Marlingford Bell in South Norfolk

We came on 14/10/24 for a family wake. Mandy and Simon did an amazing job of making the room welcoming and accommodating us with all our wishes. The service and food were of excellent quality with a very fair price and there was plenty for all. It was so nice that even the cakes were iced in the favourite colours of our late family member, not requested but we felt was such a lovely added touch. Thank you Mandy and Simon, we would definitely recommend you.

We had my husband's wake here recently Mandy couldn't have done more from the time we met the food was so good cup cakes added the final touch green and yellow as were the napkins everything was perfect all done with a bad wrist Mandy you are amazing thank you so much

Lovely lively pub definitely visiting again

This pub has reverted to a village pub, serving the locals with a clean and good range of beers. Restaurant is closed, but evidently taking bookings for off site prepared foods for Wakes, Birthdays etc. However have started real live music at week-ends, with Country, R and B, Irish, Reggae. Cocktail bar is run by an award winning Barman ( Greek), but call him George. Very popular and bookings on line to get a table etc. 64 seat restaurant waiting for an inspiring up and coming chef, to do trad, Norfolk country food, so they say. Understand that next year will look to Weddings, Business Meetings with a 10' drop down linked computer screen. Overall a complete change of my last review in November. Sorry crap at photos, but look on line fakebook etc

Very nice place to stop for a pint(would have been better if it was a cold one though), nice area outside to sit and enjoy a bit of evening sunshine. Very friendly, cheaper than I thought too.

We played a gig here recently and had a great night. Landlord and staff were very friendly and helpful.

Beautiful location, and a well decorated pub and gardens . Lots of space, large gardens with interesting sounding events coming soon. Visited for drinks before, tried the food this time.. Top notch menu, dishes to match at great prices. A proper pub with a welcoming community feel. Will return. Thanks to everyone there.

Did not eat here but had a nice pint of real ale in this comfy traditional pub. Nice outdoor area being enjoyed in the evening sunshine. Decent sized carpark. Toilets clean and modern.

Newly opened under new owners … warm on a chilly April day, beer quality was excellent (real ale ) … no food currently being provided as they are looking to hire a chef and kitchen staff. Lots of events planned and should be a good village asset once again

Christmas lunch gone downhill. The food is nothing like it used to be. Grounds neglected, staff scruffy, lacks atmosphere. Very very disappointing. Should pay attention to their reviews!

Factory produced food. Gravy was so opaque and flavourless could see the plate through it. Beef was cooked off the premises and sliced on an electric slicer, paper thin. Everything piled on top of each other making the roasties soggy. No mash with roast. Worst of all wife ordered Ham has an allergy with beef. So the meal came with beef gravy or whatever the packet said, pored all over the meat, had to drain the goo off the plate.

Very nice place and friendly staff.

How can a place go downhill so quickly? Food used to be really good and a range of craft beers. Saturday night leading up to Christmas and the dining room was empty apart from a couple of tables. Now know why! The menu was very limited - more like a roadside cafe. Overpriced for what you got. Sorry to see it as the 'Bell' was one of our 'go-to' places. Not any more. Oh and who has a screen with TV projecting football in a country pub?!

First impressions outside, car park and gardens, path very neglected. Lunch was very good, but portions are standard. Staff should sharpen up with their clothing. Toilet in women’s out of order for all of the summer.

Had a lovely lunch... Only 2 tables were busy in there so not much atmosphere but people were friendly and the food nice

Phoned to check on-the-day availability and booked a table with ease. On arrival we noted the path to the pub was very damaged and unsafe- big trip hazard. Inside, the pub was clean and although the decor is dark it’s fitting for a country pub. Tables are spaced apart nicely and presented in a neat way. The pub didn’t feel particularly warm and we noticed two customers wearing their jackets! Looking at the Sunday menu, choices were limited. The wine menu has no prices! We ordered and the food arrived in a short period of time. It was presented well. The roast beef was tough. The gammon was succulent. Yorkshire puddings very greasy, gravy runny and there wasn’t near enough vegetables for us. We decided that we would not return on the basis that the roast was average, and at £16-£17 each it wasn’t worth it.

Cute dog came for a stroke whilst I was drinking my pint which was lovely! Great atmosphere and I love that people always bring their dogs in, it really adds to the cosy feel.

Love the place and the food, but we were absolutely horrified to see a dog being allowed to sit up to the table. We will be thinking twice before visiting again because of this.

Love the place and the food is great, but we were horrified to see a dog being allowed to sit up to the table. We will be thinking twice before we visit again because of this.

Great pub for Sunday roast or any pub lunch. They have options for all diets from vegan, gluten free and dairy free. Would highly recommend. The bar lady is always friendly.

Lovely food, dog friendly, great pub!!!

