The Five Bells in Medway

A group of us 9 cyclists of us went for a perfect Sunday Lunch today. Warm welcome, excellent service and the food was spot on. We are looking forward to going to the Five Bells again. Many thanks.

Visited today for a roast dinner was not disappointed, great food loads of meat and the gravy was deliciou. Staff was so lovely and accommodating. 5 adults and 3 kids and only spent £100 on food. The prawn cocktail was lovely and fresh too

Nice staff but had Christening on - asked for food 12.30pm but said chef was helping Christening- no problem- Iver an hour later could we have our roasts please - Nice school dinner

Amazing what has been done to this place in such a small turn around in time keep up good work.. finally brought the local back to it's former glory!!!

Can anyone help us to get rent, around this area? Thank you for your response.. ❤️

The new owners here have excelled themselves!! Popped in with my partner yesterday for lunch before the school run with the dog, really friendly staff, great new look and the food was amazing 👌 I stayed with the dog and the kids came after school because the atmosphere for a Friday afternoon evening was safe and pleasant, back garden and all the work, spot on! I called the neighbours up and had a dad's night and left eventually around 10.30pm 😬 really happy to have a great village pub back, dog and child friendly with awesome grub, thanks to all the staff for a great time, see you soon 👍

Just had lunch here, we weren't that hungry so opted for a baguette. It was massive and came with salad and fries. It tasted delicious and was good value. The bitters on draft were also good. Would definitely recommend it if you are in the area.

Visited today.Amazing food first class .Lovely people.Highly recommended.Will return again and again

Had Sunday lunch here for the first time, Absolutely lovely. The place has a lovely atmosphere and is spotlessly clean, staff are chatty and friendly and service was quick. Food - Good choice of Sunday meals, came with veg and some superb gravy. The food was excellent, some of the nicest beef I have had in years, veg was cooked well and everything was so tasty. Will be going back to try some of their other options.

Just had a delicious meal here would definitely recommend the five bells in hoo

Very friendly and helpful staff, nice place to have a drink and a chat. Shall return tomorrow for something to eat.

Eaten there many times and the service and food is always outstanding, thank you all and see you soon 💗

Had 1 drink, was OK but didn't stay long.

Very enjoyable food looking forward to going again Edith Jim

Held an 80th party in the hall upstairs they supplied a graze table which was fabulous.

Nice little pub, didn't have any food but certainly will visit again one day. Lovely staff and friendly customers x

One of those places that's a must visit in Hoo, very homely and welcoming

Offered a choice of one portion of beef or gammon (3 diners) this constituted 'a roast dinner' - was expecting several choices of meat. Apparently there were 2 portions of beef, but one was earmarked for one of the serving staffs dinner! Yorkshire pudding was burnt. Whole meal was mainly lukewarm. Vegetables were just as we like them though. One of our party had a burger which was also lukewarm. Of the two of us that had roasts, there was some greyish/beige slimes looking slop on our plates. One of us decided it was meant to be cauliflower cheese which I personally hate with a vengeance. My dining companion tried it and noted it was 'not to their liking' and they LOVE cauliflower cheese! They said they had the feeling it was not the first time it had been heated although this could not be proven. It was also lukewarm. Music was our era, so we enjoyed that although a tad loud. There were only 2 other diners in who were loud but seemed to be enjoying their meal. We were checked on and I have to say we did not have the balls to complain. The indoors smelt like an ashtray although the smokers were outside the door, literally. Right outside, just. Will not go there again. As I chose the venue, I paid but was very apologetic to my dining companions.

Has been recently taken over the new licence holders are definitely a positive impact and importantly minus the removal of joe and her breakfast takeaway service which is very much wanted and valuable to all of our village and was a breath of fresh air like we jope you shall be to our village.

Great staff, good food, village hub well managed.

Just had roast lamb dinner as a take away option...Couldn't fault it. Great selection of veg, carrot, broccoli, parsnip, brussel sprout, cauliflower and cauliflower cheese, crunchy roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding that didn't at one time belong to Aunt Bessie...will definitely be back.. excellent service by friendly effecient staff..

Good crack as usual on a fine Saturday afternoon

Love it here. Nice food in the restaurant. Bar staff are great

Me and the lads stopped off here on the way to a bike rally. Really welcoming staff. Friendly place and great service...

Excellent. Great accommodation.nice food well presented and lots of it. Glad we stayed here while walking the Thames

Lovely Sunday lunch, will be back again very soon.

Quite a quiet pub, but friendly staff

Had a rather nice meal in there in the week and get along to the monthly jam nights and have a great time, hard working landlord has turned the pub around

Good chep food on set list, starter main and dessert for £8.00

Best meal ever, dinner, pudding and cup of tea £8 on a Wednesday. Food was piping hot and delicious.

Lovely place for a relaxing drink ,and thoroughly entertaining landlord and land lady,highly recomend this place ,and the food is awesome

Such a lovely family friendly pub; food was amazing especially the ploughman’s, friendly service and environment clean; highly recommend here for Sunday lunch also. Food is delicious, well done to the owners. Will definitely be returning.

