The Old Bell Tavern in Harrogate

Nice place for a decent pint and day time chill. Was going to try, the Vocation Ale. The bar lady said do u want to try before u buy. Which I did and not my type. However I went for the Theaksons. Excellent pint well kept.

Great food, good prices, and service with a smile. A nice little gem we stumbled upon. We will visit again,

Wonderful food and the team were extremely helpful and friendly, We had fish and chips plus chicken nduja tagliatelle, and we absolutely loved it. The empty plates photo should cover it! Highly recommended 😀

Four of us eating. Unnecessarily long wait when not many in the pub and eating. Everyone left their food. Buttery mash clap cold. Vegetables rock hard, not even al-dente. Gammon burnt, beef tough. Only good thing is the beer is nice. Won’t recommend for food.

The guys at the old bell charged me £280 for a platter of sandwiches, 2 bowls of chips and a bowl of salad for a birthday party in the function room. When booking, my wife asked a few times for a price for the food and was told they would find out and get back to her, which they never did, slamming us with the bill the day after. He also put vegetarian and meat sandwiches all on the same platter so a few of our guests couldn’t even eat the extortionately priced food. Would highly recommend staying well away from this place so as to avoid being ripped off.

If Harrogate is the proper route to the Lakes, The Bell is a great option for a pint & bite while there. V good food and ale.

The person serving me was not present mentally! Sad but true. Grunt responses. Very poor service for premium products. Didn't know drinks available. Hopeless.

Just a review for drinks. Good selection.

We liked this a lot. Nice atmosphere, fine range of food and drinks.

Unfriendly barman. No one helped clean up accidentally spilled beer and fully charged for topping up the spilled beer with no smile. Will not return

Asked when food orders were required on a Sunday.. was informed 6 o clock.. we returned at 4 o clock.. and informed no beef or pork.. and only half chicken available 🤷‍♀️ we arranged our afternoon to this and was unable to eat here.. their loss we went elsewhere to eat and drink. Would've accepted if the the staff were apologetic but no... and we'd spent our whole night before there...

Went in on Tuesday 20th august bar shut at 1045pm,went back on Wednesday landlords wife was abrupt and told us to get out by 10.30 or she was taking our drinks off us that's why I gave these them marks

A bit samey after the refurb in 2017. Just another pub now. No soul to it.

Its a real friendly and hospitable traditional pub, we have eaten here before and I ate her recently with a friend and the tavern pie was completely delicious. The real ales were also equally fine, highly recommend.

Visited Just for a Beer Lovely friendly woman served us

Well kept ales, friendly staff, good food, 70s playlist. Nice nice nice

Looking for somewhere to eat late afternoon and most places had stopped serving food. Came across The Old Bell and what a pleasure, very friendly staff, good selection of beers and the food was excellent (beef and chicken pies).

Nice interior, super friendly service! Food was fine too. Hidden gem.

Lovely pub to sit and relax. We took fish finger taco and falafel taco. Both good. Guys behind the bar had a bit of personality about them and made us feel welcome.

Frozen chips dry peas totally bland fish. It was recommended to me too. Swerve if in future for food I think.😒

A lovely pub, nice beer and very nice food at a reasonable price. Staff are very friendly and helpful too 👍

Just had drinks. Beers will kept

Great ales WITH CamRa discount. Exquisite, I mean brilliant, steak pie. Thank you

Good pub for a good beer. ....and much more. .

Traditional British pub fare served to a high standard by friendly staff.

Attitude of bar staff was shocking. Cocktails was such an effort with huffing and puffing under breath! Quite staggering attitude

Crowded House was playing over the speakers. ❤️

great place for good pint food is decent pub grub welcoming host nice atmosphere

We love the Old Bell. Fantastic pies, great beers, and just really good people. The function room is beautiful! They do not answer their phones much, so it quite difficult to get a booking.

Great selection of real ale at reasonable prices, also very friendly bar staff who love dogs.

Visited for a 21st birthday party on Saturday in the upstairs room. Great selection of beers. Friendly staff and delicious buffet. Will visit again!

