The Bear Cross in Bournemouth

Pub looks only half decorated! Food was ok, staff were nice but location isn't great and there's been little effort to make the most of it

Waitress was lovely service was good but Sandwhiches what a disappointment. Four years ago gave a glowing review. The food looks.good but bread was stale really bad failure.

Travelling back from swanage for the day were we found no decent places serving food at 3pm. So decided to head home to Southampton and find something on route. Cane across the bears cross as I exited the roundabout and quickly pulled in. The food was outstanding , delicious and perfectly cooked lamb chops as a smaller portion was very filling , lovely smooth mash and lashings of mint honey gravy. . A high high five to the chef today

Just had a lovely meal of chicken in apricot and stilton sauce with lovely vegetables and brilliant roast new potatoes. Really great price and good beer. Great value for money in a lovely pub. Definitely come back hear for meal.

The food was excellent, I had the chicken breast with stilton and apricot sauce and it was absolutely delicious!! The service was fairly quick and our server was very friendly and helpful, making sure the coeliac in our group would be okay with what she was ordering. We also had desserts, including the gluten free profiteroles, and they were amazing! Will definitely be coming back 👏🏼

Really enjoyed our meal would definitely go back . Don't live in the area. But loved it Had the lamb steak. Excellent . We eat out a lot . It didn't taste repeated like a lot of restaurants

We live in Spain and took my mother here and was excellent lovely service lovely hot food all good

Not rushed by staff wether you're having coffee and cake or a full meal. Wonderful choice of food. Smaller servings are a great hit as they are still generous. Plenty of parking.

It is amazing that they do such a lovely gluten free Sunday lunch and desserts, they also do other gluten free food as-well. We go every year when we visit this area. I wish the pubs in Kent do things like this! The Gluten Free option is: NO YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS OR CAULIFLOWER CHEES!! THATS TAKING AWAY! NOT AN OPTION??

Este suele ser el mejor lugar para comer en la zona de Bournemouth. Sin embargo, desde el cambio en la gestión, las normas se han deteriorado. La comida no estaba a la altura y el servicio era terrible. No se puede culpar a las camareras ya que la gerencia no ha dado capacitación. Yo y familiares y amigos solemos visitar al menos 3 veces al mes, pero desafortunadamente ahora usaremos otro lugar

Such a refreshing change from the local chain pubs & restaurants. We have visited a couple of times in the last month and the food and service has been excellent. Lovely home cooked meals with fresh veg & all our favourite desserts. I'm looking forward to working my way through the menu, as there's nothing not to like!

Nice to sit outside and have a beer. Clean , tidy amd lovely staff

Four of us went for dinner there on a Saturday night. The food was excellent and they catered for a Gluten Free menu brilliantly. The slow cooked beef was fantastic and the treacle sponge pudding was amazing

Very good food and service Always happy to come here

My beef was so tender and well cooked. My dad’s lamb was as tough as old boots, but the overwhelming disappointment were the flies bothering and flying us. I later found out that they provide fans to keep the flies away!! 😱. However, the staff were good enough to reduce the o real bill by half. Sorry, but it did t encourage me to return. What a shame!

Just got a table lovely waitress recognised us

Over many years we have visited here for family celebrations as it is ideally situated for family get togethers, but the last experience has changed that. A member of our group had booked for a table of 12 and as before paid a £5 per head deposit. As the booking was made within a week of our visit, getting everyone's food request was not possible until the Friday evening for the visit the next day. On our arrival the people denied receiving the booking for 12 people and once accepting that they did have the booking the tables were hastily set for 12 people. If the place had been busy like it has been on our previous occasions this would not have been possible. When we sat down the waitress started handing out menus, so we had to remind them that we had pre-ordered and a deposit had been paid. Proof had to be shown of the deposit being paid. They then on checking their computer found all our orders. My son, whose birthday we were celebrating, is a celiac and so had ordered from the Gluten Free menu. He had ordered the burger which came with potatoes. His food arrived and he was given obviously the gluten free burger, but the plate also contained a portion of chips instead of potatoes. This was queried with the waitress who then said the chips had been cooked in the same oil as other items of food which contained gluten. The meal had to be taken away and supplied with the correct potatoes. If a Celiac is given food which has been cross contaminated this can make them ill. Someone needs to be reminded of the issues of giving food to people who cannot eat certain things due to allergies etc. People have died because of it. On completion of our meal we split the bill between the families, 5 of us are Blue Light card holders and we tried to get our entitled discount which was refused with the excuse that they would have calculate the discount manually. The food was good, but the menu never changes. Due to the issues we had we will not be visiting the Bear Cross again.

Atmosphere is great, I ordered beer battered fish and chips for main and considering fish and chips is the UK staple I was very disappointed no flavour whats so ever the peas were the most flavourful thing on the plate I ordered onion rings as a side because why not I'm out for a meal treat myself First onion ring I picked up there was a massive hair on it which honestly is off putting for the whole meal which was removed off the bill I had a pint of pump coke zero and to my surprise there was bits floating at the bottom of the glass (the lines have not been cleaned properly) For the cost of it I expected a totally different experience I doubt I'll be returning

Gorgeous food in a Cozy pub. Staff were lovely

1(not like) 10(excellent) Welcome /service 4 Food quality and portions 8 Waiting time /check 5 Cleanliness 8 Prizes 7 Overall 6.4

Lovely meal i had light bites garlic chicken it was very much enjoyed

A cozy pub with great staff and excellent food.

Sadly they took last orders at 9pm while we were still drinking our first drink as they were closing early. Not great Wouldn't return.

