A hungry Stephen Webb got down to the necessities at The Bear in Cirencester

IT’S a phrase often heard: “It was very nice, but not like me mum used to make.”

Well, it sprang to mind while I was looking through the menu at The Bear in Cirencester, because there, leaping out at me from a tempting selection of dishes, was toad in the hole.

Over the years my mum has given her take on some well known favourites – steak and kidney pie, curry, spag bol; all delicious, and all dishes you will find in a variety of eateries. They tasted good – but were never a patch on mum’s.

Now amongst all that lot, mum also made a pretty mean toad in the hole (for the uninitiated, it’s sausages cooked in batter, usually accompanied by vegetables and smothered in gravy) – not a dish often seen on pub/restaurant menus… until we went to The Bear.

So tempted as I was by the pork belly served with black pudding and apple hash, or the Brixham hake fillet, there was really only one dish to try.

But first, the starters…

Having settled down with a pint of Butcombe Original (this pub is owned by the Butcombe brewery, and that name will come up again during this review), I tucked into my Brixham smoked fish, leek and Cheddar tart, mixed leaves, dill and mustard sauce (£6.50), which came neatly presented on a slate. It looked stodgy, but was actually light and flavoursome, with distinct flavours working together rather than competing with each other.

My wife (who was on the pinot grigio rather than the Butcombe) chose potted Cornish mackerel, horseradish and dill crème fraîche, cucumbers and ciabatta toasts (£5.50). Light and fresh was her summary.

By now I was looking forward to my TITH. For £11.50 it is served with Butcombe beer sausages (of course), champ mash and onion gravy. Now, as I remember my mum serving it - and as is traditionally served, I believe - the sausages should be cooked within the batter. What I was presented with was a large Yorkshire pudding with the sausages placed inside it. Is that really toad in the hole?

OK, that's a presentation thing. This was actually a hearty dish with tasty sausages smothered in a delicious gravy that soaked into the batter and mash. Not exactly fine dining, but who cares? I was hungry.

My wife, clearly preparing for a pending holiday in Cornwall, chose River Fowey mussels, with Ashton Press cider, garlic and cream sauce, served with crusty bread (£12). She loves her mussels and enjoyed the dish - "But if I'm honest, it wasn't piping hot."

New York baked cheesecake (£6) caught my eye for dessert. Now the menu says this is served with Cheddar Valley raspberries and raspberry sorbet, but I had seen that another dish came with Butcombe Blonde beer ice cream - I asked if I could have that instead of the sorbet. Not a problem, I was told and it added something creamy and slightly unusual to an already indulgent pudding.

The look on my wife's face as she chewed her triple chocolate brownie, peanut butter ice cream and honeycomb (£5.50) said it all. Sticky, firm, gooey, rich were the words she managed to get out between mouthfuls. She let me try a little bit - she was right.

The service was very good and our waitress was friendly and chirpy, and had the good sense to move on the drunk, loud, potty-mouthed couple who had earlier caused us to move to another table.

It was a busy evening, even for a Wednesday evening, and the atmosphere was pleasantly lively. The Bear is very much a pub that serves food, but there is a good choice on the menu and the quality is reasonably high. It would certainly be worth a lunchtime visit on a Saturday shopping trip to Cirencester.

The Bear Inn

Dyer Street

Cirencester

GL7 2PF

Tel. 01285 653 472

Parking: The Bear doesn't have its own car park but there is a public car park across the road which is free after 3pm

Disabled access: Yes

Main courses: From £11

Our ratings

Food: 7/10

Choice: 8/10

Decor: 6/10

Customer service: 8/10

TripAdvisor rating: 3.5