The Blue Bell Inn in Melton

Super busy for Saturday lunch. They were a bit understaffed, but super efficient and motivated. Lovely food, great atmosphere and although we are not local, our 5 visits have all been very enjoyable.

Excellent 'pub' food, fine selection of beers. Friendly service. Can fully recommend this cosy pub.

Nothing short of awful I’m afraid. Such a lovely setting but the food is disgusting. We’ve just paid £70 for two roasts. My chicken was described as skin on chicken presumably crispy skin. It was served raw and wrinkly. The roast potatoes frozen processed (Iceland Aunt Bessie’s specials) same as the yorkshires frozen and processed. The veg was from a frozen bag. Such a shame, I’m recovering from serious illness and only get to leave the house once a week. I also don’t eat processed food. Definitely won’t be returning. A serious upgrade to the ingredients is required. If I could give zero stars I would. I’d be embarrassed to be the owners serving that quality food

Horrible atmosphere on entering as a newbie to the village. The food is what can be described as ok if you are about to go into a care home. Frozen mash, frozen veg, frozen Yorkshire puddings. All reheated food. It also didn’t help that the toilets were blocked - no surprise with serving processed food at village prices 🤢 ruined my Sunday :-(

I really like this pub, we've used it a couple of times whilst doing a little section of the "Leicestershire Round", (a long footpath that goes....well, I'll leave you to figure that out 😉) a beautiful building, and a really welcoming atmosphere. We had a lovely sunday lunch here a little while ago, and we're hoping to repeat that experience soon.

Lovely country pub. Still looks and feels like a real pub as opposed to a 'pubstautant' which so many have become. Good selection of beers and decent food. Friendly service too.

Beautiful food, lovely hosts, a lovely old pub

Nice food, lovely staff. Thank you

My wife and I were invited to a birthday lunch at this wonderful pub. On arrival , we were warmly greeted. The choice of food on the menu catered for all tastes. Having looked along the table at nine empty plates speaks for itself.

Beautiful country pub, delicious food and great service. Would definitely recommend.

Dropped into this pub on our journey back from Grantham. Lovely atmosphere here, so decided to stay for an evening meal after our drinks. A shame we’ve not visited this pub sooner as the food is amazing. Amazingly good portion sizes too! We both had starters before our mains and we were way too stuffed to enjoy puddings. Hubby had loaded nachos to start and I had loaded potatoes skins. For mains hubby had steak pie and I had a prawn curry. Great selection of food on the menu and a good choice for me being gluten intolerant. Just a week later on a sunnier day we stopped here on our bikes and enjoyed drinks in the beer garden looking across the valley - wonderful! We shall be back again soon.

A rather cheeky innkeeper...Basil Falwtyish

Lovely roast dinner. There was plenty of choice of food here. I like the fact that you could have a smaller plate too. Everything was very tasty. Staff attentive too.

Nice food sitting watching the country side

Brilliant pub in a lovely village setting. Cracking beer garden to enjoy a couple of pints of simply delicious Everard's Tiger beer

I had the gammon and chips. Everything was perfectly cooked and well presented by friendly efficient staff. This must rate as one of the best meals out I have had. Everyone else in the group also complimented their meals and said that they could not find a single fault.

As the sun was finally shining we decided to visit The Bluebell once again due to it having such a beautiful beer garden with stunning views Whilst enjoying our drinks we spontaneously decided to dine too with the pub serving food all day on a Saturday We had the Barnsley Chop served with Cowboy butter and chose chips and veg as the sides and the Ribeye Steak which came with chips, salad and roasted tomato plus ordered the Stilton sauce as an accompaniment Well…what can we say other than FABULOUS! Our meals were absolutely amazing! Hot, flavourful and delicious The meat on both dishes was superb and cooked to perfection The Cowboy butter was so good you could taste every ingredient and the Stilton sauce one of the best we’ve ever had The chips were piping hot, the veg was just right and the salad was fresh and more than just the usual boring garnish ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to The Bluebell’s Chef and kitchen Our waitress was lovely…attentive but not intrusive, polite and efficient As real foodies we were seriously impressed with our meals and very much look forward to returning and soon… PS: The Menu is extensive with lots to choose from and the price point is in keeping with the quality, quantity, service and ambiance

Great pub, Great food, Great service, Great staff, very highly recommend.

Cute pub both indoors & out. They have plenty of options on the menu and cater both for gluten free and vegan. Plenty of books to peruse while waiting for food. Plenty of tables indoors and a nice pub garden with games outdoors. They even have blankets if you get cold. Service was great and staff were really polite. If you order a large main on the menu you can expect a massive plate of food! Would definitely return

First timers. Excellent everything! No room for afters!