Found this pub by chance and decided to stay for lunch. Lovely warm welcome, country pub with character. Good food choice, we went for the bar menu and had burgers that were great. Plenty of space inside and out and a good size car park.

First time visiting for a pop up Pizza event. Must admit both staff and locals very friendly. Made a fuss of our elderly Labrador on his birthday and made us feel welcome. Overall a very pleasant experience.

Nice pub in a lovely village setting. As a party of 10 we were asked to pre order, which is understandable, however we waited an hour to be served, what was an average lunch to say the least. One point of interest- the GF option on the roast is covered by removing the Yorkshire pudding, and no replacement made, just lazy and ignoring this request- especially as they had a week to sort this, had we known we would have taken our own. There are better places in the area for the money spent.

Great atmosphere, nice range of drinks and lovely food. Highly recommend

Unfortunately we didn't quite enjoy our dinner as the veg were far to hard. The food was better last year. Staff are friendly.

Fairly new menu, lovely different food, well cooked and presented. Not your typical Pub Grub ( although that too, ) but new, exciting and flavourful dishes, cooked by chef James. Staff great, friendly and cheerful, seemed like they were happy to be there, which is always a good sign of a great eatery. Would highly recommend.

Wonderful meal again today, perfect roast dinner. I don't usually have a desert but I can't leave the bell without having the most delicious cheesecake in town, today was no exception.

Sunday lunch was delicious. Beef cooked to perfection. Staff attentive and friendly. Will definitely return.

A great experience today for sunday lunch whilst visiting from Derbyshire. So great to see the Marly Bell team too as we lived locally until 2020. Delicious, hot, plentiful food - my adult son loved it too so you get a new local customer. Thanks, Lyn, Harry, Al, Dave n Buds our dawgs

One of the best local pubs around!

We went there last night the food was very well prepared and excellent service.

Lovely fresh food and good choice of beer. Friendly staff with a little shop in the car park.

This place is one of Norfolk's hidden treasures, I'm not sure that I should say anything good about it as I want to keep it a secret for myself but I cannot tell a lie. This was my first visit here and will not be my last, the atmosphere was very welcoming on arrival and the staff went overboard with their hospitality but not too much that it was uncomfortable, the food is seasonal and depending on what deliveries they get in is what is on offer. All I can say about the food that we had is that it was a culinary explosion of extreme flavours the chef certainly knew what he was doing and how to produce a first class meal that went down extremely well at the table. The food was excellent,the staff certainly made us feel welcome and we felt that it was very reasonably priced, but don't tell everyone 👍

Nice place but surprisingly quiet for a Saturday but still recommended booking for food in the restaurant. The cappuccino was good though not strong how I like. Meatballs were very tasty. Would visit again.

Nice meal, very spacious and superb service.

Used for private function. Professional staff and the recommended catering was excellent

Fairly quiet but good food selection. Well priced. I’d have liked to see more vegetarian and fish dishes though. The food was good quality though and there were still options for everyone!

Such a lovely pub having not been In there before it was a great experience and friendly staff.

Warm, friendly atmosphere with good food and helpful staff.

Very disappointed a limited menu, we were in a party of 6 on a very quiet night service was slow and not very proactive, had to get waitress attention on more than one occasion for service. Starters took 45 minutes to arrive when they did arrive we were then informed that they couldn’t do 2 of the hot starters as they were having issues with the fryer why were we not informed sooner as the problem obviously hadn’t just occurred? so 2 more cold starters were requested which then took another 10 mins to arrive, there was no cutlery on the tables which again we had to request. When the main course arrived again after a wait again we had to request cutlery and condiments as they had not been re provided after the starter. We declined desserts. In my honest opinion the food was average pub grub nothing better than that. Service was very slow and not very attentive god knows how they would have coped on a busy night. Don’t get me wrong the waiting staff were very apologetic and polite but just not much attention to detail. We were given a discount by way of apology but sadly spoilt the evening.

Good atmosphere, friendly staff, great food.

Very nice lunch but wished they would change the menu on a regular basis. Service is very good. Outside the car park needs attention and the smell from the septic tank a little off putting.

Super friendly staff. Love the porter and other local beers.

I went with a group of friends for Sunday lunch a couple of weeks ago and was really impressed. Great staff, small but well thought out menu, good presentation and tasty food. The vegetables were particularly impressive, as they were seasonal and perfectly cooked, which is rare to find.

We fairly regularly drink at the Marlingford Bell but spotted they had an upcoming Jazz night. We easily booked a table and 4 of us went. Firstly the music was amazing - what a great concept! Then onto the food.. every plate was completely clean. The boneless wings were delicious and crispy and the people with us said the garlic mushrooms were some of the best they'd had. We had baked cod, sausage and mash, pie and a burger for mains and they were all 10/10. What was even nicer was the selection of vegan options for ice-cream which was great for the person with a dairy allergy! We will definitely be back for food again soon.

