Join Harden's Platinum Club for Member's Benefits - save 60% with our special offer!
RestaurantsShropshireHodnetTF9

survey result

Summary

£72
  £££
3
Good
4
Very Good
4
Very Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

This “lovely old coaching inn” in a village of picturesque Tudor houses is a “real addition to a part of Shropshire not awash with good places to eat” and achieves an impressive level of feedback for somewhere out in the boonies. Owned by Sir Algernon Heber-Percy, who lives close by in Hodnet Hall (the kitchen garden supplies the vegetables to the inn); his son Tom was responsible for the inn’s “gorgeous makeover” a few years back. “The food covers fine dining to light lunches and afternoon tea” and all reports say it “functions well as a foodie pub while still catering as a bar for locals… one of the best around”.

Summary

£58
   ££
3
Good
3
Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“An interesting, well priced menu, with friendly and prompt service” continues to inspire fans of Mel & Martin Board’s converted coaching inn, by the village’s ancient church (which they launched three years ago after a £2m refit). It also has a fan in the form of the Mail on Sunday’s Tom Parker Bowles, who is in his May 2024 review approved of a “rather lovely pub, recently refurbished, and smart but not showy” (although he cautions that although it serves “what appears to be an upmarket gastropub menu… what appears is rather more cheffy… if it’s pub grub you‘re after, you’d best look elsewhere”).

Summary

£58
   ££
4
Very Good
3
Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Mel & Martin Board, who reinvented the Haughmond Inn at Upton Magna, have worked wonders since taking on this village pub-with-rooms, opposite a Norman church, two years back. The “beautifully refurbished” (to the tune of £2 million) venue’s food “has also gone up a considerable notch”, offering “inventive” and “excellent value” locally sourced British grub with greens from the 200-year-old walled garden of Hodnet Hall. While it “still caters for a local clientele”, perhaps not for long, after critic William Sitwell’s glowing review (headline “civilisation has hope”).

For 35 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).

Have you eaten at The Bear Inn?

Drayton Road, Hodnet, TF9 3NH

The Bear Inn Restaurant Diner Reviews

Reviews of The Bear Inn Restaurant in TF9, Hodnet by users of Hardens.com. Also see the editors review of The Bear Inn restaurant.
PA C
a menu that undersells the subtly of the fo...
Reviewed 1 day ago

"a menu that undersells the subtly of the food.. had intended to have lunch elsewhere but discovered they weren't open. did a last minute search and this was close to wollerton gardens. it's comfortable, relaxed and relaxing. a nice space to be in with a steady flow of regular dinners. they were able to fit us in, but I wouldn't assume, as they needed to check. service was friendly and welcoming. nicely paced. food surprised. the menu is sparsely worded. so you don't get much of an idea on how much thought and detail has gone into the food. it's not pub, much more refined. pink pigeon breast, pesto, carrot and black pudding.. was delicious. a puree, carrot marmalade, whole carrot, black pudding pieces, black pudding rosti, jus, pigeon and Herby pesto. balanced, layered and delicious. much better than the pigeon I'd had at the churchs (mobberly) sibling. and probably the equal of the greenhouses pigeon and truffled egg of years past.. a mushroom gnoci.. had diced mushrooms. salsify, parmesan. foam, braised onion (with hint of sour), some delicious and perfectly cooked mushroom.. again delicious and layered. bavette steak. chips and pepper sauce.. perfectly cooked, great fries. and a punchy, but balanced sauce. ketchup. mushroom topped with shredded beef. crumb and cheese and a caramelised tomato. delicious. I ended on a bite of the mushroom, which says a lot.. deserts the yuzu creme caramel with burnt orange probably the best of the two... they were very good, but probably a bit shaded by what had come before. plenty of deft details and touches. all beautifully presented. so a surprise .. reading the review you have I'm agreeing with the ambiance and service. but feel the food is better. "

Report this comment
Have you eaten at The Bear Inn?
Post your own review of The Bear Inn and contribute to our annual restaurant review guide.
Post your own review

What the Newspaper Critics are saying

Daily Mail

The funniest thing about Tom Parker Bowles’s review was its headline in the online edition, which billed this 16th-century former coaching joint with its own bearpit as “The Beat Inn”. Perhaps the Daily Mail, which has always prided itself on its icy professionalism, is now reduced to hiring superannuated subeditors from the old Grauniad.

“Ursine high jinks aside” – as Tom said – it’s a “rather lovely pub, recently refurbished, and smart but not showy”, with what appears to be an upmarket gastropub menu.

“Yet what appears is rather more cheffy – a breaded finger of soft meat, topped with glossy blobs of pickled-walnut emulsion, and a sauerkraut that is rather nearer to remoulade than fermented cabbage. If it’s pub grub you’re after, you’d best look elsewhere.”

Tom Parker-Bowles - 2024-05-19

Prices

Availability 2 courses 3 courses coffee included service included
Lunch £32.00 £37.00

Traditional European menu

Starter Main Pudding
£8.00 £29.50 £11.00
Drinks  
Wine per bottle £25.00
Filter Coffee £4.00
Extras  
Service 10.00%
Drayton Road, Hodnet, TF9 3NH
Opening hours
MondayCLOSED
Tuesday12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑8:30 pm
Wednesday12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑8:30 pm
Thursday12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑8:30 pm
Friday12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑8:30 pm
Saturday12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑8:30 pm
SundayCLOSED

Best British, Modern restaurants nearby

Docket
British, Modern restaurant in Whitchurch
£126
£££££
4
Very Good
4
Very Good
3
Good
Rhubarb
British, Modern restaurant in Shrewsbury
£49
   ££
3
Good
3
Good
4
Very Good
The Walrus
British, Modern restaurant in Shrewsbury
£66
  £££
4
Very Good
3
Good
3
Good

View more nearby restaurants »

Best similarly priced restaurants nearby

La Boheme
French restaurant in Lymm
£69
  £££
3
Good
4
Very Good
2
Average
Cuubo
restaurant in Birmingham
£72
  £££
4
Very Good
4
Very Good
2
Average
La Bellezza
restaurant in Birmingham
£72
  £££

View more nearby restaurants »

Restaurant news

View more ›

NEWS
Sow closes as Andrew Sheridan shuffles his pack

NEWS
Hot to trot in Covent Garden, from the Levan team

NEWS
Japanese/Brazilian concept unveiled in Newcastle