The Bear, Horsham

Facebook page of The Bear - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Bear - www.facebook.com

Pleasant looking pub bedecked with its summer flower display. Inside it was just a basic locals pub with three Hall and Woodhouse beers on, Tanglefoot, Badger Best and Furstey Ferret. Nothing much seems to have changed from the previous reviews and I found the pub to be nothing special.

The Bear is a small pub in a pedestrianised area of Horsham Town centre. The interior consists of a small front area with a bar that faces the entrance. There are standard and tub chairs at a few tables and the two plasma screens were off during my recent Saturday afternoon visit. However, Six Nations rugby was advertised for later in the day. To the left rear is another small room with some seating and a door that leads to a back yard with more some seating. The bar supports three hand pumps that, unsurprisingly for a Hall & Woodhouse pub, were drawing Leaping Legend, Tangle Foot and Sussex. A small range of standard keg products were also available. This pub opens at midday and closes at midnight Sunday to Thursday and 01:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. I found the service to be polite, but I found this pub to be a bit bland. Because there are better pubs in the immediate area I doubt that I will return here anytime soon.

Alan Winfield in his review from 10 years ago lists the beers as H&W 'Sussex', Badger Best & Tanglefoot. 10 years on and nothing's changed, with the 'Sussex' as dreary as ever. As for the pub, it has a loyal clientèle who can soon make this small pub seem crowded - that's not a bad thing: pubs should seem busy. The bar has a mix of stools and tables, and there's a small area to the side that can accommodate a group of a dozen or so (or several smaller parties). The Friday night attraction is a Karaoke disco, which may have you heading for the door or dashing into town (I chose the first option). My first visit in quite a few years - it was interesting to return and I expect to return in another few years.