Bel and the Dragon - Cookham Village reviews

Review added 15/01/2016 18:11 by anon

I had lunch with a friend from London here today. I hadn't been for some time and had heard it was currently to good hands. We chose the fish of the day - cod on beer batter with the old thrice cooked ( because once is never enough!), hand -cut chips and the tiniest pot is crushed peas; tap water drink and two coffees to finish. The bill came to £41.63 which I thought was a bit steep - though I suspect most people in Cookham wouldn't blink an eye). The service was great, shame about the food. It was nice but nothing to write home about. We came away disappointed. Won't be going back anytime soon.

Review added 12/10/2015 08:22 by AJay

Excellent meal on Saturday eve. Just wish the menu would change more frequently, I reckon I've done the card at least once! Why not put on some weekly/monthly specials?

Review added 19/03/2014 22:34 by Stu

Always excellent food, great staff who are always accommodating, friendly and fun. This is a great place for lunch, dinner or a quick drink. Cookham resident and really can't fault the Bel

Review added 25/03/2013 18:45 by Kate

Attended a friend's milestone birthday celebration last Saturday, with exclusive use of the small dining room. The food was fantastic, the service was just exemplary. Chef - chapeau - you run a really great team and you all deserve the highest compliment. As one of the final 'die-hards', at no point did we feel under pressure to leave, the staff were happy to accommodate us while we waited for the taxi (having quite rightly reminded us politely of the UK licensing laws!). Just a truly wonderful evening; I recommend highly.

Review added 22/07/2012 13:47 by Rio

The Bel and Dragon is great, staff are very welcoming and friendly and the food is great, the fillet steak is brilliant. Atmosphere is nice and relaxed. Well done guys.

Review added 29/05/2012 17:07 by anon

Food excellent at lunch time, service very good. BUT portions too small and even if they had not been, would still have been overpriced.

Review added 13/01/2012 15:06 by anon

I have been visiting the Bel & Dragon in Cookham for many years and have seen it through many changes of management and ownership. Last year was a turning point - it's back on track. The food is always good and the service friendly and reliable. Whether its for a quick drink or for a meal with friends, we are always made to feel very welcome. The garden in the summer is a lovely and relaxing spot and in the winter the real fires around the bar and restaurant are calming and comforting.

Review added 12/12/2011 09:30 by David Edmondson

We used to be very regular patrons but stopped going about 3 years ago when the prices rocketed and quality went through the floor. We went for Sunday lunch, our first time back. The prices are pretty steep. The roast beef main is £16. We were a family of 5 and the total price including service was £140, we had no starters, two desserts, a bottle of chenin blanc (£24), a pint and 4 cokes. On the other hand the quality of the food was exceptional, we unanimously agreed it was the best Sunday lunch we have ever had and it really was. Service was good and friendly and the bar and restaurant is really pretty. We will definitely go back but not as often as we would like simply because of the price. My advice to management would be to get at least a few decent wines in the £16 to £20 range and get the standard roast prices around the £13.75 mark.

Review added 27/09/2011 16:51 by Julia

The Bel & the Dragon is excellent. It echoes its quality back in the good old days of silver service (when owned by the Stubers) but hits just the right note for today.

My family very much enjoyed lunch there yesterday. Our waitress was impressive - efficient, helpful and friendly, without fault.

The menu is excellent and varied. Prices are about right and what one would anticipate paying for the quality of food. (I would point out to an earlier reviewer that side dishes are only £3 each, which is fair, and the chips in particular are excellent!).

Fortunately, the old part of the pub retains its charm, the garden is excellent and we are always proud to take guests to our favourite, typically English 'local'.

Review added 25/09/2011 21:13 by anon

Having read the advert in 'families' magazine boasting the family/child freindly environment, we were encouraged to book a sunday lunch (children are certainly not made v.welcome!). 9 of us attended to not be welcomed atall enthusiasticaly and faced with a sunday lunch menu of £17 a head excl veg!!! yes the beef was good but this is not the ritz and for half the price a few hundred yards away we could have had better - we all agreed that the size of the maincourse was equivalent to a large starter! compained to the waitress and asked for the manager but he was 'unavailable'! love good food and will pay for it but this was a shear dissapointment. as a local i would love this to succeed but more than london prices for an average service will not. lower prices, better the service and less arrogance!.... on the positive, fantastic refurb!...

