Coolings Wine Bar

Now im not a fan of the main level, but once you head down stairs its a completly diff scene! from the low ceilings, to the cave like walls, you just feel like your in some sort of secret den! it does get busy, which is a shame since sometimes theres hasnt been seating, and its not much of a place for standing around. But if your lucky to have a little corner all to yourself with your closest mates, you’ve found a perfect place to drink and chat!
also look into the drink specials, they’ve got a few 241 nights!

Liked the downstairs bar and the atmosphere in there, A OK

Needs to reinvent itself. Same old. It never looks inviting. Food is OK — just.

I’ve been a fairly infrequent visitor to Coolings over the years since the mid eighties and I must say that it used to be a place where all the interesting people hung out. Now it is still a great place and the atmosphere is good, but I miss that old crowd. My big question is that there used to be an owner called (I believe) David Belford. I have tried to find him through the internet (just out of curiosity), but have had no luck. I guess he would be mid seventies by now — so who knows?
All I know is that I will still keep visiting Coolings when I come back and hope that it doesn’t go under like so many other businesses in Gandy Street!

I have to confess to a bit of bias here, because I’ve been going to Coolings since about 1982 (I feel sooooo old!). It’s seen me through my years living in Exeter and more recently as a great lunch stop off while we’ve been holidaying in Devon.
In fact, apart from more comfortable chairs, I don’t think it’s changed a great deal since 1982, and yes, that is a compliment. The basic layout is still the same, with a small amount of tables upstairs and more in the cellar, and the loos are as funky as ever.
There are still loads of choices on the menu, with plenty of healthy and filling options. The salad bar is a thing of beauty and the four dip salad something that should be cloned and made available elsewhere, so I don’t have to drive 150 miles for it! And I will eventually forgive Coolings for ditching the spiced ham salad.
Alongside some decent and varied alcoholic drink options, I was delighted to find they now sell Luscombe fruit juices, which are absolutely delicious.
Coolings is situated down a side street near the museum and library, with parking available over at the shopping centre.
If you plan to be there at peak times, arrive early, bag a table and have a drink, or you’ll find yourself wedged into a corner somewhere.

I haven’t been a regular drinker in Exeter for a few years, but I was pleasantly surprised when I stopped here for lunch on a Sunday.
The food was very nice — and unlike the rest of Exeter, it was not too busy!
It was also nice to sit in the comfy chairs and read the papers!

Coolings wine bar, hidden away on Gandy Street, is a lovely little place to eat. There’s not a huge number of seats on the ground level but there are more seats downstairs and I believe it opens up as the winebar proper downstairs in the evenings.
They serve a lovely selection of food, including large salads, roasts, jacket potatoes with salads etc — very nice stuff and very filling!

This wine bar is okay but quite overated to be honest. Whilst it does nice food it is tiny inside and finding somewhere to sit on a Friday/​Saturday evening is near enough impossible. I also think the food is quite overpriced for what it is and that there are nicer more intimate wine bars in Exeter.

Never been a fan of Coolings, this place always give the impression (usually with it’s prices) that it would perhaps prefer to be a trendy London bar.
If there are 50 pubs in Exeter then this place would probably just make my top 45.

Its a bit pricey for Exeter, but its a great place to hang out, and all the cool kids are etc. They have a large selection of wines and lagers and seats for the street in the summer.
Its in a great location, down the old Gandy Street. This is a cobbled alleyway in the heart of town and hard to find unless you’re looking. The best bit about this bar is the cellars downstairs. I hired it for my 21^st and its got a great atmosphere — although not well suited if you’re particularly tall :)