There is something quietly brilliant happening in the UK right now.

While the big chains continue to consolidate, rebrand and optimise for efficiency over experience, something altogether more interesting is emerging in towns and cities across the country. Independent venues, real ones, with character and personality and genuine passion behind them, are having a moment.

And right here in Exeter, we think we're part of it.

The State Of The UK Hospitality Industry In 2026

It has not been an easy few years for UK hospitality. Rising costs, shifting consumer habits and the lingering effects of the post-pandemic landscape have forced many operators to rethink everything, from their menus and pricing to the very nature of what they offer their customers.

But something interesting has emerged from all of that pressure. The venues that are thriving are not the ones that cut corners and played it safe. They are the ones that doubled down on experience, on identity, on the things that make them genuinely different from everywhere else.

According to recent industry data, experiential hospitality, venues that offer something beyond food and drink, is one of the fastest growing segments in the UK leisure sector in 2026. Comedy nights. Live music. Themed events. Immersive dining. Bottomless experiences. These are not passing trends. They are a fundamental shift in what people want from a night out.

What Exeter's Hospitality Scene Tells Us

Exeter is a fascinating city. Home to a thriving university, a growing professional population and an increasingly confident independent business community, it is a city that punches well above its weight when it comes to food, drink and culture.

What Exeter has always had is a strong sense of local identity. People here support independent businesses. They care about where their money goes and who they are giving it to. They would rather spend an evening in somewhere with genuine personality than a corporate chain that feels the same in every city in the country.

That instinct, towards the real, the independent, the genuine, is something we feel every single week at Oriels.

Why All Summer Long Matters

When we sat down earlier this year to plan our summer programme, we asked ourselves a simple question: what does Exeter actually need?

The answer we kept coming back to was variety. Consistency. And something to look forward to every single day of the week.

That is what All Summer Long is about.

Not a one-off event. Not a single big night. But a full summer of experiences, across every day of the week, that gives people in Exeter a genuine reason to come out, try something new and keep coming back.

The Rise Of The Comedy Night

One of the most exciting trends in UK nightlife right now is the explosion of live comedy in non-traditional venues.

For decades, stand-up comedy in the UK was largely confined to dedicated comedy clubs, and outside of London, those were few and far between. But in 2025 and 2026, that is changing rapidly. Bars, restaurants and independent venues across the country are recognising that a great comedy night is one of the most compelling reasons to go out on a Sunday, a night that traditionally struggles to pull people out of the house.

At Oriels, we launched our Sunday Night Comedy Club in April 2026 and the response from Exeter has been extraordinary. Every week we bring professional acts from the UK comedy circuit, BBC comedians, Edinburgh Fringe headliners, Comedians of the Year, to a room that holds a few hundred people in the heart of the city. For £6.50 a ticket.

The intimacy of a venue like ours makes comedy feel completely different to watching it in a large theatre. You are close to the acts. The energy in the room is immediate. And a great line lands differently when you are surrounded by people you are sharing cocktails with.

Bottomless Brunch - More Than Just Drinks

The bottomless brunch has had its critics over the years. Too focused on volume over quality. More about drinking than experience. A product rather than an occasion.

We have always believed that done properly, bottomless brunch is one of the most genuinely joyful things you can do on a Saturday afternoon.

The key, and this is where we think Oriels does it differently, is in the theming, the entertainment and the detail. Every single Saturday at Oriels has a different theme. A different energy. A different reason to come back.

From A Right Royal Brunch to Disco, Festival, Naughty Noughties and beyond, our brunch themes are not just a name on a poster. They inform the music, the entertainment, the atmosphere and the experience from the moment guests walk in the door.

This summer's brunch calendar runs all the way through to September and we are genuinely so proud of what we have put together. The response from Exeter has been incredible, most Saturdays sell out weeks in advance and we are seeing guests booking multiple dates throughout the summer.

That tells us something important. People are not just coming to Oriels for a drink. They are making it part of their summer.

The Independent Advantage

There is a reason why independent venues are winning right now, and it comes down to something that cannot be replicated by a chain.

When you walk into Oriels, every decision that has been made about the experience, the menu, the events programme, the music, the staff, the decor, has been made by people who genuinely care about what they are doing and who they are doing it for.

We know our regulars. We know what Exeter wants. We know when something is not working and we change it. We do not have a head office to report to or a brand guidelines document that prevents us from being ourselves.

That freedom, to be genuinely, authentically who we are, is the single biggest advantage an independent venue has over a chain. And it is something we never take for granted.

What's Next For Oriels

July is going to be one of our best months yet. A packed Comedy Club lineup. Four incredible brunch themes. Friday Night Live every week. Aldo Vanucci's House of Hip Hop every Thursday. Indie Tuesdays. Happy Hour. And England matches providing a very good excuse for 2-4-1 cocktails and £4 pints.

But beyond July, we are already thinking about what comes next. New events for the autumn. New experiences for the winter. And a Christmas at Oriels that Exeter is going to be talking about for a very long time.

We are a young venue, opened in 2025 and still, in many ways, just getting started. But we know who we are, we know what we stand for and we know what Exeter deserves.

And we are absolutely committed to delivering it. Every single day.