As mentioned previously, one of the primary reasons I love living in Exeter is the food. Moving here is the first time I've really experienced such a culture of independent restaurants and diverse menus. This is the first place I had heard of the concept of 'slow-food' or could presume that there would be at least one vegan option available (or more likely, whole vegan restaurants available).
Exeter thus has the perfect culture for startups like The Flat. The Flat is an independent vegetarian/vegan Italian found in the fantastic West Quarter on Fore Street. The idea of having multiple vegan pizza and pasta options blew my mind, and I was so excited to try it out.
It turns out that I was not the only one who was into it; we tried three separate times to visit (twice without reservation, and once with a reservation for my birthday). They were always jam packed with hour long waiting lists. People were into it. And once I finally managed to get in; I have to say that I agree.
Lucy and I arrived at 6:30 on a Friday to celebrate my birthday. This dinner was meant to be a little early because we had reservations for after dinner drinks at a cocktail bar down the road. So, we were on time. And we were in for a wait. The other three lived on the other side of the city, so Lucy and I already knew that we could settle in for a while with garlic bread and prosecco. It's our favorite thing to do!
Garlic bread is one of those food items that I will almost always enjoy. Any combination of carbohydrates and garlic is a win for me. Obviously, there is a hierarchy of garlic bread (with Dominos being very much near the bottom), but even the worst garlic bread around will still beat out most of food groups.
The Flats garlic bread was on a focaccia bread (£3.50) which, as confirmed by my Italian friend, was definitely focaccia and not a flat bread -- despite what you may have read on Eating Exeter. Lucy and I have famously voracious appetites and this potion size managed to keep us satisfied while we were waiting. Well, that and the bottle of prosecco.
Just as we had finished the garlic bread, the other three had arrived and the party could begin! Quick note, it is now 7:30, literally an hour later.
I'm sorry The Flat! You were very nice about it though.
After a quick extra starter of olives and nuts (£2.50), we were all ready to order. The menu was very concise, but well thought out. You can tell that the owners had a strong passion for accommodating for different dietary requirements -- everything can be made with gluten free bases and is completely meat-free with an inbuilt vegan option for every dish, and all the pizzas are hand made / hand stretched in store. It's pretty sweet!
Lucy went for the Truffle 10" inch (£11),
Alex wanted the Garlicky 10" inch (£9.50),
Sophie chose the Fresh 10" inch (£9.50),
Lewis had the Olive Tree 10" inch (£9),
And I had the Crema E Funghi (£9) pasta dish with extra Truffle Oil (80p).
The restaurant was very relaxed (clearly, as they let us eat and drink with only half a party available), the red wine was flowing and they were very attentive. The pizza's looked like they were more Neapolitan-type of pizza, with a thinner base and fluffier crust. All the pizzas were bright and colourful with the classic, Italian approach to toppings -- aka, used sparingly.
It is the bad hair cut of the bowl world.
We finished the night off by finishing off a couple bottles of red wine and everyone giving me the rest of my gifts(!). To have an independent pizzeria in the Exeter city centre is something to celebrate, especially given how cheap it is (pizza and beer from £15) and how well their ethos is integrated with Exeter as a whole.
The Flat, Exeter
Exeter
EX4 3AN
Reservation:
theflatexeter@gmail.com
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