The Bell in Southend-on-Sea

Not very happy with my experience. No gamon, dirty fork, thin gravy, no apple sauce, no cheesecake. Overall not happy and very disappointed.

Came in at the time of our reservation and had to wait 15 minutes until we got a table and then there was a long queue for the carvery so became very hungry. Got an apple pie for desert, which are meant to have a great reputation but still tasted frozen. There was no gammon, a dirty fork, very thin gravy and no cheesecake either. I was very disappointed with my experience.

A lovely evening meal with friends… food was nice priced very well, only thing I would say is very limited in vegan options they didn’t even have vegan ice cream they had run out which was a shame… but very tasty meal and staff all very nice! Good parking!

I thought the Toby at the seafront was bad but The Bell is worse. Food absolutely awful, vegetables were dry and the soft and soggy. Everything tasted weird. Disgusted and wont be going back.

First visit back to The Bell in ages. Didn't disappoint. Carvery selection (we went for Sunday Lunch) continues to be HUGE and at a really reasonable price. We counted 11 different vegetable choices including different Potato options! Well organised, great food and our super friendly and helpful Server - Katie - was brilliant. Definitely worth a visit.

Christmas Day Lunch We had booked a 2:45pm slot months in advance. On arrival we were told that our table wasn't ready. We finally sat down at 3:30pm. Not good when I have to take medication 20 minutes before I eat. We received a text message to say that our table was no longer reserved during our wait for our table which wasn't good. The waitress was attentive throughout our stay. The starters were small. The main course meat was plentiful but vegetables were dry. The desserts were also small. One of our group is a vegetarian. Her starter, soup, had a strange aftertaste and the main course, cheese melt tasted like processed cheese. At the end of our meal we were handed a bill. We had already fully paid at the beginning of December, which was a requirement. It seemed that they had overcharged us for one main course meal. Overall, not a great Christmas Day meal and we won't be returning to celebrate Christmas there again sadly.

Remember that old line "excuse me there's a fly in my soup? Well going to the Bell on a cold December night I saw flies,dirty cutlery and frankly average food. I thought eating at wetherspoons was bad but dear me..I suppose the only thing you could say is you get free flies with your food !

My husband, 15 year old son and myself booked The Bell Toby Carvery on a Monday evening for dinner. We were greeted warmly and promptly and shown to our table. Jo, our waitress, was very polite and took our order for drinks. She returned promptly and took our order for food (carvery for all of us). We went up for our food. The meat portions were of good size. The variety of vegetables could have been better but they had everything that I would've chosen. Jo was very attentive throughout our stay. Couldn't have asked for any better. Many thanks!

Very disappointed, Yorkshire puddings more like flaky biscuit, veg dry and unappetising, meat good , roast potatoes tasty but not very hot but edible with gravy to warm them . My friend asked if there was any fresh mash as there was a small congealed amount left the chef said in 3 minutes but by the time it turned up she had fi over meal. We did tell the server but nothing was done .

Went for an evening carvery, food was lovely although quite a queue to get it. Waitress who placed drinks on our table was not very polite, she dumped the drinks on the table without saying a word! Do not expect this kind of service in a restaurant. Another waitress was lovely and apologised for the bad service. Reasonable priced for a lot of food!

Visited today for a drink in the bar, incredibly fast and happy service a special thanks to brogan. Definitely recommend, a lovely atmosphere and great staff!

We stopped here on our way back from holiday on a Monday, had the carvery, meat was really nice , potatoes wasn't cooked properly, the rest of the veg looked like it had beed sitting there a week so had to pass on most of it and what I had wasn't nice at all, was really put off by all the flys buzzing round us while we was eating and landing on the food, we complained and was offered free dessert to say sorry

Early morning breakfast help yourself, plenty to choose from and very reasonable price, sit where you like

This years Christmas lunch at The Bell was disgraceful and that’s being polite. The table was overcrowded considering we booked four months in advance. They then moved us to a larger table in the corner half way through ordering drinks and the new table service was terrible and extremely slow. Then the food looked nice whilst you were queuing the fifteen metres right up to the point when you were standing at the servers then the food look either over cooked, dried up and cold. The reason being they only had two chefs. Whilst we had fun, the food was extremely poor, the drinks slow and I wouldn’t say poor value for money. If they decide to go there next year, I won’t be joining them as it was horrible.

