The Bear & Staff, Leicester Square, WC2

Wednesday 23/01/13 - Party of two. For a Wednesday night this establishment was very busy. We only just got the table by the door and had a short drink before popping up to the restaurant on the first floor. Here we stayed for a pre-show meal and were attentively served by the staff upstairs. The menu was well populated with pub familiars as well as some 'specials' listed on a board. I have to say that the food was extremely well presented, the portions were plentiful and very tasty. We had Salmon and a Cottage Pie followed by Apple Crumble and a Sundae. By the end we were rather stuffed. To be fair the prices (when compared to other places around the country) were a couple of pounds more expensive per meal but for London (and particularly the area it is) they were extremely reasonable. I would recommend eating here. The service, location, ambiance and food were extremely good - so why not a 10 out of 10? All to do with the drinks - I bought a pint of Lemonade and a normal coke downstairs in the pub at £4.80 (which I though was steep) but then had a normal glass of Lemonade upstairs at a whopping £3.16. Who are they kidding - I could have gone over the road to the tobacconist and bought a 2 liter bottle for £1.10. Would have been cheaper to buy beer (pity I don't like it) or the brewery!

A very compact Nicholson's even with the 1990's acquisition of the former tobacconists shop next door. Located where it is on Charing Cross Rd and on the edge of Leicester Square, this place is always going to be busy with a transient and often not pub savvy clientele however the nominal staff seemed to be managing ok on Saturday afternoon, even if myself and other drinkers had to advise some tourists to go and order at the bar rather than sit and wait. The original pub area with the bar is wood floored, circular fluted columns hold up the upper parts and there is a nice central glass chandelier, there are a few high tables in front of the side windows. Up a couple of steps into the former shop there are tobacco related advertisements, former actors portraits and standard style seating. Outside there is further seating under an awning. A TV over the front door was switched off. Not the most exciting range I've ever seen in a Nicholson's, Purity Ubu, Doom Bar, Pride, Thwaites Wainwright and Nicholson's Pale brewed by St Austell. Additionally there was Old Rosie cider. There is apparently a dining room upstairs, named after apparent former patron Charlie Chaplin, but I didn't bother to have a look, I prized my seat too much. Worth a look in if in the area, there are many worse pubs around this part of town.

I used to love this pub, when it was a pub, now M&B AKA Nicholsons have ruined it, more interested in food than beer, I visited on Monday eve, 8pm, one person behind the bar, except he wasn't, he was trying to carry three plates to a table, trust me it was painful to watch, in the meantime, a nice little queue of drinkers was forming, the pint of Golden ale i ordered was cloudy and sour, but the queue was such that i just left, i couldn't be bothered to wait to get it changed. If you are a pub, spend your wage budget on bar staff as well as kitchen staff. That way you will sell more beer, and not have the outside of the pub looking like a bombsite full of empty glasses and full ashtrays.