Ryan Thompson
We arrived a little early so avoided the rush. I can see this pub being a popular place for a great night of food and company though!
From the Pork belly appetizer to the Steak and Ale pie, everything was charming, delicious and hearty!
Finished off with a great Sticky Date pudding to remind me of being at Granny’s.
A definite addition to the library of restaurant’s for a regular visit.
Gin W
Nice little pub at the entrance of Harpenden town. Had a Sunday Roast and pudding plus 2x prosecco 2x cokes (1 lg 1 sm) and the total bill was £65 for two people. Would definitely go again as the roast came out piping hot 😊 and the service and staff were good! Thanks
Marina Hudson
Incredible meal of venison shin, slow cooked to delicate perfection in red wine gravy served over potato mash with crisp cabbage. We grew up in Oregon & Montana eating venison and this was by far the most tender and subtle venison flavor ever. A divine special for a Tuesday! Friendly proprietor and great to see families & pups on the patio. The best meal we’ve had in ages. Thank you The Old Bell!
Caroline Jones
Gillian was our waitress who provided a fabulous service. We were well looked after and food delicious as always. And appreciate my bottle of prosecco for my birthday complimentary x
Marc Berry
Lovely welcoming pub, very pleasant and helpful staff, nice and interesting menu selection. We had the sharing board and a starter of pheasant strips with honey. All nicely presented. I could analyse the food for you bit by bit, but all in all, a very nice place.
Simon Lowy
Our hosts Gillian and Jacob looked after us superbly. We went for our anniversary as we liked the look of the sea bass and scallops on the menu, particularly because it was not smothered in creamy sauces or other distracting flavours- we were not disappointed! It was excellent. 5 stars all round except for atmosphere- this is not the fault of the venue, simply the place was not busy. So we encourage you to go as it is delicious food at affordable prices served with a smile.
Michelle Young
Brilliant food, fabulous atmosphere and service. The jewel in the crown is Mike the manager. Great fun. Can’t recommend this pub/restaurant enough xxx
Andrés Terol
Lovely pub with great service and delicious food.
I took my brother there when he came to visit us from Spain. He loved the food and, especially, the red whine recommended by the waitress.
SNK
The staff are always welcoming. I meet a friend for a drink here once a month and then every few months we dine. Normally all is great but last night's dinner was rather "average" and disappointing.
I had Steak & Ale Pie with Mash and "seasonal veg". Sadly my first pie was ice cold in the middle, but my plate was whisked away with an apology, however the second pie had far less filling and although looked appealing these was little to it other than pastry.
Seasonal veg comprised of carrots, parsnips and peas, so not really very seasonal for August. The mash was rather tasteless too.
Our dessert was not the show stopper that the description promised either.
Such a pity as the staff really do work hard and it is a lovely pub.
Darren
One of the best meals I've had out. Great atmosphere and service too.
Matt Gonzales
I am editing my rating because The Old Bell staff was fantastic to get the parking ticket refunded. Thank you so much.
__________
My family and I were visiting from the USA. We had a nice meal here, and a good experience. The one star rating is due to the fact that when I got home to America, my rental car agency had charged me $144 due to some bogus parking ticket from "euro car park" that apparently The Old Bell contracts with to rip off their customers. So upset by this and I can't get a hold of anyone to fix this. Such a joke that a paying customer is charged such a massive parking ticket for no reason.
Max Walters
came in as a group of four for dinner.
Outstanding food and service.
Cerri was fantastic and really looked after us. The team are all very welcoming and friendly. Their specials all looked really amazing especially the duck 👌
We will be back here again soon as it’s one of the best meals Iv had in a long time.
A big thank you to the chefs. The head chef Greg came out to see how we were enjoying our dinner and his new specials.
Thank you old bell. See you soon
Gary Stevens
Drove pass , drove back , drove inn !!
Hadn't booked so we were the classic walk inns !! for a Saturday, registered our car registration which is a have to if you don't want a fine !! Seated menu's drinks ordered .. fab .. no rush looky looked @ the menu ordered some fantastic food .. starters were to die for & quite portional .. loved the prawns , mains next & no fault there either.. one sweet between two !! Three drinks to be had all for £83 ... get in ..