Found this place by chance,but an absolute gem. Lovely environment, food was amazing and service second to none... definitely worth a visit

Had the Fish and Chips. Good portions, well cooked and fresh. What more do you want. Burgers looked really good.

Good food, friendly staff, fair prices. Would go again.

Wonderful Xmas lunch, really friendly staff Would thoroughly recommend Thank you

Friendly and easy going. Quality food and good service.

I was part of a group of 26 friends for a Christmas meal We all had the Christmas menu which was fantastic, all the food was good quality, especially the beef, lots of homemade touches and plenty of it Service was great and the dining room was beautifully decorated Will definitely be back Thank you to all the staff

Helpful staff, was fairly packed when I went in

A varied and unpretentious menu, with nicely cooked and presented dishes all served with a smile. What's not to like?

Atmosphere was great made welcome , booked in and shown to the table by really attentive staff The food was but no apple sauce was served with the pork but not a show stopper . I will go back again because of the aforesaid atmosphere a big thank you to all at the bell in maringford

Good food and huge portions..........but, unfortunately, they allow dogs into the restaurant - a "no no" for us, so we won't be returning. Shame !!

Good location, very friendly staff and lovely food , thank you.

The staff was 100% very helpful and nice food

The Sunday roast was delicious. The vegetarian option was particularly good. The deserts were generous and tasty. Great staff. Good atmosphere. We are fairly local but hadn't been here before. We will definitely be back!

As we entered the restaurant all seemed well. It looked recently nicely re-furbished, clean and presentable. A couple of tables were occupied but a meal at one was being sent back as too cold. We sat down as directed and waited. Two staff were on hand but as there were only two other occupied tables we were surprised at how long it took to be brought a menu (only one menu was brought for two of us).We were served by a very pleasant and polite young waitress who was inappropriately dressed for a waitress. I would not expect a bare midriff in a restaurant. She looked as though she was ready for the beach! The other waitress looked as though she was ready for a day's gardening. Upon arrival there was dreadful music being blasted in the restaurant not appropriate for a relaxing evening. I did ask for it to be turned down (or better still off, given the choice of the person who chose the genre) which it was. The menu had an extremely poor selection with a couple of salads and the rest involved a deep fat fryer. My scampi was overcooked as was the battered cod of my partner. However my glass of wine saved the day! I think this pub has a great deal of potential but the managers need to take note: 1) Check that your staff are appropriately dressed for work 2) Get a chef 3) Have a better selection of food on offer 4) Choose better music played softly if you think this necessary at all. 5) Be a manager and manage!

Lovely food at a very good price.Went. again tonight 27/8 No Change still a 5 star food was excellant along with the price .Highly recommend it

HUGE beer garden in a lush rural setting, with lots of parking. Drink the beers, watch the cows. And a cute little farm shop off the car park.

Visited here 2 days ago as our friend has a special dietary and it seemed recommended on Google, however my partner and I found the food pretty ordinary and more expensive than we had anticipated. Additionally, the chicken nuggets and mash we ordered for our son on a kiddie meal was bland and the chicken is pretty tough. So much so, what our son left that we brought it home in a doggy bag as adult found the chicken almost unedible with burn breadcrumbs and the mash tasteless. The meal for 4 people is nearly was almost £60 and on reflection we found it not good value for money. Just the whole ambience of this place is felt a little tired and we were rather underwhelmed with the whole dining experience. Definitely not returning to this place anytime soon.

First time certainly not the last. Great service and the food excellent

Disorganised dilapidated and unwelcoming. Definitely unhygienic

We found this by chance after visiting a dire pub not to far away. What a pleasant surprise with attentive staff good food and great cider 👍

Delicious food and tasty craft beers!! Staff helpful and friendly

Lovely light lunch, great atmosphere and good service! Worth a visit.

Smashing Sunday roast. Staff very friendly, good service , and in a lovely setting. Couldn't fault it. When I filled in the yes/no question, I said the Bell did temperature checks on customers, I hit the wrong answer, apologies to the owners, as they dont.

We have been here in the past and have always had a great meal. Booked for 4 of us last night and was very disappointed, we had prawn cocktails for starters, the prawns were flavourless and I would say frozen, absolutely awful. Mains we had gammon and chips and also what was supposed to be beer battered fish and chips. The gammon was over cooked and like rubber and the beer battered fish was completely tasteless. We were really disappointed and won’t be booking again, which is a shame as the pub is very local to us.

Friendly staff and great atmosphere, highly recommended.

Lovely food, pleasant staff. Will revisit.

