Narborough Arms — Restaurant in Blaby

I travelled solo and felt secure and cared for by the attentive staff, especially Simon, a Manager. The first room was above the bar, despite my requesting a quiet room on the phone some months previously. I could hear bar noise until 1am, then cleaning and talking again from 7am, including the floor shaking with the door slamming below; I mentioned this the next morning and was moved to a much quieter room, so would happily stay again if I could choose my room. The Greene King booking website is not easy to use and caused problems when booking; phoning to make alterations such as adding breakfast, changing the date and the number of people staying was the only way to sort it; an improvement would be offering a quiet room as an option when booking so far in advance. Simon said he would take that up in future. I was also charged twice for my room by mistake and requested a refund. The pub was extremely busy all three nights I was there, so you just need a little patience and to be willing to wait; the locals were friendly and polite. The breakfasts were lovely, with a good selection and filter coffee; the only improvement would to be to turn the toaster down a little. I also had fish and chips and it was delicious. The staff were accommodating to my dietary issues and supplied plant milk. The sun came out, so I used the beer garden as well, with its own Stable Bar. The food was cheap and the drinks were good quality and inexpensive. The bedrooms had recently been renovated and were smart and very comfortable (photos attached). I particularly liked the bathrooms, with the bright turquoise wet walling, bright white tiling, good showers, thick fluffy towels and toiletries from Scottish Fine Soaps, which suit sensitive skin. The bed was very comfortable and had plenty of soft pillows. Both rooms were spotless (I work part time as a housekeeper in a 5 star hotel, so I notice). Leicester folk are very friendly and will chat easily to strangers and they all understand different accents, which made for a great stay. No problem asking directions or buying something in a shop! The train station is close by and, again, such friendly people, even on a match day with a full train. Frequent trains into Leicester and the station is close to the New Walk Museum. Short walks 20 to 30 mins for the Van Gogh Experience and Richard III Experience, Leicester Cathedral, other heritage centres and bijou shops. The weather in Leicester is also...

Wish I had read room reviews before I booked. Stayed in several bland corporate travelodge, Premier inns, in days leading up to this visit. All were spotlessly clean and comfy, but decided to spend about 25% more to go for a pub with a bit of charm. What a mistake ! ! From the 10 minute wait for the manager to turn up with room key, the 20% food discount voucher during you stay on the booking email not working, and staff not having a clue what to do about it. I didn’t push them to sort it to be fair, because I just wanted to pay and go to my room.

With Covid having been around so long now you would of thought any place offering rooms would take extra care of cleaning. The only sign that this place took extra action was the key return box saying keys are sanitised between visits. Pity they don’t try cleaning rooms. Cobwebs all over windows and beams, dusty dirt stained carpets. At £45 for the night it’s a shame some of the money wasn’t spent on replacing the broken cistern lid, shower hose that was taped together but still leaked, cracked bath panel, water stained Lino, basin taps that swivel then leak. Or how about attention to the heating ? Radiators had the head of trv valve removed so not possible to regulate room temperature, although the bedroom radiator had an air block so only the very bottom got hot anyway. A redecoration wouldn’t go amiss as walls had paper pealing away in parts and dirty stains on paint in others.

Pub itself was not outstanding, Obviously popular with locals so must be doing something right, and perhaps I was just unlucky that it took 3 attempts to pick something of the menu that was still available, and of the 4 cask pumps only 1 was available.

Leaving late morning next day the place looked a mess outside with glasses and dirty ashtray scattered about. It’s a shame as it has potential to be great but whoever is making decisions on how money is spent obviously can’t be bothered with this pub.

Reviews previous have started much the same for years about state of rooms but nothing done. Day before this visit I was eating in a Green King pub near where I was staying and service and general pub cleanliness was excellent, which was why I looked for Green King to stay at. Clearly company doesn’t look closely enough at standards of places baring their name across...

5 Stars - Middle-Aged Mayhem at the Narborough Arms!!

Picture the scene: 12 middle-aged sunglasses wielding lads rolling into the Narborough Arms like a stag do powered by cholesterol tablets. The WhatsApp group had been a battleground in the weeks leading up – mostly moaning about having to pre-order food. “Why so early?” “What if I fancy steak on the day?” “Can I change my mind mid-bite?”

But credit where it’s due – the pre-ordering worked brilliantly. Meals came out quickly, piping hot, and – against all odds – exactly as ordered. Between the steaks, mixed grills, fish and chips, and the lasagne, everyone was well fed and surprisingly civilised.

The staff were top-notch – friendly, efficient, and calm in the face of chaos. Not even phased when Graham asked for “more peppercorn sauce” or when Rob launched into yet again the heroic tale of his shoulder surgery (he’s doing great, thanks for asking).

Food was spot on – great value that hit the spot without triggering any major midlife indigestion. No Pepto-bismol required (though a few kept it on standby, just in case), and the bill was settled without resorting to a calculator or a punch-up.

12 full bellies, 0 complaints, and only 1 minor incident involving a group photo. A cracking night at the Narborough Arms – highly recommended. Thanks to Hayley, Tara,...