The Smithfield Bell in Powys

Probably wise to call in advance to check food is actually being served as we arrived at 7:55 pm on Tuesday March 5th to be told they were only serving drinks.

Dreadful. No butter on jacket potatoes, tuna mayo is just tuna with a bottle of mayo to add your own, veg chilli and cheese hardly any veg chilli the cheese was mozzarella a tasteless cheese that is not suitable for a baked potato. One of the waiters had cut his hand and was serving with blood running down his hand, the tea was not nice, and the kid’s blackcurrant cordial was really weak and served in adult glasses. To add some balance the pizza was ok but all in all it was very poor and we won’t be back again.

called in today Sunday for a drink and coffee looks at menu but beer pumps only one beer pub was dark no smell of food no atmosphere. remember when first open great place allways busy food choices compared to now pub is dead shame marstons Don't care should sell it of love to see a harvester or weather spoons. beef eater . but welshpool allways behind other towns thank you for reply but when I go to other towns real ale is still popular also stop at other marstons inns plenty of beers . pity they didn't build a hotel here but that's not your fault best of luck

Food was very nice, service quick and pleasant, restaurant very clean definitely will be back

We were served by Yasmin who was very pleasant and accommodating

Lovely Yasmin very friendly and approachable definitely come back again

Great lunch here, friendly staff, excellent service, good pub grub and nice clean facilities will come again. Fairly priced to.

Came here for Sunday lunch when passing through and it was a great experience from start to finish. The service is prompt and welcoming, the pub is nice and the food was amazing. Will definitely be coming back!

Very helpful staff, clean tidy and food arrived promptly

Dog friendly not. Dog tolerant maybe as in a dedicated uncomfortable area! Pub far stretched assumption? My Beer difficult to determine if drinkable or off. Best avoided thankfully didn't sample food. Atmosphere arghhHHH. Place for children definitely! Toilets OK. Staff OK.

We like going here for dinner. It's better than mcdonalds burgers, and the same price.

Six of us met for lunch and wanted somewhere easy to get to with parking. This was perfect for us. Everything was good, the food, staff and atmosphere. Really enjoyed ourselves and will definitely go back.

All staff were very polite and tentative and helped make my sons birthday meal enjoyable. Food didn't take long to come out and service was with a smile

Food was ok but the service was appalling. However, this isn’t due to the staff and their efforts but down to the amount of staff on duty. One person on the bar and one young lady waiting on. Over 70 people dining and drinking. Completely unacceptable from the management and Marstons. The poor staff were doing their best but there is only so much patience from customers. 20 minutes stood at the bar waiting to order with so many more people waiting after us. Sort it out Marstons. No managers working either. Staff deserve better and more protection from complaining customers (who were within their rights to do so). And finally, no food offers any longer so not a value option any more.

Fantastic service. food served very quickly and tasted lovely. The staff are very helpful and always get fantastic service. One of are favourite places for pub grub.

We were a large group, food came out at the same time, excellent service and very good value for money. We will call again.

It was a lovely Christmas lunch and a great thank you to all staff who worked

Yes I will be very pleased to come back again

I had arranged to take my partner and family for Christmas Day dinner to celebrate her birthday. After paying out alot of money, I feel a little let down by the Smithfield Bell as the meal was a little disappointing. The soup as a starter was only luke warm, the main was as if it had been plated up and left standing for to long was cold to touch, the gravy as been the hottest thing we had did warm it up slightly. As for dessert, I suppose they did get that right as it was mainly ice cream. The "manager" did come around to ask if everything was OK, but before any of us could say anything, he was gone, plus we were told he wanted the table empty by 2pm, which we were aware of anyway, but it was the way he asked. As you can gather from this I won't be returning there again, and hope other customers don't get the service we did, also that Marstons can get they're act together and stop this happening to people who pay good money.

