Blue Bell Cider House Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Food was way beyond our expectations, absolutely superb and cooked to perfection."
• "Certainly not disappointed, I had the Ultimate Burger."
• "Food is always of a high quality."
• "Food was well cooked and there was plenty of meat on each plate."
• "Food is very high quality!!!"
• "The food is homemade and wonderful!"
• "Food was brilliant."

Cons:

• "The coffee was undrinkable."
• "The food let it down we had a rib meal very bland more like a microwave meal."
• "Probably one of the worst I've ever had. Tough overcooked bacon, dry overcooked scrambled egg, cheap sausage."
• "Disappointed today we had loin of lamb was expensive with mash that was not real mash and the strongest gravy that was un eatable."
• "The lasagna I ordered was cold and looked and tasted as though it had been reheated from yesterday."
• "The quality of the ingredients was in a word, cheap and the cooking was pretty much 100% deep fryer."
• "It was a large batter shaped like a fish with a small dried fish stuck to it."

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "Friendly knowledgeable bar staff soon helped with drinks choices."
• "Thank you for the warm welcome and attentive service."
• "Really friendly, helpful staff."
• "The staff were really friendly and there is definitely a nice atmosphere at this pub."
• "Very friendly staff who couldn't do enough for you."
• "Staff were very pleasant and attentive."
• "Staff helpful and friendly especially with food allergies."

Cons:

• "Rude staff.. A smile and acknowledgement of the people they are serving wouldn't hurt."
• "Met some family and friends here for a drink but were put off by the 'welcome' (which was very sharp and brusk)."
• "Was rude about our dog that wasn’t a problem and sat at our table."
• "Bikers no longer seem welcome here, after going there for years for a Sunday ride suddenly the friendliness towards us has gone."
• "Busy place lacked bar service people waiting constantly for drink bar staff lacked knowledge."
• "The bar woman and the young lady that took our food order they weren't very friendly it made you feel very unwelcome."
• "Service at the table was amusingly bad."

Atmosphere and Location

Pros:

• "Great little countryside pub excellent food at decent prices."
• "Real pub. Lovely setting."
• "Canal-side pub with character. Old fashioned in every respect."
• "Lovely setting by the canal."
• "A really pretty pub by the canal, in the countryside but not far from Shirley and Solihull centre."
• "Lovely Canal side pub."
• "Beautiful location, right on the side of the canal path."

Cons:

• "they used to have a play area in the large beer garden out back but it has been removed."
• "The place looks very run down and outdoor furniture needs updating."
• "They have positioned big commercial bins right in the view of the canal."
• "The decor completely lacks character."
• "The marquee was covered in grime."
• "Garden strewn with cigarette butts."
• "The first impression of this place is not particularly good as it's under going renovation whilst still open."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Competitively priced great tasting food with very generous portions."
• "Simple wholesome food at a reasonable price."
• "£2.90 for a pint and £9.25 for a lovely 3 course lunch (over 50 menu)."
• "Good value for money."
• "Prices.....exceptional."
• "Good honest food, good value at £10:50."
• "Good pub fayre with nice size portions at a very reasonable price."

Cons:

• "Parking is really difficult."
• "Probably won't return."
• "Prices have gone up but quality has gone down."
• "Was disappointed because it’s a cider house with only cider I can get at ASDA."
• "Food was alittle expensive £2:00 for a small bowl of chips.."
• "Drinks were rubbish as well at a really expensive price."
• "Although the price had gone up as expected, in my opinion the gammon reminded me of a supermarket economy gammon and cheap chips and the side salad was non-existent."

Entertainment and Facilities

Pros:

• "Live bands and bbq. Highly recommended."
• "good bands and lots of other entertainment."
• "local band playing in the gazebo outside."
• "The music was exceptional as were the jaffa bombs!"
• "Great selection of Drinks including Ales and Ciders."
• "Great beer / cider selection and great price."
• "Good range of ciders, both draft and bottled."

Cons:

• "no children's area at all! Why advertise a family fun day???"
• "Not much to do for the kids though."
• "Although described as a 'Cider House' I did not actually see too many ciders on tap in the bar."
• "Expecting a vast array of different ciders to choose from, it turned out that the cider choice is poor as well."
• "On this visit ale was limited with mainstream cider on."
• "Don't be fooled by the name blue bell cider house because their are no proper ciders here."
• "The newly refurbished decor was terrible with cheap pine cladding that was so bright you needed sun glasses with the glare. Very disappointed."