We only had a drink, but we sat in front of the window and saw a nice town walking around (even Pierre Brosnan) walking around. We have crossed a number of streets, it is up and down here and a real English city. Still browsing everything for sale in a nice thrift/curiosity shop. Nice walking area near the center, but a better city with many expensive cars.

Visited this cracking pub Saturday night. 80's music in the background. Top food and a proper pint of beer. Hosts looked after our dogs too. Will be back the next time we're in Yorkshire.

Great pub, fantastic stout, great service....food ok, but nibbles really

Popped in for a drink on our visit to lovely Harrogate. Nice atmosphere. Quite a few people eating food also. Menu looked good tbh. Friendly staff. Right near pump rooms so I expect it gets really busy.

Went to the old Bell tavern a few years ago and it was a lively, friendly bar with lots of memorablia from what the building used to be, went in again on this visit to Harrogate and got a huge shock. All the life seems to have been sucked out of it, only memorablia is in one room and very sparce, and the staff were so scruffy, bored and miserable, neither cracked a smile. I run a bar and there is always a job to do and you definitely don't lean on the bar with your head in your hands looking lfed up, it puts customers off going in, We definitely won't be returning

What a cracking little pub called in for a drink on our way back to our hotel the barmaid made us very welcome

Great traditional pub with good selection of real ales. 👍🍻

Lovely friendly pub - sunday lunch was superb, with huge portions and loads of meat. Good value for money, considering you are in Harrogate, will definitely return when are next in the area

Despite living nearby, we don’t often go here - for no particular reason. But thought it worth popping in to see the newly refurbished interior. Friendly welcome, down to earth staff, nice decor and it wasn’t too busy or loud. We’ve never eaten here and opted for a Sunday roast. Honestly, one of the best we’ve had in town for a long while. One pork, one beef: lovely succulent meat, a huge portion with all the trimmings (perfectly cooked veg) and oodles of gravy. Moreover, everything was piping hot which is my personal acid test for quality. A perfectly reasonable price when compared to some of the other pubs in town. This will now be our place of choice for an excellent, affordable home cooked roast! Thanks guys!

Had drinks only but a lovely pub with excellent staff.

Good selection of beers , very fair prices, friendly staff, great music . Couldn’t fault it !

Popped in on our first visit to Harrogate for a couple of beers, the bar as lots of character with good choice of excellent ales and lovely friendly staff and service. Would deffo recommend a visit

Stayed at the crown hotel Monday 11/3/2024 and crossed the road for food to the old bell. Very clean surroundings, pleasant bar staff, soothing music of the 80's . Alcohol prices on par for the area. Ordered steak , onion rings and chunky fries. Asked for a optional extra not part of the meal menu , however they accommodated my needs. I paid roughly £19.50 I have to say the steak was very lean and tender . Best meal by far ! My colleague had a large burger and skinny fries this also looked very appealing and stated it was great. Generous portions. Would we return? Yes most definitely. Should have taken photographs this was a after thought.

Came in, when place stinking of grease, met by bar staff who seemed not to want us there, took a table and seats were covered in the overspill mats from under the pumps. Got back to hotel and all we could smell was grease on our clothes. Won't be back.

Felt like we lucked out with this place. Welcoming, friendly staff, great service, lovely food and decent portions. Great kids menu too with small/big kid options - more places should do this with their kids menu. Right opposite our hotel and went in for bite to eat for dinner. Exactly what we needed, thanks.

10-stars for atmosphere and drinks.

New layout in bar area since we last visited,High tables and chairs, not comfortable for us, Lounge and dining area too hot it was 16 degrees outside on Friday and heating was on full The tables in there also needed clearing We had to take empty glasses to the bar and clean a table Only stayed for one drink

If you can find a better burger in Harrogate I'd be amazed. Fantastic pub, service and food. Loved the dark atmosphere. Highly recommend.

Excellent pub selling great quality drinks and food. good choice of real ales .i had the roast pork Sunday lunch it was divine and my husband had the pork sausages and mash that was divine as well it is well worth a visit if in harrogate we will definitely go back

great place for a beer and somewhere to eat well! highly recommended!!

