please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Young's pub that is clearly aiming for an upmarket clientele. It's a large place with both drinking areas and dining areas, albeit more reserved for the latter. There's also an outdoor patio at the front, which quite a few were using despite the heavy showers this afternoon. Young's Bitter & Special were on along with a guest, which was Hogsback HBB. I was hoping that they would have a real cider. But, I was disappointed. Drinks are very expensive. Not my kind of pub.
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Reopened after three month closure for refurbishment.
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Closed - major refurbishment, ongoing...
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I thought the Victoria down the road was expensive but I was well and truly mugged in this pub. £4.29 for a pint of Shere Drop - that's outrageous! The pub is OK with a large 2 level balcony but the lounge is rather plain. It has a good range of Young's beers. However none of it justifies the extortionate prices. A pub to be avoided unless you have more money than sense.
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We had a couple of fantastic roasts there this weekend- one lamb and one pork. The pork belly was just amazing. Second time we'd visited, and it was great to see the food was still up to scratch.
Interior is clean and spacious, staff are friendly and seem to know what they're doing, there's a nice area outside if the weather permits- shame it's quite close to a busy road but not much they can do about that. Good choice of drinks.
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The Bear is obviously food-orientated. It's very nice, but there are few places to sit if you just want a drink, and the propensity of some locals/regulars to treat those few seats like home, sprawled out with the Daily Telegraph and the dog by their side, reduces the seating still further.
Still, it was very comfortable, the Ordinary which we drank was fine and very reasonably priced, especially considering the nice surroundings. The staff were friendly, too.
If you don't want alcohol I was told by our driver that the orange juice and coffee were first class.
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"Pint of Ordinary Bitter and a small glass of house red please" "That will be the Rioja" "Fine" "That's �8 please" "�8?" "Yes, �8" "�4.95 for a glass of house red. In a Youngs pub?" "Yes (showing the till receipt) it's expensive here".
OK that's annoying, but even more annoying is that it turned out that there were at least 2 other cheaper reds on the wine list, the cheapest �3.20. Are the staff actually trained I wonder to not understand what the term "house red" means? Or is there a new trend that I've missed out on to make the house red the most expensive wine by the glass on the menu.
Nice pint of ordinary but the experience left a bad taste in the mouth.
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Visited today for Sunday lunch, managed to get in but booking probably a good idea. Youngs Ordinary was under 3 quid, also had Special, Bombardier and Winter Warmer. Newspapers laid out on a table. Food was maybe a little expensive but mixed roast was a mound of meat and was very good as was the ice cream.
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This would be our local, but on the four occasions we have been since its re-launch, we have had cold food, badly cooked food, and dirty dishes, and been criticised by the poor staff (as in "not good staff") for having the temerity to ask for clean crockery! This is genuinely the most disappointing pub I have been to in Surrey since I moved here - drive on to an Aldi for some booze, and a Little Chef for some grub - it'll be nicer than this over-priced shambles.
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more a restaurant than a pub - excellent pint of Youngs though - very modern and clean
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Lovely pub which I used to use on very regular occasions. The interior is nice with a good fire in the winter and outside is lovely with decking and heaters in the canopies if it gets chilly. Staff always friendly.
Yes it is quite expensive but the beer is top notch Youngs and certainly better than any of the pubs in Leatherhead. Will try to get back soon.
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Nice pub with attentive staff and a good selection of Young's ales.
Food was a little disappointing though. The steak in my open steak sandwich was perfectly cooked however the chips were very oily and only moderately warm. Wouldn't usually have dessert at lunch time but the selection of sorbets sounded too good to miss - sadly when it turned up I was disappointed as I was given bowl of slush dusted with icing sugar. The sorbets had obviously been left out and refrozen as they were very icy in the middle, and maybe the bowl was left under some heat as it turned up half-melted. Not what you would expect for fivepence shy of a fiver.
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enjoyed an evening here, beer was in excellent condition, food good but overpriced
anonymous - 13 Sep 2007 17:09 |
Been going since the refurb. Enjoyed the Bear many a time last year, but the last three visits there since the New Year have not been very good, sadly, since my friends and I would pay a visit here quite regularly through the summer months. Food has been slow to arrive (45 minutes for two sandwiches at 3pm on a weekday afternoon!) and generally just doesn't look or taste as good as the prices should dictate. I think every item on the main course menu is over �10 now, and the standard is definately starting to slip. Maybe they've become a bit complacent after drumming up all the business last year?
I will pay a few more visits throughout the summer though, and maybe my faith will be restored - esp seeing the two recent glowing reports below.
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ignore previous comments,
went for lunch here on a friday afternoon, food was superb and service was excellent, yes quite pricey but you pay for what you get.
if you are going to eat in the restaurant make sure you book because it can get very busy.
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Nice place - good for food although it felt like they were trying a little too hard. Biggest steak in the world!
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More of a restaurant than a pub. Good place to come for business lunch or for dinner.
I love the comfy seats and cushions in the booth tables. I also love the handwash and hand lotion in the bathrooms. In the ladies' loos, they used to have complimentary tampons and sanitary towels, but they haven't the last 2 times I've been.
The 'real wood' fire adds an element of cosiness to the otherwise modern decor.
Staff tend to be clueless at times and don't go out of their way to be friendly.
Wine list is pretty extensive. Food can be a bit hit or miss, but on a good day it's delicious. The portions are large, and I am always hard pushed to squeeze in dessert.
Not really a place to go for traditional pub food, however they do have their own 'version' of traditional dishes such as steak pie, fish and chips, Sunday roast.