We had sandwich and chips for a light lunch. Indeed it was light as the smallest portion of chips ever, whilst I didn’t count there was only about 8 ! I appreciate costs have gone up but so too for the customer (£10.95) . Looks a nice pub to be fair but I question the value..

Absolutely beautiful pub, lovely thatched roof (though its currently being repaired). The customer service was amazing, they really couldn't have helped more. The choice of food was huge, but absolutely amazing. Definitely cater for everyone. Drinks and food were both very reasonable prices. We will definitely be coming again..soon!

Had lunch here today for first time after a walk around Hoby. Fantastic place, food was great a pup enjoyed the free biscuits! Will definitely return.

Nice little pub, nice pleasant bar maid

Super little find!! We were on our way back from the national space centre and just needed a nice pub for dinner and found this amazing place. Super food, nice beers, and wonderful hosts who made us feel very welcome. Despite not having a children's menu, the lady serving was very accommodating and explained to my chuldren what they could provide. Would definitely return!

Cosy pub, great food ( take and appetite ) helpful friendly staff and a good selection of real ales. Whitebait and Fried Halloumi are very good

Called in today for a pint, and I have to say the Everards Tiger was absolutely spot on. Well done to whoever looks after the cellar, we'll add it to our list of pubs on our route. Called again today, 1st April '24, great host and once again great ale.

I really enjoyed it lovely atmosphere and meal good value for money

Lovely, cosy & friendly pub serving lovely food at a reasonable price.

Fantastic food and great service - highly recommend.

Cosy country pub with good range of beers, great food and friendly staff.

Great pub with a lovely decor and ambience and friendly staff. I ordered a small red mullet which was big and very nice except that I did think that the spicy arrabatia sauce overwhelmed the delicate fish and cockles somewhat. The veg were okay but obviously frozen and not very exciting. Crinkle cut soft carrots, green beans and one floret of cauliflower. Disappointing but perhaps because the pub was very busy with diners. My husband had the roast beef dinner and there was plenty of it but he said that the best part was the roast potatoes. I had the meringue with mascarpone cream and ice cream for dessert and it was lovely if a bit sweet for me but my husband was disappointed with the bread and butter pudding which was date and orange and basically 2 big slabs of chewy brioche with packet/ tinned custard. We will go back but maybe for a light lunch or suchlike next time

We stopped for lunch after walking our dog. Very friendly and accommodating staff and the food was great.

Very friendly and helpful staff. Food was excellent. Fantastic little pub

Honestly it’s probably my favourite place to go and eat. The food is incredible, and so is the price! The staff are always friendly and helpful, and the atmosphere is always pleasant. The only negative I can say is that the butter chicken haggis mash with Stilton sauce has vanished from the menu, which frankly is a crime as that was one of my most favourite dishes, but the menu is rich in many other fine choices which more than make up for its absence, a notable mention is the chicken and chorizo with pea and leek chowder - beautiful! The blue bell inn is in my opinion one of the best country pubs in the UK, and if you ever find yourself near by or passing, it’s always worth a visit.

Great pub, food was delicious and the staff were lovely. Would highly recommend 👌 plus dog friendly 🐕

Lovely food and a warm welcome. Could be even better if food wasn’t accompanied by frozen veg (crinkle-cut processed carrots etc)… It doesn’t take much to cook a pan of fresh veg! Otherwise, lovely steak pie. 😊

We had Sunday dinner it was so yummy the pork was lovely the service was great and they all was so friendly we should definitely be going back

Always friendly and welcoming with good food.

Bar staff lovely..it was boxing day and landlord not friendly at all

We dined here at lunch today . We had the crayfish and crab thermidor and we shared it between us as we know the portion sizes. It was delicious and served with warm bread and salad. We opted for the xmas options and wife had the turkey and I had the venison meatballs. Both served with fluffy roast potatoes and vegetables. Everything tasted lovely and everything was hot . All washed down with Aspalls cider and Blue Moon Belgian beer. Thank you for a lovely xmas lunch.

Nice, upmarket vilage pub, amazing condition toilets, good size ber garden

Great place all round staff really friendly and the food fantastic would recommend this place

All round good food and service!

Had a great meal really friendly service

My wife and I visited for lunch on the way to Ragdale Hall. It’s a lovely place with good service and the food ( steak and ale pie and sausage and mash) was lovely. Only problem was the side order of veg, green beans, carrots and cauliflower. Beans and carrots were obviously from frozen and not good at all. Please go back to fresh, as it detracted from what was otherwise a very good meal. We will come again and hope that this one issue has been addressed. Trying to be fair Thank you

Great food, great staff, and prompt service. Made us and our dogs feel very welcome. Very good portions and reasonably priced

Only had drinks, menu looks good. Will be back at some point to try out the food.

