The Bear, Paddington, W2

Liked this a lot.Same green and pink colour scheme as the Hammersmith branch but toned down and really works for me.Windowless basement room and a nice feature is the glass door that lets you see where the beers are tapped.In my 52 years of drinking cant really say i have seen the cellar or the set up for the beers many times before.Friendly barmaid.6 cask beers ,good quality but expensive cask.Outside seating to the front.A Paddington must visit.

Official site of The Bear - www.thebearpaddington.com

Official site of The Bear - www.thebearpaddington.com

Opened on 1st December 2022 as a low-key branch of the CBC, the name seemingly arising not out of tradition, but because of the proximity to a certain railway station, this being a shop conversion at the base of a 1930s' block of flats, which for decades had been a wine bar called Gyngleboy, recently a branch of Cork & Bottle. The floor is either patterned tilling to the bar or new pale herringbone wood. Walls are either bare brick, with hackneyed exposed galvanised trunking, sea green brick or similar plastering to the rear; the ceiling is white, textured. The bar back, bar front and booth-style peripheral seating are clad in mock burr walnut; if the mid-blue vinyl seating had been leather, it would have been like drinking in an enormous Rolls Royce. There’s some old brewery regalia signage from the likes of Bass, Allsopp’s and Whitbread, along with a bespoke ‘Bear’ mirror to the bar back. The only electronic distraction was a good soundtrack from the likes of Bowie, Madness and the Verve. Staff were very friendly – they would be on opening night – with a suitably bear-like guvnor welcoming people, the venue being full to capacity with a mixed crowd. There are 29 keg taps, then six pumps from the likes of CBC, Burning Sky, Fyne Ales, Thornbridge, DEYA and Titanic, my Plum Porter Grand Reserve in excellent shape, coming in at £6.20 a pint, served by yet another friendly member of staff; there are 26 whiskies if that’s your tipple. This is simply the best outlet for real ale in Bayswater and one of the best in the borough of Westminster, but inevitably there’s still the lack of traditional pub feel. However, it kicks ten bells out of all the other somewhat mediocre pubs in the immediate vicinity.