The Bear - (Near Southwark, london)

5 /5 Doug Neilson: Old corner pub with rather spartan interior. Nice, fairly short, menu of starters, mains and puddings. Very good service. Small portions and rather expensive for what you get, but a good visit for us.

5 /5 Peter Gasston: The pub is a proper local, with a decent selection of wines and beers, some tables out on the street for when the sun shines, and DJs playing a wide variety of styles in the evening, but not overbearingly. In the back is a kitchen with counter seating, with an ever-changing menu of small plates, modern British with global influences that stay on the right side of experimental. For example, our meal included Devon crab with hispi cabbage and satay, Eel with sweet and light Yorkshire rhubarb, confit duck pastilla with baby beets, blackberries, and sorrel, and for dessert a mango sorbet and an ice cream with a few drops of fish oil. The kitchen staff will tell you everything about the dishes while they cook them, and are very friendly and knowledgeable. My one complaint is that it’s a little pricy; I understand why, because it’s all so well made with good ingredients, but it just makes it a place to go for a special occasion rather than a proper neighbourhood counter. Even so, we’re lucky to have it.