Cracking burger decent pint can't ask for much else

Brilliant selection of beers and at a great price. Pity we couldn't spend longer here but we'd booked for dinner elsewhere. Will be back in the spring though!

Visited here on a weekend in Harrogate, didn't have anything to eat but really enjoyed the drinks and vibe

We didn't eat on this visit, so the review is just about the bar. The Old Bell Tavern is a long established pub. It has had a few refurbishments over recent years and I think the latest one has made a significant improvement. There's a cosy and welcoming atmosphere, with the dark walls, wooden floors and choice of lighting. There's background music, but not too loud. The bar is well stocked with draught and bottled beers, plus a good selection of spirits which should meet most people's expectations. The bar staff were friendly and happy to chat when it's not too busy.

Lovely place with nice food and variety of drinks and great value for money,friendly staff and prompt service,ideal location.

Didn't try the food so can't comment the pub and staff were brilliant good range of beers and brilliant comfortable atmosphere loved it

Great atmosphere, great food and lovely staff. Had express lunch fish and chips and a beer which was lovely.

This place is fantastic! We met with friends and it was really nice!

We went for lunch here and it was a lovely friendly place. The food was freshly cooked and well presented, tasted great too. The staff were really friendly and chatty.

A really nice pub 🍻 in Harrogate

We called in this lunchtime to escape the rain and grab a quick lunch. £9.50 for fish chips and peas. I suspect everything on the plate had come from the freezer but it was served piping hot by a happy smiling young lady. With a pint of IPA it was just what we needed. It's not fine dining but it doesn't pretend to be just good pub grub. Would have liked to have given a score of 4.5. We will call again.

Cosy, delicious fish and chips, friendly staff. Good beer selection

Popped in without booking on a Sunday, expecting not much. Well, were we ever surprised. Amazing interior full of original Farrah's toffee antiques, super friendly staff, and the surprise of the year: probably the best haddock and chips in the UK! Super light crunchy beer batter, over a huge fresh piece of flaky haddock, with the skin already removed. We will come back for this every time. Perfect.

Lovely place and burgers were excellent 👌

Excellent Sunday lunch at the Old Bell yesterday. Enjoyed the roast beef and my wife said the turkey was equally as good. Both came with all the usual stuff and nicely cooked Yorkshire Puddings. And unlike most other places they came with plenty of gravy! We shared the apple and blackberry crumble with custard for afters which was really nice too. Last but not least it came with friendly customer service and very good value - a both a bit of a rarity in Harrogate these days !

Called in for lunch, it's been quite a while since our last visit. Noticed it has had a nice makeover but the layout was the same which was good. Our order was a burger that came with a 'free' beer, chilli cheese on toast and a ham and cheese sandwich. All came with fries. Noticed one waiter wandering round with plates of food unsure which tables they were for, surely the numbered tables were a clue? Food arrived after not too long a wait, all good but my chilli on toast although tasty hadn't been warmed through enough. 🙁 Would definitely return as we did enjoy our experience overall.

Extremely friendly staff. The Burger special deal is really great value - get a free pint when you order a burger from the menu. I was unaware of this and surprised when my drink price was refunded. Brie Bites starter is tasty. Nice atmosphere in general, but on the couple of occassions I have been, people don't seem to stay long (drink and go).

A tried and tested establishment for us, pub grub ✅ good choice of ales ✅ just had a refurbishment, preferred the old seating in the bar, dog friendly.

Vegetarian option - vegetarian wellington - this was pastry roll with bit of spinach and red pepper. With 4 small broccoli florets and a mountain of mash potato £13.95 not worth it!!

First visit to The Old Bell after reading comments, and then learning it is now under new management, we decided to give it a whirl on our day out. Great experience, lovely warm welcome from the staff. Great value, not the daft prices other wine bars and pubs charge in Harrogate. Good choice of ales on tap, and wine. We stayed for lunch, 3 of us had the Vegetarian Dahl, I had Chicken Schnitzel, great portions, well presented, hot and tasty, served with a huge smile, (big shout out to Damian and Ian I think their names were) and a number of checks to see if everything was ok and could they get us anything else. Other diners were having burgers and the Christmas specials, they looked yummy too. Cosy pub, was freezing outside, wish we could have stayed longer, but shopping must be done :) Looking forward to trying other dishes from their great menu as this is firmly on our ' new go to place' on our next visit to Harrogate

Nice pub, happy to accommodate babies and has excellent changing facilities in the men's.

