The Bow Bells

You can't miss the Bow Bells, it's a bright orange, double fronted pub on the main drag in Bow. Its column tops are picked out in gold, there's a beauty of a copper lamp over the door and spotlights illuminate the pub's name. So far, so grand, as befits the pub's 165-odd year history. Despite the traffic highway directly outside, there are tables in the street, either for the smokers or those who enjoy a mouthful of fumes with their pint. Inside, it's a pretty traditional boozer. There's a pool table and a the bar takes a corner spot with tables around it in an L shape. There's an impressive fireplace, and plenty of room for people to spread out during the Saturday afternoon drinking session. There's flock wallpaper and the occasional small barrel around the place. A disco ball and huge tv hint at the entertainment in the pub, while an old poster proclaims the Bow Bells brewery and its ice cold lager. Another more modern poster highlights craft beer, cask ales and draught cider. I must admit to not being able to find any of these on my visit, so I opted for a Brixton pale ale. I first visited the bells more than 10 years ago with a former colleague and friend whupped me at pool. And it's sad to say, I've not been back since, until this visit. I'm glad to have been back though, the pub remains a heavyweight among east London's proper locals

Awesome pub with great drink selection. Super friendly staff. Lovely vibes. Loved the outdoor seating, too.

This became our local for our two day trip to London. Really nice pub with a great atmosphere. Had the Fish Tacos for lunch, which were super fresh and tasty. They even had Guinness on tap, which despite how it looked (too many bubbles in the head), was really good. I really liked this spot.

5* Food! Really really enjoyed the new food here. We need to support this new guy. The length of the Bow Rd is nothing but fried filth. Had the fish and beef, big portion size (the fish was overfilled, which was great). Even if you're fat and lazy, walk round and grab a takeaway. We only keep good food in Bow when we support new start-ups.

100/10 all round! Now I know the food is on uber eats will definitely be a weekly takeaway on them hungover days, drag karaoke Fridays or a bevs in the week! Lovely stuff

🚇 Bow Road 🍺 £5.70 Cruzcampo The Bow Bells is located close to Bow Church on busy Bow Road in London’s East End. The nearest Tube is Bow Road. This brightly decorated pub was built in 1866 and is named after the famous bells of The Church of St Mary-le-Bow in Cheapside, City of London. This is a traditionally decorated one bar pub that has a proper oldschool feel. The bar is set out in an ‘L’ with the servery located front right. In front of the servery is a cosy seating area with a lovely piece of furniture and a burgundy banquette. The main bar area is a good size and stretches down to a pool table and a projector screen at the far end. The decor consists of Damask wallpaper, gold cornicing, dark wood wainscoting and a proper pub carpet. The beer selection offers a line up mainstream keg brands and one cask ale. I decided on a Cruzcampo, my pint was most agreeable, price point was below average. The food option is new with @deadpedros taking up residency serving up Mexican street food. I arrived just after 3pm on a drizzly Saturday afternoon in February. The pub was fairly quiet to start but filled up quickly and was buzzing in no time at all. The Rugby was on mute on the screens around the bar whilst a soulful soundtrack played in the background. The service was great, the team on duty were down to earth and friendly. I met up with Jamie from @tour_de_sarnie for a couple of pints and spoke about, yes you guessed it, London Pubs and London’s best Sarnies places. His Insta is one of my favourite accounts, a must follow if want to know where London’s best handheld eats are. I have visited this pub a number of times over the years and never got around to doing an actual post about it. This is a lovely oldschool boozer that offers a warm and friendly local pub experience. Next time you’re over in Bow, be sure to check out @thisisthebowbells 📅 15th February 2025 More London Pub info @londonpubmap 🍻

Wine and service professional who stayed in the area for a month. This is a really solid pub - really atmospheric, fun, and a good place to hang out. and the Mexican popup has superlative food. It is with industry knowledge that I will tell you that I had a terrible glass of wine here. It’s a pub, not a wine bar, which I get. But it’s not the range or quality of wines I had an issue with - the wine tasted like it had been opened for too many days, and improperly stored between pours/days. I will drink pub pinot grigio without complaint, but I couldn’t finish this because it tasted so off. I wouldn’t order anything except beer here, but it was a total vibe.