Worst Christmas dinner I’ve ever had, the food was Luke warm at best the hottest thing about the meal was the extra gravy. Majority Vegetables were teeth breaking worthy and felt very rushed to get in and out. For the price it was I expected better, a lot better. Very poor and awful atmosphere

It was a meal for my 60th Birthday as it is My birthday on Christmas Day, so my Children and my Grandchildren were all excited as was I as it was a surprise. We were met by the Manager who was very rude and abrupt and told us our table was from 12 to 2 and he needed our table to be empty by 2pm. He said 'Your starters will be served at 12 so be ready at the table for them!' We sat and were ready....Soup arrived and it was cold, next the main Turkey meal 😳, cold and in my 60 yrs I have never had a load of fat on my Turkey(which was cold), it was like Pork fat.....under cooked Yorkshire Puddings and don't get me started on the veg 😤.....the only thing that was warm was the bloody gravy... it was supposed to be a beautiful meal for my big birthday as I have cooked every Christmas Day for all of my family so my 60th Birthday treat for me and my family was a total disaster. So would I recommend to eat here....NOT A BLOODY CHANCE AND THANK YOU FOR THE WORST AND MOST EXPENSIVE CHRISTMAS MEAL I HAVE HAD.....DIGUSTING🤬🤬🤬🤬

Book table for 8 people the gave me table for 6 so had to move to table that was in the corner and the lighting was dim so asked to move to window but was reserved we were there from 12 pm till 2.50pm and was still not being used do we could of sat in window in fact the resturant was empty for most of our stay good food and drink just a shame about the lights and resevation mess up

It's always very nice, the only issue is whenever we go there, there are several items off the menu that are unavailable. The restaurant does need to stock up more.

We visited the Smithfield Bell on our way through Welshpool to Oswestry for some lunch. The restaurant was quite quiet but the staff were slow and didn't look very happy. We had the fish and chips (I'll rephrase that. The overcooked batter with not much fish). Next time we make this journey we certainly won't be calling here.

Love this place. Great Christmas meal out with my wife. Would recommend.

We came in for lunch on Saturday, we was served by Jade and we had a lovely time. Great food and service even though the place was very busy.

Really enjoyed my visit to the Smithfield tonight, really lovely greeting from the manager vinay and great service from Steve Thanks guys can’t wait to come back xx

Really enjoyed the Harry Potter quiz, food tasted amazing also

Booked on line waited more than 40 minutes as advised, 2 of the 3 meals were palatable but not hot or even warm. Do not know where the problem lies as it was not even busy, will not be revisiting any time soon.

If I could give 0* I would. The service was shocking was left feeling unwelcome and rushed seen as it was my birthday. The food was out right awful to the point I was throwing up all night. I had the fish and it was questionable and so heavy I had to go straight to the toilet with a bad stomach straight after eating it. The atmosphere was horrible to say the least. No checkback was made otherwise they would of known the food was bad and had left half my food. Avoid the place at all cost!!!! Edit: none of this false and you would of known that if you or one of you staff members had bothered to make a check back. As getting a review removed because it paints a bad picture for you and declaring it so publicly that your doing so is unprofessional to say the least

Service provided by Yaz and Steve excellent and Jake and Vinay was mouth watering delicious overall excellent service

I booked a table for our party, we were early but you accommodated us. Your team communicated with us clearly and were friendly and helpful. We all enjoyed our meals, I've waited months to have another veggie burger, they are THE best I've had. If there are any critical points, it's the pizza oven being broken and unavailability of some meat on the roast dinner. However there's so much choice on the menu we all found things we wanted. Thank you for a good visit.

We ordered through the app. Ordered the starters, they were OK but nothing special. We then ordered mains through the app and it re-ordered the starters! When it arrived, 4 of the 6 mains were inedible. They were returned, and all the manager offered at first was a £20 voucher. They did eventually refund the second set of starters and the 4 mains. The staff were great, but the manager is a joke and so was the standard of the food. AVOID AT ALL COSTS

We stopped today for Sunday dinner. And what a mistake it was £60 down the drain. We ordered 2 adult & 3 kids meals. Food came out with half the items missing off the plate no stuffing, no roastie, some plates had one carrot on others had nothing, mash was hard as if it's been left standing on a hot plan, Originally ask for more carrots and we were bought black carrots,( which I was told I'd have to pay for after) then asked where our other veg and roasties were to be offered roasties after food had gone cold. The lady behind the bar was lovely and tried to correct what she could but it was to late by then. What we ordered was completely different to what we got. Walked away £60 down with 3 hungry children Wouldn't recommend

Please avoid at all expensives !!! We had driven past and decided we wanted some pub grub but honeslty wish we went to the mcdonalds down the road. It was a bank holiday and it was near enough completely dead which was a concern. After deciding which dirty table to sit on we ordered the food nd drink on the app and waited over an hour for it to arrive. We were so close to leaving after nobody seemed botherd but then it finally arrived. The food was okay but nothing special I had a chicken burger and the Mrs had a bacon burger. The next day I woke up to severe food poisoning and felt like the world was falling out of my arse. Please do not fall for the trap !

