The Bell Inn in King's Lynn and West Norfolk

The landlord has no empathy for other peoples misfortunes in relationship to the premises he rents. Rather opinionated.

Externally, this pub has great potential. It's an attractive building in a very nice position opposite the church. But there are, before you enter, indications that it's not living up to that potential. Unattractive planting, and really hideous and badly hand written signs. Inside, it's like going back to the 70s, but with less charm and the addition of a very obtrusive and loud TV. We were meeting friends, so would have left immediately otherwise. The seating in the bar seems to have been designed by a sadist, I don't think I've ever seen anything so ugly or so uncomfortable, so we moved into the 'conservatory'. This is a hugely missed opportunity, as, like the whole pub, it has potential which has been completely ignored. Grubby, with ludicrous furniture, ghastly lighting and dirty windows. A great shame. With a couple of sofas and some comfy chairs it could be pleasant enough. The food was very overpriced for something so inferior. You'd have to really hate cooking to eat here by choice. Gritty, stodgy curry and very dry, reheated rice, served very badly. The service? Hmm...again, very dated, but not in a good way. The chap, who I took to be the landlord, struck me as being there more for his own entertainment than anything else, and seemed self consciously seeking approval and praise. I felt vaguely embarrassed! It's a great pity. A lovely building that has no soul left.

Not impressed at all! Big sign outside saying food served Tues -Sun, opening time on door stated 1pm. We arrived 1.15 on a Thursday hoping for lunch to find the door locked. Eventually it was opened and we went in. We asked if they were serving food only to be told that they only served food in the evenings on a Thursday! Why put a sign outside saying food served Tuesday to Sunday????

I booked a table over three weeks ago for the 28 Dec at 12.30, on the telephone, no mention at time of booking that opening hours were not as advertised on the website, I travelled over an hour to meet my father in law, the building was shut, no telephone call or explanation, apart from when I phoned the next day was told they don’t open until 1, and another member of staff was to blame, I was accused of being rude, looking at some of the other negative reviews I am obviously not the only customer to receive such poor customer service from Brendan Morgan, warned me to be careful with a review

Staying at one of the campsites in Denver, we decided to try out the food at the local pub. It was a very busy Saturday evening. It seems very popular with the locals. The menu is simple - nothing ultra fancy. We were attended to and served quickly and the food was delicious. The staff were friendly. We will visit again next time we are in Denver.

Food; Spot on. Service; excellent. Atmosphere; brilliant. Meal for 4 on a Saturday evening with two children. Food was out quick, piping hot, clearly homemade and each meal was demolished. Whetherspoons this is not! Brendan and the staff are so friendly and attentive. Its a family friendly pub with a separate pool room for the kids to get out of the way. It also has a separate dining room if you don't want to eat in the bar. Something for any occasion. If you're reading this, get out to support your local pub, and if you're near Denver, get down the Bell.

We were given a very warm welcome by Brendan and his staff. The drinks were reasonably priced and the food was lovely. I would definitely go back.

Fabulous weekend. We received a warm welcome at The Bell. Staff are all friendly and went out of their way to meet our requests. Food was delicious. Great atmosphere. A real locals pub. Brendan & the team were fantastic. We will be back.

Friendly Pub/Restaurant good service, we were made to feel welcome, and the food was wholesome and chips extra large. Curry was good too.

Visited the pub today for a drink during a long bike ride, we were met with excellent social distancing instructions helping us feel safe and looked after, staff were friendly and organised, drinks were great and the space outside was perfect for a sunny Saturday afternoon. Hope to come back again! Kids play area was a lovely extra... Next time ill bring the kids! Great job the bell!

Dreary, dead, as a tourist, i wouldnt bother. Mte with ignorance, no atmosphere no nothing. Crap. Not clean, no ales, not a hello or goodbye. I thought village pubs were supposed to be the life and soul of the village, not this one. It belongs in the boneyard across the road

A very disappointing lunch with family members. Food uninspiring. Cold vegetables and overcooked chicken.

Haven’t eaten here yet but fully intend to. A warm welcoming atmosphere, great crowd of people and Brendan runs a fantastic pub

Visited Denver village and thought we would pop into the local pub The Bell Inn. We were met at the doorway by a smoke filled entrance due to 6 smokers just standing and smoking which meant when you pushed passed them the smell of smoke followed you into the bar area. The second problem was a crowd of youths at the bar who only a a small vocabulary of mostly swear words. Sticky tables and badly pulled beer was the final straw.

