Beefy Boys Exeter Opens in Old BrewDog: Hours and Booking

The Beefy Boys burger restaurant is now open in Exeter city centre. It has taken over the former BrewDog unit at the Guildhall Shopping Centre on Queen Street.

The Hereford-based brand says the restaurant has created almost 50 local jobs. It is the chain’s seventh restaurant and its most southerly. The official opening followed a Las Vegas themed launch party for 250 invited guests, according to the brand’s press release, issued by its PR agency Encore PR.

The Guildhall Shopping Centre has also confirmed the opening on its own news page.

Opening hours, booking and contact

The restaurant’s details, from The Beefy Boys’ locations page:

Tables can be booked on the brand’s website. The press release says walk-ins are also welcome.

What is in the unit

The release describes a two-storey restaurant with outdoor seating. The menu is built around American-style “dirty” burgers. The brand says it uses grass-fed, dry-aged beef from Herefordshire, according to its August soft launch announcement.

Menu items named by the brand include:

• the Oklahoma Onion Boy Cali Style burger, which won Best Burger at the 2023 National Burger Awards
• The Beefy Boy and The Dirty Boy burgers
• loaded pastrami fries, chicken wings and chicken tenders
• two vegetarian burgers, the Beanie Boy and the Leafy Boy

How it got here

The brand first announced the Exeter site earlier this year. It said then it aimed to open by the end of the summer and expected to create between 40 and 50 jobs.

A discounted soft launch followed. Diners who pre-booked between Tuesday 1 and Thursday 10 September got 20% off their food bill in return for feedback, according to the soft launch announcement.

The Beefy Boys was founded in Hereford in 2011 by four childhood friends. Its other restaurants are in Hereford, Shrewsbury, Cheltenham, Bath, Oxford and Nottingham.

Co-founder Anthony Murphy said in the release: “Opening in Exeter has been something we’ve been looking forward to for a long time and seeing so many people come out to celebrate with us was incredible. The new restaurant has created almost 50 new local jobs and the team in Exeter are absolutely amazing.”

The Beefy Boys Exeter opening, step by step

The opening was staged over about a fortnight rather than done in a day, which is why different accounts give different “opening dates”:

1. A paid trial run. The brand recruited “burger testers” for a discounted soft launch: pre-booked tables between Tuesday 1 and Thursday 10 September got 20% off the food bill in exchange for feedback.
2. A VIP launch night. A Las Vegas themed party for 250 invited guests, described by the brand as the official opening. It was not open to the public.
3. Normal trading. The restaurant now runs seven days a week on the hours in the table above, taking both bookings and walk-ins.

So if you tried to walk in during the first ten days of September and were turned away, that was the pre-booked soft launch, not a closure.

Finding the door, and the two postcodes

The restaurant is in the Higher Market part of the Guildhall Shopping Centre, with its frontage on Queen Street, in the unit BrewDog used to occupy.

Two different postcodes are in circulation for it. The Beefy Boys’ own locations page gives EX4 3HW; Exeter City Council’s food register records the premises as Unit 12, Higher Market, Queen Street, EX4 3HP, under licence reference 26/00134/COMM. Both sit on the same block of Queen Street, so either will get a satnav close enough, and the Queen Street frontage is the one to look for.

Frequently asked questions

Is The Beefy Boys Exeter open now?

Yes. It trades seven days a week: 12pm to 9.30pm Monday to Friday, 11.30am to 9.30pm on Saturday and 12pm to 8pm on Sunday.

Where exactly is it?

In the former BrewDog unit at the Higher Market, Guildhall Shopping Centre, with the entrance on Queen Street in the city centre.

Do you have to book?

No. Tables can be booked through the brand’s website, but the press release says walk-ins are welcome too.

How many jobs did it create?

Almost 50, according to the brand. The original announcement earlier in the year put the estimate at 40 to 50.

What is on the menu?

American-style burgers built on grass-fed, dry-aged Herefordshire beef, including the Oklahoma Onion Boy Cali Style that won Best Burger at the 2023 National Burger Awards, plus loaded pastrami fries, wings, tenders and two vegetarian burgers.

Does it have a hygiene rating?

Not yet. The Food Standards Agency register still shows it as awaiting inspection, checked on 22 September 2026. That is normal for a business this new.

Which restaurant number is this for the chain?

The seventh, and the furthest south. The others are in Hereford, Shrewsbury, Cheltenham, Bath, Oxford and Nottingham.

Hygiene rating: not inspected yet

The restaurant is registered with Exeter City Council at Unit 12, Higher Market. Its entry on the Food Standards Agency register shows it as awaiting inspection, so it has no hygiene rating yet. That is normal for a newly opened food business. The rating will appear on the register once the council has inspected it.

What it means for you

• Eating there: it is open seven days a week. Booking is available but you can also walk in.
• Getting there: the council’s Guildhall car park has 397 bays. Our guide to parking in Exeter lists it alongside the other city centre car parks and their charges.
• Working there: the brand advertises its vacancies on its website. For other openings in the city, see our Exeter jobs page.
• More to do in the centre: our things to do in Exeter page covers what else is on.