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Detail Pages
The Bear & Staff, Leicester Square, WC2
WC2
WC2H 7AX
Pub Type
Nicholsons (Mitchells & Butlers)Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Bear & Staff
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.
On 26th August 2012
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1708 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
very wellinformed left this review about The Bear & Staff
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.
On 18th July 2012
- rating: 1
[User has posted 30 recommendations about 19 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Bear & Staff
Small street corner pub practically next door to Leicester Square tube station and therefore unsurprisingly full of tourists. This is a single room Nicholson's pub (although they do have an upstairs restaurant) with an open area around the bar and a raised section to one side which provides a fair bit of seating. My recent visit coincided with the Germany vs. Argentina World Cup match, so there was a big screen showing the game to the many Argentinean fans who had been unable to get into the nearby Zoo Bar.
There was a good ale selection which comprised of TT Landlord, Fox Morrissey Aussie IPA (£3.10), London pride, Fraoch Heather Ale (£3.10), Sharp's Doom Bar and Nethergate Priory Mild. The Aussie IPA was particularly well kept and a refreshing pint in the summer heat. Service was efficient and friendly enough given the large crowd the staff had to deal with.
The menu was a standard Nicholson's affair but my sausage sandwich was burnt in places and the Caesar salad was approximately 90% lettuce. To be fair I think they were dealing with much bigger crowds than they are perhaps used to, so maybe I just got it on a bad day.
The pubs proximity to Leicester Square has allowed it to develop a movie-star theme, with a great number of photos of film icons dotted around the walls. The restaurant is named after Charlie Chaplin, who apparently used to drink here when performing in a nearby theatre.
As mentioned in a review below, the raised section of the pub used to be a tobacconists and there are a number of cigar moulds on display in honour of this.
Not bad for a West End pub and the quality of the beer would tempt me to return if I was looking for a quick pint.
On 12th July 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about The Bear & Staff
Part of the Nicholson's chain that seems to be quite dominant in the area although in my opinion, they are one of the better chains. The current pub dates from 1878 however they can apparently trace the continuous licencees back to original pub which was built in 1714. A history of the pub, the local area and some of the people associated with it can be found on various displays around the pub.
The interior is fairly small and quite typical of many of the pubs in the West End. The bare floor main bar has been knocked through into one room slightly extended to a raised area at one end with a collection of old West End theatre stars. Service is also typical West End, impersonal and functional European staff who generally prefer to talk to each other whilst serving than concentrate on the customers in front of them. The piped music is safe and bland but the big plus is that they do have a fairly decent beer selection, the 6 ales on my last visit being Jennings Cumberland, Landlord, Spitfire, Doom Bar, Pride and Bitter & Twisted. Prices are very reasonable (as they usually are with Nicholsons) and taster notes, strengths, prices etc are displayed on each pump, another nice Nicholsons touch. Food is standard pub fare with a few special meal deals. A separate restaurant can be found upstairs, named after Charlie Chaplin who apparently used the pub when performing in the West End. There is some seating outside with a couple of barrel tables but the road is a constant stream of buses, taxis and tourists so not exactly a peaceful option.
If the pub were anywhere else it would probably have more general appeal but in the heart of the West End it is a pub that is easy to dismiss as just an average London tourist pub which is a bit of a shame, because it does have enough to merit more than a passing glance.
On 16th February 2010
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Bear & Staff
They had six ales on when I was in there the other day – Hobgoblin; London Pride; Timothy Taylor Landlord; Morrissey/Fox blond; Doom Bar; and Black Sheep Bitter. This is a typical Nicholson's West End pub. I noticed the sign at the back, next to the cigar moulds, proclaiming that the pub had been extended into Inderwick's the tobacconist in the 90s. I thought the pub looked bigger than it used to. Nice touch acknowledging the traditional tobacconist that they had subsumed. I thought it was fairly gloomy inside, mainly due to the blinds outside providing cover for the smokers' tables. But it's a traditional West End pub – not excellent, but certainly not bad. And it has a decent ale selection. There are many worse places to stop off for a pint in this area.
On 29th October 2009
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Bear & Staff
I liked it in here as, along with a range of standard and premium lagers, there were six ales available from the very welcoming staff.
This was definitely a good find and I will visit when next in this neck of the woods.
On 29th April 2009
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5254 recommendations about 5222 pubs]