Winter dining on the Snark

From October 2023 to February 2024 we will be berthed in the canal basin in central Exeter; serving dinner Thursday, Friday and Saturday and brunch on Sundays.

This is something very different from the typical small al a carte restaurant. No endless menus or impenetrable and over priced wine lists. You can put your decision making hats away. Just come and be well fed and watered, enjoy the company of a mixture of fellow guests and leave comfortably replete.

We seat 24 people in a single sitting on benches at shared tables for a fixed price meal. Dinner is usually 10 to 12 dishes making up four(ish) courses, served at the table with guests sharing bowls and baskets of food. There will be a mixture of omnivorous and vegetarian food with dishes arriving at the table as each is ready in the open galley. Sunday brunch is simpler and served in the same way. Please arrive on time or there may be none of your favourite dish left!

The menus will be based on the traditional food of a place in the world we have been and loved. So far we have identified; England, Moorish Spain and North Africa, Italy and China. The food will all be home cooked from local and seasonal ingredients, we even bake our own bread. We rotate the menus every fortnight and the exact choice of dishes will depend on what is in season, what looks especially good at the markets and what was particularly popular (or not ) in previous sittings.

Snark is fully licenced and we sell a simple range of wines, beer and soft drinks over the counter.

To keep food waste to a minimum we need to know who is coming in advance. This allows us to keep the price low and our business sustainable. We will take bookings from 28 days to 48 hours in advance. You pay on line by card or direct bank transfer, when you book. If you wish to cancel all or part of your booking you must contact us at least 48 hours before the start of the sitting to receive a full refund.

We try to keep our dinners as sociable and inclusive as possible, so we limit bookings in the main hold to four people at a time. You can all sit together but we would rather you mingled. Larger groups can book the Owners Cabin a private dining room for up to 10. We can not accommodate children under 8 at dinner. We do not allow smoking or vaping on board, above or below decks. We do not allow pets on board.

We endeavour to identify any allergens in our dishes on our nightly menus, however all food is prepared in our small galley and there is inevitably some cross contamination. So unfortunately we cannot guarantee any dishes are allergen free.

If you want to organise an private event like an office party or a birthday celebration please contact us and we can reserve the whole boat for your group. More information here private events