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Disappointment of the week with Mobyduck
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Detail Pages
The Bell, Leytonstone, E11
E11
E11 3HN
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 3½ of 10) see review guidelines
Tris C left this review about The Bell
This Bell tolls back to at least the start of the 19th century but it wouldn’t surprise me if it has a very old history. It was rebuilt around the mid-19th century as a Charrington’s house, the current structure arriving in 1939, again for Charrington. Now it’s in the hands of Craft Union and in August 2021, the pub was raided by the police to break up an illegal trade in birds.
With pounding music come Saturday night, you hear it before you see it, with some fairly ordinary guys and gals out on the front patio. Then there are the two bouncers which I safely negotiated with aplomb, only to be confronted by a closed door, clearly displaying the rules of engagement:
Entry only for 21+;
No ID, No Entry; and
Regulars Only.
This rather begs the question: if you are a regular, then presumably you don’t need ID and are known to be over 21; the Riddle of the Sphincter?
Although I’ve been 21 for over 35 years, I don’t carry ID and I’m not a regular. And don’t need this twaddle.
On 23rd January 2024
- rating: 1
[User has posted 1983 recommendations about 1949 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The Bell
Next door to Leytonstone fire station from the outside the Bell was clearly a three-room pub back in the day, but is now one opened up L shaped space around the central serving bar. Carpeted in the main bar and then wooden floored in the section to the side housing the two pool tables.
It was quite lively and being well utilised when I popped in during last weeks champion leagues games and the same Man Utd match was being shown on the copious amount of TV screens (I think I counted 6 but there could be more) dotted about the pub.
Mainly chrome draft pumps on the long bar top and plenty of lagers being poured, but there are three hand pumps which for my visit had one unbadged, one reverse clipped and the other one dispensing a pretty average pint of Fullers London Pride which made me wonder when the previous pint had been pumped out of here before my one.
This pub clearly fulfils a purpose but not one I am personally that interested in so can’t see myself ever coming back in here.
On 16th April 2019
- rating: 4
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about The Bell
Central bar serves 3 real ales.
On 22nd March 2014
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2883 recommendations about 2820 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Owen Guerin left this review about The Bell
When I first came up to it I thought it was closed, very few people in it for a Saturday night, bearing in mind how many pubs are closed in the local area, one has to think that it may be under threat. The beer is o.k..
On 24th October 2010
- rating: 4
[User has posted 7 recommendations about 7 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about The Bell
This plain and unadventurous East End boozer meets all the usual basic requirements one would generally look for in a pub without taking any steps to make it anything other than mundanely average. The interior is knocked through into a large L-shape with a couple of pool tables to one end. A smaller room to the left of the bar contains a dart board and there are a few TV with the usual screened Sport events. There is a trimuverate of unspectacular ales; London Pride, Greene King IPA and Bombardier, the latter of which was unavailable on my visit.
The décor is nothing noteworthy and ambience as was OK although I was here for a function rather than a specific pub outing so probably not they best time to judge the place. It is essentially a safe enough bet although given that many pubs within close proximity are boarded up, its major claim is probably that it has remained open (although it was itself closed for a period before reopening in early 2009). A survivor for the time being perhaps but there isn’t enough here to guarantee for how long.
On 15th September 2010
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]