Inside Sacred Grounds in McCoy's Arcade with Hayley and Nathan

Deep in Exeter's heart, independent spaces continue to redefine local culture through creativity and community. In this feature, we visit Sacred Grounds to speak with Hayley and Nathan about running a plant-based destination that has become an integral part of the city's culinary scene for seven years.

Operating as a vibrant daytime cafe and restaurant, Sacred Grounds blends relaxed brunch culture with ambitious evening experiences:

"We are Sacred Grounds. We are a plant-based restaurant café in the daytime, serving brunch, & then we also have supper clubs... and we run our own art market in the arcade outside. Been here for seven years."

At the core of the kitchen's philosophy is a deep commitment to seasonality and teamwork, with a creative roster of chefs continuously experimenting with new flavours:

"We run our daytime menu, which is every week, which is seasonally... we have like a really creative team of pop-up chefs who are always trying out new flavours & new ideas."

Among these evening offerings are the venue's popular seasonal supper clubs, which bring a fine-dining approach to plant-based gastronomy:

"We started to do seasonal supper clubs, so they happen kind of twice every month... each time one of our chefs comes in & showcases their kind of latest ideas & creations using seasonal produce to create like a five-course fine dining style tasting menu."

What draws diners through the door, however, goes far beyond dietary labels. The welcoming atmosphere and meticulous execution attract a broad spectrum of locals and visitors alike:

"A lot of our customers are not specifically vegetarian or vegan, they just come in because they know the food is good & they love to see what we're doing as well."

One of the venue's most iconic innovations is its legendary plant-based egg substitute. A creation born from months of meticulous culinary experimentation:

"We have like an award-winning vegan egg because we make it here in house... it took us three months. We made so many eggs, making eggs every day, it was a bit like a science experiment & then finally we cracked the recipe... and then when we came back after lockdown, we were able to launch our vegan egg. It's been so loved by everybody... now we're kind of famous for our vegan poached eggs."

Looking ahead, Hayley and Nathan are setting their sights on expanding their creative footprint beyond the cafe walls:

"For the last seven years we have had like the idea of making a cookbook... we have now got like amazing recipes. There's not a day that goes by that someone doesn't ask for the cookbook recipe. It'd be nice to just be able to like, here's our gorgeous cookbook."