2 of us popped in on a wed morning at 9.30 fancied a lovely brekkie so disappointed most of the items except tomatoes was nearly empty stood for 10 mins no one came out bacon was so over cooked it couldn't be cut had to pick it up to hard awful eggs hard funny colour vile little pots again so over cooked u couldn't use a knife or fork no one about to ask for fresh stuff 1 waitress took our money then disappeared mushrooms were nice that was it was a waste of £14.00 for 2 of us about 10 people all moaning bout the food honestly it's ok saying tell us and we will change it but there was no one to tell no chef nothing awful wont be back

Six of us had a roast lunch you can put as much on your plate as you want a good choice of meats some of us had a sweet a nice selection The waitress for our table was very helpful very good service Good value money Sunday roast £10.95 and a sweet £4.90

Booked table on line via app, on arrival no waiting and straight to our table ,now this was Monday so not to busy , I had the ploughman’s with a cider. I found the lady serving very helpful, food arrived quickly, I also had a sweet, the crumble with ice cream, very nice hot with the cold , I had a voucher which made the meal very affordable, would definitely go again.

I visit most weekends for a roast dinner as cheaper to go out than cook for 2. It is very popular on Sundays so food is always piping hot and replaced so no fear of waiting around. Unlimited vegetables so if your like me and like to get your 5 a day you’ll certainly achieve that here. Our waitress Lynne was very attentive and happy to make sure we had everything we needed during our meal. This place has been refurbished and I can not fault the food or service and for the price it’s a winner for me.

plenty of parking entrance to pub looks nice due to re-fit , that's it, went in as one of the first to be served at lunch time to be greeted with a turkey which looked like it had been out all night by which I mean yesterdays warmed up and dry, the same can be said for all the meat served pork, gammon, beef, dry and over cooked,the veg was rubbish potatoes not crispy as stated by toby, the staff serving looked as tired as the food, I would advise you if you do go to get your drinks at the bar otherwise you could wait a very long time, will not go again

So having had a huge makeover we decided to give this site another go......last time we came we said never again and I cannot tell you how much I wished I'd listened to my inner voice! The refurb looks nice, unfortunately fancy personalised wallpaper just doesn't cut it when you are STILL leaving dirty skanky serving spoons in the veg serving dishes!! What is wrong with you??? As a 'chef' (a young kid in chef's whites) changed over the dishes for fresh mac n cheese, he put the dried on remains old spoon back in the dish. I took it back out, handed it to him and asked him to change it...he replied 'it's only got mac and cheese on it' ! I couldn't believe my ears - have you NO sense of standards or food hygiene here at all?? If this low level of pride in your work is what is visible to your paying guests what the hell are you doing behind the scenes? I've worked in Catering my whole life and this was one of my restaurants I'd sack myself never mind the staff - the carvery area always was and always will be a disgrace. All of the veg have the same taste - if you blind tasted this you'd never distinguish what you're eating!Fancy carpets and wallpaper does not a clean eatery make. Sort this out Mitchell and Butler! Spend some of your profits in serving spoons and get your staff on a hygiene course. This will absolutely be my very last visit to a Toby Carvery - at £10 + per head it's not even like it's cheap and cheerful - I wouldn't expect standards this low anywhere.

Previously we have commented on the lack of meat being served, but have admit this now improved, and, the quality was better. Maybe a one off, but hopefully it will continue to be the case..Drinks were a little over priced, but no complaints as we did have a 40% discount offer on main meals.What was off putting was a (workman?) measuring all the areas of the restaurant at 17:30 on a Saturday evening, surely even a busy place can find a better time to do this. Fortunately he did not ask us to move or a complaint would have been lodged. in this respect - could do better.Yes, would return

Had an awful meal. Fatty meatBurnt pebble roasts and uncooked ridiculously large Yorkshire.Also kitchen staff in filthy aprons.To top off an awful meal we had a letter a few days letter telling us we were being fined £85 for parking in the car park Even though we had entered our registration. After a couple of calls we were told not to worry about the fine it had happened to quite a few people.AVOID!!!!!

