please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Still nowhere in Bedford to come close to it for decent ales
|
Clearly we were not alone in wanting somewhere to contemplate how we would face the year ahead. Judging by the numbers at the bar, contemplating will involve drinking top quality beer and cider - in this part of Bedford at least. Friendly staff and a very relaxed atmosphere make the Wellington Arms a great place to catch up with friends and wile away somewhat more time than originally planned - tremendous!
|
A fabulous range of ales enlightened a visit to this backstreet boozer which is nonetheless situated handily for the town centre of this curious county town, part grim shopping precincts, part rich history. Great service and superb interior decoration fitted well with the Dragon Slayer and Mary Jane beers from the Banks and Taylor brewery. Convivial in the extreme and worth the train or bus journey to visit in itself.
|
Just recently this place has taken a bit of a tumble in my view. Beer quality is going down and down and some of the staff (the narcissistic goth girl in particular) need to cheer the f**k up and be a bit more welcoming to the people coming in through the door. A few of the regulars (more regular than us anyway) need to stop treating the place like their own and let people near the bar to see the wares too, and not get arsey with people as they crane their heads over or around them to look at the clips.
I never thought in a million years that I'd moan about the Welly, but there we go. Sorry to the landlady by the way, as she's always great, but things need to be done before this place goes a bit tits up like it did under Eric's management for the last year or so of his tenure.
|
seems improved choice of ales, much better, even the foreign bottled beers have been restocked to some extent
|
Having visited here many times, I can confirm that The Wellington has the best beer in Bedford. There will not be many names you will recognise but sure to be something you like. The bar staff are knowledgeable and friendly. This is not a pub where much eating is done � it is a serious real ale (and cider) pub and often crowded with friendly regulars. My only negative comment is that one end of the pub, nearer the loos, often smells strongly of disinfectant, which is rather off-putting to the taste buds!
|
I visited this pub yesterday lunchtime and found there was a beer and cider festival on. I only had time for a pint as I had to get to my football match. I determined to go back in the evening to find the place packed to the gunwhales at 6pm!
Interesting mix of customers ranging from young to quite elderly (me!). Knowledgable staff and good service. Interesting range of beers.
Cracking pub. Thoroughly recommended.
|
One of the best real ale pubs in the surrounding counties. No nonsense approach and beer is served and it's best.
|
Time your visit carefully. Tuesday night often has live music and Fridays and Saturdays are busy enough to drown out the odd couple of locals who seem to look down their noses with disdain at anyone who seems to visit this pub any less than once a week. Beer always good, as are the bar snacks, but some odd choices of beers for a B&T pub (Adnam's and Bass? Are you sure?). Worth a visit, still.
|
Still the best pub in Bedford, with a fine array of real ales and a real pub atmosphere. Close enough to the town centre to be convenient, whilst far enough away to keep the riff-raff out. Adnams Southwold Bitter, Bass, Mayfields Summer Pilot, Banks & Taylor Glider, Midsummer Ale & Two Brewers Bitter, North Yorkshire Crystal Tips, Three Castles Sand Castles, St Georges Paragon Steam & Milton Justinian were the ales available. There are also a good selection of continental beers in a fridge around the corner. The only reason I can't give this pub full marks is the lack of a decent cider - Westons 1st Quality and Country Perry were the only options on our visit last night. Although a cider and perry festival was being advertised for the forthcoming bank holiday weekend. Despite this, I can thoroughly recommend a visit here.
|
Lovely little pub with the biggest selection of ales I've seen anywhere... Always take friends there as the atmosphere is friendly and welcoming
|
Interesting selection of real ale offered.
