CityLife

Pub of the week: The Bear's Paw

The Bear's Paw has an AA Rosette

The Bear's Paw
Warmingham, Cheshire
October 2009

IT shows confidence to refurbish a big, old rambling pub in the teeth of a severe recession.

To do it again after fire ripped through the place on the eve of its opening takes nerves of steel.

But the owners of the Bear’s Paw in a pretty spot on the Cheshire Plain did just that – and what a good job they have done too, even though it looks slightly artificial in places.

The pub and hotel opened its doors in May after a year of restoration following that devastating fire.

Value for money

There are pictures on the wall in the back entrance of the blaze destroying the roof of the huge building, which that month was due to open as an inn with ‘gastro’ leanings.

Gastro is still the slant of this 19th century pub – it has an AA Rosette – with dining rooms containing open fires circling a central bar.

And for a place which has had £2.5m spent on it, the food prices are decent value for money – watch it with the wine, though; my wife was stung for £8 on a large glass of house white!

A well put together menu includes deli boards (£8.95). We chose the meat one with good ham hock, thick Cheshire ham, smoked chicken and a fun Scotch egg, though some chutney would have helped it along.

Children’s roast dinners were marvellous at £5 with cracking crackling on the pork and gorgeous, thick medium rare beef.

Glorious

There is good cooking here. I shared creamy but firm slices of grilled goat’s cheese on a crunchy en croute base (£8.50) and a smoked haddock risotto (£9.95) which only lacked a little extra seasoning under a pillowy soft poached egg.

There are six cask hand pumps at the bar and local micros make an appearance, though two were off when I visited.

The ones available included Weetwood Best Bitter, Blakemere Navajo and Oak Beauty, from Nantwich’s Woodlands Brewing Company, which had a slight medicinal flavour rather than the “hint of acorn” it was meant to – though my taste buds are not really attuned to acorn, I must admit.

But the bar should really serve up beers from Heywood brewery Phoenix – because this pub really has risen, glorious, from the ashes.

The Bear’s Paw
School Lane, Warmingham, Sandbach, Crewe, CW11 3QN
01270 526317