The Old Bell Coffee House in Lancaster

Really lovely little spot, lovely waitress. Jacket potato was a little underdone/perhaps microwaved. That’s probably my fault for ordering a spud at 10:15. Chilli was delicious and clearly homemade. My wife had a brie ciabatta and she absolutely loved it. Drinks wise we had cappuccino and orange juice. Cappuccino was too very good. Definitely would come back.

Been coming here for more than 2 years. Food is always amazing and we just love the people and atmosphere . It’s my husband and I to go lunch date place every weekend.

Lovely cafe. We had jacket potatoes and they were piping hot and had plenty of fillings. The staff were very efficient and friendly. We didn't have to wait long for our order. We would definitely go back when we are in Lancaster.

I've been using this cafe for over 45yrs. It's changed name occasionally, changed ownership a few times but is still one of my favourites. The staff are always welcoming and friendly and the food is excellent. Good cafe food at reasonable prices. I do miss the booths though 😢

Lovely little family cafe with great breakfasts. (No dogs allowed and toilets at the top of a set of stairs.)

Great place for a soup and sandwich for lunch part way through our cycle ride to Borwick Hall for the weekend. Lovely friendly staff. 😀

Best place in the town centre Food always fresh and good quality. Plenty of choice. Hygiene excellent scones always covered on counter. Staff using hand wash. Staff very pleasant why go anywhere else.

What a wonderful little gem! So glad we decided to check it out after seeing their sandwich board on the main Street because we might not have ventured into Bashful Alley. But oh so glad that we did!! The food was wonderful, fresh and done just right. Everything was spotless and the staff was friendly and helpful. I highly recommend this happy surprise of a cafe.

Lovely service and food, great!

A little hidden gem in Lancaster, one of the best fry ups I've had in a long time. Not greasy at all, nice touch with the tea brewed with loose tea leafs rather than a tea bag. Well worth a visit.

Absolutely fabulous home made cakes, nicest people in the cafe, my husband and I will definitely be back just for the cake.

Exceptional service. Warm friendly and attentive. Food excellent 2 days running. Highly recommended if you are in Lancaster. Great Milkshake.

Excellent food and service as always. The homemade scones are delightful. I definitely recommend a visit and the local family run cafe experience is always better than the big names.

Hands down one of the best places for a Full English that I've ever been to; the food's always hot, the ingredients are always cooked well and perhaps one of the few places I know of that fry the bacon properly. I have admittedly been there a few times in the past week for their Old Bell Breakfast, and it's always good and is always consistent. If you're ever in Lancaster, you've got to try it at least once.

Visited the Old bell a few times in the last few months, and couldn't recommend it enough!! A lovely quiet location just off the main high street. The service is always spot on, Charlotte and the team are always so welcoming and kind from the moment you walk in. The menu has lots of variety and the food is always beautifully prepared and presented. There are plenty of drinks options, the vanilla iced coffee's made by Charlotte are my personal favourite! Make sure to visit the next time you're in town!

good english breakfast! great service as well!!!! we will come back!

My absolute favourite place to eat in Lancaster! The staff are so friendly and kind, and the food is out of this world! If I could give an 11/10, I would.

Called here this morning for breakfast. Lovely place spotlessly clean, staff really friendly and accommodating. Must say one of best breakfasts I’ve had in a long time. Highly recommended. Will definitely be back when next in Lancaster. Thank you ladies

Beautiful place to eat, we had breakfast, highly recommend, lovely lady who served us, very polite & attentive, would definitely return.

Cracking fry up and friendly service

Great vegetarian options! The toasted roll is heavenly! Great scones as well!

Nice flatbreads, ideal for a quick lunch

Had lunch for the first time here but will definitely be back, the food was delicious, service excellent, and extremely clean, a wee hidden gem.

Contrary to other reviews, this location does accept card payments now.

We only had cheese and ham toasties and and tea but they were really tasty and served by lovely staff.

Great visit to The Old Bell. The food is superb with a great choice. The girls are lovely and nothing is too much trouble, it is a great favourite of ours and we'll see you again soon.

Lovely breakfast. Service was fab and the lady who served who was friendly. Best poached eggs I’ve had.

Lovely place and great food. Thank you

Amazing vegetarian breakfast - best we’ve had to date! Everything was cooked perfectly. Plus, we got extra complimentary sides which was unexpected and very generous. We will definitely be coming back very soon. Highly recommended.

Just popped in for a quick coffee. Beautiful interior not at all what I was expecting. Good coffee, companion had a piece of hot chocolate cake which he said was beautiful. Extensive cafe type menu all purportedly home made. Well worth a visit although it is tucked out of the way in Bashful Alley. Would like to try breakfast there! Recommended.