Food was ok...nothing to recommend. Building is lovely and has a lovely atmosphere inside. Do feel that some of the bar staff could do with customer service training...happy, welcoming vibes were not apparent.

We visited in June 2023 while visiting Harrogate. Quiet traditional dog friendly pub. Very friendly staff. Food was lovely.

Popped in for a quick one , great services and atmosphere to relax with a drink.

Warm welcome from the staff, great service and lovely food. My partner and I both had the steak pie- large portion and tasted lovely.

Really nicely decorated pub. Great atmosphere. Brilliant drink selection and very reasonably priced. Great little find

Not sure how recently but looks like this place has been bought and renovated. Still kept some of the old pub charm but doesn't feel quite as cosy. Shame about the keg selection all macro. Cask offerings were decent. Didn't try the food but saw a few people eating and it looked decent.

Large, spacious pub with big plate glass windows good for people watching. Tables spread apart so you don't feel crammed in. Loos are upstairs. Big selection of handpulled cask beers - Hawkshead Windermere Pale, Timothy Taylor's Boltmaker, Rooster's Scrambler Watermelon Pale Ale, Twisted Wheel's Speed Wobble, Kirkstall Brewery's Jasper and their Three Swords. Friendly, helpful staff. Would revisit.

Lovely friendly local pub.. Nice selection of beer..

What a fantastic little gem, popped in as had extra time to fill. Great selection of Ales, friendly patrons and the staff treated you like part of the family. Well worth a pop in for a couple on any day

Lovely location for an evening drink

Bar menu nothing to write home about

Lovely dog friendly pub. Staff welcoming/friendly. The fish pie was one of the best I've tasted in years. Husband had the steak & ale pie. He said was delicious. Whenever we are in Harrogate again we'll definitely be eating here.

Great welcome from Sonja. Lovely food and atmosphere and great value.

Used to love going to this place for a drink however the staff were very slow and sometimes not even serving when people were at the bar and it was a quiet night.

Friendly staff fab food dog friendly

Great fish. Everyone enjoyed their meal fish pie was fab

Had lovely meal , value for money. Lovely young man served us .lovely to see clean toilets , after some places we have visited during our stay .

Really friendly place to go and relax. Staff friendly, great sense of humour. Food was amazing along with the service.

Popped in here for Sunday Lunch - it was delicious. We didnt have a booking but got a table no problems. The staff were friendly. Think this will be our go to place for food next time we are in Harrogate.

Over a number of years we have eaten here many times and the food has always been good. So when visiting Harrogate recently it wasn’t if we would eat here but when. So we booked and duly arrived, ordered our food, it arrived, not a good experience. Fish pie anaemic and tasteless, scampi the same. Young man who was very friendly asked if our meal was ok and we said not really but he didn’t know how to deal with this and just said ok. We would go back for a drink when next in Harrogate but it will take us a long time to trust the food offering again.

Great little pub with nice staff and great pint of Timothy Taylor’s . You could eat but we didn’t, fish pie smelt amazing . Also dog friendly

Came here for a cheeky wine, whilst the girls were shopping,good choice of local ales. All served by chatty bar staff in a bustling pub. Excellent value chardonnay and sauvignon blanc.

Quiet night so probably didn't see it at it's best

Must visit if your in harrogate & into traditionals ale ect at a great price.

Spanish friends wanted to sample a pub Sunday roadt - very disappointing. From very small portions, dry meat, miniscule veg portion, same brown gravy for all 3 meats on offer!! Had to ask for horseradish and apple sauce. Extremely over- priced based on quality/portion. Would not recommend.

Harrogate has so many great pubs to drink on - this is no exception. Friendly, knowledgeable bar staff will guide you through the selection of ales.

Good beers, nice place. The food looked good. Seemed popular

Saw the sign outside for live music so decided to eat here and get a table. The staff were very friendly and the food was amazing.