BEAR - Stone in Stafford

You are not short of choice for coffee places on Stone’s high street, but there is no need to look further than BEAR. Contemporary, open environment with a wide selection of food and drink. There are items here that you will not find in other cafes, it is a treat to see. The coffee is fantastic quality, and the staff are always cheery and helpful.

A tasty slightly quirky breakfast with great coffee and a real buzz. Remember to check upstairs for a table when it's busy.

Great new menu with lots of choice and not just the same old boring dishes.

It can be very busy and so very noisy. Also last time we went all tables were pre booked even for breakfast. So maybe book ahead no matter what time of day.

Georgous place pity we don't have one down south

Great place, and highly recommended- v dog friendly. On this occasion just needed a nudge regarding our lunch- excellent when it arrived. Will deffi go again (and have been several times before)

Ordered a beer and a coffee at the bar. After 10 minutes, still no drinks had arrived at our table, despite other people around us being served. A few more minutes passed when we noticed our drinks were sat on a tray at the till, where 3 staff were stood. My partner walked over and asked if they were out drinks, and the staff confirmed they were, so she carried them over to our table. No apology or comment from the staff. Very strange experience.

Brill coffee & Brunch - kids loved the Sourdough & Jam toast!

Best coffee ☕️ food fresh and outstanding.

Friendly staff, nice enough place but food was very disappointing. Had the steak cheese flatbreads £17 for a tiny amount of steak and cheap tasting American cheese that made the whole thing soggy. Wife loved her coffee. Dog friendly.

So I love the fact this place has repurposed an old bank and retained life in the little high street of Stone. Inside is well designed and a comfortable space. We popped in for a snack and coffee. It took an eternity to get served inside, not because it was overly busy but just super slow service. We ordered 2 oat milk lattes and 2 bacon and egg brioche = £21!!! Don't get me wrong the coffee was awesome and the taste of the brioche nice also but they were small and not worth £6.90 each, no way! I think the Bear is a cool place for coffee but brunch was expensive in my opinion.

Had lunch at Bears with my family. The staff were great and the food was lovely.

We popped into town in the evening to get some food and came across Bear. We were 2 adults and a child, the chorizo balls were really good and the truffle fries were amazing. It wasn't too noisy and was a relaxed atmosphere.

Relaxed vibe but a bit pricey for regular visits

I Like this Venue however the Food is very Hit and Miss and the price of a Soft Drink is Astronomical today I had the Turkish Eggs which Sadly were Overcooked and Hard compared to previous Weeks where they were Soft delicious and presented beautifully. When you are spending nearly 20 pound on breakfast you expect it to be consistently good 👍

Had to wipe our own table , service very slow staff seemed more interested in chatting to their friends that come in. Coffee was nice and atmosphere good just a shame about the service

Amazing vegetarian brunch, lovely staff and good quality coffee xx

Busy but food served quickly. Good choice and nicely presented. Coffee was only warm, quickly replaced without any fuss. We will return.

The food is lovely but the staff take longer to service waiting for long for food really like but to be honest put in of waiting I will stop come need change if not people will not come

Great atmosphere, friendly service, amazing food arrived very quickly. Didn’t have room for dessert which was a shame because the cakes and pastries looked amazing. We loved the building and its renovation too.

I have eaten at Bear, Stone a few times now and its one of my favourite places! Good coffee, decent menu and the staff are so friendly, there is always a welcoming atmosphere. Its a good vibe!

Lovely day so sat outside. Took quite some time to produce our order but very friendly staff when it came. Our 1st vist but will definitely return especially now we know you accept dogs inside when necessary. He's our boy so comes everywhere with us, BIG plus.

Great food, a nice vibe and sound ethics. Food took a while to arrive but this is because everything was cooked from fresh. Delicious. Would definitely visit again.

Everything was okay but the lunch menu was very small. I was told the lemon drizzle and Victoria sponge cake were lovely.

Love the place but ridiculous booking policy. Friends travelled a huge distance to meet for brunch to get turned away.

Amazing blend, great aroma, very enjoyable cuppa.

