Bear and Billet in Cheshire West and Chester

Nice pub, lots of history. Lovely beers 🍻

New smash burger menu is overpriced and mediocre, does not suit the setting of such a nice old pub. What's worse is the classic pub food quality has taken a massive hit in quality at the same time, honestly competing with Wetherspoons quality at twice the price. Bar staff were nice though.

Suffering a bit as the food is not good . Used to be excellent, now slow service food cold and not up to mutch . Hopefully the landlord will rectify the problem .The staff are good SHAME

Had a couple of great beers , nice pub. 👍🏻🍺

Nice historical pub no WiFi as noticed plug sockets TV and toilets upstairs on floor 1 clean and tidy nice staff although a little expensive £6.40 starpromen

Stopped for a late pint mid week. Very dark, relaxed and quite. Good service.

they've franchised out the food to sub-standard burgers, sad

Used to serve the best Sunday roast in Chester. Now they've decided to franchise out their food offer, and all we were offered on Sunday was a 'smash burger' (the Bear is one of the oldest pubs in Chester, really not a 'smash burger' sort of vibe!). Such a shame to see an old-fashioned characterful pub jump on the food-fad bandwagon instead of sticking to what they used to do so well. Still a lovely old building to sit in and enjoy while you have a pint, though.

Popped in here while walking the city wall. A good find good food and beer and dog friendly.

Love this place always a great atmosphere nice wine. Staff are very friendly. We'll worth a visit xx

Excellent staff, good pint. Food was lovely if not a bit expensive for the portion size .

A real old pub with a good atmosphere.

I like this pub and the location, service is lacking. One particular surfer looking staff member needs a lesson in using his words. Threw the food order down on the table and said absolutely nothing, so strange, maybe shy, socially awkward, first shift? Whatever it might be hopefully he can remedy it and learn some hospitality skills. So awkward and weird to be served food this way. Like being given food by an ex who hates you.

Lovely atmosphere and great food! The best burger I've had in a while. Can recommend! Good cocktails too.

We read a review stating best pub in Chester, only to experience the complete opposite. Flat staff, flat beer, cooler not working so no cask ales. Zero atmosphere. Couldn't wait to leave.

Lovely cocktails with pleasant seating 😁

Just had drinks here. Great atmosphere and friendly staff.

Welcoming , historic inn with a good range of real ales.

Love it, great atmosphere,and so cosy in the winter time, roaring fire, throws on the chairs 😃

My partner and I live in Brighton but we are regular visitors to Chester because his mother is in a nursing home there. My brother and his wife live in Manchester and we agreed to meet them for dinner at the Bear and Billet. We reserved a table for 4 diners well in advance for 7pm on Saturday 6 August. It received good reviews on Trip Advisor. England were playing Switzerland and the pub was heaving with people watching the live match on screens around the multi storey pub. The bar staff were very bust serving drinks. The manager informed me that our table had been taken by others. That was quite obvious as was the chaotic scene in the pub struggling to serve customers! It was also obvious that diners had been forgotten/abandoned whilst the match was underway. The least they could have done was to contact me to cancel the booking. Therein lies the difference between a pub with dining facilities (easily dropped when the opportunity to host a live game on TV arises) and a dedicated restaurant where dining customers are the main focus of the business.

Outstanding place to eat the staff and landlord are amazing.

Never had food in any of the pubs,so don't know if any sold food.

We have arrived at the Bear and billet on the Tuesday 25th June 2024 ,in the afternoon to book a meal for 3 at 6pm , the management John said no problem. We turned up on the time specified greeted with a smile and friendliness, we ordered drinks and food, we ordered southern fried burgers and chicken masala and it was lovely, hot and all empty plates. Well recommended I would advise you to try them. Nice friendly atmosphere put at ease with staff John, Scarlet and James and chloe. We love the idea of the food from the dumb waiter. I have stayed because of the England game is on . But mother in law and my wife have gone around the town to explore the sites of this great historical city. We will be coming back tomorrow because we are only a 2 day stay at the Oddfellows Hotel. Thanks again Bear and Billet.

Lovely friendly atmosphere very nice decor

Great spot. Chloe was so friendly and the service was spot on. They are lucky to have such a dedicated employee. …….,.. ..

Pleasant staff, great atmosphere and affordable drinks

Nice place to go for a drink. Friendly.

Great traditional pub with a great atmosphere....*****

Proper pub with low level lighting.

Friendly staff greeted us with a hello how are you? when we walk in. Just stopped by for a cold beer as it was very warm outside.

Been here a few times on a Sunday for Sunday dinner. Absolutely outstanding quality of food at a reasonable price.

