In December 2008, the tenancy of the Bear and Ragged Staff quietly changed hands, when a group led by Mark Greenwood acquired the lease. As Mark explains, it was not difficult to fall head over heels for this beautiful property. “Since my return to England after 30 years in Asia, I had been looking for a mission in life, the minute I saw the Bear, the search was over. I knew after one visit that I had to be involved with it”. Now that the lease has been acquired, the work of restoring “The Bear” to its rightful place as the provider of the finest Pub and Dining experience in the Oxford area begins.

What we are all about…..Our Service Ethos

In fact, the job is 90% done. The building is not only stunningly beautiful from the exterior, but the restaurant is gorgeous and the pub is just brimming with 600 year old quirks. Where the attention is going to be lavished is on the food and beverage product. Since the mid 80s there has been a massive transformation in the expectations of the British public as to what they expect to eat. Gone are the days when restauranteurs could serve up variations on the theme of meat and two veggies, more often than not burnt or boiled to oblivion! Much more is expected of a decent outlet these days. Furthermore, with the powerful movement towards environmentally friendly practices in evidence everywhere, it is not just enough to put a good plate of food on the table, discerning diners now want to know that the meat has been raised humanely and in an organic, environmentally friendly situation.

Fresh Local Produce with Provenance

Our research proves that nearly everything we need to satisfy the discerning diner looking for suitable “provenance” can be found within Oxfordshire and its surrounding counties. The only thing that we are lacking here is the sea! So you will happy to note that we will not be serving Oxfordshire sardines anytime soon in the Bear, at least! On a slightly more serious note, we have completely revamped the lunch and dinner time menus. There is also an extensive list of Bar Food available.

You will be happy to know, that though our menus are not huge, we will be changing them often, every 4-6 weeks. In this way we hope to be able to reflect the changing seasons. It is therefore highly unlikely that you will see the same dish on the current menu in a few months time. Though we realize that some will miss the delicious dishes that they have become familiar with, we have a mission to keep your taste buds zinging right throughout the year. We keep in mind the old adage that “a change is as good as a rest”!

Steaks, Game and Simple Country Cooking at the Bear

Though you may think that producing this kind of food does not exactly look like rocket science, appearances can be very deceiving. Once the produce has been sourced, the greatest care has to be taken to bring out the best in the food that lands on your table. For this reason, we have assembled a team around our Executive Chef, Rob Wallace, who collectively have buckets of experience producing just this kind of food for years, not just in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire but also London too.

During the time we were researching what kind of food should be the principal offering at the Bear, we were shocked at the lack of a place to go for “a good steak”. Vegetarians aside of course, it has to be said that there are few things like the prospect of a great piece of meat cooked to perfection to get the salivary glands working overtime! We are confident that our steaks will bowl you over. At the same time, the quintessential British love of game also seems to be under-represented in Oxford. The Bear is putting that right too. If you are a lover of pigeon, duck, venison, pheasant or rabbit, look no further, they will be represented on our menus. Year round.

And for those simply looking to tuck into a traditional favourite like a steak and ale pie, Ceasar’s salad, fish and chips or even a hamburger, you will not be disappointed, there will always something comfortingly familiar to be found on a menu at the Bear and Ragged Staff.

Our menus are attached nearby. See for yourself what we mean when we say that you will be drooling after you have taken a look. By all means feel free to put yourself out of your misery, pick up the phone and book a table. You won’t regret it!! Just call us at 01865862329.

(P.S. Chef says don’t forget to try the Chocolate Fondant!)