The Bell, Aldgate

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(6 reviews)

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FancyaPint?'s review...

It seems the Bell has appeared from nowhere, for years there was the rather unappealing Market Trader in this spot - a blokey, tacky pub, but that pub has suddenly disappeared, to be replaced with a smarter, more sophisticated affair. A sombre looking place on the exterior (that'll go down well with the Ripper trailers), the Bell is a welcoming place once you step inside. A traditional looking interior, with a long wooden bar, offering a couple of ales on the hand pumps (Courage Best and Bombardier) and a typical range of lagers, wines (quite a good selection, actually) and spirits - plus Old Rosie cider. There's food too, which we've yet to try, but the menu looks unpretentious and is reasonably priced. The service is efficient, polite and friendly and there's even a friendly pub dog too. But there's more to the Bell than the ground floor bar - there's pool and darts in the panelled basement and a dining room upstairs, there are TVs if you fancy watching a bit of sport. You can hire either these of rooms (or the entire pub on a Saturday) if you need a party venue. All-in-all the Bell's an excellent addition to the area - it's just waiting to be discovered.

Review: 1 out of 2 people found this review helpful

Reviewed by pubdog 12 Feb 2010 Helpful? yes/no

User reviews

Billy29
Reviews (1)

22 Aug 2012

Great pub that's really come on in the last couple of years. Always a good atmosphere and a good mixed crowd. Definitely worth a visit.

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27 Jul 2012

Decent little pub this, and not normally open on a Saturday, but I wandered down for their monthly Northern Soul night. Glad I did! Great vibe, very fine if slightly pricey pint of Doom Bar (Bombadier also available) and lovely staff. They've got a nice space cleared for dancing and the clientel seem to be really friendly and into their soul. Thing that I really liked too is that I don't recall being asked "Who's next?" all evening when getting served - always encouraging that. Will have to pop in to see what it's like during the evenings in the week. Will definitely be back for the soul though, they've got that nailed on!

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DrStaxVolt
Reviews (1)

lumpip
Reviews (1)

25 Feb 2010

Couldn't agree less with that other review. We love the place and its been our local for about the last year. Staff are brill and the owner, who seems to work ever hour god sends, is a great bloke.

They have really tried hard to turn round what was a dump into a great place, better than the other local "Brick Lane pretentious" or "City Pubs" full of Wally's...!

Middlesex Street is still a bit rough and so's the outside of the pub, but dont be put off it really is one of the better pubs in E1.

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04 Dec 2009

I had a terrible experience here. I left my card behind the bar and, when I came to pay, found that the staff had mistakenly charged extra drinks to my card. This isn't a huge problem in itself, but when I queried the charge the staff at first tried to make excuses and then said "well, you've signed now". Trying to resolve the issue resulted in the bar manager becoming personally abusive.

I'd advise people to avoid.

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boulez
Reviews (1)

edwardo
Reviews (1)

15 Oct 2009

this pub is the guv'nor. nice beer, pork scratchings and darts.