The Bear at Hotwells in Bristol, City of

Not the same old rugby pub I recall

Great pub and great crowd of people! Never had so much fun chatting to strangers! Came to see a friends band- good location for live music, and the owner was really friendly. Good selection of beers and shots!

What a brilliant little pub to have the joy of living near, cheap pints for Bristol, really nice staff, a lovely beer garden, bit out the sun in the evening but same with most pubs really, got a pool table, sky sports on, this place really nails local pub, GO!!

Proper pub! Friendly atmosphere, sports, good value beer. Best pub in the hotwells area

Very good place to have a drink and chill out

Had my retirement here fantastic atmosphere enjoy every minute with Frends and family

Good pub for sports viewing and pool close to the stadium.

No friendly staff but no draught as completely ran out, bottles only

Very cozy bar with very good service, professional staff and good value for money.

Great place to watch live sport

Not been here for over 1 year very disappointed only five other customers and it was 9 o'clock not like it use to be bar person ws very nice but no atmosphere.

Amazing service, staff are very friendly and helpful. Lovely fresh, cold pints and great selection of spirits and cocktails. The atmosphere is so cozy when a bit quieter and it has a refreshing buzz when sport is on or there are a few more people around. Only pool table in a mile or so, thank god the bear has a great one! Highly recommend to anyone.

Local fantástico com óptima cerveja! Staff simpatico!

Great pub for watching the football/rugby, having a game of pool, or nursing some decently-priced pints. Welcoming and unpretentious atmosphere. Recommend.

Good locals' pub with a large map of Bristol c1890's on the wall.

Too inebriated to give a fair review, not too full, played pool!

Nice local pub, lovely beer garden

Fab service & beer garden was lovely:)

Friendly boozer with good prices. Really good. Update. Remains a great pub. Very friendly, pool table, juke box, events. Update. Michelle is leaving. Not sure how the pub will be after. She made loads of changes that, in any other time, would've been amazing. But COVID caused problems. Update: remains a great pub. Sadly underused.

Went on a night out with a couple of friends trying out the pubs along this side of the water. The beer garden was a nice place to sit for a chat. The barman was lovely, super friendly and helpful. I asked for a particular drink and he didn't have it but offered me a selection of close alternatives and found me one I'll definitely be drinking again.

Under new management and well worth a visit if you have not been in a while.... Great traditional pub

Stopped in for a pint as we were walking past. It's a nice, clean place with friendly staff

Lovely place, free pool on Tuesdays, staff are awesome, beer is cheap. Although it's a locals pub, it's very welcoming and we automatically felt part of the furniture. Love it and will be returning on the weekend 😊

Definitely not a pub for a night out with the mrs. Great venue for sports

Picked up food so didn't stop but looked like a nice pub to drink at, clean facility's and a pool table... friendly and good looking staff he he 😉 x

Great little pub full of atmosphere and friendly staff and jamaican food now available

Great little boozer with a good variety of Beer,Cider and Larger at reasonable prices 👌

Lovely boozer. Music and food. And not forgetting the lovely rex the jack.russel

Popped in here by off chance. What I call a proper pub. Nice atmosphere bar manager was very friendly and Rex the dog was adorable. Didn't have food although they do food. Would definitely go back there. Love the words on the bar as well xx

Proper boozer nice people good honest food and drink. Great to see this pub back.

A fantastic local with friendly and polite staff who can't do enough for you. The curry on weds is delicious and the Sunday roast is a a sight to behold. "There are no strangers there, just friends who are yet to meet"

Saturday afternoon. No hand pump beer only availble in bottles. Seems to be a place in transition.

Had a beautiful cook dinner there , recommend to you all

Very good and helpful and friendly service

No Sunday Luches by new stand on tenents

Ok - basic pub. No draft ale at all when we visited. Prices reasonable. Garden at back is a bit grotty. Fine if you want natch, stella, guiness or thatchers. For anything else ... look elsewhere.

Brilliant, proper pub & they sell Natch!

Very much a 'locals' pub, I was informed when visited on a very quiet Friday lunch time, that it gets very busy come 'end of day' Notwithstanding this, the few patrons that were in attendance, we're affable and interesting. The place was on the Cask Marque Ale Trail and was the purpose of my visit. I can aver without equivocation, the cellar was kept impeccably. And if you pick your timing right, one can park outside the door. Well worth more than another visit

Arrived 35 minutes early. Staff were very understanding and welcoming. Lovely meal and a great pint in very traditional pub

Decent local boozer, drinks are decent value. Service is friendly. The pub has some interesting quirky additions.

Very traditional pub. My band played there in 1977 and it is still a great place.

Excellent pub, great staff. Shows the rugby (the landlord is Irish)... only complaint is they don't have Thatchers Haze on draught.

