Bell, Rodeback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Whoops! Closed again, and up for sale? Will this place ever work?
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After being closed for a while the pub has reopened with a change of faces and decor. It is now much warmer inside and the staff very friendly and welcoming. They used to sell excellent Guinness but the local brew offered was a very good alternative. We decided to give the new hosts a go on the food menu and found it extremely good. The portions were generous the food hot and on complementing the host we heard that they source most of their supplies locally.Full marks there then also for the fish being freshly delivered every day. Far more customers were in than before. Perhaps that was why we waited quite a while for our food.The staff apologised well with another pint and friendly words and no grumps.Will go again soon..but maybe order in advance!
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Just got back from visiting the Bell at Rode. Myself and my partner decided to visit for a roast dinner as a treat. The welcome was polite and friendly, the decor felt cosy with xmas tree and log fire. I decided to order the roast beef and my partner the roast chicken. We didnt have to wait long, probably about 15 minutes before our food arrived. On first inspection I was dissapointed, the roast beef not pink as it normally should be, and the yorkshire pudding was flat as a pancake with burnt tops. I decided to tuck in as i was hungry, my suspicions were confirmed, the roast beef was overcooked to an inch of its life and was tough, unfortunately, and this may sound harsh but its true, the first mouthful reminded me of those prepacked birdseye beef in gravy. The carrots, roasted parsnips and brocolli were cooked nicely, but unfortunately the roast potatoes were also a let down. They are not what i would call roast potatoes, sort of boiled/roasted. They were hard too, so not enjoyable to eat, not sure if this is just the potatoes they get or the way in which they are cooked, but i definately wouldnt call them roast potatoes on the menu.
Its a shame because we dont go out for food much and its more of a treat for us and its very annoying when a meal is such a let down. We last visited the Bell about 6 months ago and the roast dinner was great, beef was good with a bit of pink, roasties nice and crispy fluffy in middle and you used to get a side order of brocolli cheese. They used to charge �11.95 for a roast dinner, it is now �9.95. To be honest i think they have cut quality far too much to make up for the lower price. I would much rather pay the extra couple of quid for a meal i know i will enjoy.
It is a nice atmosphre with a pool table, so i would return for a drink, but i won't be returning for food anytime in the future.
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We booked for a party of six, arrived at 7.45 and ordered our food. We were told that there might be a delay. I ordered another round of drinks about 45 minutes later and they apologised for the delay. The table next to us inquired about their food order and they were told that their order was the next( they had ordered after us!). ONE HOUR after we had placed our order the woman behind the bar inquired who had ordered the cumberland sausage, because they didn�t have any left. At this point 2 of us cancelled our meal and walked out. The manager did apologise, but he hadn�t been supervising that night. Also of the 8 drinks we ordered, we had to ask for 4 of them to be topped up.
We will not be going back.
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Went to the bell for a birthday meal last Friday and the service was awful. We waited 40 minutes for our starters and another hour and 20 mins for our main. The waitresses were more interested in talking to eachother than attending to our table! When we did order drinks and things they took ages to come! The waitresses don't wear a uniform, one of them was wearing a cropped top, enough said. When going up to the bar to check where our food was, we were simply ignored. It's such a shame because its a nice pub inside and when the food finally arrived it was ok. The whole place was not busy for a Friday night, I would hate to think how they would handle it if it was!
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I used to be a frequent visitor to this pub but have only recently returned to sample the new look and image. I am sorry to say the experience left me rather cold. My partner am I arrived in the early evening with the intention of sampling the ale and food. The decor is cosy and pleasant, the bar staff greeted us pleasantly but soon decided they would rather chat to each other whilst serving us. We sampled two different ales and both were cloudy and not in very good condition to taste. The barmaid did not even notice the beer was not at its best when she returned with my change, which she just put on the counter and walked away, and when I tried to get her attention she just carried on talking to her collegue. I gave up and turned to the menue. Sadly the presentation of the menue was not eye catching, the food selection uninspiring and the price not inviting. Needless to say we drank up and left. I hope this was just a one off, I will leave it for a while before I try again just to see if they can improve on the experience.
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Not having previously been acquainted with the 'Flatcappers' pubco concept, a friend and I were drawn here yesterday lunchtime by the trusty CamRA Good Beer Guide. The 2011 edition makes much of this pub's recent renaissance as a smart, gastro-leaning, ale-friendly country pub/restaurant, and it was not awry in its promise. I don't know what the previous incarnation offered, but the Bell will now offer you a range of 6 cask beers - the Glastonbury Hedge Monkey was on fine form although the Plain Innocent had a touch of line-cleaner about it: make sure this isn't a frequent issue, folks.