This place has AMAZING AND AUTHENTIC MEXICAN FOOD! yes with capital letters. I’m from México city. I was in London without expecting to find real Mexican food. I can tell you as Mexican and foodie, the food here is outstanding. The birria tacos are just amazing and the broth is like heaven. Also had the fish and tinga tacos are really good. I would definitely recommend the birria tacos. Also tried the local beer and was really good. If you want to spend a good time,have really good food and good beer please come here! :)

Great local with karaoke, pool and quizzes. Normal London prices for beers, live sports.

'Never judge by a book by its cover.' A lesson drummed into all of us from an early age, and when it comes to The Bow Bells I'm glad I listened. I don't know who painted it or why they chose the most ghastly shade of orange imaginable but it's certainly eye-catching and not in a good way. Inside however is a different story. The Bow Bells is a timely reminder of what a real pub should be: no nonsense good beer with good company at fair prices. It doesn't try to be pretentious or play up on its history like other places but focuses on cultivating a friendly atmosphere for locals and visitors alike. Good selection of wines and beers and, though I've yet to try the food, my sister assures me it's excellent. Sky TV and a pool table are also available and a pub quiz is held every Sunday.

This is a 'textbook' local. Homely, comfortable, pleasantly worn and comfortable round the edges, good beers on tap, big screen for big sporting events. And even a dingy pub carpet, STILL! They got pool, a good jukebox with pub-rock classics. A sign outside the pub makes the dubious claim that they sell the best pies in East London. I didn't actually try any, but it's a brave claim to make. Not so local that, League of Gentlemen-style, any non-residents of Bow would feel a bit scared to enter, it's got a really diverse crowd and a lovely atmosphere to drink in. Fairly expensive for the area, but not compared to standard London pub prices. AND, the women's toilets are supposed to be haunted. This, however, maybe made up to get the punters in... Who knows, top pub though

Unusually orange on the outside, I suppose this is a decent old fashioned pub on the inside but with hordes of local ManUre fans filling up the inside and the pool table taking up the only football free zone, we were relegated to the tiny table out back (even the most optimistic beery chap couldn't call it a 'beer garden') Couple of alright Young's beers

The Bow Bells is a good old East End boozer. It's quiet most nights, making it a really good place to go for a relaxed pint. It's got a tiny beer garden but far more pleasant are the picnic benches at the front of the pub; you can watch the bustle of Bow Road pass you by as you enjoy your drink. Though the Bow Bells does offer a fairly wide range of food, it only does so for a couple of hours at weekday lunch times.

Cold beer. Hot pizza. Warm welcome. A proper east end boozer. Friendly and welcoming.

Great Local boozer! Good beer selection, fair food and outdoor seating on the street. Goof to watch the world go by in the warmer months.

A terrible pub. Almost everything about the Bow Bells in unpleasant. They have a minimum spend per customer, which means that you have to spend £3 or more if there is football on the TV. So much for a 'home from home'. The worst thing about the pub, however, are the people in it. Instantly hostile and nasty to anyone they don't recognise, it would seem. Shouting profanities at the television, telling you where you can and cannot sit, and generally making one's time tense and unenjoyable. As I said, almost every thing is bad. But no everything. The manager seems like a nice enough chap. He once gave me a free half pint when the barrel had run out and I had had to wait a long time for my drink.

When it comes to drinking in east london nothing goes past a cockney pub though on the various occasions I have been to this establishment I have heard the ever so familar aussie accent a little too often - not to say that the pub should discriminate (after all I am an Australian myself) but I must say I did go there for a more localness feel - not to say that this is like this all the time. Bow bells to me is a little run down and shabby (not necessarily bad thing) but is clean and the bar staff are always pleasant and keen to yarn. They also have sky showing the football and have a pool table and dart board as well as a few outside tables (which overlooks the main road) The drinks seemed reasonably priced and the wide selection may just have to outweigh the aussie accents that ive heard on the few occasions I have been there.. This however hasn't stopped me from going back!

This is my local and it's a proper pub. Staff and punters are all very friendly. There's a good selection of beers, pool table and Sky sports for when I want to kick the other half out the house.

We are currently sitting here fully satisfied by this pub food that is anything but. The atmosphere is relaxed and the staff very friendly and accommodating. The chef is above par. You must come for a meal. We can highly recommend the fish and chips, mushroom pasta and chicken skewers (the ginger beer is ideal too, coming from an Australian). Absolutely amazed. Thank you.

A friendly local with friendly staff. It hooks onto some great aspects of a traditional pub, whilst moving towards the more young/student crowd. Food is very tasty and reasonably priced, although some beers are a bit on the step side. It serves as a good local pub in am area with very few left.

Average pub but has sky sports which is a plus.