The Eight Bells, Saffron Walden - pub details
Address: 18 Bridge Street, Saffron Walden, Essex, CB10 1BU [map] [gmap]
Tel: 08721 077 077 (ref 25169)
Audley End (1.9 miles), Great Chesterford (3.2 miles), Newport - Essex (3.5 miles)
Pub facilities/features:
- Quiz night
- Pool table, Dartboard
- Food served, Real ale
Pub suggested by leftwinguk on 21 Jun 2005
NB: Information may be incomplete or out of date as this pub is not currently registered.
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> Current user rating: 5.1/10 (rated by 11 users)
> Local guide: Essex pub guide
other pubs nearby:
Saffron Hotel, Saffron Walden (0.1 miles), Cross Keys Hotel, Saffron Walden (0.2 miles), Kings Arms, Saffron Walden (0.2 miles), Victory, Saffron Walden (0.2 miles), Temeraire, Saffron Walden (0.3 miles) - see more nearby pubs
user reviews of the Eight Bells, Saffron Walden
please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
5 most recent reviews of 12 shown - see all reviews
| Visited on Friday March 13th 2009. I was in a party of eleven, celebrating a birthday. I was looking forward to going, as I'd never been in before and, having driven by for twenty years without stopping, was keen to see what it was like. Perhaps I benefit from not knowing it as a boozer. Quite frankly, I'm glad about that as some 'boozers' in Walden are thoroughly unpleasant places. It's not always the prices that put people off.... I had cream of mushroom soup, sea bream and sticky toffee pudding. The others nearly all had something different from each other. All of it was beautifully presented and cooked properly. The staff were attentive and friendly. The bill was just £275, which, for eleven diners (a few skipped dessert) is very good. I'd urge those who weren't sure to give it another go. It's a place to enjoy great, reasonably-priced food, not to swill cheap lager. Walden has more than enough of those places. quietriot - 23 Mar 2009 09:15 |
| This used to be a pub, and rather a good one. Large fires, good beer, pool table and a snug warm atmosphere. Then it was taken over briefly by a couple who only lasted a year or so and then passed onto the current owners. Who seem to believe that providing a Fulham type gastropub ambience and food- with prices to match will work in what is a not particularly well off town. The owners (backers?) also run the Plough at Shepreth where, once again, it seems to be run as a gastropub and not a pub. The food is alright- which is to say it's moderately well cooked, bloody slow to arrive, and really not worth the prices being charged. I went for a Sunday lunch, and after a 40 minute wait, a few glasses of wine and a pint, roast beef etc walked away having had to fork out £45. The beef was slightly over cooked, the plate itself was blisteringly hot (microwave heat?)- so hot the gravy was evaporating and the mustard arrived too late to be used. Nice idea but wrong part of the world, nice interior, nice setting, wrong pricing, menu and wrong ambience towards people who might just want to pop in for a pint. How long will the Eight Bells survive in its current incarnation? quercus - 20 Feb 2009 20:20 |
| The restaurant area is somewhat characterless - difficult for what could be a lovely building, but they manage it. Bar area is OK but felt cramped. Food, frankly, was average and over-priced. Similarly beers were average. Probably won't be back in a hurry. BobOs - 23 Aug 2008 11:43 |
| I can only imagine the wonderful pub this place probably was. How could they have done this to such a wonderful, characterful old pub? It is now a sterile restaurant where the only seating on my visit seemed to be rows of dining tables with very un-publike chairs. No respite from this exposure, no nooks and crannies, no bar area. When you walk in, serving girls are there to seat you and take your order. Nice, in its place. Not when, to get it, you have to lose a pub with hundreds of years worth of atmosphere. Hopefully none of the original features were removed and some day a more sensible owner will try and regain the warmth and atmosphere this pub must once have had. Greshon - 6 Apr 2008 21:35 |
| £2.50 for a small coke???????? not going beck here....no atmosphere any more far too clinical. anonymous - 5 Aug 2007 08:37 |
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