Just out for a ride around the Norfolk Countryside and pulled into Marlingford Bell for lunch 😋 What an absolutely fantastic pub in lovely surrounding countryside so quite ! We had a lovely meal see photo Home cut Chips, Home made Steak Pie with Plenty of Steak (No Search Party Needed)🤔🤣🤣 Mushy Peas and the Biggest Battered Onion Rings I've ever seen😋 And lots more on their menu🤗 Definitely going back for more 🤗

My wife and myself had a meal at the spur of the moment after a day out at Cromer. Loved the ales lovely setting out of the back, my wife had cheese burger with all the trimmings I had king prawn salad the first plate I had came with the prawns with a few salad leaves, no cucumber, peppers. The second one came out found hairs in the mayonnaise I then had to wait 30mins before I was seen toto again poor staff service definitely give a miss next time a shame as we are on the door step the staff definitely need more custom relations training

The food was very tasty. All four of us enjoyed our meals,and the service was good. Will be back.

Lovely staff, very good food. Would recommend the battered cod and the pie of the day. Worth a visit? - definitely.

Great food! And staff are so friendly and helpful. Tables spaced out so you don’t feel on top of each other. Also have baby changing facilities and a lovely beer garden.

Fantastic food, very generous portions and friendly service. We look forward to returning.

What a find! Years since we last visited, and impressed with up to date decor and freshness while still maintaining ambience of a country pub. Lovely staff, great service, and excellent food with reasonable prices. Catered for all the family. Highly recommended!

Just popped in on chance today. Lovely interior, super friendly staff, fabulous play list and wonderful hot tasty roast beef. Could not fault in any way absolutely brilliant meal and fairly priced too. I even started my Christmas shopping there! Homemade gin selection in a...

Lovely village country pub, doing a sterling job of getting back to business after the worst of covid. Proper meals served with a smile, good beer and the most friendly locals. Some not booked visitors had to make do with a reduced meal as the...

A little disappointed as we have been a few times pre covit when the vegetables arrived we thought dish was for 1 person very suprised to realise it was for 4 of us. Sorry to say not as good as before

quieter than it should have been as the staff were lovely. Menu is typical pub style and cooked well.

Good, spacious pub off the beaten track. Menu photo

Hidden gem in the Norfolk countryside. Had a brilliant mothers day roast today, I would even go further to say the best roast I have had for a long while! See you soon!

New bar area looks great. Will be trying it out for a meal

We decided to celebrate our birthdays at The Bell after one of our family thought it might be a good choice since they meet friends there in the evenings. We chose a Saturday lunchtime - the food was excellent and the children’s portions a really...

We visited here for Sunday lunch as we had noticed when going past previously, that the car park was nearly always full and this is always a good sign. We both had the roast pork which came with a very good selection of vegetables and...

Visited today for a lunch with friends. AT LAST a homemade vegetarian burger which is worth eating and paying for. Chickpea Burger, with sundried tomatoes and a mixture of herbs, plus the presentation of it being of a square shape a pleasant surprise, just a...

Arrived at 6pm at the start of the evening service as a family of 4, ordered the fish and chips (x2), sausage and mash, and the falafels. All the meals were well presented and everyone said how nice their meal was. The fish and chips...

Lovely setting, plenty of parking, lovely friendly attentive staff, we went for Sunday lunch a roast which was lovely a good portion without there being too much. The staff managed well despite being a person down. Would definitely return

Love this place! A hidden gem not far out of Norwich deffo worth the drive and really nice, it’s not a typical village pub where the ‘locals’ frown upon you as you enter, your greeted by friendly attentive staff, great menu at reasonable prices. Somewhere...

Lovely meal in the restaurant. Great beer.dogs allowed

Came with friends before Christmas and had the festive menu which was excellent. Hot, freshly cooked, ample portions, and the profita rolls were to die for. Came Christmas Day with family and we’re rather disappointed as two of us had cocktail with just half slice...

Just an amazingly lovely afternoon at this great local pub. Great food, great service and you just visit. The pub looked amazingly great and very festive. The food was well cooked, very tasty and just beautifully presented. This lovely pub is a gem in the...

A great, Friendly service in a covid safe environment. The food was amazing and at a very reasonable price.

Lovely helpful staff together with delicious food from a great menu. Beautiful place and ample parking. Strongly recommended!

Chloe made my husband and myself so welcome.and provided a wonderful meal. We've been lots of times so far and because we are looked after and fed so well we will keep returning.

Fantastic food and service. Came for my Grans 100th birthday meal. And we all had a beautiful meal, couldn't fault anything. Thank you for making her day so special.

Lovely staff, briliant food. Good parking. Tables properly seperated. Will definately be back. Delicious french fries.