Absolutely beautiful homemade food, highly recommend their breakfast buns 11/10! Staff are always happy and nothing is too much trouble. We miss being round the corner from this place! ❤️

What a gem of a place! Excellent breakfast and lovely staff.. we will be back

Lovely little find tucked away in the city centre. Friendly service, extensive menu and absolutely delicious home cooked food. I had a jacket potato with cheese and bacon which was smothered, piping hot, just what I needed on a cold day. Highly recommend this gem. Clearly a dedicated family owned business

Food was delicious with good size portions, service was fast and friendly, we would definitely be visiting again next time we are in Lancaster!

Visiting after many years, we found the Old Bell to be it's wonderful self!!! The staff were welcoming and friendly, the food excellent and the price reasonable. Highly recommend!!!

The ham bagel was delicious, definitely coming again

An absolute gem of a place. Easily found and served up a great English breakfast and fresh-brewed coffee. A lot of places don't ask for your opinion but they do here and I think that's important.

Lovely quirky cafe. Found by Google search looking for somewhere for breakfast. We both had a cooked breakfast which was made to order. Really lovely lass serving. Will definitely return again. Nice happy atmosphere and busy.

Very good cafe for some nice and tasty food

This was a fabulous find for a midday meal! We walked right by this lovely family-owned eatery on the first pass, not first spotting the quaint approach through Bashful Alley, but are so glad we kept searching. The place is spotlessly clean, and the food and service are fabulous. We had the chili & jacket potato special and the vegetable soup & BLT -- both hearty, huge portions, and scrumptious. Highly recommended!

Hadn't been here for some time, my wife and I were nearby and decided to call in for lunch. We both chose the breakfasts and we were absolutely delighted with the meals presented. Worth a little wait for a freshly cooked delicious meal, Will definitely call again, fully recommend you try it for yourselves. 11/10

Lovely food & friendly staff Excellent service Will be going back again

Had a cheese ham toastie with gorgeous roast ham and a smoked salmon bagel more generous with the salmon than I am when I make one at home! Cheerful service, food arrived quickly and the coffee was properly hot. Very clean. We were too full for one of the tempting looking home made cakes but will be happy to return to try one.

With so many eateries in Lancaster it would be easy to miss this hidden gem. The Old Bell serves excellent food. I thoroughly enjoyed my choice of jacket potato with sauteed mushrooms in a creamy garlic sauce. The service was great too.

We have been visiting the Old Bell for years now and have never been disappointed. The quality of the food is always excellent, whether for a full meal, a sandwich or just coffee and toast. The service is superb, quick and efficient no matter how busy they are - and cheerful too! Thank you Charlotte and Bilo. See you again soon.

The English Breakfast was very tasty and good value too. The option for a smaller portion is a nice touch. The service was fast and polite. I thoroughly recommend!

Great food and service. If you're in Lancaster, I would definitely recommend the Old Bell for breakfast or lunch.

Popped in for breakfast, service excellent, food was great and premesis very clean and tidy. Will come again.

The Old Bell is a lovely little eating place down Bashful Alley in Lancaster. Such lovely people run it. Very friendly and warm. The food and coffee were excellent and reasonably priced. I will definitely go back again.

Fui ao restaurante com minha namorada. Pedimos Lasagne, Jacked Potato e o Chocolate Fudge Cake. Comida muito boa e no preço. Atendimento fantástico. Restaurante administrado por uma família. Todos muito simpáticos. Único detalhe é que o refrigerante vem direto no copo e não separadamente a lata e o copo. Mas nada que diminua o ótimo atendimento. Super recomendo.

Little hidden gem down Bashfull alley. Lovely family run cafe. Delicious food and not too expensive. Highly recommend

The food was really good. They have a wide variety of food (breakfast/brunch/lunch). Very nice atmosphere. I ordered a chibata with chicken. It was perfect and in a good amount for 1 person. We even got roasted potatoes for free.

Lovely hidden gem with a quiet/chilled atmosphere. The old bell has good food, good service and good prices. I would definitely recommend it. 😊

Great find tucked away in Lancaster. Really friendly and efficient service in this family-run cafe. Lovely home-made cakes. And enjoyed without intrusive music blaring out. Highly recommended.

Best cafe in town food always presented beautiful .take always good Staff always welcoming friendly we love it 😀

Absolutely gorgeous cake, lovely service, great atmosphere!

This was my first visit and I loved it. Table service was fast and by the time my coffee was done my dinner was brought out. The food was excellent and hot. A little expensive as 2 drinks and 2 meals was over £30 but I will be going again soon. Great friendly staff.

Wonderful little spot for a treat meal, went with a party of three, we each had very different meals and drinks but every part was done perfectly. The seats were comfortable, the atmosphere was calm and homey. Well worth every penny!

Today was our second visit to The Old Bell for Brunch. On both occasions we have had a lovely warm welcome and our table service was both efficient and friendly. We all agreed that the breakfasts at The Old Bell are the best that we have experienced in many years of eating out. Thank you.

