one of the many, many quirks that make the Bike Shed Bar and Theatre one of, if not the most, unique places to go in town.

 

If you have ever walked down Fore Street on a Saturday night, you’ll be used to seeing plenty of ‘merry’ and ‘vocal’ bystanders crowding around outside the large bars and clubs at the top of the hill, or slowly meandering their way home via one of the countless kebab shops or takeaways that litter that end of town. In the middle of this though, tucked behind Saint Olave’s church and below a bicycle repair shop (hence the name) you will find a haven for those who appreciate a bit of a more alternative and charming nights entertainment than those you will find vomiting on the street outside.

 

In this look at the establishment I am just going to focus on the bar side of things and I will leave the theatre for another day. I will say though, keep a look out for their schedule of performances as there is always something good on there.

Back in the Spring of 2010 the Particular Theatre group took a three week lease on the cellar below the Bike Shed to stage a performance. It’s success lead to the premises becoming a permanent fixture and an expansion to include a vintage cocktail bar.

And this is a cocktail bar like you’ve never really seen before. As you walk down the steps at the end of a dark alleyway you begin to worry that you’ve stepped into the plot of a bad horror movie, but when you open the door and the bottom you’re ensconced in a warm and friendly glow that you only get from places that are run with real passion and love.

As seems to be the norm now in anywhere that wants to come across as quirky and alternative all of the furniture is miss matched and second hand. Worn, leather high backed chairs sit alongside slightly uneven metal tables and seats that have taken out of other, now abandoned, theatres. At the Bike Shed though this isn’t done just to try and make the place cool and trendy. With the shoe string budget that they run on this is done more out of necessity rather than anything else. Around the edges of the bar and on the walls are a whole host of idiosyncratic, peculiar fixtures; a lime green stand up piano, a vintage electronic games machine, and old fashioned standard lamps that you used to see in your Grandmas old house. This certainly isn’t your minimalist, chrome and glass, post modern kind of place.

 

As is the problem with all of these kinds of places, the snug, cosy atmosphere that is generated by the low ceilings and more confined space does result in that you don’t need that many people in there before it get crowded. This is especially true in the lead up to a performance where you have an added 50-60 people in there enjoying a pre performance drink and fighting your way to the bar can feel like being squeezed onto crowded commuter train, only with more vintage clothing and peculiar facial hair. Once at the bar they can wet your whistle with an assortment of classic cocktails as well as some more modern concoctions. The place does scream out to you though to sit down and enjoy something like a Cosmopolitan or a Martini. Local ales and continental larger are also there for those who feel less comfortable holding a pink cocktail with a cherry in it.

Light snacks and homemade cakes are also available from the end of the bar, and who can say no to a slice of Victoria sponge, even at 11.30 at night?

My favourite part of the whole place though is the WC. An odd statement I know but anyone who has had a call of nature while they are there will know what I am talking about. If you think the bar is a slight time warp then the loo is on a whole different level. I would have taken a photo to show you all but I thought I might have been asked some awkward questions if I had started snapping away in there!

 

On a Friday and Saturday nights they have live music as well. This only adds to the already lively feel and is always in keeping with the mood. Resident DJs keep the ambiance relaxed and don’t deafen you with their beats like you get in so many places now a days (Ok, that made me sound like I’m 78 with a dodgy hip) and the live bands play a mix of jazz, funk, soul, blues and swing.  The times I’ve been there for live music have always been a delight and a friendly, party mood seems to infect everyone that is there. It certainly beats drinking shots in a loud club and getting into a fight in the street outside, but that’s just my opinion. If that’s what you’re after then there are plenty of places on Fore Street to accommodate you. But their bathrooms aren’t anywhere close to being as good.

Opening Times: Noon - Midnight (2am on Friday & Saturday); Sunday: 5pm - 11pm

Address:

The Bike Shed Theatre
162/3 Fore Street
Exeter
EX4 3AT

 

Web: http://www.bikeshedtheatre.co.uk/

Boston Tea Party - A local mainstay; and for good reason

I don’t drink coffee. Never have, never will. I’ve spent the best part of my working life though learning how to make it and serve it in all of the varied and celebrated fashions, but you will never catch me drinking the fowl and disgusting stuff. Which makes reviewing coffee shops in the city a bit of a challenge.  So if you want to find out about the aromas and subtle flavours of the hot beverages on offer, you better walk on home.

 

Boson Tea Party isn’t just another one of your ‘run of the mill’ coffee shops that are full of sofas and stupidly large arm chairs, pretending to be friendly and cosy, when all the while it’s just a carefully designed, corporate illusion to make you think you’re not just sat in an homogonous, carbon copy, worldwide chain. This place does have real character. A Starbucks or a Costa, for example, would never have such a ridiculously cramped and poorly designed entrance where you queue to place your orders. All you need are half a dozen people waiting for their caffeine fix and it feels like your trying to get to the front of the stage at Glastonbury. This might be because a lot of the cliental look like they’ve just come from the festival at Glastonbury. Situated only a short walk from Exeter College on Queen Street, Boston’s has become one of the major hang outs for those who can’t yet get into more ‘intoxicating’ establishments.

 This would normally put me off. If I wanted to hang around with a bunch of youthful and adolescent teenagers then I would be being investigated by Operation Yewtree. However, the atmosphere when your upstairs in the cavernous Georgian dining hall and the quality of the food will make you put up with the irritating behaviour of some of the patrons.

By now a long standing and well know mainstay of the city Boston Tea Party offers you a great alternative to one of the many chain coffee shops that have multiplied across the town. No matter what time you seem to walk in there is always a melee of activity behind the counter. This is because they make all their meals, sandwiches and cakes fresh, by hand, on the premises.  You have to have a very strong will not to be sucked into buying a piece of cake or brownie that is just sitting there, tempting you, in the counter as you order. Regrettably I do not possess the afore mentioned iron will so have sampled, over the years, rather a lot of their sweet delectations, so I can tell you with some authority that they are delicious.