Went into the five 5 bells the other day on the off chance of being able to grab a bite to eat and a couple of drinks with 2 friends. The food was lovely with a good selection available , good sized portions for a very reasonable price. Staff were lovely, very helpful with one of our group who has a food intolerance. Will definately be going back again soon.

Me and a friend of mine went over to the five bells on Sunday the 15th, we was running late and when we called to book for a later time the landlady was very accommodating and understanding. The food was absolutely delicious the beef was so tender and roast potatoes were the best I’ve tasted! Also a nice variety of veg! The atmosphere in the pub was just right for a lovely Sunday afternoon everyone full of smiles and giggles! Will definitely be coming back thanks again for an enjoyable meal.

My first time at this pub since the new landlords have taken over & I am very happy with the service, very friendly & approachable. They have revamped the dreary pub & freshened it up! It Looks lovely! I had a beef roast and it was really nice, the beef was cooked to perfection, the veg was really nice and a varied selection, my favourite cauliflower cheese, broccoli & carrots! The roast potatoes were cooked perfectly too & the gravy topped it off! I will 100% be coming back to have another roast and go to some of the upcoming events here! The staff were friendly & the customers in the pub seemed happy & merry! Well done, Thankyou for a lovely afternoon 🙌🏼

Went to the five bells yesterday eve, they were advertising a jam session for local musicians, which was an absolutely brilliant night,the pub had a couple of nice real ales on, and to top it all I had a scampi in a basket meal which really took me back to the good old days, the staff were lovely very welcoming and friendly, shall definitely be revisiting again soon

We attended where we chose popular items off the menu which came in large portions and we’re delicious. The pub has a beautiful aesthetic and amazing garden space inviting to families and large groups. Friendly bar staff with a family ethos and welcoming to all.

Myself and lots of our family attended the pub for a lunch. The pub itself looks lovely, welcoming and homely. Staff where more than attentive - kept us updated with regards to how long our meals would take, regularly checking we had drinks and if needed anything further etc.. We all had the southern fried chicken burger, and waffles for dessert. Both meals where excellent, piping hot and all cooked fresh. The pub garden is huge, and perfect when the sun is shining. Overall a great pub, new landlords are fantastic and can already tell they have a no tolerance policy to any sort of wrong behaviour. We will definitely return!

Recently visited the five bells after hearing how fabulous the roast dinners have been. When arriving we was greeted and seated at our reserved table. When the food what served this was hot and plenty of vegetable options. The server was happy and friendly helping with all our requests. After this beautiful roast we even tried the dessert menu which personally the Belgian waffle was delicious. We would definitely be returning again.

Smells terrible in the pub. The drinks are flat and I believe they are actually using out of date stock. Requested jager and it poured out creamy- they did replace this but how long does Jager sit there to go off, especially considering it is newly opened with new landlords?! Landlords are very rude. Won't ever return.

Quite appalled by the response received on Friday night. We were really excited about the changes in the pub and were gifted tickets as a family to come along to the UB40 event; which we were keen to attend. When these tickets were handed over, my sister was told that she had not been directly given tickets and that the pub were 'selectful' about those who they had chosen to give tickets to. These tickets were then ripped up in front of her. I am in disbelief by the disrespect, we have never caused issues in the pub and are locals. Not a good first impression at all and surely your events are put on with the intention of raising public awareness. You've just lost yourself a lot of custom, word of mouth spreads well.

After not being in for a few weeks after all the trouble , it was nice to feel welcome by the new manager josh , things are finally starting to look on the up . Will be coming back regularly from now on. Hopefully food will be up and running soon in the next few weeks.

I visited this twice this week , sound being the 3rd , the landlord seems friendly enough , bit the woman serving on sunday didn't want to serve us . She sent us to the dining room , she didn't ask if we wanted a drink while we waited, she left us there for 15 minutes, in this time she served everyone who came though the door, I tried to order when she came around our side of he bar , to be told that she would take our order from our table , we gave up waiting and left the pub , she shouted something after us , didn't sound friendly , a big shame as we know the roast dinners are very good , they are re furnishing soon , should be a good place to drink ,pity about the barmaid!!

This was the lunch stop for our Saxon Shore Way walk from Strood to High Halstow. To be fair we turned up unannounced - but the place wasn't busy and hey there were 10 of us so probably at least an equally unannounced £100 or so made from us. Anyway apparently the 1 real ale available was good. Great choice of food, all of it served up attractively, generously - and quickly. Coffee good value for money - only £2 and the cafetiere gave the equivalent of a mugful. Very handy for the bus back to Strood for me personally.

I had previously been to the pub for Sunday lunch, to save me cooking for one. Good quantities, fair quality, very reasonably priced, served by the most uncommunicative person I've even met serving in a pub! It became a game to try to get her to say something! Anything! I also went to watch the rugby internationals, until the landlord switched over to horse racing because he had a bet on.... Real ale not well kept. On occasion, undrinkable. Apparently its all change now, so I was interested to see how it had changed when I went to a party. Separate party venue upstairs, so wasn't altogether surprised to find no real ale at the small bar, so went downstairs to find one. Astonished to be told that they hadn't put any on, as it was a Saturday night and no-one would want any!!!! I won't be rushing back!

