The Bell at Yarpole — Restaurant in England

This really is a lovely pub in the beautiful village of Yarpole, with plenty of off street parking. Old timber beams, whitewashed walls, an old cider press, attentive and friendly staff....the only thing that stops it being a five star in my rating is the food. Not all the food, just a few gripes to set right and it would be top notch. When we visited, we were one of the first parties to arrive as we had booked for 6pm...the front door was locked! Not a great welcome seeing as we'd booked. It took a couple of minutes for them to realise we were there and open up! We were seated in a lovely old part of the pub and were all set to be very impressed! First gripe, one of our party asked for filter coffee(on the menu) but they came back with apologies that they only had instant...really? No other option?No possibility that they had a cafatieir they could put some ground coffee in to, with a bit of boiling water? This is the same as making instant!When we came to order, the staff were very good with our chaotic ordering style! Of the two starters we ordered though, Chicken Liver Pate was unavailable, the second, Nachos which were billed as having cheese, tomato salsa and guacamole topping(yum!) was disappointing. Not enough toppings for the amount of tortilla chips, and the guacamole seemed to be a scant squeeze from a tube! I know how easy it is to whizz up this avocado dip, so why so stingy? Most of the main courses were excellent, the steaks were local and well cooked, with a creamy blue cheese sauce. However, the chips were undercooked. The Duck Ragu with pasta was delicious. The mixed grill went down well. One of our party ordered the vegetarian burrito bowl, it did indeed come in a bowl and was nice enough, but not filling for a main meal. Garlic Bread had been ordered as a side, and it certainly was needed. Desert time! A nice range of deserts on offer, the Bounty Cheesecake went down a treat, as did the creme brulee, but the chocolate brownie was missing that all important squishy middle. Those of us who ordered the Eton Mess were underwhelmed. It was really just a small bowl of cream with barely any fruit and not enough meringue. This was put right once we bought it to staff notice...but come on, this is not a difficult dessert to put together. So all in all I can only give the food we had on the night an average score. I have been told the beer was excellent- Butty Bach and Giant Leap. Get the menu right and this will be the...

Stopped at a local campsite, walked about 1.5 miles down to Yarpole village and spotted the Bell pub...We all sat outside and had a drink, then decided to ask for the menu...The barmaid said that they were going to be busy could we decide as soon as possible.... We did think this a little odd, however while sitting there all deciding what to have, the chef appeared at the table and said could he recommend a ploughmans platter for us 6 to share.... We all agreed and again thought, we do seem to be rushed... And then the food appeared...Wow...Huge bowl of chips, a side plate of freshly cooked cod goujons, a board of cheeses and ham, freshly warmed crusty bread, a large salad, a selection of sauces and pickles.. So much food for the six of us....when we went to pay we were charged £10 per head. Couldn't believe the value and the lovely friendly staff. Quality food and brilliant service.. Nowhere better to be on a warm Saturday afternoon.. We stayed for another round of drinks afterwards.....

Wow what a find, this place is fantastic, the staff are outstanding, and the meals are bang on as well. We came here for a motorhome stop over and can't recommend it enough. The people that run this community owned pub really know what a quality run establishment looks like because they have perfected it. We forgot to bring milk with us for our morning brew but no problem as a jug arrived at our van, how kind. We ate on Saturday evening the cheesy garlic mushrooms were to die for, the steak was cooked to perfection and a good size as well. Back in for Sunday lunch to have more beautiful food. Staff really can't do enough to help. We blended in with the locales as well and had a great time and laugh with them, like we've lived here forever lol. Anyway if ur looking for a great dog friendly stop this is a must. Thanks a million for your hospitality we...