Today was our second visit to The Old Bell for brunch. On both occasions we have had a lovely warm welcome and our table service was efficient and friendly. We all agreed that the breakfast served at The Old Bell is the best that we have ever experienced in many years of eating out. Thank you.

A gem of a place, not to be missed when visiting Lancaster. Excellent food.... & the cakes, wow!!

Amazing breakfast would highly recommend

We found The Old Bell online while looking for a full English for our flatmate who had never had one before. Safe to say it she enjoyed it! Probably the best full English’s I’ve had in a while too! Couldn’t recommend more and brilliant service too. Hope to be back soon thank you.

A hidden gem!! With delicious fresh cakes, brilliantly decorated (for Halloween today), staff very friendly. Absolutely brilliant :-)

Definitely a “Hidden Gem”…❗️❗️❗️ The Old Bell Licensed Cafe is fabulous…hidden in Deepest Darkest Lancaster…down a brick alleyway…like something out of Harry Potter…it is Fantastic…❗️❗️❗️ Although “Hidden”, The Old bell is quite easy to find…and not far from a Multi-Storey Car Park…a short walk and you’ll find yourself in a Harry Potter film set, down Bashful Alley…Brilliant❗️❗️❗️ The Cafe from the outside looks very friendly and as soon as you step inside you are met with the very friendly Girls on the inside…very cosy atmosphere with a Splendid Menu…Our Breakfast was superb…from drinks to a Full English Breakfast and Smoked Salmon on Scrambled Eggs with Thick Brown Bread…and all was Deeeeeelicious…🤗🤗🤗 They also have an array of Fabulous Homemade Cakes…I had an enormous slice of Carrot Cake which was to die for…absolutely amazing 🤩🤩🤩 We liked it so much that we can’t wait to go back again ❗️❗️❗️ A Magnificent 5 Stars from me…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Went for the first time today although friend had been before , breakfast served all day ! Bonus ! 😇👌 clean place and quick service . Toilet was clean as was the bathroom in itself ! Shame it’s upstairs so not accessible for all ! 🤔🤷‍♀️ ! The food was served quick and hot ! And the drinks were good 👍 hot chocolate are made with milk , didn’t say on the menu if there was an alternative to milk available,so not sure on that ! Cafe was good 👍 and it’s a family run business , so definitely worth a second visit ! Saw other plates coming out and jacket potatoes looked great 👍

Great little cafe, hidden away in a quiet alley. Cakes were delicious and the staff were very friendly. Will definitely be visiting again.

Tucked away in the amazingly named Bashful Alley in deepest darkest Lancaster sits a wonderful cafe called The Old Bell. We visited on a Sunday morning late October, it was easy to find as we parked on the carpark above the shopping centre for £2, the cafe is just a couple of minutes walk from the lift which takes you down from the second floor. We parked by the disabled spots as you drive into the carpark. As soon as we opened the door of the cafe we were greeted by the most wonderful lovely ladies who were super attentive and could not do enough for you. The place was spotless and decorated for halloween. We had between us the small breakfast and smoked salmon with scrambled eggs coffee, tea and hot chocolate. All were freshly cooked/made and piping hot. They were all delicious so much so we wished we had had the large breakfast. Anyway on the way out after paying we discovered the selection on home made cakes. My brother in-laws decided had a craving for carrot cake so secured a giant piece and we made our escape. We shall most certainly be calling again. Thank you ladies for a lovely breakfast.

We don't go to Lancaster very often but when we do, we always dine at The Old Bell simply because we know we will enjoy our meal. It's a friendly, cosy place with a varied menu to suit all tastes. We look forward to eating there next time we are in Lancaster and would definitely recommend to anyone.

The Old Bell is a very nice cafe with lovely meals with big portions for a suitable price. Definitely worth going there.

Great food and lovely staff. Highly recommended.

This hidden gem was outstanding. Great value and the service with a smile was second to none. Definitely go back

Family run and closes at 3 pm. They serve breakfast all day, as well as various lunch items. We had two jacket potatoes – one with mushrooms and one with cheese and onion. Fresh tasty food and friendly staff.

Nice and friendly family run cafe hidden down the side of a main thoroughfare. Popped in whilst waiting for family members to complete the Tower to Castle Ultra on a wet late September weekend. Pleasant staff with a warm welcome. Good coffee and homemade cakes for us all. Rest of the menu looked great and lots of families and friends seemingly enjoying the array available. Would definitely come back

Terrific cafe in the centre of Lancaster, great service with friendly service and large lunch portions. Highly recommended.

Really tasty breakfast at The Old Bell this morning. Service was very efficient & friendly. Food tasty. One to remember for next time.

