The Shovels Inn in North West Leicestershire

Food was not good ,cold veg chewy beef (couldn't eat it) and 2 tiny roasties on dinner ,expected a lot more for money

Hi there it’s Jake Taylor I really enjoyed my Cajun chicken sizzler last night it was really delicious and the best meal I have ever had in a pub first time trying it and it was so tasty definitely 10 out of 10 and the staff were so lovely very friendly and polite thanks for reading this take care and have a great weekend as you deserve it🎉🥳🎊😊🍾🍺❤️💜 thank you Murray the chef 🧑‍🍳

Me and my friend called in yesterday for a drink 2/4/24 and the attitude from the big guy behind the bar was appalling no manners whatsoever, change thrown down no thanks or any communication whatsoever, even a lady sitting at the bar noticed and said he isn't usually like that we wont be returning to the miserable place again,

Nice spacious surroundings, lovely staff. Food excellent and reasonably priced. Good beer. Decent portion sizes. It’s a good pub selling good food.

Whilst the exterior and interior decor in parts do not match aesthetically, and you may possibly find some dubious locals in one end of the bar do not be put off. The staff were lovely warm and welcoming to our large party, including 4 children and a newborn. The food was brilliant, all home cooked and fresh. I would describe as proper pub food. Some of the best I’ve had in years. We had a range include the pies, fish and chips, Lasange and grills, all of which were outstanding. We also tried the desserts and the creams were a real hit. Thank you for a great evening.

Friendly landlady and bar staff. Mixture of cosy snug, vault, & also a well lit room, to suit all tastes. Food smelt delicious

Absolutely five star experience! We stopped off here after a very long day and after driving around for miles looking for somewhere to eat at gone 7pm! The staff were so welcoming and friendly, the menu choices were great and we were not disappointed! The food was absolutely delicious & piping hot! The staff couldn’t have been more attentive, checked on us throughout and made sure we didn’t want for anything. We would highly recommend and we will definitely be returning!

First time in this lovely pub ,great food ,great service won't be the last

Five stars for everything says how good it was. It isn't enormous so would recommend booking. The food was delicious 😋

Brilliant place lee and his staff xant do enough for you

Excellent staff,good food they do a small portion which was good for the group we were with. We went on a Monday lunchtime, so it was a very quiet atmosphere.

Lovely food, great menu with lots of choices for everyone, great atmosphere and such lovely friendly staff

Not for me food expensive for what you get waiting a long time to be served even though we had booked a table

Beautifully cooked food. Can't wait for my next visit.

Booked a table for the last night of our week away, which coincided with the weekly quiz, so we thought it would be rude not to join in. A friendly welcome followed by a great pint while we killed some time (arrived early so we could 'warm up'). We both went for the steak and ale pie, and it was so good we asked for spoons to finish off the gravy with! Great service, and a really relaxed atmosphere. Shame it was our last night, or we'd be back again like a shot.

Food was nice but not brilliant - we all enjoyed our meals. Some of our group had been several times and had the same meals. The desserts were good. The lemon meringue pie (subject of much ire in another review) was actually pretty good. Depends on what you’re expecting I suppose - this is a country pub not a full blown restaurant. They do buy most of the desserts in according to the server so maybe that’s it. Chocolate fudge cake and sticky toffee pudding were very good. Service was on the slow side, or maybe it’s just not rushed? Took a while to take the drinks order, had to flag down one of the 2 servers to take our food order. For reference it was midweek and a total of 4 tables occupied including us so not busy. Service was friendly until they got the dessert order wrong (minor error, easily fixed) - we were polite but the younger of the 2 servers got a bit huffy about it (sighing, no more smiles etc.) Atmosphere is standard country pub, so nothing bad or good. Barman was friendly. Prices are pretty standard for pub food these days. No service charge added which is a bonus! Another one we would go back to despite the patchy service.

Great beef and ale pie - service excellent.

Sunday roast Beef Dinner....tasteless and warm. 2 slices of fatty Beef. Carrots and over cooked green beans, just piled on top. Lemon meringue pie, filling awful. Atmosphere and staff not really welcoming. Got the bill wrong too. Won't be going again .

