The Eight Bells in Uttlesford

Lovely place, only stopped for a beer and a snack but the service was great. A very historic building with plenty of character too

Last couple of visits have really been lacking re service, first time we thought it was an off day, we all have them, food was good, took ages, but the service was poor/ almost absent. Visited again a couple of weeks ago, and it was the same, the final thing that made me question going back, was the delay between mains and dessert, that’s ok, it was busy (ish) but no one cleared the table or brought cutlery for dessert until prompted after dessert was served… all this time 3 team members were ‘waiting’ near the bar, ok, maybe waiting for drinks orders but also scrolling phones etc. if your not helping a customer help the colleague who is? A few weeks ago some friends were lunching there… two of the party just left, prior to lunch being served they waited that long. Is it too many tables now able to be served food vs the kitchen size and a lack of experience from the front of house team? Either way a real shame as this was a fab venue, and visiting many of the other locations owned by the group the Eightbells stands out for all the wrong reasons. I hope you get back to your best!

We had a birthday diner last night at the 8 Bells for my wife’s 80th and the service and food was exceptionally good . There was an excellent choice of both starters and mains including good vegan options. The staff went out of their way to make the evening memorable including the presentation of a birthday cake ! Thank you 8 Bells !

Really good food, attentive and friendly staff and lovely surroundings. We have now visited three times and each was as good as the other. We highly recommend to everyone.

Very friendly, Chris was super attentive and made sure we had everything we wanted. Food was plentiful and no room for pud.

Great location and barn restaurant with amazing atmosphere

Gorgeous pub, staff were really friendly, however the food let it down. It took over an hour for our food to be served which was unexpected. We ordered starters and mains, the starters were really nice, however the main food itself wasn’t very nice, we ordered steak and a burger, the steak we asked for medium rare, and it came out very well done and therefore very dry, we asked for the sauce to be on the side which it also wasn’t. The burger had sauerkraut in it which wasn’t an issue, however the amount served was far too much, it was so wet the burger bun disintegrated into mush so had to eat it with a knife and fork. It also came with crispy onions in it which it didn’t state on the menu. All in all it was a slight disappointment, the initial vibe of the place gives you false hopes as to what you should expect. It seemed like other dishes looked really nice, so it must be hit and miss depending on what you order.

Beautiful venue, unique menu and super friendly staff. Especially Ben who could not do enough for us. 10/10 would recommend!!

Food was good, the building is lovely, but the service was absolutely shocking. We came in at a quiet time, and yet the staff seemed to be struggling with the most basic of orders - e.g. a scoop of ice-cream took over 15 minutes longer than everyone else's deserts - and that was with us asking where it was, twice. Unfortunately eating here felt like a chore. Despite them removing the service charge (rightfully) and kindly providing a discount, unfortunately I won't be visiting again.

Great food and service! We went here for dinner and everything was excellent. The inside, especially dining area, is beautiful. Very friendly staff, especially Ollie! We will be back!

Quick stop over for lunch. We were in a rush and grabbed the sandwich of the day (steak). Delicious!! Friendly stuff and the barn where we sat is gorgeous.

Spontaneous visit on a Monday evening for dinner, had a great experience. Food came out quick and Olly our waiter did a great job informing us on the menu and making sure we had the best time.

A curate’s egg of an experience. Nice ancient spacious building. Food pretty standard fare; satisfactory without being particularly noteworthy. Two issues: a rude and aggressive waiter who initially “greeted” us and a considerable delay, over 10 minutes, between the individual delivery of our party’s main courses. The manager, Sam, and our table’s lovely waitress, Liv, were excellent in handling our complaints and rescued what could have been a rather negative experience.

Lovely afternoon stop in the beer garden

The atmosphere in the pub was lively , bubbly and very friendly. I’ve become a regular customer to the establishment and I must say that out of all the chestnut group pubs I’ve visited this pub has put done them all. The staff are so welcoming they remember who you are and what drinks i have/like, therefore that in hole makes the experience even more enjoyable. I get a professional feeling about the place and staff. can have a laugh with them, and talk with them as if I had known them for years. If you’re looking for a fun, friendly environment this is the place to go. Highly recommended!!!