Arrived at 1pm on Sunday, waited 10 minutes for someone to appear behind the bar, ordered two Roast Beef Sunday Lunches, when they arrived it was a plate with just the beef and some roast potatoes, the beef was dried and had clearly been microwaved, the veg arrived separately and were fresh and OK apart from being nearly cold. On trying to cut the beef it was virtually impossible and even harder to try and chew, the yorkshire was nearly as bad. No-one was about to complain to and after eating just a few potatoes and veg the waitress made an appearance, she asked if everything was OK and we said it was hardly edible and the worst Sunday lunch we had ever had, to this she said she would mention it to the chef and did we want dessert, which we didn't. 10 minutes later with no one about again we gave up and left. After paying upfront for a disgusting meal and no apologies or offers of a refund, this is definitely a place we will not be returning to, and the first time I have ever had a Sunday lunch and had to return home and cook a meal.

On Sunday 7th April, we looked forward to a LONG-STANDING booking at the Bell for 1pm. Twenty-one of us were to celebrate a family members 90th birthday.At 11.30am (. 90 minutes before the booking. ), the booking made in February, was cancelled. They didn't have a Chef !!We now understand other people had also been let down.We luckily rearranged lunch at The Timbers at short notice.The Bell then phoned to say they had got a Chef !!!We went to The Timbers.No apology in the world will make up for the stress caused to us, on what should have been a wonderful, planned, day.From Alan and Janet Law.

Booked a table for four to give myself a break from cooking on Mothering Sunday! I’ve had some average carveries in my time but the Bell was excellent, plenty of choice of meats, all the trimmings, veg fresh and well cooked, and best of all: piping hot! The free glass of Prosecco and chocolates for mums was also a lovely touch! Thanks team, we will return!

Excellent service and food quality. Top value for money. Very frendly staff and comfortable surroundings.

1st time we had been with the pub under new management. Very clean. Superb food. Lasagne was delicious. The very essence of a good country pub. Will definitely go again.

The Bell I have been to over over many years and depending on the management sometimes good sometimes bad. I think now under new management it is one of the best places to go in Norfolk. Our meals today (Tuesday ) were excellent nicely cooked and presented. The bar staff are also excellent and I should think maybe the most polite and welcoming in the area. Unknown to us at the time Tuesday is also two for the price of one day so cheap as well.

Stayed locally for a couple of nights and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of food and service. Great bar staff and the food was really good quality, well presented and really tasty. I look forward to eating here again when in the area next.

Went for a meal for the first time before the Wednesday evening quiz and was very impressed. The food was good enough, and a reasonable price, the service excellent and the beer, from Lowestoft, was brilliant. A good evening all around, and we will be back.

Great unpretentious village pub - good food and good beer - and a lovely crowd of locals in fine spirits! Well worth a visit if you're staying in the area.

Excellent food ,well presented,good quick service ,lovely atmosphere,bar manager very polite ,couldn't do enough for you ,very clean lovely traditional pub ,keep it up looking forward to next visit

Four of us went for the Tuesday two for one deal.Rung first to check availability.Friendly staff,good service,good value.All chose different meals.Hunters chicken,veg lasagne.beef lasagne and black & blue chicken.Thumbs up from us all.Return visit? Definitely.

Have eaten here several times, and never been disappointed. The Sunday carvery was great, with a choice of 4 meats, crispy roast spuds, lovely Yorkshire puds, and well cooked veg. They do good chips too!!

This pub was local to the camp site I stayed at with 9 other family members.

Nice little place with decent pub grub. It's a very traditional English Pub in a nice little village. The menu is decent, without being too exciting and the food is all cooked to order and cooked well. Wine selection is OK too and a reasonable selection of beers and ciders.

I recently had cause for a family get together to celebrate the passing of a close relative. We chose to have a buffet lunch using the back restaurant room as the venue. I chose buffet B and could not have been pleased. The food was generous, on time, hot and tasty. The staff were excellent; nothing was too much trouble. The correct mood music was played and my Aunt had a wonderful send off. I would give the staff 10 out of 10 for service with a smile.