Classic pub, consistently good atmosphere and fine selection of beer and ale

Very friendly staff & very nice food.

Really nice atmosphere and the food was good

Was a great place for a pint, super friendly and so many dogs :)

Wonderful food, very well cooked and great choice. Beer nice and the pub has a warm feeling to it. Really enjoyed the evening there and will deffo go again.

I met a friend for lunch on the warmest day of the year, and we sat in the garden in the shade of a canopy, with a beautiful view over the Wreake valley. Why the countryside East Leicestershire is so little known, and not a tourist destination, is beyond me, but I’m not complaining. My trip there and back by was delightfully civilised. The sizeable garden has a level area nearer the pub, with another part beyond which drops away to reveal the views. The food was lovely, the portions very generous. I had steak and ale pie, and the helping was massive. My initial reaction on biting into the first mouthful was “OMG, what is this?”, as I bit a chunk of what I at first thought to be bone. It turned out to be just a small piece of hard crust, and the rest was perfectly OK. As for the meat, which I had at first thought would consist of bone, fat, and gristle after that initial alarm: the meat was all beautifully tender, and not a speck of anything other than lean meat to be found. The staff were very friendly and attentive. What’s to like. I intend to return very soon.

When i book a table I do feel that when I approach the bar and introduce ourselves we are showed to our table and then told how to order. So many places do waitress service and some an order at the bar. There was no atmosphere in this bar. Clearly the man and the assistant barmaid had issues as she cringed every time he threw a bottle into a bin. It wasn’t welcoming at all. Then a lady in an apron appeared and took charge. I had already ordered at the bar, but she took over and everything went well. I appreciate that they had a wedding reception on there but a little courtesy would have been nice. The steak was excellent but frozen chips nowadays are a no no. I’m also a hater of olives, they were served on the salad. My husband loved his fish chips and peas, way too many peas in a dish served. I won’t say that it’s the worst meal I’ve had but it certainly wasn’t the best. It cost 62.95 with 2 glasses of wine and cokes. We can do better.

what a lovely evening in a proper pub, sat in the rear garden with views. The lady bringing our food out was lovely. yes the landlord was a character, which I like. dog friendly and good ale too.

First time visiting in several years and would really recommend it. I had the steak and ale pie with accompanying veg which tested wonderful. Two meals, two drinks and all for £30. Absolute bargain

This was our monthly ladies that lunch meeting. All had high expectations, typical english pub in a lovely village what could go wrong. Basically everything. On entering you do not get the warm and friendly greeting, with drinks we had menu's given to us around 1.10pm - still sitting waiting for the order to be taken despite numerous members of staff walking by our table we were totally ignored, until i had to ask a young lady to take the order. Why was this -= other diners had come in after us, had a drink, ordered and had food before our order had been taken. Young lady came, not much hospitality probably not trained how to treat customers, took the orders. At 1.50pm the food started to trickle through very slowly. All looked okay, but the ladies are so polite they would not complain. I had had goujons, normally in breadcrumbs, it was in thick batter very light in colour, looked un attractive to look at and 5 on the plate, like slabs of any fish with batter, not given the choice of small of large portion - these 5 were too much. The finished plates of food sat on the table for quite a while, despite the waitress and manager wandering by times - we were totally ignored - had to ask for the plates to be taken away. Several sweets were ordered, nothing to write home about. When paying the manager/owner took the money, did not ask how was the meal, just wanted payment - not a good attitude towards customers. Obviously has not read the book about hospitality written by Fred Sirieix We were treated like third class citizens.

Great service food really nice with a good choice. Will go again when in the area.

Lovely pub. Delicious food. Good service. Definitely recommend this cozy pub for a wonderful dining experience.

Birthday celebration, buffet, awesome,

Good food, very reasonably priced, friendly, and pleasant staff!

My local. Excellent beers and very well managed. Food OK especially traditional choices like pies, steak etc portions huge. Still as good as ever.

Food and service is always fantastic. Lovely country pub in glorious surroundings. Managed to leave my bag behind and it was kept safe by staff until I went in to collect.

Friendly pub with good food. Nice garden, lovely views. Dog friendly. Good beer.

Excellent menu and food to match. Will go again

Beautiful food nice surroundings lovely bar staff what more do you want

Good honest food. Great quality ingredients and generous portions. One of the best views from a beer garden in all of Leicestershire.

Lovely food served by friendly staff.