Very helpful food delicious. Lovely overall experience

Simply asked for a table for two, was ignored by 5 members of staff as we walked in and waited. One waiter who came out the kitchen kindly acknowledged us and said he’d check with the manager behind the bar if they had availability.. the manager simply looked up and sarcastically said ‘no walk-ins’ after we were standing in his view for more than 5 minutes. Awful attitude and customer service, will not return.

Had a beautiful evening at the eight bells. Ollie was our waiter for the evening and he was amazing. Very much enjoyed our time here and will be coming back for another evening

Food was delicious Service by Olly - excellent. Was very quiet on a Thursday evening so not a great atmosphere Piped music had a great selection of Soul music.. Dog friendly - she appreciated her bowl of water

Travelled over 40 minutes to this place. I must admit, what a disappointment. When walking in we had high hopes for this place. Sat in the barn bit freezing cold the whole time. Scotched egg was just oily and to be honest, it looked like someone had already but into the egg. Getting a waiter or waitress attention was Hard. So dissapointed in the service. When the roast finally came out over an hour later. Please note, no one informed us of any delay. The plate consisted of part cooked veggies 3 cold potato's a Yorkshire pudding and two slices of meat. The pork, what can I say. One of the peices was a slice of fat. Each plate worth £22 ish pounds each. So 44 pound for 3 n a half peices of meat. What's worse, there was no check in to see how our food was. So no way of brining this to their attention. I've left not only disappointed but also fuming. All in all the total bill was £88.00. And I'm starving as I hardly touched what they would call a roast. What was meant to be a nice Sunday lunch out, has been a disaster and guess what! I still have to go home and cook now. In all honesty I wish I had refused to pay for the food now. It's all consuming my thoughts

Travelled over 40 minutes to this place. I must admit, what a disappointment. When walking in we had high hopes for this place. Sat in the barn bit freezing cold the whole time. Scotched egg was just oily and to be honest, it looked like someone had already but into the egg. Getting a waiter or waitress attention was Hard. So dissapointed in the service. When the roast finally came out over an hour later. Please note, no one informed us of any delay. The plate consisted of part cooked veggies 3 cold potato's a Yorkshire pudding and two slices of meat. The pork, what can I say. One of the peices was a slice of fat. Each plate worth £22 ish pounds each. So 44 pound for 3 n a half peices of meat. What's worse, there was no check in to see how our food was. So no way of brining this to their attention. I've left not only disappointed but also fuming. All in all the total bill was £88.00. And I'm starving as I hardly touched what they would call a roast. What was meant to be a nice Sunday lunch out, has been a disaster and guess what! I still have to go home and cook now. In all honesty I wish I had refused to pay for the food now. It's all consuming my thoughts.