Went for Sunday Calvary roast and it was fantastic .Great service very nice place and a great atmosphere, hope to return soon

About twelve of us for meal Saturday at four o’clock, was so cold in the room they had the lights from where they do a carvery

Went to The Bell on a Thursday night with my family whilst on Holiday in Denver, Nr Downham Market. The menu was not extensive but all four dishes we chose were plentiful, well cooked and delicious. Desserts were very good too. Service was pleasant, attentive and efficient. We ordered a side dish but rather than give something they considered sub standard they offered an alternative free of charge. I thoroughly recommend a visit.

We arrived at good 15 minutes before our booking for Sunday carvery and had a drink in the bar we were finally shown to our table 35 minutes late and then had to wait in a queue for our food for 10 minutes. They then ran out of beef and we were told it would be ready in about 10 minutes all they had cooked was gammon and pork belly and it was only 2pm. We ended up eating as a group in shifts and although the food was very good the roast potatoes were very pale and bland . Then as we were about to go all new joints of meat arrived

It was very busy when we arrived so we got a drink at the bar and waited for our table which was booked beforehand. We were then taken to our table and had to wait another half an hour to queue up. There was virtually no hot meat left, no broccoli, the roast potatoes were anaemic and not brown and crunchy and the gravy was warm as nobody could be bothered to check that the burner below the gravy pot was lit. But on the whole the food was tasty but very cold possibly due the amount of people that were there this afternoon.

Had a lovely meal at The Bell, three of us had burgers, the were very good quality homemade burgers with had cut chips. Can’t recommend enough.

I must both review and respond to Daniel G’s scathing report. I was also in the conservatory on Saturday night (you might remember Daniel – we were the two mature ladies enjoying ourselves with full dignity!!) but after reading your comments, I wonder if we...

The bell at Denver....Where do I start, waited 45minutes for the waitress to take our order had the "so called"cod...

We had the carvery... It was fantastic so many fresh vegetables to choose from and a good selection of meats....

We were very excited to try The Bell & we were not disappointed! The atmosphere was very friendly from the...

Just reopened and I think is going to be a great place to eat, staff are so helpful and friendly, food good gluten free no problem

Had a lovely carvery would recommend to anyone who is looking for a great Sunday roast would recommend booking in...

Came for lunch with my Dad Mike

Recently reopened and staying in the area for a couple of days we tried the Sunday lunch carvery. A great choice! The service was good, the food and ambiance great and the Trawlerman beer (in Norfolk?) I had was excellent. The veg selection was good, and included cauliflower cheese which suits vegetarians, and not over cooked as is often the case. Meat joints attractively presented and chef willing to mix slices. We liked the ‘real’ Yorkshire pud. Still found room for attractively priced Alabama Chocolate fudge cake. All in all a very pleasant experience, and it won’t be the last time we visit.

Staying across the street in a lovely B&B; we popped over for supper. Although their signage and Facebook page refer to food (family style restaurant and carvery) they don't actually serve food. Definitely missing a trick with a B&B; across the way.

Esperábamos poder comer aquí en nuestra reciente estancia en Denver, pero nos dijeron que, debido a la cocina de este lugar ya no estaba disponible. Esto fue evidente en la limpieza general de la barra y los aseos y la clientela permanente fuera perro termina por todas partes. pasa como Esta podría ser una joya Pub en el centro de un precioso pueblo pequeño pero es en la actualidad una mancha en el paisaje.

Primera visita a este pub, 4 generaciones, la familia de la Madre, Día de comida para todos los gustos desde una silla alta para los 4 años de edad hasta 80 años. Tuvimos un excelente asado asados, el mejor "casera" de un asado de pub. Todos disfrutamos de la comida, incluso la familia exigente miembro. Nos sentamos en el conservatorio, que era precioso y luminoso, y con mucho espacio, con vistas a un bonito jardín y asientos al aire libre. No sólo era una gran comida, era muy razonable. Con una copa de champán gratis para todos 3 madres y postres gratis para todos. . Todo el personal era muy agradable y servicial. Sin duda volveremos y lo recomendamos encarecidamente al asador el domingo. Muchas gracias, hasta pronto.

Visité aquí con un grupo de 11 mujeres. Habíamos reservado y la comida estaba cocinado a un muy buen nivel. Cóctel de gambas, que tenía entonces una carne asada muy generosa ración de queso. Un montón de las mujeres sobre la patata quedó fascinado con el delicioso dulce y chorizo sopa. El pub está decorado con buen gusto y un resplandeciente fuego parecía muy acogedor.