Review added 18/08/2011 11:29 by anon

Had I not being highly recommended to go to the Bel and Dragon I doubt I would have ever boarded the train to Cookham. What a pity that would have been!
My friend and I were welcomed into the Bel and Dragon by the friendly staff and well stocked bar. Any place that uses Fevertree tonic as standard instantly wins me over.
We shared starters of pink peppercorn squid and crispy whitebait. Both dishes were delicious; light batter enclosing perfecty cooked fish.
This was all just warm up for our main course. A spectacular roast rib of Herefordshire beef was brought to us. A complete show stopper that didn't disappoint in taste in any
sense. The house red was an excellent recommendation to completement our meal.
The front of house team had the perfect balance of attentiveness without being overbaring.
Somehow we still had room for dessert. The lemon tart came with a caramelised top that cracked satisfyingly when tapped with a spoon. Under was fresh citrus filling and excellent pastry. The hot chocolate fondant oozed beautifully mixing it's melting chocolate heart into the cool creamy ice cream.

I have not enjoyed a meal more in a long time.
Thank you very much to everyone who made our meal so special.

Review added 08/06/2011 10:06 by anon

Wanted to check the place out after the refurbishment.
The food was nice, decent wine list too, however I just don't understand why they made the interior so modern when the building is so old?

Review added 06/06/2011 19:48 by anon

To much money for too little quality of food

Confusing Menu and wine options

Poor quantities of food. 4 slices of french bread between 4 people as a starter !

Not enough choice.

Positive: Friendly Service, Nice Decor

Review added 22/05/2011 22:03 by Andy

Visited twice following the refurbishment. The dining room has had a majot overhaul and is great. The bar has had a spruce up, but still feels like a pub, so suits popping in just for a drink if you are not eating...

Food was very well prepared and well presented.

Service is a little inconsistent, but improved on the second visit, so I have no doubt that this will come up to scratch.

2 things I didn't like. The main courses don't come with veg, so unless you are on the Atkins diet, you have no choice but to pay an extra £3 per head. This does push the price up a little and the prices are really priced at a level where you should not need to have to order sides.

Secondly, 10% optional service charge is put onto your bill. Yes it's optional, but it is awkward to ask for it to be removed if the service is not upto scratch... So better to have the choice. Also White Oak and Chequers Brasserie don't do it...

Overall enjoyed both visits. It will get better and provided they get the pricing right to offer a little better value this will be very successful restaurant in Cookha, and welcome addition.

Review added 20/05/2011 02:50 by anon

Well, new, yes but better? Better than what?
Expensive, silly glasses for wine, nice room,
Hard chairs, service needs a lot of work.
Food, good but nothing out of this world, would just love this place
To get it right but, no not yet .

Review added 01/05/2011 16:00 by John

When is the Bel re-opening? My dog and I are awaiting our usual bowl of water and pint of beer, followed by the rest of the family arriving for lunch in the bar or garden.

Weekends just haven't been the same lately.

From Cookham Webmaster:
John, if you wish to have a discussion can you use the discussion board, this is just for reviews. Thanks.

Review added 04/02/2011 22:48 by aj

Tonight my partner and I decided to revisit Bel. We realised, as we sat down, that it must have been nearly two years since we last dined there - and, since that time, the owners of the establishment have had some challenging times, by the sound of things.

At any event, we needn't have worried. The staff were friendly, yet also professional, and the food ( I had sausages and mash followed by apple and cinnamon crumble, and my partner had mushroom risotto and a cheeseboard) was attractively presented, and tasted as good as it looked.

I am puzzled by the comments that there have been changes to the decor. As far as I can see, everything is just as it was when we last visited, except - regrettably - that it isn't quite as busy as it used to be on a Friday night.

Even the warm bread with roasted garlic and potato dish of the day have been retained from the old days - it felt truly nostalgic returning to a place where we had enjoyed so many lovely evenings.

At any event, we both felt that the food and service were entirely up to the standard that we'd enjoyed previously, and we will most certainly be returning in the very near future.