Ok here's one of those reviews that you really feel compelled to write for all the wrong reasons. First off, this place is lovely. I booked it for my wife's 40th and her family for Sunday Lunch. We'd spent the weekend closeby in Little Sampford. We were all delighted when we arrived here. Lovely building, really lovely, polite, smiling staff. The Sunday lunch itself was first class. I was feeling proud of myself for finding it and booking it. But here's the reason for the review and the low score. I'm hoping that the management read this and change their culture because they really cocked up and spoiled what should have been a lovely visit. My pregnant sister in law ordered a non alcoholic drink, i forget what it was, but it was a non alcoholic version of an alcoholic brand. When it came they'd made a mistake and brought the alcoholic version. Simple mistake to make and the waitress went away and brought the correct version. 5 mins later a manager arrived to tell my sister in law, rather rudely I may add, that the waitress could have sworn that my sister in law had ordered the alcoholic version. My sister in law said well no I didn't because I'm pregnant and I clearly pointed to and stated the non alcoholic version. The manager protested for another few seconds and left saying "fine", clearly irritated. Just that alone was enough to leave a sour taste in our mouths. It was all we could talk about around the table for the next 10 mins. It was so unnecessary. Why try to blame the customer for such a simple mistake and over a cheap drink. We were ordering 8 Sunday lunches with drinks all round it was hardly the end of the world. As a venue the management surely should just suck it up and chalk it down to a small error. Maybe have a quick word with staff to say please pay close attention to if the customers are ordering the alcoholic version or non alcoholic versions of a drink. But not here, it felt as if they were blaming my pregnant sister in law and wanted us to all know they were unhappy. And even at the end of the meal we went to pay the bill and they'd still added it to the bill! We queried it with the waitress and she said the manager had said because they'd opened the bottle we would still have to pay. We protested of course and the waitress came back and said the manager had waived it. He clearly wasn't brave enough to speak to us. Anyway, what an unnecessary chain of events and one that really spoiled an otherwise lovely visit. To all at the Eight Bells, you must learn from this. Don't blame the customer for a simple mistake such as this. The drink in question must cost you less than a quid at trade cost. We were spending hundreds of pounds for 8 Sunday lunches plus drinks. Just suck it up and continue to provide a lovely experience for your guests. You are doing most things really well and have a lovely venue with great food. In summary you purposefully ruined our visit and it was so unnecessary. I've marked you "poor" because that was exactly that...poor.

The food was lovely but the service was very slow, we waited a very long time for our main.

We went there with a group of 43 people to have dinner together. It was a very pleasant experience with delicious food and perfect service. The staff are super friendly and the communication beforehand was quick and uncomplicated. We are looking forward to coming back.

Great find. Fab food and lovely atmosphere. Food freshly cooked and generously served, light ecclectically decorated bar, dining room was full but that's for another time. Friendly helpful staff. Did I say trout and muscle pasta delicious as was home battered Hadd ock and burger. Great gfa and dfa. Options. Will visit again for sure. We called ahead, dining room full so they laid a table in the bar ready for us.

Very beautiful space, delicious food!

Lovely venue with a real log fire and cosy comfortable seating. Everyone else in the party I was part of really enjoyed their meal, including my coeliac husband, but I was rather disappointed as there was only one vegetarian main which was not overly exciting so I ended up with a starter and a side. What I had was nice but more variety for those of us who don't eat meat would have been better and would probably encourage more veggies to dine here.

Visited with family members to check it out as a wedding venue. Just stayed for a drink - a pint of Norfolk ale very well kept. Was welcomed on arrival and noticed attentive staff serving in the large indoor restaurant area.

Arranging a special family meal is tricky - you have to commit to a place and then hope they meet expectations- knowing that you’re going to spend a lot of money and that you want to celebrate someone (70th birthday) without disappointment or hassle. The Eight Bells surpassed expectations - great atmosphere for a Sunday lunch for ten of us. Such a beautiful room and a buzz of happy people. Great menu that had elegance and dishes for 20-somethings and 70-year olds. It had been so long since I’d had a roast dinner I hadn’t cooked myself that it was a joy and the nut roast was rich and delicious. Others ranged from burgers to roasts with fab Yorkshire puddings, but it was the imaginative starters that made this much more than just a pub lunch. Thank you for delivering with great timing, friendly efficient service, and delicious, balanced dishes throughout. I’m a big fan of the Eastern Gold ale that is so lovely that it goes well with fine dishes, but the one ouch is the price of soft drinks, if you’re a driver and limited to pints of coke or lemonade it feels like it should cost considerably less than locally produced, small batch ale.

Visited the Eight Bells recently on a trip to Saffron Walden and would highly recommend it to anyone. The food was beautiful, with a carefully thought out seasonal menu of high quality at a reasonable price. The service was excellent, and the character of the building with it's timber frame and medieval charm made for a stunning place to eat on a cold January evening! A must visit in Saffron Walden!!

A Walden institution with consistently good food.

Nice place, with a reasonable wine menu and great staff

The best roast dinner we have ever tasted in a restaurant. Absolutely delicious. And the most impressive Yorkshire pudding ever!!!The service was second to none and we will be returning for sure. 100%recommend.

