CityLife

Old Bell Inn

Old Bell Inn
Delph
March 2010

Casual dining review

Overall: 4/5

Some pretty famous faces have passed through The Old Bell Inn over the years – Dick Turpin and Queen Victoria to name just a few.

Thankfully, when we popped into the 200-year-old former coaching inn there was no-one waiting to fleece me – just a menu packed with quality food at great prices.

Despite being a freezing night we received a warm welcome and found ourselves a table in the Brasserie.

Those wanting to dine a little more lavishly can take advantage of the accompanying Blue Room which serves up a more adventurous menu.

But for us, the Brasserie’s bar food was ample for a relaxed Sunday night meal.

For starters my friend and I shared a Cajun spiced chicken skewer with tomato salsa and a cucumber and yoghurt dressing (£5.50). We polished it off in seconds and then spent the next 10 minutes wishing we had ordered one each.

Thankfully the main courses arrived soon after to quell our cravings.

Slow braised mutton hotpot with Boulangere potatoes and pickled red cabbage (£9.95) for me and pan seared fillet of seabass with sweet chilli tiger prawn noodles (£13.95) for my dining partner.

Although the kitchen had run out of prawns – we had been pre-warned by the waitress on ordering – a generous portion of seabass and noodles infused with asparagus more than made up for it. My meal was similarly delicious although a little more meat in the hot pot would have made it perfect.

But it was still a really enjoyable night made all the more special by the smiling staff who seemed to have a knack of making their customers feel like royalty – even if they’re not.

Old Bell Inn, Huddersfield Road, Delph, Saddleworth, OL3 5EG (01457 870130, theoldbellinn.co.uk).

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