We stopped here for a quick bite to eat on the way to a weekend away.

I would not go back here staff. Really don't care which is not a nice experience for the customers so avoid

We got to The Bell dead on 12 for opening, as it gets busy. We had a pram with us we asked to sit on on if the larger tables for room, we said we couldn’t have these as the pram would get in the was. So we were taken to the corner of the restaurant to the tiniest tables for 3 adults child 3 child 1 with high chair and the pram. We could barely move. After settling the kids we went up for carvery, first in the queue, the meat was

Tables piled high with food. One waitress. One behind the bar. Ridiculous. No bread for toast or side plates. 15 mins later still no sign. Gave up. Sausages burnt. Fried eggs in layer of grease. No sauces. I got my money back and left. I have breakfast in the thorpebay Toby and have never had a problem. When asked for money back there was no apology or asking what problem was. Never again.

Visited The Bell for its Carvery Sunday Lunch for the first time in a while. Still masses of choice in terms of vegetables - which you help yourself to - including Garlic Mash, Dauphinoise Potatoes, Green Beans, Carrots, Peas, Roasted Onions, Cauliflower Cheese and Broccoli and lovely large Yorkshire Puddings BUT... the Roast Potatoes were very overcooked and the portions now given for the selection of 4 Carvery Roasts were really, incredibly small. What has happened here???? This used to be - in my opinion - the BEST Carvery Pub in the area by a country mile but clearly something has changed! Great if you are a Vegetarian but on the whole very disappointing in terms of Carvery meat portions. Hope this can be changed soon, as if not I expect they will start to lose customers...

Yes standards have slipped. Meat very small portions. Depending on the time of day how vegtables are cooked. . Always new staff but not enough staff. They work very hard but sometimes are overwhelmed. Was always a good meal for the price. I think it still could be if the management cared.

Been here before but standards have slipped. Firstly my granddaughter of 9 is given a child's plate (no offer of a proper one) then the three of us are given the same miserly microscopic portions of meat as she had received.

the Bell is a great place if you want a carvery.. I have eaten here many times and each time the food is great and its good value for money

Ha sido para el almuerzo y este es el peor hasta ahora.

No saludaron, finalmente no hay opción tarta sentado, brie izquierda, de carne más delgada que las cortinas de mi abuela.

Have eaten here a few times, good roast, nice PUD , above all else it's clean with friendly staff, mid week not to busy, so different to the awful Artichoke at Brentwood, dirty toilet smells and just to busy to cope, gives The bell a try.

Decidimos desayunar esta mañana, así que mi marido y yo entramos a la campana a las 9. 30, a la que no habían abierto para encontrar un desayuno inoportuna. No tomates fríos, convertido en bean muy unapativine terrones. Hemos estado en el pase y estamos satisfechos con que ahora estamos pensando que no puede volver, también a sólo 2 mesas, mientras que la mujer limpiar fondos. Con otros chefs y tecnología Bar venecia no vestimenta adecuada, el cliente quiere ver personal limpio y bien presentado, y servicial. Todo lo anterior debe ser abordado.

Good hearty carvery. Plates could be cleaner but the staff are very friendly and the food is good. Exactly what you would expect.

