Police sources told The Daily Telegraph the man is a white male, aged 22, from the South West and is thought to be a convert to Islam.
A team from the Counter-terrorism Command at Scotland Yard was travelling to the scene last night as investigations continued.
Devon and Cornwall chief constable Stephen Otter said that a second device was found near the restaurant but refused to comment on a possible motive.
He said: “There were two devices, one on the café and one nearby. We do not know precisely how bad it could have been if they had gone off but it would have been quite serious.
“That is why we are treating this as a serious incident and investigating it quite thoroughly. In terms of motive we will look at all possibilities.”
Eyewitnesses described three explosions going off in the toilets of the Giraffe restaurant, a chain of “global food” outlets.
The explosions happened around 12.50pm as the restaurant was getting ready for lunchtime service.
Architect Peter Lacey, aged 63, and his wife Celia, aged 60, from Exeter had just arrived to have lunch.
He said: “I heard a noise which sounded like a gunshot and at first I thought it was a kitchen accident of some sort.
“About a second afterwards there was another identical sound and maybe a second later a third.
“Afterwards I saw a little piece of orange material which looked as if could have come from a cartridge and which may have been blown under the door.
We're lucky that no one but the bomber was injured in this incident. It's also interesting that the suspect in custody is a recent convert to Islam. I wonder where he got the idea to carry out a suicide bombing, to say nothing of where he obtained the materials and expertise to make the bomb. Those are all questions that investigators will be sure to track down.
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