We had an absolutely fantastic meal, the quality of the staff and food made it a perfect evening

Dined here with friends last night - we unanimously felt the food was exquisite, the service was excellent and the restaurant interior has a real wow factor. Highly recommend.

We booked the small dining room for our wedding breakfast and we’re delighted with the way it was all laid out. We were only 6, but were looked after very well. We all had 3 courses, and all plates were clean each time. Enough said!

Επισκεφτήκαμε αυτό το ιστορικό εστιατόριο μετά από την ξενάγησή μας στο Auldley end. Παρόλο που πήγαμε μισή ώρα νωρίτερα καθήσαμε απ´ευθείας στο τραπέζι μας . Πήραμε πολλά και διαφορετικά πιάτα . Η σούπα με λαχανικά ήταν θαυμάσια ενώ εξαιρετικά ήταν τα burgers και σχεδόν ό,τι άλλο πήραμε . Έξι άτομα με αναψυκτικά και νερό δώσαμε περίπου 200£ . Ο χώρος ήταν επιβλητικός η ατμόσφαιρα αυτή που έπρεπε .

What a perfect lunch spot for my daughter and I. The ambience was just delightful. Everyone was chatting with family and friends. The food service was attentive and friendly (thank-you Ben). We enjoyed every moment. My daughter had a burger and I had pork, cavalo nero and new potatoes. Both meals were absolutely delicious. Thank-you team Eight Bells.

Had a lovely afternoon here, made better by a very nice, efficient, helpful waitress called Daisy and a friendly manager who made time for us despite a packed restaurant.

Excellent Sunday lunch between Xmas and New Year. Great food and very prompt service although extremely busy. Only slight niggles was that the risotto is quite salty and the Yorkshire puddings extremely crunchy and turned to dust as if prepared a bit too far in advance. However the service was brilliant and atmosphere lovely. The risotto at The Carpenters was also very salty so possibly intentional.

The restaurant was recommended to us so we drove 1 hour and 20 minutes to dine there however on arrival was turned away with my 4 year old being told we didn't book. Extremely disappointed that they couldn't accommodate 3 new customers who travelled do far to dine with them. Made to feel unwanted now reading the reviews below seem skin colour or identity is an issue here.

We chose the festive menu and were not disappointed. The food was very well prepared and presented. One of us is GF and there were several nice options. The service was super! A team effort that was well-oiled, but our server, Chris was exceptional. A real professional.

Fish was cooked to perfection. We were served very quickly.

We visited after an afternoon at the IWM. Great good, great service, and four happy customers! Would highly recommend.

Quite pricey, but a relaxing, unhurried atmosphere in attractive surroundings. Good service and so helpful to have a car park.

Lovely pub, staff very nice, I had trout terrine for starters, never got my soda bread, forgot to ask for it, but I didn't enjoy that, I had the Sunday lunch, roast beef, two thick slices which were cooked to perfection, the roast potatoes weren't crispy and seemed like new potatoes cooked in a deep fat fryer, the rest of the food on the plate was perfect, for desert I had apple and pear crumble, but the pears were quite hard, and strangely came with chocolate ice cream, I thought vanilla would have been better. Summing up, I'd definitely go back, but I'd only have the main course, if I was marking it on that, I would have given it five stars.

My first date was at this wonderful pub. 😊 The atmosphere and service were wonderful, and so was my date.😊 Thank you

Really delicious food, with a changing menu. Recommend the ox cheek!

For a funereal ,so not typical day food buffet style very nice ,beer great bit slow ,not there fault lot of people ..

Excellent 10am welcome for our coach party on a Thursday- plenty of delicious cakes and coffee/tea welcomed us as did super cheery staff before we started our walking tour of the beautiful town. Having eaten here at Xmas and had an excellent meal it was nice to return and discover they welcome art and history tour groups. Such a pretty town worth combining a visit to the bridge end gardens or Fry Gallery with a lunch at this lovely pub.

