Ring o’ Bells Weaverham reopens - and we've been for a peek

The Northwich Road pub closed in mid-September for a full refit, part of new licensees Kris and Katie Perrin’s bid to relaunch it as a ‘family-friendly, premium local’.

The dining area has been extended and there's a revamped sports bar complete with pool table, new lighting and flooring, and a comfy snug with a huge family-style table, ideal for group bookings.

No expense has been spared to bring the Ring o' Bells right up to date (Image: Newsquest)

The outside has had a full facelift with new signage and lighting, 54-seater beer garden, wall lanterns, festoon lights, and a characterful planting, which is coming soon. 

The kitchen's been replaced to cope with demand for the new, revamped menu of pub classics with a classy twist.  

The dining room feels separate enough from the bar to make meals here feel pretty special (Image: Newsquest)

We last visited the Ring o’ Bells back just before Christmas 2022, when Kris, Katie, and family  were in full cleaning mode, getting ready to open for the first time, pre-refurb.

It was a very different Katie who greeted us this time at their ‘pre-opening’ soiree. Dressed as elegantly as the new surrounding and in full hostess mode, complete with beaming smile, she showed us to our large and comfortable table in the delightful new dining area.

Creamy garlic mushrooms: classic, yet classy (Image: Newsquest)

While the pub is very much open plan, the dining room definitely feels separate from the pub, and I can see it becoming popular with couples for mid-week date nights, as well as families.   

With no shortage of floor staff, it was seconds before our drinks order was taken and menus handed out.

Salt and pepper squid: creative in look and flavour (Image: Newsquest)

Starters are modern classics like creamy garlic mushrooms, sticky chicken strips, salt and pepper squid, and halloumi fries, or sharing board of antipasti and charcuterie for two to four people.

The mains section is divided into home-cooked comfort food, grills, chef’s specialities, home-cooked pies, burgers, fajitas, and the kids menu.

No 'shrinkflation' evident in this generously cheesy lasagne (Image: Newsquest)

We went for the creamy garlic mushroom (£5.95) and the squid (£6.95), followed by steak and stilton pie with chunky chips (£15.95), and lasagne (£15.95).

I was asked whether I want chips or vegetables with me pie, though at £16, I would expect it to come with both. I went for chips, naturally.

Steak and stilton - one of a great selection of home-cooked pies. The chips are very good too. (Image: Newsquest)

We didn’t wait long for food, but we had time to checked out the drinks menu, which includes some pretty good offers.

Unusual nowadays, premium lagers are under a fiver a pint.

Wines start at £19 per bottle, and there’s a good selection of eight red and eight whites, plus a wide range of bubbles going from quite affordable to the Laurent Perrier Rosé champagne at £80.

If you have room for dessert after the generous portions, they have all the classic pub favourites, including this gluten free Bakewell tart (and you'd never know) (Image: Newsquest)

‘Fizz Fridays’ will surely be popular, with 20 per cent off all sparking wines and two cocktails for £12, apparently all day.

We also noticed their Christmas dinner menu – turkey dinner and a pudding – served from December 1 to 23, a real snip at just £15. 

We were impressed when the starters arrived. Portions are very generous, and the mushrooms were in a well-reduced, creamy sauce which tasted very French, served with tasty toasted crusty bread and a generous dollop of butter.

Premium lagers are under a fiver, which is getting pretty rare. Look out for offers including 'Fizz Fridays' which includes two cocktails for £12 (Image: Newsquest)

The squid was intriguing. Served in a bowl-shaped poppadum with lashings of sweet chilli sauce and a mint mayo dip, this would have probably been a bit out-there for me flavour-wise, but my partner lapped it up.  

As for the mains, the lasagne was large, rich, and very cheesy, and came with a nicely-dressed side salad and super-tasty garlic bread.

Beer garden seats 54, with festoon lighting - new planting is in the pipeline (Image: Newsquest)

My steak and stilton pie was pretty tasty, and the chips were very good. I tend to stay away from chunky chips as I find them a bit mealy, but I suppose it depends on the potato. They were actually lovely, with a good flavour, and very crisp.

Pretty full by this stage, we decided to share a dessert for the sake of getting a photo. The lightest thing available was the Bakewell tart, which is gluten free, but you’d never guess. The pastry was delicious and crumbly, as was accompanying berry sauce and strawberry ice-cream.

Kris and Katie have a tonne of experience in the pub game, and it really shows. Their other pub on the edge of Snowdonia has won a slew of awards, and they’ve really got their finger on what people want.

For this reason and plenty of others, I think the new and improved Ring o’ Bells is going to be very popular addition to Weaverham’s pub and restaurant scene.