Shame the pub is small and dirty and the bar staff are extremely rude.
|
Best selection of beers in the best pub in Bedford. Enough said!
|
excellent choice of ales, almost always a dark/mild available - though there are some less than friendly bar staff which is a little off putting
|
Best beer pub in Bedford by a mile. Great selection of well-kept real ales at reasonable prices, a rarity in these parts!
|
Hatter90 is right in most respects, though I would not rate it quite so highly. Definitely the best pub in the town however, with varied and fine quality beer, lovely surroundings and friendly locals - enough said
|
Pub perfection! I brought friends from Lancashire here (expert pub reviewing buffs) who were rightly impressed and deemed it near the best in the country. Tucked away down a sidestreet, which is a good thing as if it were in any more a prominent location it would be chocker with customers non-stop! Amazing beer selection, led mainly by Banks & Taylor but well supplemented by beer from all over the country. The decoration is astounding with every possible inch covered in Breweriana and even chairs fashioned from barrels! One could spend forever in here attempting to sample all on offer, but driving home then becomes a problem! The people of Bedford are luckier than they know! May it never change, close, or suffer. Long live the Welly!
|
Yes I have to spring to the Welly's defence also. It is an amazing pub that has friendly staff and always a fantastic selection of proper real ale. Bedford isn't the friendliest of places in general (I come from the friendlier North) but this is an oasis in a desert!! My life would be so much poorer if this place didn't exist... it really is that good!!! Its a beer festival in a pub!!!!
|
Pub heaven. Great beer, friendly staff. Cannot believe the negative posting below, unless its the landlord from next door!
|
This pub definitely deserves to be in the top 100 in the country. I've always found Bedfordshire to really poor in terms of decent pubs, with its plethora of Wells & Youngs and Greene King pubs. This place despite stocking a few Banks & Taylor ales has many guests in additon and is well worth the visit. Beers on yesterday were Draught Bass, Clarks Westgate Gold & Ram's Revenge, Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted, Brew Dog 77 Lager, Shefford Dark Mild & Bitter, Banks & Taylor Two Brewers Bitter, Derventio Et Tu Brutus, Adnams Bitter and Everards Beacon. There are also 2 real ciders from Westons - 1st Quality and Country Perry in addition to Stowford Press and 7 different bottles from Westons. The interior was very pleasant despite being busy after the Bedford rugby club had just played. Parking is a bit tight.
|
Visited with two friends about three weeks ago late afternoon / early evening. Relatively empty at the start, pub filled up later.
Friendly welcome and good service , minimum eigth beers from the handpunp and two ciders available. Also a very good range of bottled beers.
After a slightly above average pint of dark mild to start with , I ended up with a few pints of excellent Salem Porter, the others were happy with their drinks as well.
Pub itself boasts with brewery memorabilia, great !!
|
This pub states "no stella, carling. fosters" "no crap" however the beer was decidedly crap being distinctly cloudy and tasting more of dishwater than beer, The service was equally "crap" being inefficient and seemingly not knowing the difference between beer and muck left in the pipes. the vast array of pumps may look good but dont be deceived.
|
Bedford is pretty devoid of decent drinking establishments but this place is worth the lengthy and awkward trek from the station. This is easily the best pub in Bedford not only for the selection of ales on offer but because it is a proper pub where people meet and talk and socialise.
anonymous - 21 Jul 2009 22:06 |
Surprisingly cheap!
|
Amazing range of Ales and other liquors of good quality. Service was good. Few locals, some seemed friendly, others not so, no trouble seen.
|
for real ale choice easily the best option in Bedford recently available :-
Burton Bridge - Porter, Batemans - Sring Goodness, Banks & Taylor - Golden Fox/Two Brewers/Black dragon Mild, ,Caledonain - Top Banana, Adnams Bitter, Everards - Tiger/Original, Bass, Dark Star - Expresso Stout, Youngs - Waggledance - i defy anyone not to find something to their taste
|
I'm proud to say that this has been my local for the last eleven years or so and if I had to move I'd find it hard to find somewhere as good as this. It's like a mini beer festival every time you walk through the door and caters for all tastes - lighter, hoppy ales right through to the darkest of the dark and all served in fantastic condition. Great selection of real ciders/perries, proper lagers and Belgian beers (on tap and in bottle) for everyone else. Come here if you're in town - don't bother with anywhere else. I gauarantee that you won't regret it.
