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The Five Bells Inn, Ashford

Pub added by elizabeth mcgraw
The Street
East Brabourne
Postal town: Ashford
TN25 5LP
Phone: 01303813334

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Reviews (Current Rating Average: of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Five Bells Inn

The Five Bells is quite a remote pub in an area of Kent surrounded by hills. It is part of the Pickled Egg chain and was the second of the chain we visited on this crawl of the county. There were many similarities with the Woolpack at Warehorne that we had visited earlier.

It was quiet when we arrived. But most of the lunch crowd had clearly gone home, whilst the dinner crowd were yet to arrive. Staff were busy getting ready for the evening session with a pizza oven in the kitchen up and running and staff fetching in copious amounts of wood for the fires.

The interior is cosy and welcoming, with plenty of pillars creating separate dining and drinking areas. Toilets were rather strange, with 4 cubicles in a unisex space and a sink that took several laps to discover how to get any water out!

The 3 ales on were Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter, Watsum Fortitude & Old Dairy Red Top. Dudda's Tun Spiced Cider was also on handpull.

On 20th January 2022 - rating: 6
[User has posted 2442 recommendations about 2441 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Five Bells Inn

Upmarket gastro-pub, away from it all in the shadow of the hills to the north. Very traditional interior with various seating / dining areas around the staple-shaped counter, all sadly out of use for a few more days until the coronavirus restrictions are relaxed. However, the temporary restaurant area under a marquee was doing very good business on a Friday lunchtime, and the newly enhanced rear patio beer garden was starting to fill up too as I stopped for a pint on my walk. I found the 'house' Pale (brewery unknown), Old Dairy's Red Top (£4.20) and Hop Fuzz English bitter on offer from three of the six handpumps.

On 16th May 2021 - rating: 7
[User has posted 8066 recommendations about 8066 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


. Wittenden left this review about The Five Bells

Away from Smeeth and Brabourne Lees, across some open country at the foot of the North Downs. A whitewashed corner pub at the entrance of the straggling hamlet,it has been on the edge of my awareness for ages, knowing that there are some grand pubs over that way-The Tiger or the Bowl.

We visited on a rare sunny May Saturday lunchtime, some marquee or gazebo was set up in the garden, together with the impedimenta of a forthcoming barbeque.Entering, we were met by the laid back atmosphere of a slightly bohemian mid seventies pub refurbishment:bare (old) brick, exposed studwork,open fire and a wealth of cushions on the bench. To one side was a little shop, selling artisanal fare:this also doubled as a dining area.Moving on, the pub narrowed in front of the bar, before widening into an area largely laid up for dining.

I was very excited to see that the house beer, Brabourne Velvet Stout, appeared to be Goacher’s Crown Imperial Stout:in any case I’ve never seen a stout as house beer, and it was delicious.This was followed by a spring wheat beer from Kent Brewery. My beloved Golden Braid from Hopdaemon was listed as coming next. The food was not too fiddley-decent helpings and sourced locally:as I recall, I enjoyed a smoked mackerel from Hythe.

The staff were charming and jolly, seeming unphased by our group or a large party at the other end of the bar. One word of warning:one needs a degree in higher plumbing to work the taps in the bogs. An excellent pub which is set to become the hub of its community.

On 6th July 2012 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 283 recommendations about 282 pubs]