The Shovels Inn in North West Leicestershire

Mushroom and Chicken breast for my wife and fish and chips for myself. Absolutely gorgeous. Quick service at reasonable prices

Always good grub and a warm welcome

Friendly welcome and service throughout our visit. Attentive service with a smile. Food mainly home cooking. I recommend the sizzling plates or filled jacket potatoes for lunch too.

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

Had a meal here a few years ago and didn't really enjoy it. Went last night and what a difference. All 4 of our meals were lovely and tasty and the service brilliant. We will be back.

Staff very friendly and helpful.

Lovely and friendly place to eat. Four of us ate here. Food was very nice although the scampi was over done on this occasion, didn’t mention it as everyone else’s meals were fine so didn’t want to wait for a fresh plate etc. Will still go back though.

Called for lunch as we were viewing a property in the area. Staff were friendly and professional, the food was nice enough (the chips were really nice 😁) and served with no delay to speak of. All in all a pleasant experience and we will definitely return once we move to the area 👍

Best place ever for food & friendliness

This place was lovely and welcoming for us and our dog, food was amazing and a bit pricey but did enjoy what we ate

How refreshing to find a pub that serves real home cooked meals. Non of this frozen microwaved rubbish here! We (a party of six) really enjoyed our meal today, the service was excellent and the real ale superb. Although not local to us it will be our favourite 'go to' venue from now on. Good on you boss.

What a great pub, super friendly staff the food looks great and also motorhome friendly a great find highly recommended.

Fabulous dog friendly pub.. Give your dog treats and water . Serve a delicious home made Cottage Pie.. Will be back.. 😁😁

Great menu and atmosphere. Dog friendly which was fantastic for us. Food was amazing. We went with a family of four and everyone polished off their meal. Big thanks to Lee for the big welcome. We will definitely be back.

Good food, beer and service. Could do with some malt whiskey

Great pub. Great beer. Great pub. Only probably - young bar staff with a unwelcoming attitude. The visit was marred by the dismissive and unprofessional attitude of a young female bar staff member. Her unwelcoming demeanor and lack of courtesy created a negative atmosphere, leaving us feeling undervalued as paying customers. Such poor service is unacceptable, and I cannot recommend this establishment based on this experience.

My husband, myself, my sister and brother-in-law had lunch with four friends last Thursday at The Shovels. As always, it was excellent. I had one of the specials - three lamb chops, mash and vegetables - yummy! Everyone enjoyed their meals - several had delicious desserts. Andrew was in excellent form and the other staff were great. We'll be meeting up again at The Shovels in January 2025.

Good food party room was a bit cramped

Just brilliant! There for a pre-booked Christmas meal with a group from a local choir we experienced superb food (and plenty of it!) served very efficiently by attentive waitresses which made the evening memorable. Many thanks to the kitchen staff, waitresses and bar staff who , together, know how to be successful.

Many thanke LEE DAWN CHEFS WAITRESSES BAR STAFF for helping make our 60th wedding anniversary a great day with super festive food menu and service also to the SUPERB CAPTAINS CREW WHO PLAYED AND SANG SOME GREAT MUSIC with family from all over the country commenting how good they are thanks once again Maureen and ALEC

Very disappointed with lunch today . Service slow, food unappetising.Will not be returning .

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

Really good local pub. Nice grub too!

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

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.

Excellent Sunday lunch Will definitely be going again.

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