Sunday breakfast with a couple of friends rounded our weekend off brilliantly. The full English was perfectly cooked, the service was excellent and the coffee was hot and tasty. This place is a wee gem and certainly somewhere we will visit again. Thank you, and our compliments to the chef.

Food was lovely, but they wouldn't change the eggs on the breakfast to poached, when they have poached eggs on the menu

The Old Bell was recommended by a friend so as I was in town yesterday for an appointment I thought I would give it a try. I wasn't disappointed. The building is lovely and being old it was pleasantly cool inside on this hot weekend. I had the Old Bell breakfast which was plentiful, fresh hot and tasty. The coffee is obviously a quality brand as it was perfect. My 13yo had her first loose leaf tea through a strainer and she loved it. A really flavoursome brew. The tables were spotless which is more than be said for other cafes in town. The staff were friendly and professional and service was excellent. We will definitely be coming back again. Our new favourite cafe in Lancaster.

Amazing, we'd been putting off going here for a while, and I've no idea why! The bagel was perfect, and the side salad was great, its hard to find a fault! If I was being picky, the tape holding the sofa together was a bit tacky. We ordered two bagels, two hot drinks and came to £23.70, considering the portion sizes this was amazing!

This was our first visit to the old bell and I'm honestly suprised at how good it was. First of all the service provided was great. Especially at a time where cost of living means prices at cafes across lancaster have increase, going out is a lot more expensive so I really appreciate the politeness, reapectfulness and attentiveness of staff, it makes eating out even better! So thank you ladies you were great. The food, now I don't understand how they made a sandwhich taste so good, but they did and they served it with a salad, some fruit and coleslaw the portion was huge! It tasted amazing, every single bit of that sandwhich, I was in heaven! And was it a one off? No my partners tasted delicious too. We were both in heaven! It's truly the best Cafe in Lancaster, I'm gutted I've only discovered this now after living in Lancaster for over a decade, we definitely have some catching up to do, looking forward to working our way through the menu All I can say is, the food doesn't just look good, it taste fricking delicious!

Excellent food, service at competitive prices, will be going there again next time we’re in Lancaster city centre. Would recommend to all. Good specials board.

Great staff good food, nice and tidy cafe in the centre of town.

Fantastic salad. Try it, really good, great menu. Enjoyed a cold glass of wine. Really good

Pleasant small cafe tucked away providing good food, including freshly baked, home made cakes.

Lovely quaint place to eat. Good food and friendly service

Such an amazing find! Tucked away in I think Bashful alley.. a must visit for breakfast in Lancaster! Happy to make some changes to breakfast items which is so great, thank you! Amazing portion, delicious bacon and staff are wonderful. Right in the centre as well so it’s great for a little pit stop or pre shopping breakfast.

What a gem of a cafe this is. The staff were so lovely and helpful. The food was amazing and great value for money. The service was quick and the waitresses were working very hard but remained calm and friendly. I will be returning to show this place off to others!

Great breakfast in bashfull alley

We discovered this cafe after wandering around a very wet town, trying to find somewhere open. We were so glad we did. The welcome from the young staff was lovely, and we visited three times. Each meal was well cooked, and was absolutely lovely. I can recommend the Victoria sponge. The young staff are pleasant, and helpful, and not since Lockdown have I seen anyone clean a seating area so thoroughly. Definitely well worth visiting.

The best place for breakfast in Lancaster

Most enjoyable breakfast - smoked salmon & scrambled eggs with the added bonus of loose leaf tea 👌🏼. Difficult to rate the atmosphere when it’s so quiet.

Great breakfast and open at 9am on a Sunday morning. The large breakfast was massive and very good. Excellent black coffee

Really lovely place with good drinks, friendly staff and great attention to detail, would come again!

Really friendly service and excellent breakfast. Our favourite breakfast cafe in Lancaster. 100% recommend!!

This cafe is a family run business. Well worth a visit. We called in lunchtime. Excellent choice of food, delicious cakes. Excellent visit.

This is a cafe recommended to us. A family concern. Excellent cooked food. their desserts looked inviting too but as we were eating at 18:30 for Dinner we hadn't any room. Thoroughly enjoyed our meal and drinks.

Disappointing visit to the Old Bell. I couldnt cut through my steak ciabatta let alone chew it. I was offered an alternative I had the chicken ciabatta which was very bland. I had to wait for this meanwhile they kept my potato wedges ‘warm’ and my friend had nearly eaten hers. The experience spoilt a lunch treat with a friend. The price charged for the two meals wasn’t cheap either. Would have been nice to have been offered a discount or something. It’s a shame but we won’t be back!

I’ve been coming here for AGES but never thought to write a review. Simply put, the Old Bell is everything you look for in an independent/family run stylish cafe - well befitting of Lancaster’s culture of stylish and reputable independent businesses. While the masses crowd...

Fantastic food and service. Family run. Very Friensdly, Great food. Been there a few time and never disapointed