Worst service ever, u asked one thing and they get u another and don't care at all

We didn't eat but the food we saw coming out smelt amazing and looked really good too! The service was brilliant. We went in to watch a footy match and was waiting until half time to get a refill but a young lad came over and took our order! This happened a couple of times. Staff were all really friendly and polite! Dogs are allowed in downstairs!

Went for lunch ordered chicken tika massala , and sreak ale pie chips and peas Meak arrives young lad put down pie dinner that quick geavy all over my partners trousers . Massala chef needs to check what it should be as it came it was chicken in gravy with onjons and pepoers needless to say it was tasteless and didnt eat it. Young lad asjed did i want to speak to manager i said no first and last time eating there

Proper Sunday roast no skimping on the meat. Tasty hot fayre at a more than reasonable price. John went the extra mile to make our visit extra special in this historic traditional bar. Highly recommended 👌

Reason for only 2 stars is simple. There was a quiz on the night me and a mate went for our 1st visit. Sandwiches were provided, of which we had some. Before we left, I experienced an upset feeling in my stomach. At home I was violently sick, and had other gastric problems. It took a week to recover. I won't risk a return.

Historical bar friendly people atmosphere warming staff brilliant friendly

Authentic pub. Beer selection is good. Nice atmosphere.

Third visit to the bear and billet in the last month and it is absolutely fabulous! This time we had food, which was amazing and I can’t thank the staff enough for everything they did. John the landlord, who I think has overtaken quite recently, is like a breath of fresh air and clearly really cares for his customers and staff! We’ll definitely be back!

We had Sunday dinner and virtually everything was superb. Pigs in blankets were brilliant. Only downside was the beef was extremely tough. We were either unlucky or they need a different supplier. Other than that great dinner

10/10 - great time. perfect for everyone, great food, great drinks - john the landlord couldn’t be more accommodating- thank you for everything would come again.

Great evening with friends food was perfect and the manager John was very attentive. Nice atmosphere really enjoyed our evening. Thanks

Unfortunately, we turned up the same day that the chef had rung in sick . We spent almost 2 hours waiting for a lunchtime meal for 4 people, then pudding for 2. Gave up on the pudding as we needed to travel, but got a full refund on those and 1 meal as it was cold. The staff were very apologetic and professional, I think we were just unlucky with our timing. Positives were, good beer, really nice establishment and the staff

What a brilliant day into night with lovely friends… great food and such good service - will definitely be returning!!! Special mention to our John for looking after us so well! See you tomorra 🫶🏼

A beautiful historic townhouse from the 1600s, which has been a pub since the 1700s. 3 floors, so plenty of space even on a Saturday night for a burger and a pint- which are good and reasonably priced. There is a compact pub grub menu, with the standout item for us being the burgers, with fries and a beer, (Cruzcampo or ale) for £16. Very filling.

A beautiful historic townhouse from the 1600s, which has been a pub since the 1700s. 3 floors, so plenty of space even on a Saturday night for a burger and a pint- which are good and reasonably priced. There is a compact pub grub menu, with the standout item for us being the burgers, with fries and a beer, (Cruzcampo or ale) for £16. Very filling.

Nice place to grab a beer in the last (?) totally wooden house in the UK.

This not a moan about the place.it is I hope a constructive criticism of the way the place is operating whilst having staff problems.We visited for lunch on wednesday 3rd,we ordered our meals and drinks, 50 minutes later the food arrived, two of the six meals were edible, a child's pasta meal was hard to bite,the other 3 meals 2 adult ,1 child part cold ,and part totally overcooked, this was simple food to serve up.After a word with the manager we got explanation of staff shortage in the kitchen.Why then did they try offer a full menu ,instead of limited menu ,they should have told customers of the problems on arrival and in my opinion ,they should have closed the kitchen instead of serving poor food ,and reimbursing people for the problem,they have themselves to blame if people dont return . Just to add the waitress needs lessons on how to work in a bar and serve food , the manager done his best to placate very disappointed customers .We may return

Visited whilst in Chester, food was delicious and bar (manager) very helpful. Would highly recommend

We went for a few drinks a few weeks ago for a works leaving do. The atmosphere was lovely and we ordered some fried brie bites and they were so delicious! Would recommend coming here for both food and drink.

We come here every time we visit Chester and the quality of food has dropped significantly since Autumn 2023. Limited menu choices and bland, over salted food.

Great selection of European beers and local ciders on tap. A great place to kick back and relax where you can hear your friends while watching up! The loos are upstairs which is a bit of a faff but other than that we had a great evening, great service, reasonably priced and so lovely not having to shout to hear each other !

Has Really Nice Pint in this Traditional Chester Pub!