Looking forward to a Sunday Roast. Very disappointed. 2 courses £21.95. Had a main and a pudding. Dinner was warm and loads of green beans and carrots just piled on top. Quite tasteless. 2 slices of Beef, fatty. Had the Lemon meringue pie for Dessert. Filling tasted like it had come out of a tin. Didn't taste of much lemon. Got the bill....it was wrong. They hadn't calculated it as the set menu. They did re calculate it. Expensive, for what it was. Won't be going again.

Fantastic friendly pub for all the family Great food and lovely helpful staff. Well done all

Great food and customer service. Plenty of parking and dogs are allowed in some areas. Lovely place to eat and drink.

Stopped off for a mid walk drink. It was fairly busy for a wednesday lunch. The food looked good. The service was exceptional

Bland Sunday roast. Would be great value for 3 course deal if it was tasty food. Staff and service were great. It was just terribly bland.

Great friendly staff, very good food and dog friendly, definitely be going back 👍

Visited with my eleven year old daughter for an evening meal on a Friday. Can't fault the place ! Steady away (not rammed), great atmosphere, staff were spot on, and the food was a fair price for a great meal ! Definitely be coming back again 👍

Absolutely fantastic we was greeted by Lucy who promptly took us to our table,took our drinks order and left us looking at the menu, we ordered our meals every thing was piping hot and delicious 😋 we was full so didn't have dessert. Georgia took our money. Lee the owner came and spoke to us asking about our experience we told him we hadn't been in for years but we will definitely be back. Lee your staff are a credit to you. Good management make excellent staff keep up the good work.

let me start by saying the staff are extremely rude and unthoughtful. to begin with , one of the staff members bought my food after a 45 minute wait , and proceeded to slat the HOT pan down without mentioning that it was hot. unmindfully leaving it halfway hanging off the table so i had no choice but to move it not knowing that it would be as hot as it was bevause nobody had told me i then burnt my hand and had no apology of any sort from the staff themselves. when bought up to the staff they patronised me by saying thst it was a sizzler dish so it was bound to be hot , which i did not knoe as i havent had it before. yet thst was their only excuse. when spoken to the manager , he was sarcastic and unprofessional , up until writing a bad review was mentioned then he had changed his tone. we explained how he needs to train his staff members better and this wouldnt of happened. the most he did was knock my meal off of the bill , which had not been eaten anyways due to the pain of my burn making me feel sick which was the bare minimum to do. he explained to me and my family that 'we can feel however we feel' and was being rude and sarcastic surrounding the matter. would not go here! unproffessional environment not fit for people. needs MAJOR improvement.

Wonderful food and lovely staff!

Rrally good place to eat, big portions, cheap, staff ate friendly, plenty of parking. Owners a nice guy. Great 👍

Lovely place with a nice atmosphere. Staff very friendly and the food was amazing. Well worth a visit

Nice traditional pub in Hambleton where we enjoyed a Sunday Roast and a drink in the beer garden. Nice friendly staff as well.

Never ate any food. Had 2 pints. Nice wee place.

Walked in and thought " mmm a bit tired" but soon understood the great reviews. Great friendly atmosphere, polite staff and brilliant food....definitely worth a visit (steak and mushroom pot pie was delicious)

Great pub. Food superb. Can recommend.

Lovely and friendly pub , food very nice

Really (really!) tasty food with super-friendly service. We drove over from North Blackpool to try lunch here, and we weren't disappointed. Lunch was plentiful and extremely tasty. The mushroom tarragon soup was one of the best soups I've had in a long while, and a very close second was their steak and ale pie... all yummy! Well worth the trip over, and we we be returning : -)

A great, cosy pub with good quality food. Well worth stopping off! 😀

Excellent food nice ale and friendly staff

Called last min .they got us in and was a wonderful meal

I like to sit outside mostly and watch the world go by, with a lovely glass of Guinness. Very helpful and friendly. I certainly recommend it here and intend to return; soo.

Really good local pub. Nice grub too!

