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Ratings and reviews

RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere

Food and ambience

Local cuisine, Bar, British, Pub, Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options
Special Occasion Dining, Romantic, Groups, Bar Scene, Business meetings
About
One of the oldest Coaching Inns in England, Bel & The Dragon Cookham sits on the village's picture postcard High Street, a short walk from the Thames Path and under a 30 minute drive from Central London.Following wholesale refurbishment, Bel & The Dragon combines 600 years of history with the best in modern British cuisine. The menu is created by award-winning Head Chef, Ronnie Kimbugwe, who previously spent 7 years with Gordon Ramsay and was most recently the Senior Sous Chef of Gordon Ramsay at Claridges. His passion for the finest seasonal fare, sourced from local & sustainable ingredients, is immediately obvious. It is also complemented by the inclusion of a rotisserie for the very best
PRICE RANGE
£9 - £33
Special Diets
Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options, Gluten Free Options
Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, After-hours
CUISINES
Bar, British, Pub
FEATURES
Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Private Dining, Seating, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service
Reviews (899)
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Traveller rating
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97
75
45
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Reviewed 3 days ago via mobile

Went for a last minute lunch here following a trip to Windsor Castle. First thing to mention which is outside of their control is the parking can be challenging. Plenty of pubs along the road and can take some time to find a space. Previous...eaten (a while ago) at a ‘sister’ pub to this one and had a fantastic meal. Today we ordered a children’s meal (was fine) and a Mac & Cheese and Pumpkin & Sage Ravioli. Now I had the Ravioli and ate it all, mainly because I hadn’t eaten and just done 20,000 steps around a castle however I thought it was very bland. Not much flavour, 7 or 8 pieces of Ravioli, it was well cooked but ‘maple roasted’ aspect didn’t come through at all. Not much pumpkin flavour from the actual pumpkin or sauce too I found. The Mac & Cheese my wife had, she left at least 50% of it, it’s not really Mac & Cheese, it’s very large pasta with Cheese and Mushrooms. Theres no creamy sauce, she found it dry, no indulgence aspect to it. If I could give halves I’d give 2.5 but as I can’t went for 2 because I thought for c£2 per piece of ravioli it was abit steep. Would say from the images on the board and reviews seen the Sunday Roast looks a hit, shame we didn’t go 24hrs later…More

Date of visit: March 2024
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Reviewed 4 weeks ago via mobile

One of the loveliest pubs - beautiful inside and out! Great staff, fast and friendly service and a Sunday Roast of Kings. Looking forward to coming back. Lots.

Date of visit: February 2024
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Reviewed 29 January 2024

The Bel and Dragon has a fabulous private room just off the main restaurant. You can close the sliding doors if you like or keep them open and enjoy feeling part of the restaurant. The room also opens out onto the beautiful garden. We booked...this stunning room for a milestone birthday with family. The menu choices for a group of our size were varied and delicious. The pre-ordering was very straightforward and communication from the team was excellent ahead of the big day. On the day itself an elderly member of our party was taken unwell at the start of the celebration. The team went out of their way to help and to provide anything we needed. Our party numbers were subsequently depleted as other members of the family were needed to take care of the relative. The staff were fantastic at altering the catering numbers seamlessly with not a word of complaint only concern. The team ensured the celebration could continue despite the worrying events. The food was excellent and the service was amazing. One younger member of the group absolutely loved his dessert - 'decorate your own choc chip cookie' - that arrived with all manner of fabulous accompaniments. The staff, service and food were all excellent and I would highly recommend the private room for a special occasion.More

Date of visit: January 2024
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Reviewed 28 December 2023

The latest visit was on Christmas Eve to celebrate my parents 42nd anniversary, but it is really an ongoing appreciation of two great gentlemen who work there, Nick and Chris. The food is always nice and generally the service is good. These two though really...understand hospitality. They know just how make the guest feel welcome. They seem to fit Bel and the Dragon so well, and make it a 5 star experience.More

Date of visit: December 2023
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Reviewed 13 December 2023

We went to celebrate how family get together we where very disappointed when the main course came one of how quest meal was forgot and buy the time it came we all fished I ordered venison just 3 pieces on the plate with very little...vegetables and I don’t no watt happen to the potatoes just to finish it was not worth the money lovely place but the food very disappointing I will never go backMore

Date of visit: December 2023
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Reviewed 8 December 2023

Thank you to the team for making our Team Christmas Dinner such a lovely time! From the booking and organising, through to the evening itself, the service was stellar. The food was delicious - everyone I spoke with loved their meals, and we also appreciated...the beautiful Christmas decor! Thank you for a brilliant meal. Highly recommend.More

Date of visit: December 2023
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Reviewed 25 November 2023

Food was absolutely appauling!!! Burgers were like rubber, small portion too. Kids roast chicken came as beef, sent it back for them to bring chewy overdone dry tasteless pieces of chicken breast with zero seasoning along with slapped up in a hurry peas and broccoli,...again no flavour!!! Charged service on top of that too!!!! Disgraceful. Avoid at all costs.More

Date of visit: November 2023
Helpful?1  
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Reviewed 19 November 2023 via mobile

Cosy restaurant with a decent bar and menu. Unfortunately there are quite a few inexperienced waiting staff. I had food dropped on me twice by two separate waiters. These things happen and I’m not the type to make a fuss but would have expected a...discount on the bill. Unfortunately no discount was offered and I don’t think the manager was informed.More

Date of visit: November 2023
Helpful?1  
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Reviewed 30 October 2023

We met our son and his girlfriend at the restaurant for lunch. The staff were helpful and the service was good. I have some allergies and had pre-ordered food, and it was excellent.