A great place to have a meal after a beautiful walk in Bridge End Garden. Our waiter Chris was very polite, helpful and made us feel very welcome.

Overpriced we had 2 crumbles we could not get cream because they use it for the panna cotta. No custard offered but a purple sweet cheap ice cream that did not go with the crumble. Two desserts and one coffee came to £31. I have been there for two Sunday lunches which were very good. The tables and chairs in this beautiful room are very tacky and old. It looks like an old-fashioned school room. Sadly I would not take us there again.

We popped in for a quick bite and a pit stop on a bright and sunny Wednesday lunch time. We were not very hungry and although the lunch menu did look very tempting we chose some bar snacks instead. We had a cheese/ salami board, sone calamari and spicy chorizo bites. We added some thrice cooked chunky chips. All tasty. Served pleasantly. It’s expensive but worth it. Well done all. We will recommend and return.

Lovely old style venue, food ok, service very slow even though there were not many customers.

We turned up unannounced and they fitted us into the impressive main hall with the high ceiling and the beams. Went with the beef roast. I have had many great ones due to the meat, the potatoes or the yorkies….but this was the best due to the veg! Seriously, some yellow beetroot, kale and mashed root veg really elevated this. Definitely can’t wait to come back again. Menu even had a map that we might use for tips elsewhere!

Not a great experience and that's disappointing in many ways. It's an amazing building let down by the team. On the day we went they had run out of some of the options. We were offered alternatives for free by a member of staff so we agreed as we had been there so long already. Food and drinks service extremely slow on our visit and there were more stack than customers, I don't understand it really. So much potential but delivery was way under par. Expensive for what we received.

Booked this place for our Wedding Anniversary in the Restaurant, arrived for our reservation on the Saturday night, was shown to our table in the bar! This is not what we wanted as there was dogs in the bar ordered our drinks was not very happy where we was sitting my husband told the waitress we had booked to eat in the restaurant, her reply was “ it’s booked for a function”, we said we were not told this at the time of our booking a waiter came to our table & asked were we ready to order food we replied No we are not eating here because of the situation regarding the function in the restaurant. He replied “ I didn’t know about this function in the restaurant until tonight ? Not very good communication amongst staff members ? We paid for our drinks & left to go elsewhere. Will not be going back here.

Me and the Wife came down for a Sunday lunch and enjoyed it very much, alongside a ice-cream Sunday! A little on the expensive side but we had a lovely time and a lovely waitress called Jess telling us about different wines we were interested in! Drinks were lovely, and a fantastic scenery inside the barn. Would definitely recommend, we will definitely be returning

Very average food. We went for a nice evening out. Sat outside, which is pretty poorly decked out. Astro turf and no ambience. Could be such a lovely little area if done well. Inside did look prettier. The food was really poor. I had the lamb which was tough, tiny and pretty tasteless. The sauce was basically out of the tin mint sauce over some plain boiled beans. Served with undercooked chips (hard and cold in the middle!). Parents had fish and chips which was okay (same issue with chips) but to be honest, worse than the chippy down the road. Drinks expensive and took 20-30 minutes to come. At over £150 for three people (one drink each and just main and two starters to share) I felt pretty robbed! Wouldn’t recommend or return.

This is a lovely old pub with a stunning dining room. The new beer garden is a delight. The staff are very pleasant and the food is very good. They also have their own car park.

I loved the Sunday roast and sticky toffee pudding. The staff was really friendly. We arrived around 10-12 minutes early than the time i booked, but they were happy to seat us.

A lovely find, near Fry Gallery. V interesting building, good beer and lovely food. Staff excellent! For two we had two starters, a green salad and Foccachia which was enough for lunch. We obviously need to return!

Very nice lunch in the restaurant finished off with a nice cuppa in the garden area

Saturday night, food OK although the prawn cocktail was completely missing the avocado. Service was absolutely terrible. Atmosphere poor as it emptied out by about 9pm.

Haddock was fabulous beautiful dining what's not to like

Didn't try the food. Nice pub, ample parking with a great outdoor area.