All’s I can say is WOW! myself and my family came here yesterday evening and we’re are so happy that we did and we shall be visiting again! The food was cooked well, the staff we’re amazing. In particular Vinay, Jade and Steven we’re extremely polite, tailored to our every need and nothing was to much trouble for them, I completely appreciate how patient and understanding they were with us and overall it’s a very welcoming, friendly environment which I would suggest to all! THANK YOU!

We attended with our dog. Very helpful, gave us a water bowl for her without even requesting one. Food really fresh and plentyful. Helpful and friendly staff.. We'll be back

Good food at a reasonable price

Very tasty regular pub fare. Had limited, but delicious veggie choices. Had gluten free menu. Clean, spacious, nice staff.

Not happy with with our meals. Orders didn’t come as asked. No food ok menu. My chips freezing cold, my friends chips were hard and burnt. Hunters chicken was meant to be grilled came out southern fried chicken. Asked for onions rings and didn’t come but paid for them. 1 meal out of 3 was only to standard. Will not be coming back again.

Standard modern pub with a standard menu. It is saved by the fact that they have a bank of EV chargers in the car park making it an ideal stop on a trip into Wales.

It is a great shame….. we’ve been here a few times, me and my Granddaughter, and not had a bad meal or service. Today was the exception, sadly the food was not its best cook, didn’t seem fresh , burger over cooked. I felt sorry for the waitress as another couple were complaining also. Now the price of meal has gone up there shouldn’t be any bad meals, but this was. 😥

Food cooked by Jake was really good. Service was great as always.

A warm welcome from the front of house staff. Excellent food cooked by the chef Jake. Would definitely return. Thank you.

Such a shame - not sure what the issues are there, upon being given the menu, was told that the following were not available - Steak Pie, Fish and chips, Scampi and chips, Mixed grill, any Pizza, and cheesecake. Which pretty much wipes out the whole menu... I truly felt sorry for the staff having to explain this to every customer... must be so disheartening.... poor management, or poor supply chain.... you need to resolve this, as I had a similar feedback from a family member who had recently been, and been given a similar choice - however the food once served was really nice and the service team were excellent under the pressure that higher powers had obviously left them in. Get the directors on the shop floor for a proper view of life in the game. Lack or 3 stars is purely for your lack of senior management - the floor team are your backbone- support them, otherwise would have been 5 stars - respect the people who work for you.

Came to the Smithfield for a birthday meal and was very disappointed. Firstly half the menu wasn’t available which included all pizzas pie fish and half the pudding menu. The hunters chicken looked and tasted very underwhelming, dry a beige. Soggy salad that had started going brown came with our other meal. Will definitely not be going back.

I ordered a pitcher and the glass hun was broke. The alcohol I’ve drink basically kept running out of the glass on the table. We told one of the waiters when collecting plates and laughed and didn’t do anything else to us. I would if expected some money back

Stopped in after a long day for some food. I was greeted but some very friendly staff who looked after me the whole time I was here. I ordered a mega mixed grill which was just amazing. I even got to say thank you to jake (the chef who cooked it). Will be coming back very soon.

Good food, limiting hours of the kitchen, plenty of space and parking.

Food is good for the price the chef that cooked it comes out and interacts with front of house staff and customers guy I think his name was amazing atmosphere and lovely staff

Staff were welcoming good choice of beers and food had scampi which was very nice

We visited two days over the weekend, 1st evening Friday food was slightly on the over cooked side but that happens, Saturday however we decided to give them chance to redeem the previous evening. Well the steak was beyond edible it couldn't be cut never mind chewed, the sausages where burnt on the outside raw in the middle, the egg was cooked to the point the white was a solid crispy mess, batter on the fish was cooked to the point of concrete texture. I don't usually raise a complain, but flagged down the manager and he was apologetic and gave us a £15 refund for the mixed grill.

Waited 45 mins for starters, soup cold, mushrooms over cooked,mains fish had thick batter and was over cooked, steak was very tough. After a long wait for food when the pub was empty, it's not good. We won't eat here again.

We arrived to be turned away at the door due to "issues in the kitchen" no offer of a complimentary drink just showed back out the door. Further to your comments NO EXPLANATION was given to us. We were greeted at the door by a girl who acted like we had done something wrong by coming to the restaurant. No wonder your staff behave so rudely with the attitude you project in your reply. My father is disabled and out of breath from walking from the car but you could not even let him rest inside before going back to our vehicle. We went to the Cross Guns in Pant instead. Excellent customer service and delicious foods could not be faulted.

