Sunday lunch at The Blue Bell in Jesmond Vale hit the…

Sunday lunch at The Blue Bell in Jesmond Vale hit the spot with perfect portions at reasonable prices

Meeting up with my student sister for a Sunday lunch catch-up, I decided to show her where I spent my time as an undergraduate - the local pub.

Sunday dinners at The Blue Bell in Jesmond Vale were a great way to ease a hangover when I was a regular 10 years ago, but I wanted to know how they compared today.

And it also gave me the opportunity to make sure my sister was eating something slightly more nutritious than Pot Noodle or pasta.

I tried to book in advance but was told it was walk-ins only so we aimed to arrive shortly after food service began at 12pm. I was relieved to see there were plenty of tables available - the pub has a huge beer garden but as it's November we wanted to stay in the warmth.

A friendly server behind the bar spotted us arriving and explained where we could find the menus and to come back to the bar once we'd decided on our order.

As it was my treat, I was pleased to see the lunches were all £11 (except beef which was £12) as a lot of venues won't give you much change from £20 these days.

Roast chicken breast lunch at the Blue Bell, Jesmond Vale (Staff)

My sister is vegetarian so she only had one option - the vegetarian 'meat' loaf - while I plumped for chicken over pork and beef.

There is also the option to add extras such as minted garden peas, cauliflower cheese and pigs in blankets for a supplement if you choose.

After ordering at the bar, I had barely brought our drinks back to the table when the meals arrived. Talk about speedy service.

We tucked in to the mash, roasties, carrot and cabbage as well as tasty Yorkshire pudding and a good slathering of gravy. My chicken breast was just right and my sister described her veggie 'meat' loaf as tasting "like stuffing at Christmas" - in a good way.

Vegetarian meat loaf roast at The Blue Bell, Jesmond Vale (Staff)

We both found the meals a little peppery but it didn't bother us, with the vegetables also tasting nice and buttery.

Polishing off our meals, which were just the right portion size, we looked around to see the place had become a lot busier with tables becoming scarce. The venue is popular with people of all ages, with families and student groups among the punters.

Tempted by the dessert menu, my sister decided to try the cheesecake and I went for the cookie dough. All desserts are £6 - again, cheaper than I might have expected at similar gastropubs.

Sadly, there was no cheesecake left so my sister went for her second choice of sticky toffee pudding and custard.

Cookie dough and vanilla ice cream at the Blue Bell, Jesmond Vale (Staff)

This time, the wait was quite a bit longer, giving us a bit of time to digest our meal.

Then the desserts came to the table and although I was very happy with my gooey cookie dough with creamy vanilla ice cream, my sister said her sticky toffee pudding and custard was "lukewarm".

While the toffee sauce on the side tasted "really good", she added that her dessert wouldn't "warm you up on a cold day".

It was a slight disappointment after a tasty lunch, which was also good value for money.

Sticky toffee pudding with custard at the Blue Bell, Jesmond Vale (Staff)

Both courses plus soft drinks came to less than £40, which isn't bad at all, especially when we're all feeling the pinch a little more these days.

Thankfully, my rose-tinted memories of my student days remained intact and it was great to see my old local still thriving and still serving a fantastic Sunday lunch.

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