Had a family get together here last Friday. Good selection of ales but empty! At 1.30 ISH on a Friday lunch? Food was grim. Hugely overpriced, cold when the menu said toasted bloomer. If hospitality is to survive especially in somewhere like Chester with so much choice it needs to not take us for granted.

I asked a young blonde lady if our table could be wiped down (as some one had just been eating here before us) I also asked if the used glasses could be taken away, she looked at me annoyed & said yes, she came & took the glasses, whilst almost smashing one into the other, in her can’t be bothered attitude, & the table didn’t get wiped down.It’s put me off going again.

Lovely quiet warm little nook, we didn't eat here but the menu seemed sufficient, dog friendly although no one offered water or a treat (good job we always bring our own) nice beer quaint surroundings. Im sure it could be made better if the staff made more of an effort to engage with customers, seen this a few times over whilst staying in Chester. Lovely place, would come again, hint and tip.. Offer water to the dog owners, it goes a long way!

Good old pub, good food, just a shame about the staff. Some of the staff serving on the bar downstairs are rude, especially the girl with long brown hair. It feels like they think they are too cool to work there. Really disappointed as the previous staff were great

Great pub very old and beautiful.

Walked in for a drink. Table available even during the Six nations.

Love this pub, great selection of beers on tap. Really nice old building with plenty of space to sit over three floors. It's a good place to watch sports especially six nations.

Called in for food pre Liverpool gameThursday night, arrived 7.20pm ordered our drinks 3 in total.Quite steady for the football we then tried to orde our food to coincide with football this was at 7.40pm only to be told the kitchen was closed I pointed out that the website clearly stated food till 8pm the response I got was quite baffling which was "they have had a busy day and decided to close earlier"we finished our drinks and went to the pub on the next block for a most pleasant meal.

Great food, a lovely atmosphere, and great beer.

Very disappointed in our visit to your establishment today 3:00 on entering my self ,wife,and daughter we noticed the bar man on the phone as we walked in he completely ignored us and this went on for 5 minutes until we walked and went to the kings head where we were served immediately!!! Might be a good idea to train your staff in customer services maybe I'm a regular user of this pub hope it hasn't put me off going in there again !!!

No menu just told it's Sunday lunch only was told chicken beef or pork!! No price advertised anywhere!! Once it arrived gravy was like water roasties cold no check back disappointed as normally have a lovely lunch here won't be returning 😪

Walked straight in to quiz night. Full of locals having a good time. Lovely atmosphere & friendly staff.

Popped in for a drink. Lovely atmosphere, helpful and still reasonably priced. Been previously for meals and Christmas works dos, etc. Still good.

Phoned on day to say kitchen closed...not happy bunnies for 9 ladies

Felt like a cosy pub, only visited in the afternoon but felt homely.

Watched the rugby, busy and a great atmosphere. Bar staff worked really hard all afternoon and were friendly and professional. Great range of beers. Would definitely come again.

Unfortunately the food was very poor.

Fabulous food and Excellent friendly Service. A proper Pub menu and cooked and presented brilliantly. Well worth a visit or three, you will not be disappointed 😉

Feel of a traditional pub and the beer is always good.

Bar staff had no personality, seemed like they didn’t want to be there , eventually found out which table we had reserved and asked for menu’s, ordered food at the bar after deciding what we wanted to then be told there were no steaks (should have told us that when menus were handed to us ) food was ok , not hot and not plentiful, unfortunately will not be returning

Called in late afternoon with our two dogs lovely old pub with bags of character. Friendly barman and had a good chat with the new landlord. Highly recommended.

Definitely one of the best pubs in Chester. Rich olde atmosphere. Staff VERY helpful and friendly. Very good quality pint of stout which is how I measure a pub. Love it here.

Before I start, we tend not to complain, Eight of us visited for a birthday meal on Saturday 13th Jan. The food was awful, bland and tasteless! Service no better. We would have complained but thought it pointless as we had already paid in advance. We will not be returning

I used to visit the bear & billet frequently and loved the authenticity of the pub. The staff previously had been engaged, friendly and accommodating. These days, they look they have just rocked up out of bed, simply ticking the boxes and counting down the hours until home time. Something has drastically gone down hill here and the bear and billet pub vibe has lost its soul.

The ship of Theseus paradox comes to mind because on the top floor one of the walls....................

Booked here for a Sunday roast, had previously looked at the online roast options. Mentioned wanting a roast on the phone. Arrived to ask for our table, seemed to be a faff finding it , then was told table 6, no direction where that was. We had ordered drinks at the bar, sat down, was given a menu, no char from the waitress, I called her back and asked what the veggie option was for the roast, she went and checked, then returned saying they had no veggie option, as are short staffed, I attempted to say there is a veggie option on the online menu and that it should have been mentioned on the phone when booking, but she walked off. Poor communication. Poor service.