Nice laid out pub , good service, nice polite land lady !! fab food.. toilets could do with a re-vamp ? ( but most pub toilets do !! )
I'll/we be trying the Sunday roast next time but I'm thinking we'll have to book !!
Mary Hughez
We popped to this pub today for a bite to eat, food was lovely, as were the staff, we forgot to register our car on entering, but then did, when I remembered,!! it's a lovely well kept establishment, we would definitely go back.
Allan Jones
Went here with the family and had a really good time and the food was excellent. Would recommend to families.
Denise Roberts
Lovely pub, nice atmosphere, good food. Best pint my husband has had in months. We will be back
Laura Bridges
Excellent Sunday roast - the best I've had in the area in a long time! Scrumptious apple crumble tart and custard as well. Gutted I didn't stumble across this lovely pub sooner, as I'll be moving away in a couple of weeks. Will be visiting again when I'm in the area for sure!
Friendly staff, clean and newly decorated.
Laura Jones
Never been in before, but decided it looked nice so we'd give it a try & we weren't disappointed! It's a lovely pub - we sat inside, but from what I could see there's plenty of seating outside too. The staff were really friendly & we all thoroughly enjoyed our meals. We have all said we'd happily go there again....
Louise Coward
Fantastic customer service. The food was really good too. There was a slight issue with my main but it was dealt with brilliantly. Thank you Mike and team for a lovely evening!
Julian Head
Visited Friday 22nd September 3017
Dreadful food (again).... new menu starter (Yorkshire pudding) was so hard I could barely cut it with a knife.... burger very over cooked and dry (if I want leather I’ll buy new shoes)... the only thing the chefs seem to be able to cook really well there are chips.....
service so slow it took over two hours for two courses....
That’s it for me I won’t be going back again despite living within walking distance...
Staff always friendly but the food is so bad now it’s not worth it (you don’t know if you will have a good meal or not and usually we end up sending at least one dish back because it’s badly cooked)
This place needs a massive shake up
Emily Gardner
I’ve never rated anywhere so low and if it wasn’t for the nice staff it would of been lower. We ordered steak, 1 medium 1 medium rare... don’t know why we were asked our preference as they both came out well done. Twice cooked chips weren’t cooked so had to be re-done so by the time we got it back our peppercorn sauce was thick and stodgy... the grilled tomato was rock hard a steak knife struggled to cut through it, the mushrooms had shrivelled up to the size of a grain of rice. It wasn’t busy so don’t know how it could of gone so wrong. Our first night out child free was a disaster and we left full up on disappointment. Really felt for the waitress as she seemed embarrassed and the manager was kind enough to give us a bottle to say sorry. Won’t be visiting again and wouldnt recommend.
Debbie Homer
Should have walked away when we entered the pub and were hit by the odour and noticed the lack of customers! But no we thought we would give them a go. Brusque service from the older waitress put us on edge but the young lady who took our order was perfectly pleasant and helpful - she should escape and find herself a job where they match her skills!
We were about to leave after waiting half an hour for the starters when they arrived! Five minutes later we had booked a table at The Fox down the road, cancelled the mains, advised we would pay for what we had and were leaving. Why? The Mushroom and Stilton on toasted Ciabatta ( we think because it certainly didn’t look like it) was a) cold, b) sloppy and c) disgusting) the Scollops and Chorizo were undercooked and tasteless. Their only redeeming feature was they didn’t charge us for the uneaten starters! Do yourselves a favour, drive straight past to The Fox or back into Harpenden. Anything is better than this place.
Nikki Hewitt
Friendly staff and atmoshere and as always a great roast dinner. Been many times and never had a bad meal. Would recommend.
Sally Cook
Went here for mothets day the staff were very nice an roast was lovley. My only gripe was that i dont eat veg an would of thought i would of got a few more roast potatos, they had run out of chicken goujons. They were very busy but as you had to book I would of thought they would of stocked up. I would recommend a visit .