|
Banks&Taylor pub, so B&T Two Brewers� Bitter, Shefford Bitter, Emerald Ale (warned it was green), Oldershaw Regal Blonde & Alma�s Brew, Westerham British Bulldog & Wilberforce Freedom Ale, Burton Bridge Damson Poster, Thwaites Original, Adnams Bitter, Westons Country Perry & Old Rosey, 2 unclipped. As previously mentioned, it really is like walking into a welcoming beer grotto with brewery paraphernalia all around; among many brewery prints and mirrors I noticed, at far end toward the loo, separate pictures of Hardy�s Kimberley Brewery and Hansons Kimberley Brewery, obviously later Hardy&Hansons, before the loss to greedy king. High shelves are crowded with old bottles, old pumpclips abound, nick-nacks in every corner, furniture is plain rustic, an upright piano lives beyond the bar. Pretty quiet 13:00 ystdy, tv to right was quietly showing early footy (so sky), later rugby. A window pane is etched �Shefford Brewery, Porters Ales & Stouts, 1864� but the (presumably) derivative Banks&Taylor is just 1981. Exterior is very plain, but some tin plaques nr entrance announce further breweries, and a board reads �We are a real ale pub, No Fosters, No Stella, No Carling, No Crap�. It would be rather graceless, after all this, to find fault, but with so many handpumps I did expect to find something slightly more micro-unusual. Apart from a borderline pint in the first round, quality was fine. Worth a visit.
|
Visited this pub on 13th March and was not dissapointed . Great beer and a really good atmosphere. The staff were terrific as well
|
What can i say this pub has it all!
Visit it with friends and love it!
|
For the real ale drinker just walking into this place gives you the wow factor that young kids would get when first encountering Santa's grotto or a funfair. I think I counted 14 handpumps 3 of which were cider/perry. The choice was probably biased towards Banks & Taylor but as their ales are generally not available round my way I had plenty of new ones to choose from. In addition to the draught beers there are two stand up fridges in the pub with various bottled ciders and some offerings from Belgium and the Continent.
Many pubs have displays of pump clips but I cannot recall one as impressive and abundant as this one. Along with a plethora of brewery ephemera (try saying that after a few) and a low ceiling the pub takes on something of a mythical grotto look in the evening. The locals were friendly and welcoming, it gets busy after games when the local rugby team are at home. In short a fantastic pub that anyone with a liking for real pubs and real ale should try to visit. I may even give it one of my very rare 10/10 ratings.
|
Great Beers, a good pub to settle in for the night.
The odd beer snob may be evidence but where else would they go.
Like it alot.
|
The Welly is a wonderful, glorious, tremendous pub. Lived just around the corner and was in most nights of the week. Used to be quite unfriendly, almost hostile to ‘outsiders’ but has been under new management for over a year now and the staff are beautiful people who serve fantastic beer. Music when it’s quiet in the week, heaving at weekends, pickled eggs on the bar, �2.50ish a pint, loads of selection. Very, very few arseholes, though a few of the old boys take themselves a bit seriously. Good any day of the week!
|
Visited for a couple on a sunny Saturday lunchtime in May. Top quality beer and very friendly bar/landlady. Cracking range of real ale(I didn't count, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was the 10 mentioned in previous posts), and a nicely stocked lager-y & cold drinks fridge with real variety.
Another pub with a distinctly woodeny inside, and the collection of old bottles around the place is probably getting larger. Didn't notice the sullen locals mentioned before - and, given the reputation of the place as something approaching a beer Mecca - I would have thought they're used to being on the beer tourist trail by now. I take the point about the distinct lack of food, but then the Wellington is clearly not a food pub. Perhaps some basic bar food (chips, sarnies, God forbid maybe even a burger, that sort of stuff) wouldn't go amiss, but its not a major criticism.
