The Coat & Bear, Newbury

The Coat & Bear refers to Paddington Bear whose creator Michael Bond was born in Newbury. On my walk up the high street I also noted a Paddington on one of the benches so the bear theme isn’t reserved just for this large pub housed in an impressive Georgian building with a listed frontage. The interior is a large high ceilinged single room affair with a central island counter that supports premium keg and mainstream craft alongside two banks of eight hand pumps. Four were unused leaving Fullers London Pride and TT Landlord doubled up on the other four. The bar is edged by floor tiling and laminate is found throughout. The wood panelled walls are adorned with framed horse prints, a nod to the nearby racecourse. All the tables in the right-hand side are set for dining and the tables in the left all have beer mats on them, so there’s a proper distinction between dining and drinking. The Pride was ok, but the only other customer was a middle aged man who was sat at the counter wearing headphones whilst watching something on his phone. The service was polite, but this place isn’t for me.

Facebook page of The Coat & Bear - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Coat & Bear - www.facebook.com

Official site of The Coat & Bear - coatandbearnewbury.com

Official site of The Coat & Bear - coatandbearnewbury.com