Great little Pub, we watched the semi finals so it was pretty busy. But there was a few things, Our Starters didn't arrive until half way through our mains which was a bit annoying as we requested them before. The chips where pretty good but the fish was a bit greasy. As i said we want on a busy Wednesday evening so all and all a good night

We held a retirement party at the 8 Bells on Friday for our Head Teacher. We were extremely satisfied with everything at the venue. The buffet was outstanding, with many compliments on. The management were so helpful all the way through the process of organising this event. They had so many staff on, all of them were friendly and helpful. 5 stars well deserved.

Went here on Saturday at 6:30pm and had an amazing time . Food was awesome and really great service which makes all the difference ! Will definitely be back .

Excellent meal last night, which was just ahead of an event held at the pub with a travelling theatre troop called Pantaloons. 4 meals were excellent, and good array of drink options. Got a little busy as people came in to watch the football but all added to the post-meal ambiance. Staff were professional, and food was pipping hot given the freshness of it being made

Visited today for Sunday lunch. After ordering we waited sometime for the food to be served, around 60 minutes. Once the food arrived, it was worth the wait. Both meat and vegaterian options were great. However low rating is due to the service received, one staff member was polite. While some of the others were seemed preoccupied and unhelpful - almost as if we were an inconvenience.

Really good value food, freshly made and fair size portions. A real gem of a place. Keep doing what you're doing

They do two menus one for the bar and one for the barn restaurant

It's almost the key place to be at weekends for parties and functions , events , loads more .. the staff are good Jay Audley End Chauffeurs

Looked lovely inside and out. Waited at the bar for 5 or 6 minutes but no staff appeared so we left and went to a different pub.

After moving away we had not returned to the Eight Bells for 12 year and it was very disappointing around Christmas time just gone - unfriendly, bad food and service. We decided to give it another try and it was so improved I had to ask if it was under new management and it is and it shows. We had three courses and the food was outstanding. The service was second to none and everyone was so friendly. They now welcome dogs into the main restaurant area too. Will definitely go back again soon. Fantastic meal and a very different feel to the place now.

Lunch was pretty good - service was OK. Staff may need a little more training before being let loose on the public on there own.

Great place and good food and service. A little on the quiet side however lovely village atmosphere.

A lovely public house with attentive staff and beautiful food. The trout was amazing and my friends haddock looked tasty and was very large. Will be returning to try out a Sunday roast!

Was here for lunch got there at 12:30 very busy for a lunch time didn't have a reservation but was still able to sit down for a meal was welcomed by the manager called Josh very quickly and was served to attentively even though it was busy been here a couple of times now and have never been disappointed

Food quantities varied from plate to plate ,had to wait a long time for food to arrive,had children and they were getting bored from the wait,to be fair they apologized and gave a big discount for the wait . Staff were friendly

The Cruz Campus beer was the best I have ever tasted. WELL DONE

We had to wait over an hour and a half for the food to arrive. When it arrived everything was very good. The manager is quite rude. There is no baby changing table, just a mat that has to be used on the dirty bathroom floor. No apology for the wait and on top of that it included a 10% tip in the bill…

A delightful accident. I was looking for a bite to eat in Saffron Walden and stumbled across this place. The service was a delight and the food was excellent. I also sampled a local wine which knocked my socks off. The pricing is at the treat level but the quality of what was served meant it was well worth it. If I could make a small suggestion maybe add another choice to the menu for fussy eaters. Local hint: it's only five minutes from Saffron Hall so it is a great choice for a pre-concert dinner.

We had a great dinner at the eight bells restaurant. We were warm welcomed. The meals were freshly made and tasty! The alcohol free beer was great, too. Clean and cosy atmosphere. Fair price for a meal with high-quality ingredients! We will come back, surely 😁👍🏻

Terrible service. The bar ‘manager’ was completely incompetent, condescending and rude. Definitely would not recommend with young children. Despite being there for over an hour, waited with young children to order food. Asked three times to order. Claims to be ‘dog friendly’ but they then couldn’t offer a place with a dog.