Lovely beer with nice seating inside and out and cosy atmosphere.

Decided to stop by on a red hot day in june for a pint and some grub. Service was speedy considering it was a busy day and there was only one staff member taking orders. Food took roughly 15 mins to get to us. Sitting outside and admiring the scenery is a pleasure, one of the only times i like living here! The Blue Bell burger is slightly unconventional in apperance, however, the burger itself is very tasty. Everything in it was cooked well and complimented each other nicely. Overall drink selection is very diverse and plentiful, seem to try something new on each visit. The only negative i can think of is the price of the food being slightly too steep. Always a local favourite of mine, one of the best pubs around. Will certainly return.

Lovely staff, great food- especially the amazing pies!

Excellent experience, quality food at a reasonable price and a very nice atmosphere.

Went for lunch friendly staff really tasty food

The owner was very rude unnecessarily. Nice place but will be rejecting this as a suggestion for future work lunches.

A delightful pub, everything was just right; the atmosphere, the staff, the beer, the food, it was all spot on.

Excellent food at very reasonable prices. Friendly staff, great location, truly charming

Very nice food and good beer service good too I highly recommend a visit 👌

Lovely food good service Reasonably priced. Lovely location with nice outdoor space. Definitely recommend

We had an excellent lunch here, the pie was amazing. Portion sizes are very generous so sadly didn’t manage a desert. We will be back if we are in the area again.

Nice dog and people friendly pub with great views of the Leicestershire countryside.Extensive menu ,grub looked great

Fantastic food and service as always!

Sadly very disappointed... Had been some time since we last visited which had been excellent but cant say that now... Sunday lunch.. For £17 i dont expect frozen roast potatoes(these were good tho) and all veg frozen... Best thing was yorkshire puddings and the potatoes... The pork loin was served in a huge chunk which i found difficult to cut even though they supplied me with a steak knife.... I wont be returning soon...

The owner/manager extremely rude and unfriendly. I didn’t get what I ordered, a hair was found in someone’s pie and really hard pastry! Such a shame it’s a nice pub in a lovely setting but I will now be avoiding at all costs and suggest anyone else should! The owner is very unpleasant and doesn’t seem to understand how to speak/treat his customers! He doesn’t deserve the business.

Great food- reasonably priced. Helpful staff. Good variety of drinks. Nice garden for warmer evenings.

Ideal for a cheeky walk and refuel, the back garden has great views. We stopped for some drinks but the food looked lovely - we plan to return to taste it. Fantastic beers as all Everards pubs do!!

Lovely cosy pub. Great selection of ales on pump. Dog friendly. We had a gorgeous meal here today. The Blue Bell burger is incredible and the portion sizes are very generous. Biggest onion rings I've seen.

Excellent vegetarian food. Really, really great puddings. Group of 14 and excellent service. All very happy 😊

Nice pub, lovely views from the pub garden.

Very nice food, well looked after for a family birthday meal. Nice pub!

We came here for Mother’s Day - both the food and service were excellent, with a warm and friendly welcome. The toilets and baby changing facilities were more than adequate and very clean. Highly recommended!

We went for my mother's 80th birthday party. Staff were friendly and attentive. The food was superb. I can see why my parents return time and time again.

A lovely place for a drink and meal . It's in a lovely village very picturesque. The food was delicious. Friendly welcoming staff

My family and I use this restaurant every week , we dine on a Sunday lunch and I use it to lunch with girlfriends every month on a Saturday, from the dinners to the sandwiches it is absolutely delicious 😋, the cherry waffle and sticky toffee pudding are fab, we have a takeaway cuppa tea with cream all served by lovely people and Mike and Claire the owners are lovely 😊 we highly recommend and will continue to use this restaurant as much as we possibly can Cat and rich xx

The food was mediocre at best. No children’s menu. The battered items weren’t nice and crisp batter. The tagline was like a curried tagline with very stringy butternut squash. The service was ok but certainly nothing to get excited about. The dishes are over priced for the quality, although they give you an abundance of peas! Won’t bother going out of my way to return.

Great menu, superb food, service & staff excellent and location good too. Definitely recommend and will be returning. The landlord even looked up how to pronounce my name!

Nice atmosphere food great ,staff nice and friendly 👌

Firstly the service was great but unfortunately the food wasn't brilliant the yorkshire puddings were over cooked the vegetables that came with the roast were tastless and non discript crackling was soggy and parsnips rock hard the puddings were just ok such a shame as...

Great place, food is excellent and staff are very friendly.

Our walking club enjoyed a great meal after our walk. Excellent food at reasonable prices. Friendly and helpful staff.