I am a local hoo resident and I love this local pub this landlord has brought this pub on so well and made it look so much fresher and cleaner then it was 5 6 years ago that's when you would never go near it and now its lovely and a lot cleaner then it youst to be by the previous owners he has brought this place on a long way and as for when you walk in the pub you get the most wonderful warming welcome ever the better the landlord knows you the more better your welcome gets from at first me my mate went into this pub and just got hello ladies to now oh no not you 2 again which is just perfect village banter between me my friend who are regular drinkers to his pub and what we have seen since drinking in this pub the progress he has made on this pub we cant describe any better then phenomenal you would never have stepped foot in here before now its come along massively and I cant say much more then what a fantastic local pub landlord he is we love him

Sadly not improved much since my last visit.Atmosphere not welcoming, some staff friendly enough, Land Lord not very welcoming and doesn’t set a good example to the staff. Absolutely filthy apron on and tatty old plimsolls on his feet covered in mud, they clearly have been worn to death for years on his feet. We were going to grab some lunch but changed our minds after finding out the Landlord does the cooking. The menus were a bit off putting too, clearly whoever types them up doesn’t know how to spell or use spell checker on a pc. See attached menu photo and the multitude of spelling errors!

Pub could do with a little TLC, however absolutely lovely Sunday roast at the cheapest price I've ever seen. Everyone had a different choice of roast meat (beef, lamb, pork) and all said they melted in the mouth. Great range of fresh spring vegetables, crunchy roast potatoes with fluffy centres and fantastic gravy. Also had dessert crumble and custard. What a find a definite second visit on the horizon.

First time here today and what a lovely surprise. Staff, welcoming and friendly , lovely locals and amazing food! All at good cost. Will definitely be returning !!!

Been here in the past and didn’t feel welcome.Walked in and waited ages to be served, I hadn’t realised that the people I walked past outside smoking were the staff and Landlord.Eventually one of them came in and greeted me with rather abrupt YES?Only ordered a half so I could leave quicker. The place really needs someone to shake it up and drum some customer service into the people that apparently work here. It’s a shame as a lot of the locals in the village avoid this place, for good reason as my experiences match what everyone says about it.

Just returned from lunch there. Start with the positives food was nice enough and large portions. However the customer service was non existent... The women who served us was ride and unfriendly. The menu was shoved in my face! I have never been to any restaurant where service was so poor. I would never return or recommend this restaurant to anyone. The whole place needs a makeover too!/... Drab describes the place best.

Having moved to the area in the summer was warned off this place by locals including the people we bought the house off.Never the less my partner and her friend tried it for a quick drink to celebrate a new promotion .Barman was rude and got the order wrong then called my partner a liar and said she didn't order what she had .Then got bottle top out of bin and placed bottle back in fridge .Ordered a glass of wine and watched the barman poor a cheaper wine then try to charge for a more expensive wine .When challenged lied and said he hadn't despite being watched and seen doing it.Horrible atmosphere and quite frankly surprised still in business if this is how you treat new customers .You wont continue to trade if you solely rely on your regulars as they wont always be there.If it was a barman last night then his attitude stunk and needs to find another job .If it was the manager then it explains the reputatuon around the village .Next time a visit to the Chequers will be in order

Visited when on holiday. Manager was very rude and was glueing pictures on a wall? Making a mess everywhere. Not interested in service. Unclean with pets in food areas. Lived in the area many years ago. Food not good and unpleasant atmosphere. Won't be returning. Needs new management.

Been to this village pub twice for Sunday dinner, the landlord has tried hard to make the pub look nice as it was previously very run down . The Sunday roasts are amazing all home cooked, fresh vegetables, amazing roast potatoes and lots of lovely gravy. We have not sampled other dishes off of the menu so cannot comment on them. Go soon you won’t be disappointed. He also has a play area in the garden for children and the children’s roasts are very good value.

I live locally and it's nice to see the Five Bells coming on in atmosphere, good food, and a warm welcome.

just to clear up 1 or 2 thing about the last comment.

Looks fab from outside .. Restaurant area has been *toshed out*, as a re-dec goes :-(. Dogs in bar sleeping on furniture (fine with me - but wouldnt be with non dog lovers). Menu choice is good and fair prices .. Food , can only comment on ours . - 4 of us , one stone cold . 3 still frozen , hair in one meal.. This place maybe needs a womans touch to, too note the many small problems . . ie Wood table . covered in paint splats . when the *tosh out* was done no dust sheets used ..? Smoking area . dirty ashtrays, unkempt , leaking drain, so waste is oozing out . (wont mention what was in the corner.) The drinks were fine and the bar maid was friendly. I feel the kitchen side maybe needs more experience (maybe a food probe too)

Popped in on my own and immediately felt like I had entered without permission.

Came in for a Business meeting when I found cafe's closed. Whilst the pub was empty it was welcoming with great dogs just relaxing on floor. Plenty of room for privacy and good landlord.