Approx. �25 per person for 2 courses and a couple alcoholic drinks.
j9gal - 13 Feb 2007 14:04 |
Absolutely ruined since latest refurb. Ridiculously expensive, mediocre bar staff. Just a restaurant now, the pub has gone i'm afraid
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I was told that the Bear was now under new management so I thought i would give it another go. I can honestly say that I am impressed with the changes.
Had a great Sunday lunch, followed by one too many in the bar afterwards.
Saw John Terry there too which was a bonus!!!
anonymous - 20 Nov 2006 00:26 |
The Bear has to be one of the best local pubs in the Surrey area.
Drinks: Wide and varied range = excellent
Service: Fast, efficient and polite = excellent
Food: Generous portions, high quality = excellent
Overall Apperance: Clean, tidy and mdern = excellent
I well reccomend a visit to The Bear in Oxshott!
anonymous - 7 Nov 2006 23:48 |
Heard great reviews about this pub, unfortunately I was a little disappointed. Great decor, just a shame that the staff do not seem to really have that much knowledge, whether that is their fault or not, I don't know. Food service was extremely slow. I asked to see the manager and was told they could call her in the flat if I wanted!!!! Typical!!!!
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Four of us ate at the pub last night. Bar area was smoky so we ate in the restaurant.
Service was slow to get seated and take food order as staff were not paying attention although restaurant was almost empty.
White wine was warm. Sea Bream for �13 had a fish quantity equivalent to 1.5 fish fingers! The other food was good, well presented and hot ( staek and mushroom pie was good).
Waitress took 12.5% service automatically added off when we complained to manager - still �70 for 6 drinks and 4 main courses.
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Nice atmosphere, and a lot of thought has been put into the decor and layout, but where is the real ale? Two standard Young's beers is not an exciting choice, with one pump empty.
It was also quite smoky which for us is rather offputting.
Not an unpleasant place to meet friends though.
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Fantastic refurb job, the interior and exterior design is lovely, really well done and good quality......however, the pub was previously a lovely 'yocal' bar and very traditional which is a bit of a shame as more and more of these modern designs are popping up everywhere now. It has more of a wine bar feel these days, very smart. Feel a bit sorry for the old guys who probably used to spend most of their days downing pints and smoking at the bar - where have they gone!?
I havn't been in the evening so have only visited for lunch with work or with my Dad. Considering the amount of effort they have put into the refurb, I would have thought that they would put a little effort into the food too. However, each time we visit there seems to have been at least one problem or another. For example, they have a set menu, yet last time I ordered a humous, avocado and vine tomato sandwich it came without the tomato. For a sandwich that they have as a regular, how did they manage to forget one of three ingredients. There have been numerous problems like this and my guess is that judging by the amount of young bar and waitressing staff, the food is likely also to be prepared by inexperienced staff probably with a high turnover who don't know the menu very well.
Bring back traditional menus, homecooked food and resident landlords that actually care is what I say!!!
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Before booking, I looked at comments on �beerintheevening� - I should have taken heed but gave them the benefit of the doubt. I took four business clients together with my wife, for what we had hoped would be a good quality, home cooked meal. The surroundings on entering the pub were very impressive, staff friendly, etc. However, the cold meat starter was disappointing. The parma ham and soft cheese were fine, but the round salami type meat had a flavour I have never tasted before and never want to taste again. The aubergine were so spicy they were almost inedible. Our table was booked for 8.30 and we sat down at 8.50. Our main meal arrived at almost 10.30 by which time I was past caring. However, the two chicken meals were tough. The pork we were told by our client was� like a leather boot�. My tuna and noodles with sauce could have come out of a Sainsburys packet. The words Brake and Brothers spring to mind. If my company had been run like this, I would have gone out of business 40 years ago. I haven�t even had a reply to my letter to them � readers beware.
anonymous - 26 Apr 2006 11:33 |
This was my first visit, so cannot comment on the "transformation".
While it is undoubtedly a nice place (tastefully decorated, pleasant service, quite spectacular toilets - hand cream in the Gents, I ask you!), it has clearly been pitched at the Margo Leadbetters of society, all sipping wine and comparing tuition fees.
I don't have a problem with pubs like these, they are infinitely better than the dodging-flying-glasses-and-stepping-over-puking-teenagers-on-the-way-out establishments. And I will go back to try the food, as it looked quite nice. But just a part of me thinks that village pubs should be somewhat quainter affairs.
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We went here today, fantastic transformation, Bevan is a credit to the industry, although busy, the food was quick, lamb burger and smoked salmon for my girlfriend. We will return, reccomended..........
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We have just eaten here for the first time since the re-furb. The interior has been done very nicely - but unfortunately the food does not live up to the surroundings. In fact the food was so poor it was laughable - for example I ordered a prawn and crab-cake main course which arrived and was piles of rocket with a small handful of prawns and literally bucketfuls of cheap, straight from a bottle sweet chilli sauce - no crab-cakes. What made it more weird was that nothing was said, the meals were just put in front of us - so after turning through the piles of rocket to find no crab-cakes I called the waitress to ask where they were. I was told that the crab was off - would I like some bread instead??? For �9.50 this was very poor. My husband had some steak which was under-size and not of the tasty quality suggested - and it cost 14.95!! Overall a very disappointing experience - with so many great places to eat in the local area we will certainly not be bothering with The Bear again!!!
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I believe this pub is currently going through a refurb. Hope it doesn't turn into some poncy wine bar esque place. Fabulous local pub.
anonymous - 21 Oct 2005 20:31 |
Certainly true that the pub is less busy than previously, but basic bar food is still good value, Aussie staff are absurdly efficient and the beer is invariably good, so what's to dislike?
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We ate here recently and found that after a change of ownership the restaurant prices have gone up 50%.
Although quite good the food was very overpriced, which probably explains why the serving staff were complaining about lack of customers!
Dave - 27 Aug 2004 10:47 |
