The Bear of Burton — Restaurant in England

I visited this place years ago as The Manor and was really impressed at such a high quality pub/restaurant seemingly hidden just outside of Christchurch. I wanted to take my now family out for a good roast lunch on Sunday. The venue is now The Bear of Burton and run by Fullers, it holds the same charm and beauty as it did years ago. Upon arrival with the new government rules in place, face masks were adorned and we were given instruction to follow the arrows around the pub which included having to go out the fire exit once you had used the toilet and then come back in the front entrance, round the restaurant and back to your table, having done this 4 times (3 times escorting my daughter) I had started to get fed up with the process especially as our table was a matter of metres from the toilet entrance....

The food, excellent, tasty and fresh, almost a perfect plate of food, just a shame all they could afford us meat wise was 2 very thin slices of beef, no complaints on the taste but for the cost £17, I think 3 slices at least should have been on my plate. Food I'd give 4.5 out of 5.

Service, looking past the fact everyone is covered in face masks, the staff on Sunday had difficulty grasping their job of customer service, lack of a smile(or friendly manner) on most of their faces. Poorly times drinks and food order attempts, think we had at least 6 members of staff serve us and the 3 other tables around us, we overheard missed meals and drinks on the other tables and general annoyance from the other customers. The rule that the staff can't put a drink on your table(you have to take it off the tray) but can put a plate of food in front of you and also clear your table of empty glasses is an absolute joke and this was made even worse by the attitude of the barman bringing our drinks to the table who arrived and just stood there, no words from him, just stood there. He wouldn't be working in my pub after doing that. He returned a second time and I asked him to put my drink on the table as he had just collected some dirties from us but he just looked at me (an aggressive evil look) and waited again until I took my drink. Service gets 0.5 out of 5 I'm afraid. Once I'd paid the bill, there was no niceties like, I hope you've enjoyed your lunch, come back soon or enjoy the rest of your day, the waitress just took her money, turned and left. I'll be going back to The Bear to enjoy the food and hope that maybe the staff will be more experienced with...

I stayed as part of a group. The inn did well in working out how to manage a group stay, it wasn't a norm! The service is incredibly friendly! They're all mindful of who people are and their needs. They are a limited number, so when there's a crowd, it may take a little extra time. One evening there was us, a celebration of life, and another group all at once! Testament to how folks like being at the bear! Enjoy the time to converse! The space is well maintained, tastfully decorated with subtle throw outs to the three bears. The rolled up towels like a Teddy Bear were wicked cute, everyone in our group commented on taking pictures when they got to their room. Food! I swear I gained weight it was so good I couldn't help but order too much. Everything on the menu sounds amazing, so I tried as many different things as I was able. It's also a short sweet and changing menu! They know what to do and do it well. I felt the prices were very fair, especially for such good quality. Another note on the skill of the chef- our group was 9 people, we ordered dinner together and every time our meals arrived at the same time with none cold or over set. Timing is the best skill! Everyone was so helpful and protective of my celiac disease. I have never had people so knowledgeable of their menu and mindful of me. I greatly appreciate that. Thank you!! I tried to learn everyone's names, but failed in that duty. I did learn a few, Jake, Sam, Tania, and Emma. I'm very sorry to those I hadn't. Also, Sam's cute...

Had lunch here on 7 August. Most of the menu was not available to order but was still showing on boards and menus handed to us at the bar. Ordered from the 2 course set menu. We were told the chicken and ham pies had all been eaten; asked if we could substitute the steak pie (which was cheaper than the chicken but not on the 2 course menu) for the non-available chicken pie. The manager came over and asked us to repeat the order, this time the chicken pies were available and we ordered 2 and they were tasty. Ordered our puddings from the 2 course set menu but our waiter told us all the puddings were not available on the 2 course set menu so this offer was now not available. No one asked us if we had enjoyed our meal and we had to set our own table with the cutlery as the waiter just dropped them down on the side of the table. The pre-set hotel guests had their tables set up in advance and the waiters were more attentive. I feel that this is a restaurant for hotel guests, although only half the tables were taken up for the lunch service, and there seemed to be plenty of staff around ,the service was extremely slow and disorganised. We did like the entertainment during service, a dog escaped from its owner but found its own way to the bar service area and seemed to be really enjoying itself. We were going to recommend this hotel to our friends with dogs who find it difficult to eat and stay in the area with their dog but on reflection of our experience...