Date of visit: October 2023
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Reviewed 30 October 2023

We were looking forward to staying here but it did not start well when we were told we had been "upgraded" to a larger room, however on being taken to the room it didn't have a window as it had been replaced with mirrors, we...were then given a standard room with a window! We went down for breakfast just before 09.00, were served coffee and tea and our breakfast order of full English and vegetarian was taken. After finishing my coffee I eventually managed to attract the waitresses attention for some more coffee but still no breakfast. some time later breakfast was taken to two other tables (of two people), so we thought we would get ours soon, but of course we were wrong. Both the other two tables finished their breakfasts and as they got up to leave our breakfasts finally arrived around 45 mins after our order had been taken. My wife's vegetarian breakfast was good but mine certainly was not worth the wait with two small slivers of streaky bacon, one sausage, a tiny hash brown, one mushroom and the smallest pot of baked beans I have ever seen, and of course once again I had to ask for more coffee! To sum up the service was very poor with a ridiculously long wait for breakfast to be served, and not worth the wait when it finally arrived, we ket expecting John Cleese to jump out!More

Date of visit: October 2023
Helpful?1  
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Reviewed 24 September 2023 via mobile

Visited the Bel and Dragon for a Sunday Roast with our daughter who has a bad dairy allergy. We mentioned this as we were shown to our table. For dessert our daughter was handed vegan chocolate ice cream with a dairy milk flake on top!!!!...When we asked for this to be taken away immediately as she was handed dairy and the flake was obviously touching the vegan ice cream, the staff didn’t seem that bothered, and made us feel as though we were being difficult. We also saw the chef “huff” at the fact that he needed another order of ice cream! We mentioned how dangerous and unacceptable this was to two members of staff, both apologised and said they are “working on improving” but to be honest this is not good enough. I would definitely avoid eating here if you have any form of allergy as they clearly do not take it seriously enough!! Also they have hiked the prices of their roasts up and instead of getting good value for money, you get one half of a carrot and some very dry chicken! Such as shame as this used to be good for a family roast!More

Date of visit: September 2023
Helpful?1  
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Reviewed 12 September 2023

A group of 7 of us booked a table at 7.30pm. Mains arrived around 9pm, I ordered a Mac and cheese main but as we were all catching up, we weren't too bothered about the time delay for the mains to arrive. When the food...came out, the service wasn't the friendliest, but we just thought it was due to busyness at the time. All of the other mains arrived and when we asked where my main was, we were told that there wasn't any Mac and Cheese left. The rest of the table started to eat (we weren't advised there was none left at the the time of ordering). Then a dish was brought out that was 'kept to one side' but was extremely mushroom heavy and not at all, in my opinion or anyone in our parties opinion - a Mac and cheese (see picture attached). I asked the waiter if this was actually a mac and cheese, he replied that he didn't know what else it could have been. I noted it was extremely mushroom heavy and not what I was expecting (and had hardly eaten any), he mentioned that maybe it was the truffle - then just took it away. We paid the bill and service charge, but will not be returning.More

Date of visit: September 2023
Helpful?1  
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Reviewed 12 September 2023

Delicious good, lovely staff, well priced. They made a fuss of the children and an extra effort was made since it was our golden anniversary. The place was interesting, it had a really good atmosphere and overall a great success.

Date of visit: August 2023
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Reviewed 21 August 2023

So sad that this place has gone down hill so much. The menu was limited and the service was so slow that it impacted our meal and enjoyment. We met up with my brother and his daughter and had hight expectations having eaten here a...few years back but it wasnt anywhere near as good as it used to beMore

Date of visit: August 2023
Helpful?1  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 28 July 2023 via mobile

We visited this place yesterday. Excellent service,great food with fish & chips succulent & delicious.Dining area extended to the rear .Clean & spacious.

Date of visit: July 2023
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Questions & Answers
Ask a question
ChazzerW
25 September 2022|
Answer
Response from Go36361516299 | Reviewed this property |
There are 2 rooms at the pub (in the cottage) which you can book (ground floor, lady Boston and William room, I think) and they would allow a dog (that was what we had booked earlier this year) we unfortunately could not go... More
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carolnF17ZN
18 December 2019|
AnswerShow all 10 answers
Response from LeeroyAcko | Reviewed this property |
No parking is in the high street
0
Votes
Sally B
4 June 2018|
AnswerShow all 14 answers
Response from lovetoholiday1954 | Reviewed this property |
No but there is a free public car park just across the rd
1
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BEL AND THE DRAGON, Cookham - Updated 2024 Restaurant Reviews, Photos & Phone Number - Tripadvisor

Frequently Asked Questions about Bel and the Dragon

Bel and the Dragon is rated accordingly in the following categories by Tripadvisor travellers:
  • Food: 4
  • Service: 4
  • Value: 3.5
  • Atmosphere: 4