Thank you for looking after us today. Fabulous buffet (which seemed never ending) you have a lovely public house.

Went to day for farthers day picked off set menu starters to much on a small plate roast beef dinner swimming in grave cudnot cut the beef it was that thick sent to full plates back thay tock them off the bill won't be going back

I arrived here with my other half on a quiet afternoon it was an absolute joy the Timothy Taylor was on point the food is well worth it I’d be definitely be coming back

First visit here. We were out for a meal with friends and would recommend this place. Friendly staff and good service, and lovely food

Never had a bad meal yet at the Shovels.

Was camping locally over the weekend so decided to have an evening meal here, wife had sizzling prawns which she loved, I had sweet chicken chilli, was nice, struggled 2nd day for a different pub as we like to try loads, but ended up back here, wife then had a Sunday roast which she loved I have steak pie mushy peas and chips, all hot and cooked well, was great stuff friendly staff, on 2nd day our dog got a bowl of water and a treat. Compliments to chef and staff

Good food, especially the specials, deserts are wonderful, have been three times in the last couple of months and will be going again next week

Always good grub and a warm welcome

Excellent Sunday lunch Will definitely be going again.

Had a lovely meal, all food piping hot and very tasty. Perfect portion sizes and good variety of menu choices. Recommend leaving room for pudding, the Sundaes are fab. Dog friendly in the bar area a bonus. Pub had a lovely, friendly atmosphere and all staff welcoming.

A warm friendly place. Good food and drink and a large car park.

Fabulous pub, with a good range of delicious food. We have eaten here several times, and it has always been friendly and welcoming. Particular mention for the waitress Lucy, who is consistently attentive and smiley, with great service. Dogs are welcome, and the overall atmosphere is what you would like to find in a 'typical country pub'.

An excellent pub, with a top-notch beer and wine selection (including real ales!) and outstanding home-cooked food. This pub is also a member of the highly exclusive Timothy Taylor Champion Club, so you know they can pull a good pint. I had the classic fish and chips to eat, which came with homemade tartare sauce and mushy peas for a reasonable £15. The landlord and landlady are wonderful people, they are very welcoming, and the pub is also dog-friendly. They do a lot of great charity work in the community too, including a recent "Save the Hedgehogs" initiative that has seen them save well over 1,000 hedgehogs from dangerous roads so far. The landlady took great pride in telling me about this, and I think it's a testament to how much they enjoy the charity work they do. I cannot recommend The Shovels Inn enough. If you're in the Blackpool/Poulton/Hambleton/Wyre area, it's definitely worth the trip.

Good local pub. Always busy sometimes packed. Worth booking on holidays to make sure you get a table. Boss can be a bit surly but good service

Amazing food and service. Owner lee and dawn went out of their way to accommodate us . We had our motorhome and they let us say the night in the car park . We did eat and have a drink there which was great and would strongly recommend this pub

This is our favourite pub and has been for years. They never disappoint. Meal and service excellent… cannot fault it. Lots of good wishes extended to Lee+Dawn. They are above and beyond as owners. Trying times as Dawn coping( extremely well) with health issues. You are almost there with your recovery. Special shout out to Lee… holding the fort and coping so well… good on you! Pub managed so well. Meals homemade and totally delicious. Strongly recommend

Great food and service, really friendly staff will definitely return

Lovely meal, I had cheese & onion pie. There was a good selection on the menu , food was excellent, and great service.

Staff very accomadating to a wheelchair user, comfortable friendly pub, had the Timothy Taylor pot pie and homemade chilli, half rice half chips, very nice indeed washed down with a pint of landlord and a very nice malbec. Would recommend 👌

Really good food, check out the cheese pie....

Lovely little local pub ! Friendly staff eager to serve nice friendly pub was visiting the area on vacation ! Food was lovely for pub grub sweet and sour chicken yum service was fast nice friendly atmosphere.