Review added 28/11/2010 22:04 by anon

We would agree re the roasties - we hadn't been in for 15 months but had a great Sunday lunch for 7 there today - friendly staff and good quality food - not least crispy roasties but also very good lamb shanks - we will definitely be going back

Review added 06/10/2010 00:41 by anon

food was very poor but the waiter who saw to us was very polite and funny but still was not a perfect night. overpriced is what comes to mind.

hope this improves.

Review added 28/07/2010 13:50 by anon

Recently, my partner and I ate at the B&D, for the first time in years. We thought we would give it a go despite other reviews of the place.
We had a lovely waitress who seemed slightly nervous, but was friendly and polite all the same and she sat us at a nice table where it was fairly private. After looking at the menu, I thought some of the meals were slightly pricey, however there was a great selection to choose from. We had both opted for roast dinners and we were told the meat was free range when we asked (excellent) and we found that our meals were delicious and very filling!
We recommend the Bel for a lovely Sunday roast and we will definitely return soon!

Review added 26/06/2010 18:30 by anon

June 2010: We visited the B&D for the first time since Jan 2010. We shall not be returning. We requested to be seated outside, but unfortunately all the set tables came with inches of leaves and pigeon feathers below them (in June!), together with stained table cloths. The varnish on the unset tables was peeling terribly, and at that point we suspected things had changed!

Upon ordering pre-dinner drinks, the waitress suggested we have Proseco rather than Champagne - first ever experience of being encouraged to trade-down! (in retrospect I suspect they were not able to fund opening a bottle of Poo for two glasses, given lower footfall). Mine arrived in a chipped glass which was replaced upon asking.

We then spotted each of our menus had different prices - thankfully they informed us that the cheaper menu was the latest. The starters were okay, but not perhaps as fresh tasting as before. The filet steak had a very strong taste and therefore not the most enjoyable I've had. The dessert menu screamed 'bought in', and the banoffe pie we ordered was disguting to look at, never mind taste. The bananas were black (looked like fried mushrooms) and the toffee non-existent; the waitress was happy to return it to the kitchen and deduct from the bill. We got the impression the staff were used to refunds...

The final nail was when we requested coffee and were told only instant was available!

The young staff were pleasant, but did not have the verve or smartness of those we encountered historically.

The really sad aspect of this experience, is that Cookham is a wealthy area, and residents will pay for quality. The experience was such a contrast to January, I was driven to do some quick on-line research, and it transpires the original holding company went into administration in 2009. The current management appear to know the price of everything and the value of nothing. It's a crying shame, and I give it 4 months before it's a low-grade boozer or boarded-up.

Review added 25/05/2010 23:27 by Ms W

We were extremely disappointed with the lack of service and poor food on our recent trip. After a long walk in the Village we took our hungry, young son out for a lunchtime treat but our overwhelming anticlimax left more than a bad taste.....
The 'children's menu' was overpriced, lacking imagination, colour and flavour. Under normal circumstances we would have gone elsewhere, but having waited so long for service we were just grateful to see a menu.
Our food arrived after a long wait and whilst the adult portions looked reasonable, his £6.95 course consisted of a burnt piece of fish, and 6 chips!!! Yes, 6! I asked the waiter if the food came with any vegetable or salad and was told that I should have ordered a 'side dish' when ordering! I also questioned the price in relation to the quality and was told 'that's just the price, nothing I can do!'
My husband and I had bog-standard pub-grub, served luke warm at an extortionate price. The service had been appalling and when receiving our bill the waiter 'asked', I repeat 'asked' if we'd like to leave a tip!!!
We will not be returning.

Review added 17/05/2010 14:23 by susan

Our recent visit was less than inspiring. Quite apart from the poor service, the crispy duck spring roll had obviously been previously cooked and just reheated, not a good start. Two of our party had the red snapper fish with crab risotto, the fish was dry and baked around the edges and the crab risotto was absolutely tasteless. Dessert fared no better as apart from a smear of banana it lacked any resemblance to banoffee pie at all. However the steak pie was good so maybe we just made bad choices? Not a place we shall return visit to, overpriced and very poor quality.

Review added 17/03/2010 15:01 by anon

This was such a nice and friendly place before the new management got their hands on it!! THANKS!!