Sentado muy pronto el servicio de almuerzo. Incluso antes de la comida había sido expuesto. . Me dieron un poco generoso pero no sirve platos de carne en una piedra fría. Por desgracia Me dijeron que alguien había olvidado encender la placa más cálidos. . . doh! @. @. Asado el eran ollas bien hecho y parecía crujientes. Frío dentro! @ verduras tibia. Y para rematar, mi sobrina, entonces encontramos su plato de comida a la Havana Vieja bits pegado en la parte inferior. . Me quejé a la camarera. Todo lo que conseguí fue. . Ella pasaría a la denuncia. Sin plato fresco y limpio. Sólo un shrugg. Así que otra local fuera de la lista. Yo me dio un 50% de descuento y todos nos fuimos. No volver

This pub has a couple of round tables which are good for a social gathering. The food is very good value for money, especially as you can help yourself to the good range of different vegetables on offer. The staff were friendly and helpful. What is not so great is that we noticed many overweight customers piling their plates up high with enormous amounts of food.

Great, wholesome food. Quick service, polite staff and patient with the kids when they were at self service getting their roasts. We pop there as a family for a great value priced meal and good wholesome food for all the family.

Dropped the kids at school and tried out the breakfast. Wow so much choice and you can eat as much as you like. Very tasty and you really get your money's worth.

The carvery is always packed sometimes you have to wait for a table and queue up 10 minutes to get served at the csrvery, they are always bringing up fresh vegetables and meat so it never gets dried up

Wow !!! Help yourself to potatoes and veg all for £9.49 on a Sunday lunch time. All was hot and fresh and we just beat the rush by getting there bang on midday. By the time we left it was heaving with queues so the trick is clearly to go early. Superb friendly service & not a bad thing to pay except that having to pay £1 to park when I had no change was a pain. Although if you take half the ticket into the restaurant they do knock it off the bill. Will definitely return.

This is a reasonably priced carvery, with good choice of meats. It is a large place so you can usually get seated easily. You can book online although I found the website difficult so I called in the end.

Went here for Sunday breakfast eat as much as u want ! Great choice all cooked well and loved the potato onion and bacon thing they do deffinatly use them again .

Went hear for Sunday Lunch, the food did taste good, I could not believe how much food people piled on their plates! How they make money I do not know. The place was packed and so noisy, we had to wait quite a while to get our food as the queue was so long. The staff are nice, our waitress ( Chloe) was so friendly and helpful, lovely girl. We left as soon as we had finished as we couldn't stand the noise anymore. Wouldn't go back.

This is probably the best Carvery I have eaten at.The food is excellent & the staff very accomadating.I highly recommend it.

I have eaten here often over the years and the quality is not consistent. It can be very good with hot plates and well cooked food and good veg choices but it can also be unappetising with cold food...cold plates... overcooked vegetables etc. Whereas just 3 miles east is the Toby in Thorpe bay where food is always reliable, service friendly and we'll cooked. The choice is the same but the cooking far superior in Thorpe bay. Take your pick.

I eat here fairly regularly because it is so close for me and it's probably cheaper than I could cook a roast at home. It's decent value but the Toby near Runwell has much nicer veg and a better building so If I have time I go there.

!st things !st, i know people will say a carvery is a carvery. However the food's overall quality is a consideration as well. Whilst the meat potatoes and sauces were good i found the vegetables to be either over or under cooked dependent on which of these you chose.As the headline says cannot fault the value however, including the prices of drinks as well. Nice enough staff but the place itself looks a bit tired in places. I would return based on the value. Another plus point is it is you can book on-line.

The festive menu looked good value but today the meal was a big disappointment. Beef was grisly, fatty and tough, cauliflower very watery (over cooked), food mainly cold and served on cold, old tired-looking plates (and uninviting with the meat on it). The plates need replacing as they are showing poor wear to the 'inner ring' with the top surface wearing away. The Christmas pudding was tasteless and the brandy sauce was just weak runny custard, no 'brandy' flavour at all. I eat there often and this is not the norm. On the plus side the service is always good. It's a shame they are being let down in this way. "I'll be back"!

