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Submitted on Monday, 16^th February 2015
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The Three Cups, Bedford

45 Newnham Street
Bedford
MK40 3JR

Correct details

Served areas

Bedford Central

Reviews of The Three Cups (Average Rating: 7 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines

Ian Mapp left this review about The Three Cups

I'm in Bedford for the Good Beer Guide Ticks but this was on the way to the Devonshire and I need to spend some time waiting for its 5pm opening. Although its a Greene King (not my favourite) it was a pleasant enough experience with a few bar hangers chatting away and a real fire.

TT Landlord in fine condition.

On 18^th February 2026 - rating: 6
[User has posted 1772 recommendations about 1745 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Pub SignMan left this review about The Three Cups

This is a pleasant backstreet boozer just a short walk from the town centre. The pub has an uneven U-shaped layout, with bare boards through much of the interior, plus some nice parquet flooring to the right of the entrance. The left side of the pub is a simple seating area with several tables and chairs centred around a brick fireplace with some nice mirrors set into the mantlepiece. Near full-height wall panels cover much of the room, decorated with a few paintings to break up the monotony. The servery is opposite the entrance and has a decent dark wood counter, broken by a couple of small pillars, with a mediocre modern bar back that uses a mirror with the pub’s name on it as a centrepiece. To the right, a mix of upholstered benches and Chesterfield sofas stand beneath similar panelled walls, before giving way to a series of tables and chairs further to the rear, mostly around another fireplace with a plain mirror above. Beyond, there’s a further seating area with nice banquettes to the right and a strange recessed booth to the left, with cramped padded benches and no real view of the rest of the pub. This rear area was decorated with balloons and birthday banners, suggesting some sort of private function might be taking place that evening. The whole pub had a bit of an ‘alternative’ vibe - everyone seemed to be wearing t-shirts of various metal bands for instance - but there was a bland pop soundtrack playing in the background which dispelled this illusion somewhat.
There was a strong ale range at the bar, with a choice of Milestone Missy Sippy, Italia and English Rose, Greene King IPA, Wadworth 6X, Kelchner Lekker and one other that I couldn’t read. I tried the Missy Sippy, which was a pretty flavoursome old ale kept in excellent condition. The barman was very friendly and there was a small band of bantering locals on a late midweek afternoon, helping to generate a bit of a convivial atmosphere.
It’s a shame I came to this place early in the day, as I could well imagine it’s a fine little boozer with a lively atmosphere. It has one of the better ale ranges I found across ten pubs I visited on my crawl and is a pleasant enough space to while away a bit of time in.

On 23^rd February 2022 - rating: 7
[User has posted 3387 recommendations about 3387 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.