If there was 0 I would put that mark as ordered drinks I asked for lager she came over with bitter wouldn't even change our drinks over for the sake of £6 poor customer service was having lunch there walked out never go there again ended up in the raven better customer service food and drink turned out a better day

Two groups eating together (2 familes of 5) We appreciate, we didn't reserve a table as it was an off the cuff decision after visiting Powis Castle; however after management agreed to seat us,we ordered drinks while we all decided what to order. After an extended wait we were able to order from an extremely busy front of house team who although were overwhelmed were happy to help however upon ordering many of the meals we wanted were not availble from an already diluted Sunday menu. We waited 70 minutes for our food when a 45 minute wait was given. Many of the tables around us wernt cleaned but again understaffing was the key factor. When the food turned up it was all overcooked and very underwhelming, due to our extremely bust day our children were hungry so we did not complain to the management team. We spent well in excess off £130 and there wasn't alot of value for money. We thought it fair to Write an honest review rather than speak to staff.

Disappointed. Ordered three sharer starters and requested no bbq sauce on chicken. Sauce all over chicken. Changed when asked. Ordered four meals, three with eggs - told no eggs. Also the price of lemonade shot in drink so expensive charged on top of drink. Spoilt the night really and we were celebrating a birthday too.

Staff were friendly and helpful. Food ok. Had trouble trying to order online. Did wait at bar for 10 minutes to order but gave up.

We had 6 meals and 6 drinks cost £98 in total. 2 mixed grills no eggs arrived on either meals steaks to be cooked rare and came well done. 8oz rump steak tiny and wanted it cooked medium rare first one came well done black and 2nd one came rare with lots of peppercorn on it which can't eat. Chicken burger bun black and chicken burger rock hard. Sent the 2 steaks back and 2nd time recieving them they still weren't cooked to order.

Great for our family lunch and 7 year old son happy. Good kids menu S well as great adult menu. Super value for money and very convenient near a 483

Came to the Smithfield Bell as my daughter wanted to go there for her 21st meal because she likes basic food She loved it . Greeted and took to table Then ordered at the bar which was busy The only issue I had was they didn't take our plates before our dessert arrived

Really helpful staff. Great to have a fast EV charger in Welshpool. Coffee hot and tasty .

On our way to North Wales about 21 of us stop here for lunch - Nice and hot meals at low cost - And everyone is happy - Staff are very nice and helpful - Although they had issues with Kitchen equipment - They did their very best to accommodate all of us. Lovely finsh and chips; Pizza were tasty too; Quite a few ordered Veg Chilli which they enjoyed - Kids loved chicken dippers Ultimate burger went down well!

A group of us 20 were on holiday in Dolgellau.. We always stop here for lunch.. On arriving to Wales and going back home. We came on the 22nd on arrival and 29th on leaving to go back. We've been coming for over 10 years. It's now under new Management ...Very impressed We were taken care of so well... and all 20 of us really enjoyed our meals.. As usual the portion size was really good. Food come pipping hot..for All.. 6 of the children really enjoyed their meals All the staff were really friendly..Jasmin Maria Can't remember the name of the other staff but all were very accommodating.. New Manger Vinie..was very good with our pre-order...Managed to get everything sorted. We would definitely come again. I would like to make one suggestion... Especially for our vegetarians... To introduce more dishes such as veggie lasagne, veggie pasta bake, Yes we would keep coming again

Fryer and grill not working but service excellent. Helpful with kids menu. Well be coming again.

Lovely pub, the staff were all very friendly and made you feel welcome. The food was amazing, I asked for rare steak and it was perfect. They have a pool table too.

Absolutely loved being there our server (think his name was Jeff) was amazing and made us smile, felt looked after and was very kind and friendly. Definitely coming back again.

Very pleasant and helpful staff good service by all

Lovely pub with friendly staff and the food is always great!

Can't fault it food was great staff were brilliant and felt welcoming and comfortable while there staff couldn't do more and never said no to any request even if was out the norm

Great food, good service. Nice quiet place when we went but im sure it gets busy.

No milk for hot drinks crazy Food excellent. Staff very efficient Would take my own milk from tescos across the road next time

Group of us, between 15-20 travel every year up North Wales and this Smithfield Bells has been em excellent stopover. We have always enjoyed food and staff have been helpful.