He viajado a la campana varias veces en los últimos monthsd para comer con amigos. En cada ocasión he tenido un excelente servicio del personal amable y la comida siempre ha sido de buena calidad. Que aún no he visitado en la noche, pero el pub ofrece noches temáticas, que según mi experiencia a la hora de comer parece muy buena relación calidad-precio.

Tuvimos una gran comida con amigos de la comida fue fantástica, el personal muy amable y el ambiente fantástico recomendaría

Este es un pub para disfrutar de buena comida y buena compañía. El personal es increíble y siempre con una sonrisa de bienvenida. La comida siempre es excelente y tienen una gran variedad de bebidas para elegir.

Es la segunda vez que hemos comido aquí pero que no nos ha decepcionado. El personal es amable y acogedor cada momento, incluso si sólo estás bebiendo. Una amplia selección de comida y las recetas caseras son de lo mejor.

El almuerzo de domingo en el Bell es una delicia, pero tan popular que tienes que reservar en general. Comer tanta quieres y realmente excelente comida. Bonito entorno con amplio jardín en la parte trasera con suficiente para mantener a los niños ocupados. Si vas a viajar a la zona una visita obligada es aquí, pero reserva con antelación

Village pub inglés tradicional. Excelente menú con una buena opción a elegir. Al ser un viernes tres de nosotros optamos por pescado y patatas fritas y no nos decepcionó. Fue recién preparado por nosotros y bien presentado. servir eran más generoso, de enorme tamaño y tan fresco y sabroso. Justo como pescado tradicional y patatas fritas debe!! Estábamos tan lleno que simplemente eran demasiado lleno para contemplar un postre. El personal es muy amable y servicial. Excelente variedad de cervezas para elegir en el bar. Los baños estaban impecablemente limpias. No dudaría en recomendar El Bell en Denver y continuará a llamar de nuevo cuando estamos visitando la zona.

This place is great! We stumbled upon it by chance and were very delighted. We will be back!The food is excellent. All the meat is fresh, never frozen straight from a high class local butcher. The side dishes are well seasoned and tasty! The wife enjoy a large beef burrito that was delicious and I had one of the best tasting steaks I've ever had. I recommend the Big Lig special!Now down to the real business, the beer! They pay fine detail to the handling, storing, serving of beers. The results in a pure clean tasting beer! Mother guiness is the finest this side of Dublin! They also mix well and the Big Lig is out of this world.The owner and his lovely Misses are a pleasure to chat with and will treat you as family!

On arrival, the lady behind the bar had a genuine smile and asked us what we would like to drink. We ordered drinks and she explained the payment system of holding a debit card.I asked her opinion about the food on offer and she said she was personally not keen on a certain dish we asked about but recommended other dishes. She asked what our taste in food was. She was interested in what we were saying and she listened.The food was excellent, piping hot and extremely well presented. The service was very good.Can't wait to go again.

Had a lovely meal at Denver Bell as part of a group and enjoyed everything we had to eat. Was very impressed with the presentation of my skewers. Staff were very friendly and were quick to respond to any needs we had. My husband and I enjoyed our meal so much that we took my parents and son back to following day for the Sunday carvery - which was every bit as nice as the night before

Had an excellent meal on Saturday evening in the conservatory. Great service, massive portions, great value, looking forward to going back.

Wow. Blown away by this little country pub. Liked it so much that I went back 3 days in a row. Great atmosphere, lovely venue, fabulous food, can't fault anything. Can't wait to go back when I'm back in the area.

We asked this pub to provide our outside bar which they excepted. They took our £50 deposit and all was fine. A few weeks before the wedding they rang to find out how many people were attending. Not happy with the amount they cancelled leaving us without a bar less than a month before the wedding. It has been 4 months and they still haven't given our money back even After numerous emails. Has been a real let down and if that's how they conduct themselves is has put me off going to the pub.

