The Bull & Bear — Restaurant in Raleigh

Ok, don't come to this neighborhood bar with anything but average expectations. It's not high end and dressy but it fills the must have niche role of your friendly, small, neighborhood gathering place where all are welcome, patrons are friendly, and Slim the bartender works hard to keep all running well. We were in the area for our granddaughters swim meet and needed to get food quickly as the distance we needed to travel that day yet. We entered and the bar was full and the table area was empty. We quickly grabbed a table and I went to the bar to get items. Slim stated to have a seat and he would be right over. He was and we ordered drinks and appetizers while we looked at the menu. We pretty much all just wanted sandwiches. Slim told us up front he was by himself that evening and to be patient. He promptly brought us our appetizers and we ordered our sandwiches. Have you ever had thin sliced pepperoni by the batch? We ordered it and were well pleased with the taste and texture. Just try it. Along with that he had an item called their version of pizza (it's not). Basically a soft tortilla laid flat with sauce and cheese. It was fast to the table and I will say for what it was surprisingly tasty. Now to the food, hamburgers, hot dogs, onion rings, Reuben, fries and so forth. The food was all tasty and hot. Slim hustled back and forth while keeping a bar full of folks served. I will say we will go back again when we are in the area. All food was reasonably priced for the quality we had. This place absolutely fits the bill for your local...

I'm not a big fan of giving out bad reviews. Here's the upsides and downsides of the place. The bartender? Older lady, she was nice and made sure that if I had an empty glass that there would be more to come. She talked with most of the other customers a decent amount. I don't do that, so she's definitely doing her job and friendly. Rum and coke was a bit of a strong pour too. Good for the customer.

Downside? The cheese steak sandwich? Mediocre. The pizza? Dude, it's just mozzarella melted ontop of a tortilla with just a smidgen of tomato sauce. $8 for that reminds me how much I would've preferred to just buy some rum and coke then go to a little Caesars.

Atmosphere? Good. From a Tuesday night, I didn't expect a lot of people but the people around were chill. They had plenty of TVs and some gambling machines. Not my thing, but if it's yours, congrats.

Overall, the food killed the experience. It's hard to chill out with a couple drinks and watch hockey when you're spending more time wondering why you just spent $8 on a tortilla with cheese. You could buy like 7 of those from a Taco Bell and save more money, basically.

All things considered, just don't come here hoping for good bar food. If you don't, then you'll have...

If you want a place to just go once and not have it be your regular "home bar" ... then this isn't for you. If you want a place that has a calm, fun, DRAMA-FREE atmosphere, with good drinks and gr💯 food (shoutout to Maria 💖) ... then please come and join our abode! 💖

The bartenders are all super👌 amazing (Especially our girl K/Kannissaaaaa 😍) and personable, and watch out for us, our drinks, and overall safety and experience 💛 and you just have to visit to let your experience speak for itself. 💁‍♀️

There is a lovely, decorative indoor setting and outdoor seating (with plants!), daily food/ drink specials (that slap 👏), and bomb as⁵s 🍑 Friday karaoke (from 8:30p-11:30p).

I highly recommend this establishment, and wanna note that there's a reason that they've been thriving for as long as they have in our Raleigh community. 🫶

I rec visiting on Mondays for the Jello shots and Fried Bologna sandwich specials, Wednesdays for the Mexican food and Margs specials, and Fridays for...