Lovley friendly people, warm log fire and delicious food, also dog friendly which is a massive help

I lost my keys. 1 gold 2 silver keys with a machine head bottle opener. Lost on 23/12/23

The manager Chris welcomed us into the pub , very sociable,his customer service was second to non, he made us feel we mattered. The pub was Ammaculate,warm and decorated lovely for the Christmas celebrations that had just passed. Chris said the history of the pub was interesting, he showed us around the various floors, one being the past hanging room , the pub was haunted due to past tragic events. Such history was eye an eye opener. Chris couldn't have been more hospitable THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR AN INTERESTING TIME.

Great beer at very reasonable prices. Sky Sports too if you like Premier League.

Great food great service great staff

Lovely atmosphere. Cosy throughout. Well worth a visit. Have not eaten here, but I've heard very good reports. So one to try for Sunday lunch.

Nice and very old place with a ghost

Great old pub and great service, only had a few drinks so can't comment on the food

Made very welcome excellent service

Great pub with real wood fire and some great real ales 🍺 👌

Sunday Roast was fabulous 👌 Enjoyed the atmosphere so much we stayed for the quiz night at 9pm... Really friendly and very welcoming...

Love this pub. Very cosy and old and has incredible music taste! Nirvana, led zeppelin, The Beatles, Radiohead...what a treat! They have a great selection of IPA on draught and their prices are very very reasonable. Great start to the day! Cheers!🥳🍻

What a great find this pub was. After roaming around Chester we came upon this pub in passing, decided to call in for a late lunch and so glad we did! The vegetarian curry was delicious and a fair price … only niggle was it could have been hotter, but nevertheless it was delicious. In addition the staff were really friendly and the little Christmas touches really made this old pub feel very Christmassy. Slightly off the beaten track, but well worth a detour!

The pub looked very cosy and inviting as we were passing by. Very nice lunch (fish and chips) but what made our visit enjoyable was the friendly welcome and banter from the barman. Most appreciated in these days where indifference and disinterest are often the norm. Thank you!

Great Sunday dinner and pub quiz 😊

Called for a couple of drinks on a wet day. Very comfortable, very friendly with good beer. Ticked the box for us after a damp walk round the city walls.

This was fine. I had a pint of Pow and it was one of the worst pints I've had in a while. It was flat, murky and felt like the barrel hadn't been changed in a long while. My mates other beers were fine (lager). The atmosphere is nice and it's a cosy little pub, but keep stock of your barrels.

Nice food, and pleasant service.

Great value. Great food and great cosy atmosphere.

I’ll start off by saying Katie and the team are absolutely amazing. Know their products, can recommend on drinks and make the pub feel cosy. I used to frequent the bear and billet quite often but haven’t been able to in a while. You can really tell that there are new owners of the pub. They have changed the inside to reflect what can only be seen as an expensive weatherspoons. The previous comment about the signs inside such a beautiful building are correct. Huge, ghastly looking things which do not fit in with such an old building! The old specials board was enough and staff used to be able to tell you any deals which were on. They also have appeared to get rid of most, if not all of the beers that people prefer. Guinness? Gone. Amstel, Carling, Madri, gone. Even bottles of corona are now absent. Maybe if the new owners went around the pubs in Chester and saw how they decorate their buildings and see what they sell, they might be able to see how they’re meant to kit out the bear and billet. It certainly seems like they don’t know what to do with a building from the 1600s! It seems to feel like the new owners (whoever they may be!) have a vision in mind which doesn’t fit in with Chester and certainly doesn’t fit in with the building the bear and billet is in. It’s such as shame as mentioned previously, Katie and the team are always so welcoming, and it’s such a shame what they’ve done to what used to be a beautiful building.

What have they done to The Bear and Billet? The interior of the pub has been taken over by large, cheap looking signage which dominate the rooms and stairwell. Previous signs were few in number and relatively small, tasteful, plain blackboards with well written menu information. The much larger new ones look like they are a job lot from a closed down Wetherspoons. The building is Grade 1 listed and the previously limited internal signage reflected the character and appearance of such a precious building. The new signs have been screwed into the fabric of the building with total disregard to its listed status. It has changed the character of the pub from a genuine piece of history with an open fire ( adjacent to what is regarded by locals and tourists as the best two pub seats in Chester) to a caricature of a pub. With other genuinely characterful pubs in the vicinity, Cross Keys, Brewery Tap, The Albion, the Bear and Billet has made a real mistake by going down this route.