The Bell Inn, Nottingham

Nottingham has several pubs that are amongst the oldest in the country and this is one of them. The place oozes with history and offers a great escape from its rowdy neighbours. There’s always a good selection of beers at fair prices. There’s often live music too which adds nicely to the atmosphere.

this is a fab pub to chill out in and the meals are great too.would recommend the sunday roast absolutely gorgeous with proper mash and fresh veg, no frozen rubbish.

One of the 'Holy Trinity' pubs in Nottingham (the others being the Salutation and Ye Olde Trip), the Bell Inn is a lovely wee pub. They have live music some nights and the beers are kept well. Bar staff are friendly and you get a good clientele in here... no chavs! There are three different bars you can be served at so it's worth going to each one and having at least one drink in each for the full experience ;-)

I often describe this place as the only "normal" pub around the Market Square area of Nottingham city centre. You won't see a stream of urine flowing from the doorway of this place at 2pm on a Tuesday afternoon, like a couple of other places around here.

As you enter the pub and walk along a corridor, there is a small bar on your right hand side and also one on the left. At the end of the passageway is a door through to the main bar area. This is quite large, with a stage area at the end where live acts perform on certain nights. Tuesday night jazz is always popular. On weekend nights, The Bell gets very busy, but it never has a threatning atmosphere. Don't be put off by the doorman stood outside ( they are always friendly), i've never seen a hint of trouble in here.

The range of beers is good, and although I haven't eaten here personally, the food I have seen looks good and on curry night, the place smells great. At its busiest time, the bar can be three deep all the way around, so it is worth popping into one of the side bars to see if you'll get served any faster.

In front of the pub is a cordoned off seating area, where smokers can sit, or anybody who fancies watching trams and buses as they sip their pint.

All in all, a nice safe normal pub with a diverse customer base. At weekends, the place tends to become quieter after 11pm, even though they serve drinks for a while afterwards. If you're on the market square looking for a drink, this is your best bet. Oh, if you look young for your age, make sure you have some form of ID with you as they seem pretty tight on this. My youngest brother however had some trouble using his "CitizenCard" to prove his age (even though it was created for this purpose!) and we had to ask to speak to the manager before he would be served. I can understand their caution, as no landlord wants a fine and / or his license suspending, but the CitizenCard is a government approved proof of age card. We were told that some fakes were doing the rounds, which is why they were reluctant to accept it at first. If you are lucky enough to look too young to drink, take some proof of age with you..but I guess you are limited to a driving license, a birth certificate, or a passport.

5 * simple as

mad dog macca

beer tick
food tick
war veterans tick
nice people tick
no caps tick
no boring corporates tick
highly effective pub 5*

One of the older pubs in Nottingham City Centre, the Bell Inn offers those seeking a decent bitter the chance to take a break from the mainstream lager dominated pubs and have more of a choice in here.

Walking through the front door you head up an external corridor straight ahead to get into the main room on the back. Along this corridor there are also doors to the right and left allowing you to settle into a smaller 'snug’ room of the pub, each equipped with its own individual bar.

The pub is exactly that as opposed to a bar. It has more of the feel about a place where you can actually go into and, dare I say it, hold a conversation with those of you who are out for a drink.

Nicely located just off Market Square and with a taxi rank only a few minutes walk outside. The central location means that you do not need to go too far off route and it is therefore probably worth just stopping in for one to see if you like it, you can be back in the lager pubs in a minute if not.

The Bell Inn is in the centre of Nottingham just off the Old Market Square dates back to at least 1437 and is one of the oldest in the county. It is a pub full of interesting,wood panelled, atmospheric rooms each with their own story to tell. Keeps a good range of real ales and food. Recently
refurbished. Well worth a visit.

A group of Carmelite Friars arrived in Nottingham in 1276 and readily obtained lands and property. They established a Friary (on what is now Friar Lane) and their lands extended to include the site of what is now The Bell Inn.

By the accurate dating of the building, it’s identification as a hostelry with stables, and it’s location, it is reliably considered that the building was the guesthouse of the Friary. The Bell originally served as a refectory of the Carmelite monastery then sited on Beast market Hill, just below St James Street Junction.

Henry VIII closed small monasteries in 1539 in an effort to tap a valuable source of income, and then it became a secular alehouse, taking it’s name from the Angelus bell (Latin word meaning ‘the noon-day bell’) that hung outside the monks’ refectory, which explains how The Bell got its name.
Dendrochronology dating evidence from timbers in the Bell Inn gives a date for the building of c.1420.

Hardys & Hansons, Greene King IPA 3.6% abv and Abbot Ale 5% abv, plus a wide selection of quality guest ales from an ever-changing selection.