Not been here for long time still nice pub food lovely and service great will be going again.we took our doggie no problem

Absolutely shocking place to go. Booked a table just to get turned down as kitchens to busy. So I asked ‘why did they accept my booking?’ Response was we didn’t know. Sorry but that is rubbish service

Waitress Rory was very pleasant always helpful,food very nice often visit here will be back soon. And Kevin sends a big kiss and says Thankyou for all he’s treats

Served by Rory who was efficient and pleasant .

Attended with 10 other family members. The service was excellent from the outset, and we soon had drinks in hand. The staff here are amongst the best I’ve seen, very attentive, jovial and friendly. I ordered a special ‘Surf and Turf.’ Very really in a pub do I find that the steak is cooked as ordered. My steak was cooked, rare, to perfection. The meal was fantastic, and I know that everybody else was extremely impressed with their orders. I really can’t thank the staff enough for the way they looked after a very big party, with two young children in tow also. A perfect night!!!

A lovely little pub dog friendly and really nice pub grub. Specials on or sunday roast.

A fairly large old inn with several rooms all used for meals or just people wanting a drink and chat, we went on a Friday lunchtime with a few friends,we had booked and the inn was very busy, even so the service at the bar and at the table was excellent. We had pre ordered our food and every meal was served without any problems. Food was lovely, well presented and good value. .

My husband and I and 6 friends met again for lunch today at The Shovels. As always, it was excellent. The staff are really friendly, helpful and efficient, and I have to say there was very little left on our plates!

Such a welcome change to receive a genuine welcome All the character of a local with home cooked. High quality food Kate the waitress was great Even the locals were friendly and welcoming A definite place to visit regularly in future

Booked table for a special celebration at 7pm. Arrived in plenty of time and taken to table only to be informed that the wait for food would be over an hour. I asked how long for a starter -and told exactly the same time wait. If I wanted to eat after 8pm I would have booked for that time. We left vowing never to visit the Shovels again. What’s the point of booking??? We were hungry! I’ve never ever made a restaurant booking and then told they had to make serious delays in providing food as they were busy!!!! They had my telephone number, given at the time of booking - would have been nice for them to ring and advise they had a problem! Thank you The Shovels for totally spoiling our night and celebration that we can never regain.

Booked for 7pm they took my number. Arrived slightly early at 6.50pm and taken to a table. Then informed it would be least an hour before any food would arrive as they were busy!! I said would we have to wait an hour for a starter - and was informed yes. I have never ever booked a restaurant and upon arriving told there would be a lengthy wait for food. They had my telephone number they could have advised saving futile car journeys. At that stage we left - vowing never ever to visit the Shovels again

Excellent food, with great service; has the benefit of hand pumped beers too. Not been for a while, but will certainly be returning.

Had a really relaxed Sunday afternoon here, listening to Live smooth jazz for 3 hours. Very professional musicians and guest singers. Topped off with an excellent Lunch. Couldn't have been better. We will deffinitely be going again soon.

Always a lovely meal with good service. Thank you.

Been here for my third visit now for lunch and decided to write a review because they really deserve it. We were welcomed by the barman ( didn’t get his name ) however he was very friendly . Andrew the server has a very good sense of humour and is very knowledgeable about the menu. In reality we didn’t need the menu as we knew what we were going to have. The pub is clean & warm ( much needed at the moment ) but most of all has a really nice feel to it. It’s a typically old English country pub . The food as always was great . I had fish n chips ( it was the size of a Moby dick ) - fantastic real chunky hand cooked chips & my partner had the gammon . Both delicious meals . I have booked my table for December already so I won’t miss out like I did in December just gone. I am sure they will see us before then . Thank you all and keep up the good work 👏👏

Loved the food & staff are great. Will be going there again next time where up there.

I went with a group of friends for a Meal. left feeling disappointed. I ordered a Coffee and waited a while for Milk after requesting it. The server explained that they were short staffed and in the process of training someone up that evening. A busy pub and a slow service

Brilliant real ale pub.. Highly recommended. Such high quality, friendly staff.. Super drinkable real ale.. On the 2c bus route.. So no excuse from Blackpool or Poulton.. Dog friendly..

Really good food very friendly service average prices would recommend and will be revisiting

A great country pub, with friendly personal service not found very often these days!