Vic Hibbert
The staff were very friendly and attentive but the surroundings were basic and lacked a few finishing touches. The cushions on the bay window seat were worn such that there were several inches of foam rubber on display and even that was crumbling. Granted we were at the back and offside of the building but the view through the dusty window was of a drainpipe and broken larchlap fencing. A little outside tidying and some internal window dressing would have improved it no end. The Sunday Roast was average. The meat was tasty but the veg and stuffing had clearly been 'held' for some hours. The Summer Pudding was tasty, if unusual. It seemed to be made of cake rather than the customary bread but perhaps that's local styling.
I was dismayed at having to pay £1 (reclaimable by patrons) to park my car and avoid a fine.
As we left a new arrival asked us what the food was like and we said .. " average, typical pub fare" , which seems to sum it up.
We'd probably go back again.
Sinead Quinn
My family and I, including my 3 year old enjoyed a gorgeous meal last night for New Year's Eve, bar staff couldn't do enough for you, all the extras such as canapés, sorbet and of course the glass of presecco were perfect. Place looked amazing was very special will be recommending this to everyone. The starter through to the dessert was flawless and tasted delicious. 5/5 well done.
Sandy Nicklin
Thanks for a lovely Sunday Lunch today. We had a great time celebrating my Son-in-laws birthday.. a big thank you to all the staff.. excellent service and a big well done for working in the heat to give us a lovely day. X
Tarnya Harris Stern
Went for dinner tonight. Waited to be seated for 8 minutes and then had the drinks from the bar thrown over the floor and all over my feet. No apology. Nothing. Still asked to be seated. Waited 55 mins for our meal. No apology. Asked for the manager. Advised what happened to be told they’re short staffed!!!! No offer of a drink. Nothing. Still got sticky feet from drinks being thrown over me !!! Heard 3 other people complain. Such bad management and service.
Kevin Russell
Very welcoming and good service Food could have been hotter (temparature) and minted potatoes were a bit overcooked. Overall not bad would not need much effort to get a 5 rating
Bunny Little
Service was brilliant and the staff were attentive and friendly. The food was hot and delicious and the wait between courses was just right. Will definitely come here again
Carl Graham Harris
Very welcoming and warm place to drop into on a cold January night. Service was excellent. My son and I enjoyed a very happy hour or so. Well worth a visit.
Avril Stepsky
Wonderful atmosphere. Not noisy or too quiet. Had delicious food and excellent service. The car park is pay and display but free on Saturday night. Only complaint was a slightly long wait consider the restaurant was far from full. The waiter explained the kitchen was very small, which is a shame but it was worth the wait
Samantha Basquille
Went for lunch on Wednesday with the family. Food was great. Good variety and satisfied everyone from the kids to the great grandparents. Friendly and welcoming staff ..... look forward to going again �
Carly Mciver
Amazing staff, Amazing food, best roast ever and very reasonably priced!! Would highly reccomemd
Shannon Wells
Absolutely shocking experience at the old Bell this evening with my family, considering it being a Monday night and the restaurant had only another 8 occupied tables at the time. After having 2 drinks thrown on us on entry with no apology and left on the floor for a period on time to be slipped upon we were then seated.
Overhearing the manager back chat am enquiring customer: informing him the “the chef only has one pair of hands” we knew we were in for a wonderful dining experience. After being sat, walked past and ignored by numerous waiters and the manager for a solid 15 minutes. we went back to the bar to ask for some service from the man at the bar who seemed to be the only polite and capable member of staff since t was extremely warm and our main concern was our growing thirst.
The waitress strutted over in her own time and without a “hello how are you” she whipped her pad out with a sarcastic “yes” we proceeded to order our food. The waitress was unaware of items on the menu resulting in us pointing to ensure we received the correct dishes since she seem unable to speak
Watching the manager go from table to table apologising for the wait reassuring it’ll come ASAP however this clearly was not the case since witnessing the chef lose his cool and slam doors we knew our food was not on route any time soon.
After 50 minutes waiting for our starters we decided to walk out hungry and were congratulated by other customers who said they also overheard the rude attitude give by the manager and were also disgusted by the wait on food but decided since they were celebrating a special occasion they’d wait and hope they survived long enough for they’re food to make an appearance.
Will not be returning and would recommend everyone to stay clear from this pub.
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