Real nice chill place to eat and get that coffee. The beans are proper, the barista bar is high, the food is tasty, the cakes are 👌🏻 chk chk, the spotify vibes are on point. Plenty of space for a baby, nice toilets, nice little coffee shop bit on the side, nice friendly staff. Becoming my go to place if I'm in Stone. Cheers guys!

Great food and lovely staff, been back again recently and had an excellent coffee and cake. Highly recommend

Amazing food, coffee and beers. Well worth a visit!

At last - found some great coffee!!

Excellent coffee and good food as usual.

If I’d reviewed this place a few months ago it would have been a five star rating. Sadly things are going downhill. I know businesses are having to cut back because of the financial pinch but portions here are getting smaller and smaller. Relatively inexpensive items like bread… if I order toast, I get two slices. If I order egg on toast, I get one slice and two eggs. One small slice of bread. If you order extra bacon at £3.20 a pop you get two small rashers of streaky bacon. I ordered the full breakfast recently and got a barely toasted little slice of bread. The menu said it came with herbed mushroom that was actually just one smallish mushroom with ZERO herbs. Grilled tomato that was pretty much just a cold uncooked tomato and a barely even half full, TINY pot of shakshuka. This was £13.40. Bear in mind, that for £2.55 more I could dine at The Ivy in Birmingham and get a full breakfast with much larger portions including a smoothie and a tea or coffee. And that’s from somewhere as ridiculously overpriced as The Ivy! Bear has got so much going for it. The staff are all nice. The place looks great. Most of the food I’ve had here tastes good. Sadly, if the place keeps going downhill, people will stop visiting and the place will close. I don’t want to see that. Sort it out guys! Please!

I visited Stone with friends and our original choice for lunch weren't serving food today, so I spotted Bear and said "the one in Uttoxeter is nice". Staff didn't seem pleased to serve customers. The floor was filthy, it looked like it hadn't been cleaned from the previous day. The floor in the toilets was filthy too. They forgot my friend's drink. My poached egg was solid (I was given another one after I complained) which was marginally better but still not what I would expect for the price! My friend's mushroom was rubbery and she said the sausages tasted odd. They had no gluten free sausages (when all the supermarkets sell GF sausages as part of their standard range!) I was embarrassed after I suggested we eat there. I think we would have eaten better at Wetherspoons but we always like to support local businesses. Very disappointing visit - I've been generous with 3 out of 5 stars.

Was told manager was out to buy sausages so waited for breakfast only to be told no sausages extra egg and bacon took forever to serve then served hard boiled poached eggs and burned bacon total waste of time plus my son and me had upset stomach for rest of day wont be eating there for some time ashame really as its been great to eat there very bad service and food today

Great dog friendly place. We always stop here whenever we are passing through the area. Lovely food, good service and nice atmosphere.

You must order by yourself. But they serve you at the table.

Coffee is really good, Food is ok, staff are ok but the atmosphere has become noisier and noisier and it’s like a dog kennel now with so many dogs even upstairs which used to be a bit of a quieter environment to have a coffee and reflect. We really wish more could be done to manage the dog situation, maybe say no dogs upstairs or something to accommodate others who aren’t so keen on dining with dogs?

Had a coffee on a Friday. Didn’t eat. The carrot cake looked nice. It felt cold (heating wise) and the seating is looking tired. Staff polite and friendly though. Mixed toilets is not a win for women. I don’t like this at all. Women should have their own spaces in order to feel safe.

Such good service, quality and value. Ben Evans particularly stood out for his service and attention to detail. Well done all!!

Interesting dining experience. Modern twist on the Full English Breakfast. Pitta was a little hard but enjoyed the Eggs. Coffee excellent and service friendly. Dogs welcome too so was a huge bonus.

A lovely atmospheric property in the middle of stone. So nice that they welcome dogs too! Great menu of quality coffees, cakes and lunches. Highly priced ....hence the 4stars for food, but delicious. Since found, I often pop in for a latte with friends.

A real little gem of a place. I went on Mother's day and although very busy the atmosphere was great. Our food was great, maple pancakes and bacon and a full breakfast. Coffee was very nice and great flavour. I will be visiting again.

Fantastic service always, and perfect tasting food in lovely relaxed surroundings! Would recommend the Angry Mac and tater tots! 😍 Recently tried the full English breakfast, extremely nice, with the sourdough toast!