Food-wise, a fairly generous range of dishes are on show, although somewhat inevitable one has to wonder whether the prices are truly commensurate with the quality; we didn't eat so cannot say, but suffice it to say that to charge waht they do, the chef needs to be turning out some pretty exceptional pub food to justify it.
Clearly this is pitched at the affluent middle class and even semi-aristocratic country milieu; the series of Country Life Magazine covers in the Gents featuring fine young fillies (no I don't mean horses!) eligible for furthering their old money fortunes with the right bachelors was an original and amusing touch, but I think does drop a heavy hint at the kind of people the pub now aims at.
Decor was immaculate and service was efficient and welcoming. I just don't know that it has the cosiness and comfort of some of its more traditional, less-overblown counterparts in nearby villages. It does what it promises to do, but whether it's always what one requires of a sojourn to a Somerset pub will depend on the mood and preferences of each visitor.
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I've taken my family there several times and it's been fine; in fact, they love the pigs in blankets and most of the rest of their fine menu. Maybe the person above just had a one-off bad experience but I don't know anyone in Rode who has had this happen to them and many families I know have been there at some point. Beer is good, food is excellent (the first month, October 2009, excepted which was rubbish) and service is friendly and fairly swift. No complaints.
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Now re-open have being completely refurbished with 6 splendid hand pumps of local ale.
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As of the 1st September The Bell has been taken over by Flatcappers, who own the award winning The Castle Inn in Bradford-on-Avon. The Bell will close for refurbishment & reopen in mid-October.
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Went for a meal there on saturday night and it was realy busy The food and service was great our party of 8 did not have any complaints and all really enjoyed it the beef was lush!!! so will be going back soon. everything was clean and tidy and loos smell nice too
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RUBBISH SERVICE & RUDE, RUDE CHEF!!!! My family went for sunday lunch carvery for my fathers 60th. Chef was rude to almost all of the family. I am suffering nausea in early pregnancy and asked for a childs meal rather than adult as I cannot eat a big meals (I explained this to the lady behind the bar as I was embarrassed asking for it). The chef looked at me as if was just trying to get a cheap meal & snatched the ticket. I asked for white turkey only as I could see pink on one side (not allowed in pregnancy). Instead of saying 'thats fine' he asked the bar staff how many more were coming through as he had had enough. My parents beef was not just tough, they could not even cut it with their knife. A waitress took the beef off of the two plates to the chef who gave her one slice of nice beef to give to my father but none to my mother. Also, my father had to lean to get to some vegatables on the carvery and the chef in a very rude tone told him to walk around instead. The chef was rude to my nephews who are only 11 & 12 because they asked if they could have a bit of each meat instead of all the same. When everyone had finished eating the waitress decided to collect the plates and ask if everything was ok. I am appauled at the service. There was nobody in charge when my mother asked to speak to somebody. When leaving a lady outside told her that the chef was not in a good mood and had been rude to many diners that day.
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We have always had a lovely meal at this restaurant and a group of us will be going for another meal there in the next couple of weeks.
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fOLLOW UP ON MY LAST COMMENT.
when things had calmed down a little (due to the fact my wife stopped me from a definate a.b.h charge)i said is that how you welcome all families.his answer was families are not welcome here.SAYS IT ALL.
I would just like to say that the lady (wife or daughter, i don't know was very helpful in the situation).
maybe it was just the landlord's time of the month!!
anonymous - 11 Sep 2006 09:28 |
STAY AWAY IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN! IN FACT JUST STAY AWAY.
have never been insulted in my life the way this landlord spoke to my wife & myself and in front of my kids.
story goes: we popped in after taking kids to the park,got a beer & went outside to garden.Started getting nippy so decided to go inside.kids started pushing balls around on pool table(like they all do)landlord comes over shouting about age etc...wife apologises but that wasn't good enough!! cut to the chase, he called her a stupid bitch which i wasn't having, confronted him & i got called a C**t,prat,bastard you name it.he got right in my face(which i wasn't happy about because he had breath like a horse's arse)LUCKY FOR HIM HE WAS AN OLD MAN!!
anonymous - 11 Sep 2006 09:19 |
Good size friendly, comfortable Freehouse on main road at the edge of a nice village. Popular for food and monthly theme nights. Courage Best and Butcome as standard and usually two guest ales. Reasonable prices. Friendly staff and local clientele, sit in the corner and do the crossword or join in. Pleasant garden in the summer. Large car park. Pool table with enough room to actually walk around and use a cue. Clean toilets.
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