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Bear Hotel

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MichaelJM
MichaelJM
First Reviewer
4 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
1
Review
4
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The Bear Hotel

  • August 26, 2006
  • Rated 4 of 5 by MichaelJM from Nottingham, England
The Bear Hotel

A friend had eaten at The Bear Hotel at Crickhowell (meaning Hywels’ mound) and recommended the restaurant to us (rather than just opting for bar meals) as “somewhere a bit special.” We’d booked in a few days earlier, which was just as well, because the restaurant is really very small and select and the whole place was buzzing. Quite surprising for a Thursday night.

The hotel is described as “a quaint, individually furnished 15th-century coaching inn,” and it has a host of accolades from the Good Pub Guide, Best Welsh Pub Award, Les Routiers, etc. You can’t miss this impressive white-fronted hotel, which is bang in the centre of Crickhowell, but be warned it only has limited parking to the rear and we had to park on the streets. Not that that’s a problem, because there’s plenty of free parking near to the hotel in this sleepy market town.

The bar was crowded and the service exceptionally slow, but the friendliness of the bar staff made up for the delay, and we were quite happy to linger whilst our pints were pulled and the receptionist sorted out where we were eating. I heard a guy ordering a bar meal (and the selection is really quite impressive) being told that the wait time was 40 minutes. He seemed okay with that, indicating that he’d eaten there before and he was sure it would be worth the wait.

We were led to a small mezzanine, where we studied the menu. Instant disappointment for the vegetarians, as there was not a single suitable meal on the menu. However, the headwaiter was very accommodating and brought the bar meal menu, which had better fish options and some vegetarian options. Strangely, despite the fact that two of our party were vegetarian, the waiter brought a complimentary air-dried beef dish to the table as a starter. Not that I was complaining, as I had three portions. Greedy? Yes, but it WAS very tasty! There was a good selection of small bread rolls on the table including sun-dried tomatoes, olive, and wholemeal. These were a real treat with a spot of rich Welsh butter.

In my view, the test of a good restaurant is how well they can manage to cook a fillet steak. The Bear certainly passed my steak test, as I ordered mine rare to medium and it was spot-on. The restaurant cannot seat many more than 30, although there was a gallery hall to the side – I would not commend this to you, as it looked like people were eating in a corridor, and I guess it would be noisy, as this led to the WC’s and the way out of the hotel.

the meal and the attention we received was superb befitting the occasion of my son's birthday, and we finished our meal off with a "house speciality" of bread 'n' butter pudding. Amazingly tasty. I rounded off with an Irish coffee - why not!

From journal Amazing Abergavenny

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