Terrible experience hear, couldn't get orders right for preordered food, and not that nice.

BEAR breakfasts...can't beat it.

Called in for lunch, having booked. Great choice of food, cakes and drinks. Very friendly, efficient service. Highly recommended, but would be advisable to book.

Nice food , nice staff, good cocktails . Portions a bit too small : when I go for that burger type of food , I like to have lots of chips !

Food was amazing! Staff were lovely Really nice spot 🤙

Lovelyyyyyy place to eat! Staff are always friendly and helpful, food and drinks are really tasty. My only suggestion is because it's such a big open space, some sort of acoustic treatment so that's it's not quite as loud when the place is full (which it often is because it's so nice!).

Great place to go out to and eat.

Superb local hangout and atmosphere. Staff are always friendly, good portion sizes as well as a a regular updated menu with lots of tasty different options you would get elsewhere in Stone.

With the loyalty app you can get free cocktails. I recommend the passion fruit Martini with a small glass of prosecco on the side. It's the perfect festive drink for a rainy winter's day. You will always get a great welcome and a smile if you visit and expect to feel right at home. Bring your family your dog your friends for a relaxed atmosphere and great food and drinks. Later at Bear means that there are extended hours on Friday and Saturday evenings . Candles and muted music create a magical atmosphere for drinking and dining with friends. You can reserve a table any day if you do it in advance. The management team of Seb and Max always ensure the highest standards of customer service and if you become a regular they will soon know you by name. It's the best cafe in Stone so give it a try!

I arrived at 08:05am at the Stone store on 08.02.24, I purposely went because it was the day they were giving out ‘free doughnuts’, there were more people than usual there at that time, obviously all there for the same thing… a free doughnut with their coffee, but no doughnuts? Seemed a bit bad considering a lot of people purposely turned up to buy things to get a free doughnut and were first in the store as per their Instagram post… if I’d known I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to get a coffee that morning. I think when people have gone out of their way to get a free doughnut, which I later saw on your Instagram That there was a delay… it wouldn’t have hurt to offer the people who were actually there first something else as a gesture of good will. Other than that, the food here is massively over priced for what you get, £14 for French toast!? I’m sorry but you can’t even justify that by the cost of things being more, it’s a piece of bread some fruit and some crumble. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to try it… but I simply can’t afford to! This is a coffee shop in stone with big city prices.

Fantastic coffee spot with great food - the chicken schwarma is incredible. Great atmosphere and cool decor, and they serve beers and cocktails if that takes your fancy too! An absolute must visit in Stone

Had a lovely breakfast and coffee, service and reception excellent as usual.

Great place for coffee and food. Ideal for informal meetings or working away from the office. I use both Stone and Uttoxeter venues.

Nice place to eat, lovely decor. It was expensive we paid £32 for burger and chips each and 2 teas, which although well done is more than I would expect to pay for this. I also think it wasnt enough food and salad should be included for this price. Also for these prices I think your order should be taken at your table. The decor of the Bear cant be faulted. I would like to go again but it wouldn't be often.

Lovely building, gives off a quiet and chill atmosphere until you open your eyes and see that the tables are virtually on top of each other. The food tastes really nice but is completely let down by how small the portions are. The photo attached was my full house breakfast. The same size as my hand... ive never had such little food for £13.20. Just to note, my £13.20 full house breakfast had two muched rashers together the size of one single piece of bacon. Thankfully they cut up my mushroom in half for me, but neglected to put the other half on the plate. Highly likely will never go back, despite working very hard, I cannot afford London priced breakfast regularly in Stone...

We had an incredible experience at BEAR! Always eager to try a coffee tasting, I was pleasantly surprised by the reasonable prices. The flavors were extraordinary, and the knowledgeable staff guided me to an adventurous coffee selection over the house blend to have a more in-depth experience. It's refreshing to encounter a team that shares my passion for coffee, enhancing the entire experience. My partner opted for house fries and a lemonade, served in a distinctive glass, showcasing the coffee shop's individual identity. The Victoria sponge slice I chose was fantastic I haven't seen a coffee house offer one before and it's nice to have some more variety on offer. The music selection was very calming, and the whole layout of the coffee house is really nice—an exceptional coffee house highly recommended I'll be sure to return in the future please keep posting on Instagram as this is how I found this amazing place.