A lovely pub for the real ale fan. Top marks for beer and service quality, perhaps not quite so high for atmosphere.
|
Tucked away in a quiet street just off the A6, it�s unusual to find a pub quite like this. It�s a real treat for a �real� drinker. 14 handpumps dispense 12 real ales, a cider and a perry. Bare boards are obligatory of course and the place is bursting with beer �related artefacts. The bottle collection goes right around the pub, including the servery. There is another bottle collection which involves chill cabinets for foreign beers, cider and perry and I don�t mean Magner�s, Strongbow etc. One to savour.
|
If you like real beer, you'll love this pub. 14 handpumps (12 ale and two for cider). Run by the local Banks & Taylor brewery, with their own beers (including the excellent Black Dragon Mild) plus numerous guests from far and wide. Regularly voted CAMRA 'Pub of the Year' for the area. Full of 'breweriana', and, not surprisingly, happy customers. Find an excuse to visit soon!
|
Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!
I totally agree with "woodythelampy". This is one of the three pubs I visit when going to watch rugby. And for me in the top ten in Europe.
I'ts "Horses for courses" I suppose so I'm sure csajcf can find himself a nice little plastic cloned gastro-pub selling flavour free euro-fizz.
|
I must say in its defence,I love this pub for most of the reasons below hahaha... Seriously tho, I reckon if a loud music, food serving, slick, modern sports bar is what you're after, this is not the place for you. Its a fantastic Real Ale pub, loads of Breweriana and boxes of stuff everywhere and that thing we seem to have lost...CHARACTER! One of the few pubs nowadays you can actually talk without being deafened by loud music or sport. Personally I find Bedford a tad unfriendly at the best of times (Originating from the North), but this place is the friendliest I've ever been to down here. Horses for courses I suppose, but me and my mates always visit here with our girlfriends...and wives!! Great ales, ciders and a "Trip down memory lane" atmosphere. Its the only reason I still live in Bedford!!
|
I had drove from Central London on a busy Friday evening to meet Friends at this pub. I was certainly in for a shock. Having not eaten for 16 hours I was desperate for some food (any food) but the pub do not sell any food in the evening. I could have eaten a 3 day old cheese roll if it was offered to me ! I wanted a hot drink tea or coffee (again it had been 16 hours sine my last cuppa) but the pub did not sell any hot drinks.
I was unimpressed by the decor which looked like it had not been updated from the 60's, no music, no TV , no pub games , no darts.
There appeared to be only 2 lagers sold , so I tried one of them HooeGarden (Dutch lager) was off , flat. Although the pub was packed I found the locals unfriendly. When I did get a seat I had a pile of boxes marked �Protinate� a chemical used in cleaning pipes. Overall it was the worst pub that I have visited in 35 years.
This pub is for die-hard Hard-core real-ale drinkers and leave your girlfriend/wife at home !
|
It's a very good pub. Clean, superb range of beers and the food and snacks are good too. It's about as good as it gets for a home counties boozer. Staff we're friendly enough, but too many beer snobs / ticker types among the customers if you me. I've made 2 visits already in the past few weeks and i'm back tomorrow. See you there?
|
What an absolutely splendid pub. 10/10 on all counts.
|
I love this pub. Great beer, great atmosphere and superb decor with old pub paraphenalia adorning the place. Mobile phones are banned (Hurray!!!)and live folk music on Tuesday nights. Being originally from the North I find most places in Bedford a little "Less friendly" than I'm used to, but I actually find the Wellington more friendly than most! I feel like I'm on holiday when I go there and wobble out with a smile on my face. The ferocious Black Pepper Cashews are worth a go too. Highly recommended in my personal opinion!
|
have to agree with previous comments - not the most welcoming pub in bedford, though there appeares to be change of managment ? Still the best choice for ales in bedford by a long stretch - even though several hand pumps seem to have been removed - replaced by Leffe (yuck)
|
This is a beautiful old pub in a classic style, and serves a wonderful array of real ales. The staff and regulars are unwelcoming and snobbish, but it is quite easy to ignore them.