Customer Service = ZERO!

Won't be returning! What a shame!

Review added 08/03/2010 20:53 by jim

I couldn't agree less with the last comment from old local, the girl elona I think never ran the place she just pretended she did apparently! And I feel I can go in for a quiet pint without being bombarded with questions from her at last too!
Having spoken to the new people (a family, all very friendly and welcoming too) I am finally starting to think the old ways of the bel will be back after it closes. They seem to want to restore it to a good welcoming place and they have promised the beer will get better too, so Im definitely looking forward to the next few months and its revival...

Review added 28/02/2010 16:58 by Steve

How sad to see what's become of a once lovely restaurant. Ate there last night for the first time in about 18 months but was very disappointed and certainly won't be returning. Service very poor indeed from what appeared to be an inexperienced European student trying to do the very least possible to fill her time. Menu choices are now very limited and unimaginative, think Berni Inn meets Harvester and you'll get the picture. Fillet steak was nicely cooked but the "Jus" was appalling, tasting of raw OXO cubes. The overall presentation again straight out of a seventies Berni, one shrivelled (and very small) mushroom, half a shrivelled tomato, a bunch of sad looking salad leaves and some admittedly very good chips. Atmosphere in the restaurant non existent at 8pm on a Saturday evening!. This used to be a warm friendly characterful place, sadly its now cold, unwelcoming, shabby and overpriced. The staff and management clearly don't care and it shows. At these prices Bel and Dragon you really should be aiming (and delivering) higher.
As a post script, we popped over the road for a drink in the King's Arms when we left. What a contrast. A warm friendly welcome from lovely staff. The place was buzzing with weekend diners and drinkers, a complete contrast to the unsatisfactory couple of hours we'd just spent in the B&D

Review added 13/02/2010 01:02 by Peter

Agree with previous. Always bubbly and chatty young woman behind the bar is a wonderful change to the place and the rest of the staff. And someone knows how to keep the fires going too. More like her and we all come for more drinks!

Review added 22/01/2010 15:49 by anon

Agree with other reviews that this is a sad decline.
Expensive, poor service, no atmosphere and last time ate there it was so cold I had to keep my coat on.

Review added 17/05/2009 18:17 by anon

Went there for lunch today having booked a table it took some time before anyone came to meet us. The beef was overdone and very salty veg overcooked not very good at all.
But give them there due I did not really complain just mentioned what the food was like and they deducted a small amount from the bill

Review added 20/02/2009 17:14 by Cookham Resident

As a local resident who has been a patron of Bel for some 20 years, I am horrified by the drop in standards.
Food is OK, but increasingly over priced (2 years ago was good and well priced)
Wine list is "random" and vastly overpriced (compare with the White Oak or the King's Arms).
Beer selection at the bar has been robbed of one of the best real ales and limited to "Eurofizz" lagers.
If they employ staff to greet you in the bar or restaurant reception, it would be good to meet them on entering.

Sad decline of "best in class".

Review added 16/01/2009 00:43 by anon

walked into the bel, waited at the bar for 15 minutes no lie for someone to come and take our order... walked out again, also it smelt like wet dog.

Review added 18/09/2008 11:35 by anon

I went to Bel and the Dragon recently for my birthday. I love the dining room there and the staff are really friendly. I had mussels for starter which were excellent. Unfortunately we then had to wait over 50 minutes for our main course which was far too long. I had fillet steak which was lovely, but the flat mushroom it came on tasted like bleach! |t was horrible. That's why I've only given them 4 stars.

Review added 26/05/2008 17:59 by Andrew

My partner and I often end up in Bel's on a Friday night. Even without having booked a table the staff always manage to find us a table. Often they seat us at a table large enough for 4, and on one occasion they seated us at a table large enough to seat 6 people. This is quite unusual as often restaurants will attempt to seat a couple at their smallest table so that the meal is spent feeling cramped and not very well valued as a customer. We are always made to feel welcome when we arrive, we are greeted with a big smile of recognition, my partner's drinks are almost immediately available as they know her preferences well by now. The food is top notch, plenty of variety, beautifully cooked, efficient but friendly service and the pub itself is a delight. When the weather improves, try having lunch in their garden - you won't regret it.