This is a Toby chain restaurant, and is very good. The Bell has changed a few times over the years, but I think it's definitely at it's best now! Although it's part of a chain, I think it's one of my favourite toby's around the Essex area. The parking is ample (but you need to pay/get a ticket), and you can get this refunded off of your meal when paying. The only downfall is the fact you can only stay here for 3 hours max. this can prove a problem if you want to hang around and catch up for a long chat with friends etc. Other than this small problem, the food (both main and breakfasts) are excellent, and the surroundings very nice. the place is clean, tidy, and spacious, and the quality of dishes very good indeed. A nice place to eat and very reasonable.

This is the second Toby Carvery place we have eaten at in the last two weeks and both have had very poor service. This one was marginally better than The Artichoke in Brentwood, but only marginally. We had a vegitarian amongst our party but we were neither asked about that or whether or not we wanted starters. We did know what to do as far as getting food from the Crvery itself was concerned but the waitress didn't know that. This is starting to seem like a "pack 'em in and get 'em out" kind of restaurant now. They used to be so much better. Some of the veg was cold too. Don't usually write reviews but I felt this warrented it.

We used to eat here all the time for breakfast but lately it has lost its quality :0(. The staff are lovely and the cost is excellent but the quality of the food at breakfast has gone downhill which is a shame :0(

Good value especially if you sign up for the vouchers they send regularly. Eat all you can fit on your plate. hot, well cooked traditional roast.

Great Roast, food and drink fairly priced.Self-service, queue to carvery can be long but food good. Sometimes days better than others. Four choices of meat.Friendly efficient staff. Have to pay in car park but this is refundable against your meal.

I went with a group of about 30 friends for our Christmas lunch. Considering how many of us there was service was good. Toby carvery roasts are always good value for money. I was disappointed to find there was no sausage included with the Christmas meal these could be added for an extra £1. 50 each. I would have thought they would have been included in the set price. Who,s ever heard of a Christmas dinner without sausages. Although they have disabled access you have to walk quite a way from the car park to reach it.

We went mid afternoon on a Saturday. Had to queue for about 10 minutes just to get a table, even though there were quite a few vacant tables. There didnt seem to be enough staff on duty. We were shown to a table which was too close to the wc's for our liking. The next table was ok but had the usual wobbly table and chairs that we have experienced here before. Polite staff, and drinks service was just ok. Not too much of a queue at the carvery and it moved nicely. Plenty of meats on offer and generous sized portions. Yorkshire puddings resembled a mis-shaped pancake, and were not pleasant to eat. Vegetable selection was nice, food hot and all seemed fresh. Ok as a stop off after shopping, but wouldnt visit for any sort of celebration.

Visited last night with a friend, had not been for a while as thought the food was not as good as previously. I was pleasantly surprised, it was a new menu with different things, good selection of vegetarian meal now as well. We both had the carvery, the meat was delicious as were all the various selection of vegetables. Although we did not have one, the Yorkshires were massive! we were, however able to tuck into the superb crackling. We went on to have the apple and blackberry crumble and Honeycomb sundae. Shame about the service though, it was slow.

Very popular and great value. Beats shopping - cooking - washing up - for Sunday dinner. Good food but be prepared to wait for a table.Standard of dress is track-suit and trainers.

Went on a Friday night with friends good service good staff plenty to eat can never fault a Toby carvery will go again good value for money well done.

The roast were average but service was yet to be desired the drinks arrived following completion of our meals and we didn't stay for dessert we ended up visiting the wrong place should of went to the Bellhouse

Food was average drinks didn't arrive till we finished our meals when we went to pay at the bar manager stated have they left this is very rude and abrupt as it was paying the bill at the bar service standards very poor food was average no check back and seriously what is going on

We use this pub frequently as it has the best roast dinners with a good choice of meat and an excellent choice of vegetable. It is always hot and enjoyable. Brilliant value for money and better than cooking at home!

I've never been keen on the look of the Bell from the outside (location is everything) but inside it's much more welcoming. We've been on several occasions to the all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, which is superb. Fried & scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, beans, mushrooms, toast, etc. When an item runs out (as it frequently does), it always gets replenished fairly quickly. The unlimited coffee & tea on tap is VERY welcome too! Brilliant value, but it *can* get quite busy. Get there early.