The Eight Bells Reviews 18

The eight bells of happiness! We came across this magnificent pub in the middle of the countryside and were blown away. Gorgeous cosy vibes inside with a very welcoming maitre d who looked after 15 of us beautifully. The fish and chips and scotch eggs went down a storm but special mention goes to the roasts which were all incredible - it’s very hard to find a roast as good as you’d make at home but these were perfection. I don’t know what they roast their potatoes in but I’ve never had roasties like them! I can not recommend their food highly enough! Incredible df and gf options too - you must go here!

Great food & great service. Best roast dinner I have had in all long time. Just about left room for a banoffee pie to share and glad I did!

First, I should say that we visited the 8 Bells on a very busy Sunday - which I suppose is why the green salad was a bit sloppy with big chunks of onion and a homeopathic amount of dressing - though the staff were all helpful and polite.

The menu sounded great but, a couple of things were not what they claimed to be.

My wife ordered Butterflied Mackerel with Fennel, what arrived was only half the fish – half a butterfly, hard to get wrong, the clue is in the name. The fennel was a few pieces in the salad garnish, not grilled with the fish as you might expect.

Eaton Mess should be just Meringue, Strawberries and Whipped cream, mine was mainly Strawberry Ice-cream – with a few strawberries and some squirty cream on top. Disappointing.

The Pub is obviously a very popular – maybe we’ll give it another try when things are not so hectic.

Wonderful welcome and very friendly and helpful staff, the food is excellent and there is very good choice. The chocolate torte dessert is amazing.

Very rude staff especially as I'm disabled

Food - could made better at home

No heating

No disabled access

Very expensive, and the food not very good for the money, we will not be going there again!

The staff were very pleasant and helpful but we were concerned about the lack of knowledge when it came to the cooking of beef burgers. My wife's burger was not cooked and pink in the middle. The common misconception is that burgers being beef can be cooked the same way as a steak. Ie; rare, medium or well done. Whilst that is true of steaks it certainly isn't of beef burgers.
Bacteria such as ecoli can live on the surface of a raw steak but is killed when it is cooked on a griddle or pan. On a burger the meat is minced and any bacteria is mixed into the heart of the meat when it is reformed into a burger. In this case the bacteria can only be killed when the burger is cooked though to a temperature of 70 degrees for a period of two minutes. The option of a rare, medium or well done burger is a potentially dangerous misunderstanding that can lead to food poisoning.
I have already contacted the team at the Eight Bells but to date no one has got back to me.

Since Writing I have received a very helpful reply from the team at the Eight Bells...thank you.

THIS IS THE EIGHT BELLS IN BURES ESSEX, overall experience superb , very well managed establishment , all staff very friendly helpful , the food was prepared very promptly, very high standard good portions and value for money , I HAD THE CHICKEN CURRY SERVED WITH CHIPS AND MANGO CHUTNEY , AN ABSOLUTE BANGING RUBY, very highly recommended, the land lord william has ran the pub since 1980 , keep up the good work

Another fantastic Sunday lunch at this gorgeous, cosy pub.
Food was great, service fantastic and super-quick and the staff are beyond wonderful, even going the extra mile to accommodate a reactive dog.
All with smiles and great humanity.
Cannot recommend enough.

We booked a meal last night for very special occasion.

The table, ambience and waiter service was great. It was a lovely touch to get a little dessert with a candle.

My mother in law and I ordered the Turbot, only to find out later there was none left. We then ordered off the specials menu & both went for fish pie. This was extremely disappointing

1. The pastry was too hard, it was far too over cooked.
2. It was molten hot and you could not eat it straight way.
3. There was a big gap with little filing. So it was mainly air.
4. It was just a sloppy mess, with no chunks of fish in it at all. At best it was a soup, but even that has chunks of fish. If it was intended to be soup you should have served with bread and a inside before, only to be very disappointed.
The other meals were fine, but we won’t rush back.
Specials should have been more like left overs from the day before!!

Great food, great service

Outrageous Buisness and very poor communications
Paid for an event this month and they cancelled it gave me £20 voucher but no refund some 20 days later although they have my money still Do not Book

Betsy Fortescue
05/06/22
Having been to the Eight Bells for the first time just a couple of months ago, we have now been back 3 times. A great example of what a pub should be… friendly, welcoming staff, good atmosphere and great pub food. A small menu which is a sign of locally sourced food and a great chef cooking everything perfectly. The chef even accommodated the special requirements of one of the people in my party, altering and cooking a separate dish that wasn’t even on the menu. It was important to them that we had a good meal and an enjoyable time… a quality lacking in most other pubs/restaurants. They even had treats for the new puppy in our family so even the dog had a great time! A shining example of what a meal out should be. We will definitely be back again. Thank you!! :)

My husband and I celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary at the Eight Bells with our family, what an excellent choice. The staff made us feel so welcome, Phil the owner explained in detail of the history of the building which was so interesting. Refurbishment is warm and inviting. Menu choice was superb with good variety. Our food was delicious, extremely tasty and well presented, especially the banoffi ice cream. The atmosphere was charming and relaxing. I would highly recommended going there.

Ate here today, initial reaction walking in was amazing, views, garden etc were gorgeous. Down hill from here I’m afraid!
We were told who would be looking after our table and waited for her to arrive…. She swiftly passed our table, said she’d be with us when she could and to order drinks at the bar if we didn’t want to wait! They were busy so we did.
30 minutes later she still hadn’t arrived to take orders.
It took us to ask another member of staff to get someone to take our food order.
The waitress did then come to take our order, told us she’d been on her break and had asked another member of staff to see to us. That was the last time we had any dealings with her.
Forward on 60 minutes from our arrival we got our starters. 2 starters were enjoyed, mine and one other was literally bread and butter.
Then, we waited and waited and waited…….
Again we had to chase up our order, we were told systems had failed but ours was next to be plated. 15mins later our 3 roast dinners, fish and chips and 2 kids meals arrived. Disappointing, roast potatoes under seasoned and hard the rest nothing to get excited about but this arrived after a 2 hr wait and being charged £19 for a roast it was eaten. The owner did apologise and took some drinks off of the bill. We did have to question the service charge and asked for it to be removed. He was reluctant as he said this was for his team but, however there was NO actual service.
Really disappointing especially considering the price.

Not been to the Eight Bells for a few years now, but saw that it changed hands on Facebook so thought we’d give it a go. The Pub has all the necessary precautions in place and tables are well spaced apart. The food is also phenomenal and the garden refurbishment is just perfect, with great views over the south downs. Really looking forward to returning with friends!

Visited yesterday evening . Used to be our favourite Pub . All changed now with completely different experience . Staff were fine , however food pretentious , poultry , not brilliant and overpriced. Won’t be returning .

I visited for lunch and was very impressed. The food was absolutely delicious and nothing was too much trouble for the staff, who were very friendly, helpful and attentive.
Covid measures are bring carefully observed, which put my mind at ease.
The refurbishment has created a classy, tasteful environment with a modern, yet cosy ambience. I will definitely be back.