As for main meals; they serve breakfast all day, which makes them that much more popular for those seeking a good brunch, (plus, this is the only place I’ve ever been to that has Eggy Bread on the menu; genius). You can also grab a burger, various sandwiches, soups and salads all made with free range, locally sourced meat and eggs, as well as bread from the award winning Hobbs House Bakery. They also do a blistering array of teas, unsurprising given the name of the place, including various black, herbal, green and flavoured varieties.

 The unique selling point of the place, as I touched on earlier, is the room upstairs. After escaping the crush of people in the poky downstairs serving area you escape into an echoy, wooden floored hall with a high ceiling and huge windows that let in volumes of natural light. It must cover many of the surrounding shops below. It looks like a room where Victorian children should have been taught ballet. The floor is covered in wooden tables all of different shapes and heights and surrounded by miss-matched chairs that are far more comfortable than they look. But the best thing about this place is the ambience. Even with such a high ceiling it never feels empty or austere. The noise of chatter and laughter reverberate around the room creating a welcoming and comforting mood. It’s always a bit chaotic; with people running around the huge tables in the centre, tripping over stray bags and chair legs, clearing room for the next people to stumble up the stairs into this bustling and convivial environment.

This is why myself, and many others, keep choosing to go back there. There is quite honestly nowhere else like it in Exeter. Sure you might have to put up with sharing a table with some adolescent college kids, but the joy of sitting somewhere unique and special; that isn’t just a copy, of a copy, of a copy, of a coffee house an executive designed because it tested well in a focus group, outweighs this by far. Boston Tea Party is always busy, and the reason it’s always busy is because people want to go there. They could go next door to a big chain, but many don’t. That’s a pretty good sign I think.

Opening Times:

Mon – Sat: 7am – 6pm

Sun: 8am – 6pm

Address:

84 Queen Street

Exeter

EX4 3RP

Brody's Breakfast Bistro - Simple and unpretentious; just what the doctor ordered

It’s Sunday morning, and I’m feeling a little bit delicate.  The night before was spent at the Christmas market (see last week’s post) sampling the various different flavours of Mulled cider that were keeping me, as well as everyone else there who was doing some late night shopping, nice and warm. I am fortunate enough though to have two pieces of luck. The first; I know just the cure for such self inflicted agonies is a hearty English breakfast. The second; I live within a zombies walk of the new dinner Brody's Breakfast Bistro.

Opened in Queen Street, opposite the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, in July this takes the ideas and ethos of an American style dinner but gives it an authentic British twist with its focus on the good old Full English Breakfast.  This is the second of such places, with the original opening in Torquay a few years ago, and since throwing open its doors it has been a roaring success.

Simplicity is everything, which when you are hungover, is very much appreciated. There are only two different prices depending on what you are wanting to eat, starting at £4.99 for a New York style Bagel or American style pancakes, or £6.49 for a the Full English. This may seem a bit on the pricy side at first but when you realise that includes free drinks, free cereal and toast, AND you can go back as many times as you like and just keep on piling your plate up, then you realise this is an incredibly generous offer.  

I feel like a kid in a candy store. What do I try first?

Ok... just relax, breath, it’s not all going to suddenly disappear like Keira Knightley did in that dream the other night, take your time, and just work your way through.

Starting with the basics, they have a wide range of branded cereals to choose from as well as a good choice of sliced breads for your toast (which we’ll get back to in a minuet).  If you go for the pancakes then there is a cool little machine where you just push a button, and 2 minutes later a couple of freshly made, thick pancakes drop out onto your plate. This two minuets though seems like a bloody eternity though, and with only the one machine when it’s busy, you can be in for a bit of a wait. However the pancakes are worth it in the end. With a choice of eight different syrups to slather over the top of your stacks, such as Strawberry and the traditional Maple, you get an authentic American Pancake experience.

The pièce de résistance is of course the fried breakfast. With all that you would come to expect, plus white pudding which you don’t often see, this is what it’s all about. And don’t be thinking this is just what you’d get at a cheap greasy spoon, they source locally and use naturally fed outdoor reared pork and free range eggs. Everything you can have is fresh and the kitchen staff seem genuinely nice and helpful, which is an unexpected delight.  Finally, after helping yourself, you sit down on one of the long, communal tables in the window where you find you’ve got your own toaster to play with and make as much toast with as you want!

 

An exciting, and unique addition to the restaurant scene in Exeter, Brody’s seems to be going from strength to strength. Although not the biggest in terms of size, they have made the most of the space they have, but still at peak times on Saturday and Sunday mornings you will have to queue to get in. I was also surprised to see that they didn’t open in the evenings.  I would have imagined Bre-nner  (Breakfast Dinner) would have been something that could have made an alluring alternative, especially to those on their way into town for a ‘heavy’ night. 

This is more than just somewhere to get a hangover cure though. This is a charming and down to earth place that puts the emphasis on the food and the happiness of the customers, rather than wasting it on needles flim flam. You’re not going to get Michelin stared cuisine, but then Brody’s is not pretending to deliver it. Some might turn their noses up at having to clear their own plates, or the whole idea of buffet style service, however I believe Brody’s supplies a healthy dose of back to basic reality in a market that seems far too caught up in its own self-importance and pretentiousness. Much like a good English Breakfasts cuts through the dull agony of a hangover; Brody’s cuts through all the formalities and delivers an honest and good quality service.

 

Hours

Mon - Fri: 08:00 - 14:30 Sat - Sun: 08:00 - 15:30

http://brodysbistro.com/