We booked a table for 4 for Thursday 28 March. My friend had phoned to ask: is the pub wheelchair accessible?; is there a disabled toilet? She was told Yes to both. Eight Bells is a grade II listed building We parked in the car park and I was able to get into the pub using a short in-built ramp through a narrow door into the corner of the bar / lobby area with 3 or 4 tables. There is a large dining area to the side, accessed via one step down, then another step up - not wheelchair-friendly, The main bar area is accessed by 2 steps - not wheelchair accessible. The ladies and gents toilets were both accessed by steps down - not wheelchair accessible. The manager apologised and said: no there isn’t an accessible toilet, it’s a listed building. So why weren’t we told that when we booked? We stayed in the ‘‘accessible’ entrance area and had a meal, which was very good, but we didn’t stay long and I used the car park as a toilet on the way back to the car. The lack of a disabled toilet should be made clear on their website and to all of their staff! Meanwhile, we continue to be treated like second class citizens!

I really want to like The Eight Bells. It’s local to us and it’s an attractive venue. However this is the second visit that left us disappointed. Firstly, we were seated in the bar and not the restaurant as booked. We then waited an hour for our main courses. When the food arrived it was okay. We all had roast but each roast was £24! You would expect something quite special for that sort of money in a local restaurant. My Dad’s lamb was just fatty and when we mentioned it to the waitress she just said ‘oh ‘. Not a great experience.

We spent the day in Saffron Walden and ended up walking in to the Eight Bells early just because we were done walking. At first the service seemed to be very attentive, but we could tell a clear shift in mood when we decided to go with a starter first and then order mains and dessert later since we came in so early (it was around 4pm and the barn section just cleared with the last remaining lunch folks, so we weren't worried about holding a table for too long as it was that weird time between lunch and dinner where restaurants are typically empty. If it had been crowded we would have obviously ordered and eaten a lot faster). After that, we were pretty much ignored - we asked for the drinks menu which we got, but had to flag down service after 30 minutes to actually order, same happened with the dessert. I get that service loves to see people eat, pack up and go but I still spend almost 50 pounds each and order starter, main and dessert I do expect good service no matter how long I spend in the place (unless, of course the table has to be cleared for another reservation etc - but that clearly wasn't the case). Food was really good though, we had the sourdough + fish pate which was heavely, our mains were veggie risotto and fish & chips. Fish & Chips were very well seasoned and crispy and the tartare sauce was amazing. The risotto was a bit runny, but had a really good taste to make up for consistency. The sticky toffee pudding was bigger than expected and was amazing as well! Overall, a good visit with great food but unfortunately not so great service - which is a shame when a place has a service fee included (which we paid, but tbh it wasn't well deserved).

Booked for Sunday lunch a few weeks ago and were excited as we'd not tried The Eight Bells before. Our table wasn't ready when we arrived but we ordered drinks and sat at the bar. Very quickly, though, a table was cleared in the barn/hall (which is absolutely amazing, though it took us a while to realise the plants were plastic). I'd book the whole barn for any special events (weddings, etc) if I could. Service was very, very slow (a bottle of wine ordered with the food materialised as we were all finishing up) but the food was excellent, including being able to choose how the meat for the roast was cooked, so it can't have been pre-made. It took ages to order, for the food to arrive, and to pay.. it didn't seem that busy, but perhaps it was behind the scenes. Toilets were ok, and there are a few tables outside and a car park. It's probably the kind of place you'd have a special meal, or take out-of-town friends. It's not really a pub, but a restaurant.. or gastro-pub, perhaps. They do have a decent selection of drinks (including a good wine-list, though as we found out, not every bottle is available all the time). We'll be back again.