Food good in the end had steak had to send one back as was under cooked.

Long wait for food. I ordered the gammon, the chips were very greasy, and I explained this to the waiter when he asked if everything was okay with the food. He said he would tell the chief, then, having not been able to eat the chips, the waitress cleared the table and asked if everything was okay with the food, and again I said no, as the chips were very greasy, she also said she would tell the chief, but I no further response

Haven't been here for such a long time. A much improved experience, food was good staff were very helpful. Thank you.

yes very happy with the service

There was just one girl on her own serving bringout food and cleaning tables felt sorry for her waited 40 mins for food

Lovely food and excellent service. Staff were lovely

The food was all perfect, slightly disappointed to be told on arrival the the chef was finishing for 8, they were very short staffed, as I said one chef who was leaving at 8, one young lady behind the bar and one young man serving food and cleaning, the young man who seen to us was very helpful and polite, he really was good bless him, same with the young lady at the bar, she too was very helpful, assured us we could still have puddings as all staff could make them, I just felt very sorry for the two of them as they were both great but very stretched, it really needed at least one if not two more members of staff, but the food was all good and we would return.

Has to be the best Marstons pub I've been in, great food and drink, staff were great, our steaks were perfectly cooked, and the beef dripping sauce was belting Definitely recommend this pub 👍

Pizza was nice, and so was the fudge cake. Service was slow between courses but that's because they only had 1 waiter on.

Be careful because the opening times are not accurate, call them in advance before setting off. Opening says 11am but we called back at 11.40am on a Saturday and still not open.

Terrible service at the bar waited over 15muns for a drink, other people waiting longer, awful bar service

Good all round pub and good menu

Great place to eat in Welshpool, especially if you have kids. We had a large party and the order online app didn't work, so we had to order at the bar. In Canada we don't ever order at the bar and it's not something we enjoy having to memorize all the orders. Staff were friendly and helpful. Would visit again.

Great food, great service, great price.

Kitchen Manager unable to order enough food for roasts every single week, General Manager failing to address this ongoing situation. Marston's clearly unwilling or unable to replace incompetent Management. Staff regularly ignore you and fail to acknowledge people waiting. Full range of Real Ales regularly not on, (again a failing of the management in place). It isn't difficult to order stock and have it ready! If cellar management is lacking within the management team then again, this falls to the GM. Just needs direction and someone with the experience and ability to manage the staff in place instead of the constant changing staff.

Visited here for a treat. To say it was underwhelming is an understatement! We ordered Sausages and mash - tiny portions arrived, burnt sausages, watery gravy, undercooked onions and almost no flavour to the dish. This is bangers and mash for god's sake. Might as well have rustled it up at home myself. We won't eat here again. It isn't cheap either, £27 for what was basically a snack.

Great selection of drinks for a refreshing stop on a road trip across the country while we charged our car. Food menu looked great. Staff were friendly and helpful. Lovely relaxed atmosphere, and dog friendly (indoors too!) made for a perfect stop on our trip. Would definatly visit again if we are passing.

Stopped to charge the car, left with a full stomach at a fair price and a full charge

Although we were told food would be 45 mins it actually arrived in 15 mins! This info would have put some people off

Staff were not very polite, we actually heard a member of staff swearing at a customer, I had booked a table for my Daughter's birthday but I won't bother again, need to bring back the previous staff much more polite, when we arrived they didn't have a clue about a table for us, won't be recommending this place to anyone

Nice food just off the road near Welshpool served quickly very clean 👌

Food quality has improved significantly since my last visit. Staff were friendly and helpful. Sunday roasts were not available because of a kitchen issue and we were not informed if this at the time of booking prior to travelling to the pub. Fortunately there was a sufficient number and variety of alternatives on the menu.

We did not have to wait to long for our food, it was hot when it arrived, the bar service was efficient, the staff were friendly and helpful.

Average sunday lunchtime in terms of busyness. However nearly 50 min wait after chasing up our order. Tiny amount amount of peas, chips were cold. Fair play they did bring round some fresh chips when I mentioned this. A lad did apologise. However we won't be rushing back here

Great place with lovely food and friendly staff.

Nice place for a beer and a bite 👌

Dropped in while we used the EV chargers in the car park and got a huge warm welcome from Gary and the team. We ordered drinks and some chips that came really quickly. What a great find - our new favourite charging stop!