A good traditional long bar pub, friendly, has a darts team, and places to chat over a drink.

Small local pub with good music in bristol

A great pub for jazz. It doesn’t look great from out side but don’t hesitate to go in to enjoy. Great staff and really friendly landlord. Will be back.

Good old fashioned pub. Great music too

Stopped in to watch the cricket and the landlord put it on especially for me. Met some locals and felt at home straight away. Shame I had to leave!

Great little boozer, friendly staff and customers,

A great traditional pub full of atmosphere ,highly recommend

Great atmosphere traditional pub but do not tell anyone

Quirky little pub , fab atmosphere , lovely friendly locals that shake your hand and introduce themselves , very rare . Nice garden with bar b que for summer.

One of my favourite pubs in Bristol, proper old man pub, cheap and friendly, only down side no decent premium European lagers.

Great pub...great people and amazing staff xx

One of my favourite pubs in Bristol. Very friendly - a proper locals pub that has a welcome to everyone who walks through the door. Hence their motto, "no strangers here, only friends you've yet to meet"

Great pub, fabulous atmosphere.

What a great pub beer great food great

Great pub. Good prices, friendly staff and locals

Friendly atmosphere, good venue for watching home international rugby

Good place for jazz on Friday nights

Arrived 40 minutes early. Staff were very understanding and welcoming. Lovely meal and a great pint

Nice staff good sunday lunch an doombar!!

First time at the bear today had Sunday lunch with family and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. Best Sunday roast we have ever had! Great staff and really friendly landlord. We will be back. :)

This is a great pub doesn't look much from the outside but don't hesitate to go in you will enjoy it

Miserable landlady and staff that don't care. Apparently it has a garden but it wasn't open. I mean why would you open up the garden in August right?

Head there to get some drinks and some of my friends head to the toilet before we actually order, the owner or manager shout bad words and literally was looking for a fight, can you believe it? I would never be back there again.

Only went afternoon to watch footie. Adequate pub

Typical old type pub with a good choice of ale

Excrllant staff and very frendly and go out of there way to do the best for my wife who is disabled and give great service and food is excellant

Great pint of Courage Best. Always.

This isn't an up market pub but it does have a good atmosphere.

Very friendly pub, with lots of activities, including jazz every Friday evening

Great place. For watching the rugby and football. Good beers. Nice staff.

Best Sunday dinner in Bristol by a mile

Best pub in Bristol .best Sunday lunch 🍾🍽️

Great service food friendly atmosphere

Excellent, beautiful people, great beer made to feel so welcome what more could you ask

Great pub, brill landlord. If your into your rugby it's a great place to be when the six nations are on. Room out the back for hire for occasions, and really nice staff.

Best Sunday roast on earth! (Apart from mums)

If the Bear isn't the best Sunday lunch for the money I would be very surprised !!

The bear is very friendly and on Sunday they do very good Sunday dinners

Well what wonderfully staff. Food top shelf. We will definitely be back!

I do not know where some of the reviewers have been in the past ? But I can say that Sunday Lunch at the Bear has and is Excellent value for money. Convivial and friendly and you are soon accepted as one of the crowd ! As for the miserable landlord and throwing money across the bar ? What a load of tosh !!!!!! All I can say is above the Bar is a sign that say's there are no stranger's here just friend's that have yet to meet. As Pubs go if you want a proper Pub 10/10 The Bear and all the staff who work there.

Its my local and I can understand why some find the landlord rather grumpy as I did at first but I can quite categorically state he is one of the nicest most generous men I know. If you give as good as you get he will love you for it as long as its done with a smile. The Sunday lunches are fantastic value I am just about to phone and ask for one to be put aside for me about 4ish after the kitchen closes. Predominately a rugby pub but has sky on several screens and will be showing the glorious Spurs this afternoon.

WARNING - APPALLINGLY BAD SERVICE AND AN APPALLINGLY BAD ATTITUDE WITH IT! We booked a place for 4 people to have Sunday dinner at 14.00pm and we patiently waited...and waited...and waited. After 30 minutes had passed we asked what was happening only to be told that there was a delay because the Chef was in a "bad mood". We waited some more and when we seen other people being served and not us we asked again only to be told that our food was on its way. When 15.00pm came and went we decided to ask for our money back only for the defensively stroppy barman to throw our money back without even the vaguest hint of an apology or explanation. Do not be fooled by false friendliness and superficial banter. They become extremely nasty very quickly if you even so much as wonder why they are taking so long to serve food that they should have had ready over an hour ago. As for the single, feeble reason they gave - the chef being "upset" - talk about being completely unprofessional! In short, the staff here are useless, immature amateurs who have absolutely no business serving anything to anyone and should be shunned and avoided by all. Do not come here and tell others to avoid this place at all costs. You've been warned!