Went again today (10 Jan 24) and had smashed pea/avocado on sourdough with a side of herby mushrooms. DELICIOUS! There was a touch of citrus, which brought the whole dish alive. My friend loved her Shakshuka. Visited with a friend for brunch. I had the flatbread with hummus and falafels. Very nice. Freshly made. Great plant based milk coffees are available.

Cool and trendy place. Good drinks and tasty food. Quick service.

I organised a large group booking of 14 people in advance to have the pizza fondue on a Saturday night. Upon arriving, the tables set up were not able to seat all of us - 2 seats were missing, and we were told to rearrange the tables ourselves to try and fit everyone on. We had pre-booked 3 pizza fondue pots, as I was told over email that this was the max they had, but on arrival I was told there were now only 2 (I could see another table using the 3rd, despite us reserving them) - we did have enough of the fondue between us, however this meant that most people had to stretch over multiple people to try and reach them, and was pretty annoying for everyone. The fondue itself was underwhelming - pizza fondue was described as 'mozzarella & emmental cheese with pizza sauce', however the bulk of the pot seemed to be mashed potato? Our other meals were described as 'ok, but I wouldn't be rushing back any time soon'; the variety of vegetarian options was a plus though. Service was non existent, and when I asked about the issues we we had with seating & pots, the response from the male staff member was blunt and pretty rude. There were only 3 other tables max all night, and several staff working, but none of the staff were serving or keeping an eye on the tables, as our fondue flames went out and we had to ask to have them relit twice. This review gains its second star because we happened to arrive before 7pm for cocktail happy hour, which was the only good part about the visit! However it was a bit inconvenient constantly going over to the bar to order drinks. Overall, this was a disappointment after being excited to try the fondue pots for a couple of years now, and we will not be back. The mostly-empty restaurant on a December weekend says it all!

Love coffee at BEAR, but just really feels like the building inside and the toilets need a due a good clean. Staff are lovely.

Friday Night family gathering. Food was great, nice wines and beers, atmosphere was chilled. Staff were lovely...all of them.

Quick service,interesting interior

This place is a really nice atmosphere and the staff that we dealt with all seem helpful. There’s a decent selection of drinks and although the menu not huge there’s more than enough to choose from. My average rating is because although my meal came with fries that I asked to have the chilli mayo added what actually got added was a second portion of fries with the mayo at a cost of £5. Secondly I had steak and eggs and although I knew the steak wouldn’t be roasting hot as I had it rare I didn’t expect the eggs to be cold too and I mean cooold. The problem is I was too hungry to grab a member of staff and we pay before the food comes so I never knew if the feedback got back to the chef and if it did nothing was fedback to us. Would certainly go again as one mistake is forgivable and it’s a nice place to meet and eat.

The breakfast was over priced and not very well presented. It arrived in a pasta bowl with 2 pieces of sourdough toast barely enough spread for 1 slice never mind 2 , 2 sausages ,fried egg 1 flat mushroom half a tomato a little pot filled with some concoctions (didn’t eat ) but the bacon was so dry / crisp that when you went to cut it it crumbled and some green rocket on a breakfast! Wished we had gone to Wetherspoons instead Get your act together will not be returning

Contemporary coffee and diner. For me, like all these places I think the coffee is a little overpriced; but people seem happy to pay.

Quite expensive food tasty but not filling

Had an excellent breakfast in here this morning, couldn't fault any part of it. Very accommodating to young toddler (kids pancakes are great) and great coffee.

Come here often as a family, lovely staff and nice atmosphere. Only downside is that I think the menu could do with a freshen up. Needs a change, as when you come to eat here once or twice a week, the food can get a bit boring, as they don’t change the menu that often.

We visited on a Sat morning in Oct, we couldn't get a seat inside, so sat outside and we were a little worried we may have to wait a long time (as they were so busy), however our drinks came quickly as did the food. The breakfast (sausages, streaky bacon, mush, tom, 3 x hash browns, poached egg and a side of shakshuka and toasted sour dough ).. not enough butter for the toast but dunked into the shakshuka and it was great... was hesitant about the streaky bacon but wow, cooked to perfection. Really lovely food, will return x

Went there days on the trot because the pancakes are that good. Thanks

The best decaf coffee I have ever had. So good I walked for 30 mins to get it again in the morning! 🙏🏼

From the beginning a friendly welcoming environment, staff are amazing food & coffee is 10/10 I would highly recommend.