Very cool spot, loads of character. Food was delicious, sunday dinner with the fam. The rice pudding was very nice, bit random to focus on, but loved it. Chefs a cool fella - David. Met him and his good lady outside after the feeding frenzy died down. Was kind enough to give me a bottle of the beer he'd brewed himself and big batched with Barsham brewery - Eastern Gold. Proper nice drop, really enjoyed that. Thanks David. Will be dropping in for a pint of that again👌

Had a great last minute visit to the eight bells yesterday and was really impressed - the barn was an amazing location to dine and really well decorated. Wasn't expecting that from the outside. Our server was very friendly too. Portions were of a good size and great quality, we opted for the fish and chips and enjoyed having fish and chip style chips rather than the usual thick cut ones you tend to get in pubs. 10% service charge added automatically to the bill. AMEX accepted.

This was our first visit and agreed that we would be happy to return in the future. The pub has three different areas for eating and we sat in the large barn. We found all the staff to be very friendly and helpful and were well looked after during our stay. Our food was good too but the prices are a little higher in this establishment.

Food pretty good but the service was awful staff more interested in chatting by the bar or looking at their phone. Dessert menu provided but no one came to take an order for more than 30 minutes by which time we were ready to head home!

Stopped in for a light lunch bite and some refreshments during the week with our dog on a rainy day, very friendly staff, beautiful old building, excellent wine list, very dog friendly had a great time; one of the best pubs we have been to for a long time (not counting the Cricketers near Clavering which we visited the day after, same chain of course!). We both have been talking about this pub since, and will be looking for an opportunity to come back soon, love it.

Had such a amazing time got greeted very quickly by josh the manager was served with such attentiveness the food was amazing will be returning again busy Sunday Chris the other manger was amazing as well got myself a drink before I sat for dinner

Really good food in a cozy atmosphere

I came here yesterday in a group with myself and my friend who has a baby under 1. The baby changing facilities in the woman’s toilets was appalling. It was a mat which we are expected to put on the dirty bathroom floor. Yesterday was raining, which mean the bathroom floor was extra wet / dirty. Logistically it should also be noted that even if the floor was spotless. Both the bathroom doors swing outwards, to where you’re meant to change the baby, thus is wouldn’t work regardless. This is extremely disappointing for a family friendly pub. Sunday roast was lovely and the service was slow but friendly.

Excellent food and service. What impressed us most is that when my wife told a waiter that her hearing is poor, he immediately positioned himself so that she could see him clearly - helps with the lip-reading - and spoke slowly and clearly.

Decided that after 2 years we would try the 8Bells again, obviously a big mistake, especially given our bad recent experiences at other Chestnut group restaurants namely the Cricketers in Clavering and the feathers in Holt. This chain used to be so good but sadly no longer. Dinner was booked for 8pm on a Saturday night for birthday celebrations, choosing from the menu to be told that catch of the day was no longer available. this was OK so 4 people then chose the sirloin, and we had a long discussion with the waitress on having sharing starters, and what quantities to order. After about 10 mins, the staff came out telling us the sirloin was sold out, and to choose an alternative. We did this reluctantly, for a restaurant to run out of 2 main menu items on a busy Saturday night when we have to pre-book and secure with credit card, so numbers of covers are known in advance. This clearly is a case of inexperienced or mis-management. We waited for the starters to arrive, but couldn't believe it when our mains were presented to us. Where were our starters? no explanation given, no apologies. As the waitress leant over with the plates of main course food she also dragged a dirty tea towel through one of the dinners, again no apology. We were not returning the dishes as we know from past that they get kept and reheated. Food was mediocre, venison burger, for which no staff asked about how we wanted it cooked, was very well done and dry. we did notice that another table had already sent their burgers back. For dessert we chose warm rice puddings. these were cold when they arrived at the table. At one point in the evening we overheard staff telling one customer who remarked how busy it was and how they had sold out, that "you guys are OK cos you are vegetarians" Attitude of the staff left a lot to be desired, and we would say maybe experience in another one of the groups establishments would help, but sadly this is level of service and lack of care is clearly endemic throughout the Chestnut group. For the 8bells there should be the opportunity to create saffron Walden's No1 eating spot, given the lack of choice of good food in the area. Step up your game !! We will not return