1st time in this establishment. It was good to see the old pub atmosphere still there. 👌

A really good meal with particularly excellent chips. A wide variety on the menu including provision for vegetarian and vegan needs.

My missus had gammon and pineapple and thought it best she ever tasted. I had rump sizzle steak and was also top top. We had apple pie to follow. She had custard and I had cream. The service was excellent. This is first time we ate here and will Deffo come again.

Popped in for Sunday lunch and came away very satisfied and full, our meals were just perfect, the roast pork coming with both stuffing & cracking, as well as a homemade yorkshire pudding, as ever the friendly service is second to none, well done all at the Shovels, we'll see you soon, carnt think of a better way of spending a winters Sunday afternoon.

Steak & Timothy Taylor Steak Pie Pot was very tasty according to my husband and the cheese &onion pie was beautiful and a good sized portion. Chips were very nice and not oily. The 2 girls serving were very friendly. We were the only ones in the restaurant side so wished we had eaten in the bar area which was buzzing. We will eat in their next time we go.

We always enjoy the food at the shovels, highly recommend it

A cosy, comfortable venue. Decor helped to welcome customers. Staff very friendly, we were greeted warmly, and every effort was made to help us enjoy our experience. Good service throughout the evening. A varied menu, reasonable prices. Our meals were well cooked and presented very nicely. We had lasagne served with garlic bread, gammon egg and chips, and sweet chilli chicken. Happy to visit again.

Brilliant staff and food as usual.

Been here today for Sunday lunch can’t remember the last time I had a roast beef dinner this good . Everything fresh cooked to perfection so fresh and tasty staff are great will definitely be returning

Great food, helpful staff, good atmosphere.

Great pub. Have had food in the past which was superb, but not this visit. Lovely atmosphere. Well worth a visit.

Went for a meal with my wife. Food was great and service quick as was really quite.

We called here yesterday on our way home. We have been past a few times and on this occasion decided to see if we could get a table for a late lunch. We were greeted with a friendly hello from the barman. We managed to get a table for three and were served by a friendly waitress. When our food arrived one of the dishes wasn't what we ordered, this was quickly and efficiently rectified. The food was delicious and the service excellent. We will definitely be coming back.

Called in for a late Sunday lunch for 8 and 2 dogs. Staff were lovely and friendly, super efficient. The food was very good, I opted for halloumi salad and a side order of fat chips which was the perfect amount of food for me. The Sunday roast was absolutely enormous and according to members of the group; delicious. I had room for a dessert so ordered the shovel cheesecake, again just the right amount so was left comfortably full. Overall a very nice lunch 😊

How lovely to visit this comfortable, proper country pub again. As usual the greeting was fabulous, regardless of how many legs you have. The staff are amazingly welcoming and friendly and great on advising you to take a photo of the specials board. This contains lots of sumptuous dishes which make you so hungry that you cannot recall the ones you are not ordering, to tell your friends the rest! The printed menu also contains fantastically tasty dishes. Our orders were taken were taken by 2 ghouls (sorry ladies) as it was Halloween. They were delivered with devilish expertise and all wonderful. Our Waiter Chris was a delight in his zombie soldier outfit. Unfortunately (although he was so dog friendly) our dog joined in the Halloween spirit as Hound of the Baskervilles. Luckily our dog Sadie soon calmed from Chris strokes and kind attention. We love this place, which is so very dog friendly and has lots of spectacular events, many including food. We shall be here again very soon.

Food was great, went on saturday night and got a big portion so never had dessert which look big also, our 3rd time here.

An absolute gem of a place, the building has been there since I think the mid 1700's and it has that charm about it. The staff were so friendly and welcoming, they even gave our wee doggo some treats. The owner gave the kids a wee bar game to play once they had finished their dinner. It also has a games room, darts, pool and a jukebox. Wish we could have went more than we did. Everyone in the shovels Inn were so friendly. The owner loves his fishing, a fountain of knowledge and pointed us in the direction a great fishing shop. Definitely worth a visit

Had a great meal here prices are very reasonable for the area I would go again