Excellent service and excellent food

I always love eating here & grabbing a coffee. I’ve been several times & it’s one of my favourite places to eat. The food is always freshly prepared with good quality ingredients & fairly priced with some great food combinations. The coffee is great but so are the cocktails on the late menu. Smoothies are also really tasty! I highly recommend the tater tots & the vegetarian breakfast on the menu. But all of the food I have ordered has always been fresh, well made & tasted great. From starters, mains and dessert, breakfast to burgers on the late menu. I also highly recommend the selection of cakes, particularly the luscious Victoria sponge / the divine morello cherry blondie. The pancakes that they do for pancake day are also worth a trip just to have them on shrove Tuesday. With a great variety of flavours to choose from. A great local company that is growing & deserves every success!

I couldn't fault the staff or the ambience, but I felt that some of the food was over cooked, I still managed to clear my plate through. Would I return? definitely. Plus, everyone else said their food was very good.

Absolutely amazing. Always top quality food and atmosphere and the vanilla latte is the best in Stone ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A very nice breakfast. Nice place

Me and my partner always visit bear, and have never really had a bad coffee or lunch time experience. However, since Bear started their Bear later menu… we have visited a few times, the first time we really enjoyed it. But, tonight 02.10.23 we had a really disappointing experience. Whilst the service is always fantastic, the food really wasn’t tonight. We ordered x2 tacos, a pizza and some truffle fries. The tacos were really sloppily presented and had no flavour. The pizza was poor, and the truffle fries were literally just fries with truffle Mayo on, whilst I understand bear source the best foods etc etc… we got the impression that the food produced wasn’t cooked by a chef whom enjoyed their job or had a passion for making nice food. The quality and presentation wasn’t up to standard for the price point.

Went for a music event in Stone. Service and coffee were great.

To say I'm fussy is a bit of an understatement but BEAR listened to what I requested and did it with perfection. Staff were really friendly and accommodating. Brunch was fantastic and fairly reasonably priced.

Visited late morning prior to Stone Music Festival. There was a good atmosphere in the venue. However I’m one of those folks that judges the cleanliness of the venue by the cleanliness of the toilets. A good manager ensures everywhere is clean. If you can’t keep toilets cleans , ya kitchen doesn’t bear thinking about. Unfortunately the toilets were not good. The downstairs cafe area was similar. There is a beautiful parquet floor in this cafe. Unfortunately it’s been neglected and it’s dirty and so were the tables and seating areas. The coffee and tea were good (although we waited 15 mins for it) and the food looked amazing. We had a couple slices of cake and they were great, but if you can’t ensure the cleanliness of your premises then how can you ensure the cleanliness of your kitchen? This could be a cracking venue but a good clean of toilets, floors and upholstery is needed.

We visited Bear in Stone last Wednesday for lunch, not a good experience at all ! We sat outside and I went in to order our meals - I ordered two soft drinks, an Angry Mac with tots and a Miso Caesar Salad. I checked to confirm the salad had no Parmesan cheese on ( I don't like cheese ) the response was "I don't think it has why are you asking are you allergic to cheese?" We had waited 35 mins and I was about to go inside when a waitress came out to ask " who is having the salad ? We've ran out of eggs ! Do you want anything else on top ? " I said no just the salad please - a few minutes later the food arrived - the angry Mac was fine but my salad was in a hot bowl ! So hot I could not touch it ! I said to the waitress the bowl is hot with salad in and she said " it's just been under the warmer " I said no it's really hot I can barely touch it - please can I have another salad in a cold bowl, after a lot of discussion she went back inside ( not happy ) to get me a other salad it came out 5 mins later there was literally just a tiny amount of shredded lettuce barely covering the bottom of the bowl, a tiny bit of dressing and three tiny chicken skewers - no cucumber and no peanut sesame crunch and no egg !! I have E mailed bear stone direct and heard nothing back and also another E mail address for general enquiries and heard nothing from them either !! I have put a review on Google with no response - all I want is acknowledgment of this disaster but nearly 2 weeks later nothing !!! Really disappointed ☹️

Regular visitors to Bear but unlikely to return. Waited 35 minutes for 2 flat whites but couldn't wait any longer so refund issued. Payment for coffee taken instantly but refund not forthcoming. When this was queried later the same day the response from the young boy who appeared to be in charge was nothing short of rude as he advised us that the refund would take up to 7 days and thenwalked away as I was in mid-sentence. We were both left a bit stunned and walked out with the other assistant looking a bit sheepish.