Nice pub in a picturesque village setting at Denver. Have a number of deals on different nights.We went on steak night and found it to be good and excellent value

1st visit was for lunch and i thought is was very good, great food and service using the standard menu we took only a main course with a drink.We returned with the family to a more average/poor experience for a Sunday carvery. The table was old and tatty (with chewing gum stuck underneath), chairs uncomfortable, the young staff seemed a bit amateur (spilling liquid on the floor just missing someones leg when clearing plates and forgetting to bring the desert menu after just offering it) also they take the food order at the table but drinks are ordered at the bar which is a little odd. When we started to give the drinks order (as one normally would) the waiter just stopped us with a slightly rude "no you have to get drinks from the bar".The carvery itself was a poor effort, whilst the meat was ok the whole thing looked a bit like a school dinner service with frozen yorkshire puddings (served warmed up) trays of boiled veg and stuffing that appeared to be from a packet mix to name a few. There did not appear to be any seasonal veg like new potatoes or baby carrots (quite cheap this time of year and extremely tasty). Then onto dessert- again appeared to be purchased in bulk (for about 50p i expect) what more can i say? The chocolate torte was inedible as it just tasted like butter mixed with coco powder.There is potential at this pub but IMO they need to put more effort into making the food from scratch and not serve what i consider to be unhealthy food from a cash and carry.To end on a more positive note it is reasonably priced and they did advertise specials in the week like 2-4-1 pizza or steak so may give this a try.

We went to the Denver Bell for sunday lunch "wow" it was one of the best meals out in the area. As visitors we had an evening meal here and were so impressed we booked Sunday Lunch, great choce of meats and large choice of veg 7 I think without the roasts and mash, full plate all hot and very tasty. Will go again and recommend to anyone, go on give it a try we loved it.

We made reservations due to the Christmas period, and we were seated at table 34 which is in the conservatory area, at first it felt slightly cold but the room soon warmed up and it was nice and toasty. We opted for a starter which we don't usually do, but we are so glad we did. The prawn cocktail was amazing, so many prawns. Fantastic for seafood lovers. For the main we both had blue chicken which is chicken breast stuffed with bacon and stilton cheese topped with mushroom sauce served with chips and peas. The taste was beautiful. The food was well presented and the chips were to die for, the right amount of fluffy potato with crispy coating. It takes a special chip to impress me.The staff were visible but not overly so, there was plenty of staff available too, all staff were very friendly, it is definitely a place I would recommend and return to.

Ate here as part of a group of 16 having pre-booked 3 course Christmas dinners. Very nice food and good size portions. Drinks reasonably priced.Service good. Car park close to building.Room a bit too warm initially.

Four of us went for dinner on a Saturday night. The steaks were perfectly cooked with generous portions of everything else. They also keep a good selection of real ales. The service is fast and friendly. Highly recommended.

Have just eaten at the bell for around the 7th time this year and the food is just superb, big generous portions, well cooked quality ingredients. On tuesdays buy a main meal and get 2nd one free, what a great deal! Just cant fault this pub, nice staff and a good old fashioned country pub. This is a hidden gem in Denver village near Downham Market.

We have eaten here a couple of times on our way up the A10 on our way home.Really friendly pub, very accommodating and welcoming.Good pub food. Fairly quick service and with a smile.Only complaint is the desserts. Bought in, not overly good desserts which to be honest, are a let down. Shame they can't either buy better ones or have a go at making their own. Wouldn't stop us from visiting again although I probably won't have a dessert!!!

We were recommended to come here for the food. It was lovely, meat cooked nice roast spuds nice a pleasant change for nice home cooked food.

We had a really nice meal as I didn't fancy cooking, and glad we came here.Sunday roast really nice we will return.

Staff were lovely. Great for a pub lunch, not ideal for kids as you cant see the play park from the pub unless you are in the conservatory but kids arent allowed in there, probably because of the dangers of the balcony.

Went Sat 3rd Nov 2012Very popular pub, good car parking, although very dark.Grub was fast, very hot and good.Home made lasagne was brilliant and the chips ace.Steak pie was a bit chewy, lumps of connective tissue should be removed!Puds are pre-bought, eg Sundae in a plastic container shoved into a glass.A couple of scoops of ice cream, and choccy sauce would have been better and much nicer.Service was excellent, very friendly and fast. We were in the conservatory, Can get chilly, especially as large numbers of children ran thought play on the slide and never thought to shut the door, until I used by Headmaster voice on them, then they did! Nice kids though.Pub very popular, best to book on a Saturday as many turned up and found all tables full. We booked, took elderly Mum, I couldn't eat the chewy steak pie either!However the other two meals were ace-o-monger spot on and yummy.Wine was a Merlot and very good, landlord did me a pint of cold coke as I drove, appreciated, little glasses are silly for a grown thirsty man.Downham Market has very few good pub grub venues that are decent - We did enjoy this pub regardless of the niggles.