anonymous - 13 Feb 2007 13:17 |
Wonderful old fashioned pub. Wonderful beer. Can get full when Bedford Rugby are at home. An absolute must, best pub for many many miles. Real Ales, Belgian beers mmmmmmmmmmmmm
|
Copy-book back street ale-house, akin to norther Sheffield or Manchester. Good, not great, quality beer in my experience, but a very sensible if (too) large beer range - larger independents. Not the friendliest of pubs, but still a must-visit.
|
Wonderful place. Was visiting Bedford, checked out the GBG (Good Beer Buide), and this place appealed most. Has the possibility of 16, repeat 16 hand pulled beers of ciders, although a few were off on my visit.
There was a good, scrumpy cider, a perry, two draught ciders, a couple of european beers on draugh, a couple of european lagers, and a fruit beer. along with some great beers from British micro / regional breweries. And then.... in 3, 6ft fridges, there was a selection of bottled beers, like i've never seen.
Visit this place for beers!!
Also the environs were very nice, surrounded by old beer bottles, beer signs, fantastic...
Also serve a good pork pie.
Super place, try it.
|
THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST PUB IN BEDFORD. IM ONLY UPSET BECAUSE I NEVER DISCOVERED IT SOONER. 10 OUT OF 10 DOES NOT DO IT JUSTICE.
TAKE PART IN A BEER FESTIVAL EVERY DAY! FANTASTIC.
|
Excellent real ale pub. Not for food afficianado's! Neither is it for those looking for television screens or a young atmosphere. If real ale in a back street boozer is your idea of pleasant way to get trolleyed - you need go no further!
|
just dont get served by the school mistress looking barmaid - who ignores you for ages (unless your a regular) short changes you... or most recently decides nattering to her mates other side of the bar is her no.1 priority (while the queue lengthens at the bar) great beer, nice pub, dozy useless barmaid
anonymous - 27 Dec 2005 19:50 |
A mini Beer festival every day, massive choice of well kept ales plus real cider and foreign lagers
|
an excellent "back street" local worth the effort to find. can be quiet at lunchtime (possibly as it only does rolls) but can be busy in the evenings particularly at week ends. plenty of choice of well kept real ales.
anonymous - 20 Apr 2005 14:01 |
The Wellington Arms is a day out on its� own. Thirteen, yes, thirteen handpumps. Bottled beers, real Budweiser, real cider, mild. True heaven. A word to the wise. If you find a pub serving Crouch Vale, drink it. Their range is truly excellent.
Graham - 9 Oct 2004 17:38 |
Beer excellent in terms of range,quality and fair pricing.Sadly the service fell somewhat short-possibly late afternoon boredom creeping in.Perhaps better to judge this pub when busier
alan - 8 Oct 2004 10:32 |
If you can find your way home you haven't tried hard enough... Great beer..!
Mark - 24 Sep 2004 12:04 |
you cant really beat this place for quality and choice of real ales.
Steve - 5 Sep 2004 17:31 |
A beer festival every day of the week - quite hard to find but worth the search.
Eamonn - 17 May 2004 13:24 |
An incredible find tucked away off Tavistock Street. Massive range of beers kept by staff who really care about beer and know their stuff - quite pokey so get there early if you want somewhere to sit.
Eamonn - 7 May 2004 10:30 |
Best beer pub in Bedford by miles. Not a difficult task, mind you!
funtime frankie - 11 Feb 2004 11:27 |
Best ale pub in Bedford I've been to so far
Peter c - 18 Jan 2004 15:31 |
Small, back street, Real Ale boozer. 13 Handpumps serving B&T beers plus guests. Belgian beers and reale cider too. GBG entry.
Peter - 9 Dec 2003 18:50 |