We visited Bear in Stone last Wednesday for lunch, not a good experience at all ! We sat outside and I went in to order our meals - I ordered two soft drinks, an Angry Mac with tots and a Miso Caesar Salad. I checked to confirm the salad had no Parmesan cheese on ( I don't eat cheese ) the response was "I don't think it has why are you asking are you allergic to cheese ? " We had waited 35 mins and I was about to go inside when a waitress came out to ask " who is having the salad ? We've ran out of eggs ! Do you want anything else on top ? " I said no just the salad please - a few minutes later the food arrived - the angry Mac was fine but my salad was in a hot bowl ! So hot I could not touch it ! I said to the waitress the bowl is hot with salad in and she said " it's just been under the warmer " I said no it's really hot can I please have another salad in a cold bowl - it came back out 5 mins later there was literally just shredded lettuce, a bit of dressing and three tiny chicken skewers - no cucumber and no peanut sesame crunch and no egg !! I have E mailed the bear direct and heard nothing back and also another E mail address for general enquiries and heard nothing !!! Really disappointed ☹️

Lovely food but a little pricey. Cocktails nice and offers on 5-7pm but the absolute value to this place is the staff. They can't do enough for you. Worth a visit if you don't want a spoons as this place is way up market in comparison.

A friendly place to eat with lovely staff. Service was a little slow, but that may well have been due to the high numbers of people in the place when we went. It is dog friendly. Food is great.

Visited bear for coffee, cake and breakfast with some friends. Food was great (cakes were fab!), service efficient, nice-looking restaurant. Would return, great spot for brunch.

Great coffee which is served in good time and to a good temperature. The sourdough toast are always a good sized slices.

Fun place. Clearly liked in the area by the trendy people!

I love BEAR in Uttoxeter so was thrilled to have the chance to visit another site. Great coffee, lovely food and great service. What else can you ask for? Oh, and the Tater Tots are delicious!

Love the bear so much is my go to place in stone. Defo recommend. The food and drinks are outstanding

I frequently dine here for breakfast as a wee treat despite the price for food being absolutely extortionate. I visited yesterday after one of many visits and being the first time I have ever used public facilities, I discovered the toilets are gender neutral. I'd like to reiterate my review is not based on homophobia in any way shape or form but as a business you are largely compromising customers privacy and safety given the fact you serve alcohol on your premises and additionally compromising individuals religious values. Whilst I understand in 2023 we do not discriminate against people who identify as a different sex, the line should never be crossed between public facilities in my opinion especially for children visiting toilets as you are actively normalizing this. In addition to the above review, your lack of safeguarding measures is gravely concerning since everytime I visit my child is up and down your stairs like a yoyo leaving me unable to safely enjoy my meal and has at times forced me to leave. I feel that this should be considered especially as your restaurant welcomes young children. Not taking away from the fact your food is lovely despite it being very expensive but for me, purely for the first reason stated, I will never visit you again.

great coffee, food and friendly staff.

I always take my coffee outside so as to vape. They are dog friendly to sit in. Not eaten there so cannot comment on food. Atmosphere always seems good, staff very friendly.h

It was most probably the best breakfast that I have had for a very long time. Everything was fresh and well cooked. Could not fault any of it, and a big bonus was it being dog friendly. Staff brought a bowl of water and treats for my dog, very nice touch.

Excellent food and friendly staff, we'll be back 👍🏻

Overpriced. Food tasty but served a la school dinner. Soft drinks tasteless. Even though there were more staff (one of whom appeared to prefer sitting in a corner doing their homework) than customers the floor had spilled food on it. Oh, and we were over charged. There must be better options in Stone.