The Dinosaur Cafe

I’ve wanted to visit the Dinosaur Cafe by the Clock Tower in Exeter for I don’t know how long. I always hear positive vibes when people talk about it. 

Steve, Alex and I popped down there on a Friday lunchtime to see what the fuss was about. We arrived at 1.15pm and the place was absolutely rammed. There was one table that was being cleared as we walked in through the door so we jumped on that one. It was right by the window too so we could watch the world whizz by.

 After looking through the menu and spying on what other tables were eating we decided on getting lots of different dishes and sharing. For those of you who don’t know Exeter, the Dinosaur cafe serves mostly Turkish food. There are about 7 or 8 main dishes and the same amount of starters. They do English food too like jacket potatoes, omelettes, sandwiches and toasties if you feel that way inclined. They even open for breakfast and offer four or five different options. We went down the Turkish route.. We ordered a regular mixed salad plate that had a spoonful of all the salads on the menu.. Then we had one of all the starters apart from the lentil soup as it is difficult to share. The vine leaves because they had run out which was such a shame as I adore stuffed vine leaves. The food came out really quickly considering they were jam packed. All nicely presented and perfect amounts to share. The falafel were the best I had tasted in a long while. Sometimes they can be a little dry.. These were moist and really full of flavour.

I would happily go back to the Dinosaur Cafe in a flash. It was reminiscent of eateries that I had visited in Cyprus. I haven’t been to Turkey but both Steve and Alex said it seemed pretty traditional in style. They open until 9pm so I would like to go back on the evening and have one of the main dishes with a glass of Turkish wine. I can dream about being on holiday soaking up the sun.

The Dinosaur cafe might not look like much from the outside but I can assure you it is a fine place to eat. The diners were a mixed bunch too. Business women, families, couples and friends all enjoying a natter and some good food. Give the place a try. You won’t regret it. Our complete bill for the three of us with two diet cokes and one Efes beer was under £30.00. Not bad for a substantial lunch.

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