Six Bells — Restaurant in Arun

What a shame!

I was so excited when I heard that the Six Bells was reopening. Being a local resident and one who enjoys a sneaky pint or two after work I waited in eager anticipation.

However - despite the lovely redecorating, plenty of friendly staff and good choice of beers I am very sad to say I'm so disappointed!

The bar area is quite small with limited space. Prior to the kitchen opening it is cosy and enjoyable but after 6 to 7pm the diners begin to crowd the bar which is ok as they fairly quickly find their tables but they have to return to the small bar to order food. Both Customers and staff begin to crowd round the one terminal on the bar which leads to great difficulty when trying to order just a pint!

Even if diners were to order at the table the order entry terminal being on the bar can cause the bar area to congest with staff.

Something that I also like to do is catch up on unanswered work emails that have collected through the day while I enjoy a pint. Sadly my phone signal isn't good enough but while that is not the pub's fault there is no wifi! No wifi in this day and age - really??

While it is great to see so much effort and investment put into in our local it is a shame that while it will no doubt be very successful as a restaurant "pub" I don't feel that local pop ins like me have been considered.

I think one simple change could make all the difference - take food orders and the table and place the order terminal somewhere other than the small bar?

This is not based on just one visit but 5 or 6. Maybe I have just been unlucky on the days I've been - has anyone else tried it as a pub "pub"?

I feel I have given it a good try but the not so nice Locomotive is calling me back, it is after all...

Unfortunately we were very disappointed. After reading all the good reviews we thought we would book a table for my birthday. On arrival we were put into a corner blocking a fire door which I thought was odd and probably against H&S. We ordered the pie and mash, quite tasty but both only just lukewarm. Then we order the chocolate hazelnut tart. Well, it was so cold we needed a hammer and chisel to break it apart, and because of this there wasn’t any flavour. Just to top it off, one of the servers came to our table to say in a rude manner, that they needed our table in 15-20 minutes as the next guests are in the bar waiting and we could finish our drinks in the bar. This was at 18.25, the confirmation said we had the table until 19.00. Then another server came over and asked if we had finished, and just stood there trying to make us feel awkward, we clearly hadn’t finished, but by this time we just said yes take it away, we are done. They did however give us 50% off the bill when we explained to who I believed to be in charge. This was never what we wanted, but I guess they knew they had messed up. We just wanted a nice evening with good food which it wasn’t. We wont be coming back I’m afraid,...

Wednesday evening (7pm) It's been quite a few years since our last visit, and we are very pleased to see its return. We were greeted with a friendly welcome and shown to our seats. When seated, we were presented with the drinks menu and given just the right amount of time to settle and make our choices. All drinks were excellent, a bitter, guiness zero and a bottle of red wine. With the menu, there were a few items unavailable, but this didn't matter as there was still plenty of choice. We had 4 different meals, all perfectly cooked, just the right portion size and delicious. Although we don't all normally have a desert, the menu tempted us in, again we all had a different choice and again equally delicious. Our waiter was a star! I'm sorry I didn't catch his name to give him a special mention. He made the experience a pleasure with just the right amount of chat and humour. Everything was very good value and the atmosphere was perfect. It's definitely back on our local...