Myself and my wife visited last night. The bear cross has a good menu for mains, and indeed the mains were nice. I felt that the starters and dessert were very overpriced though. I had bruschetta to start, my wife having the fish cakes, both portions were very small with lots of salad to pad the plate out, not great for £7.95 each. I had the Caribbean meringue for dessert which was very small and quite tasteless, if there’s sauce in a pretty pattern around the plate it’s always because the dessert portion is too small. Very overpriced at just shy of £8, you would honestly buy the same thing from Tesco’s for £1…… I won’t be rushing back.

Was here celebrating my future father in-laws birthday honestly, the food was amazing and the service was great. The staff made us feeled welcome and we all had a great time.

Delicious gluten free Sunday roast!

We had dinner with my friend, and everything was perfect. Nice food, friendly staff, and a cozy atmosphere.

Visitando a mi familia en Bournemouth y mis padres vienen regularmente a este pub así sugerido. Llegó alrededor de las 6 pm encantador y cálido en una noche muy húmeda y ventosa. Servicio fantástico de principio a fin. Pedí el pollo en ajo y salsa de hongos y verduras, mi papá tenía el pollo cajún y mamá tenía los scampi. (Todo en la pequeña selección de menú de apetito) el mío era absolutamente delicioso ahora cazando un pub que hace similar en mi ciudad natal de Sandbach! estaba sorprendido por el tamaño de la porción y también tubería caliente y gran servicio. Recomendaría totalmente esto para la cena / almuerzo, etc. y genial para tener el tamaño de la porción pequeña, especialmente para los miembros mayores. Gracias una gran comida para ponerse al día con mi familia. Sin duda volveremos!

Nos detuvimos aquí para “once” y encontramos que ofrecen una excelente selección de pasteles para acompañar su té o café a un precio razonable. Este es más un restaurante que un pub, ya que están muy orientados a las comidas de mesa. El ambiente es cómodo y hay un aparcamiento de buen tamaño con acceso para sillas de ruedas al edificio.

Been to this pub twice before and it was really good, we visited it for a third time recently (12/1/25) and sadly it didn’t live up to our past experiences. Once seated we sat for about 20 minutes completely ignored, had to go to the bar to get drinks and menus, Ordered 3 roast beef dinners which were good except the roast potatoes, they were very tough, like they had been left to go cold and reheated or been kept warm to long. Shame, as it let down an otherwise good meal.

Really tasty choices of food. All the dishes we chose were great. Service was a little slow but they were very busy. We would certainly go back again

Perfect for our badminton girls Christmas night out.

Lovely evening meal enroute to collect family from the airport. Salmon fish cake starter was delicious, Cajun chicken burger and garlic chicken, delicious too. Good value and excellent, friendly service.

We have lived for here 18 years, and about 1/4 mile away from The Bear Cross Pub, but this was the first time the two of us had been in here. We were not disappointed. The food was really nice and tasty. So nice to have Saturday evening meal cooked for us so local. We will definitely come again with the family.

Excellent food and the staff were really nice.

Lovely Christmas lunch and a huge dessert!

Lovely atmosphere, service was great, lots of food choices, the fillet steak was a bit over done for me, but food was piping hot and everyone (11 of us) was all served together

Excellent food & service, a very nice atmosphere all at a reasonable price.

Just passing through with the wife. Disabled parking spot conveniently close to the front door. It was quite busy with early diners but no problem in finding a couple of seats. At the bar welcomed by Charlotte, a smile would have enhanced the welcome though. I had a pint of Firsty Ferret in a dimpled handle ( no problem there ) at a good temperature and the wife had a whisky and lemonade. Both drinks were very reasonably priced. I thought the lighting was very bright and could do with dimming a little to create a nicer ambience. All in all though, a nice stop, I hope you don't mind the constructive criticism.

Cannot comment on food as we just came for a drink, having not visited for years. It's much changed as I recall, now a large open-plan area clearly intended for diners. There is a bar but just a few stools and nothing about it has any sense of cosiness or intimacy, all rather soulless, sadly Friendly-enough staff, but will not be returning just for a few drinks.

Lunchtime meal with friends. On line Booking system easy with reminder sent day before. Adequate car park although parking lines could do with a refresh. Nice menu choice at competitive prices. Our meals were of good quality. Good range of drinks avaliable.

Disappointed not as good as it was in fairness I haven’t visited for a nicer of years and thought we would go back table booked for 6.15 shown to table quickly and ordered a drink. Ordered food one stuffed peppers and one small bite fish and chips. Not often are we disappointed with food but such a shame the peppers were very bland no taste and strangely the chips were the same can’t fault the presentation it looked lovely but the taste wasn’t great. The fish inside the batter was also a little mushy and my friend said the batter didn’t appear to have any beer taste. Being British of course we said everything was ok when we were asked. We did chance a dessert and have to say they were lovely the crumble and the profiteroles so that made up for it. Compared to other places have been lately may be on the slightly pricey side for what we had

Food was lovely. Waiting staff very attentive

First time visiting for lunch. Warm welcome from staff on arrival, shown to our table as we had not booked, asked if we were happy with the table which we were. Hubby ordered Lamb steak in a rich mint gravy and fresh vegetable, I had pan fried chicken in a Stilton and apricot sauce with fresh vegetables followed by a pudding absolutely delicious, good portions served. Service was good. Overall a lovely lunch. We shall be back. Thank you to all the staff

Vinimos aquí para el almuerzo del domingo - no habíamos reservado, pero acabamos de parar en el apagado - oportunidad y tuvimos suerte de entrar después de la prisa principal de la hora del almuerzo. Claramente es muy popular. Tenía la opción de asado vegetariano, que para mí era una porción demasiado grande y un poco demasiado dulce de arándano. Si volvemos a ir probablemente me gustaría ir a la porción más pequeña y añadir un lado, ya que su queso de coliflor era muy agradable.

Nuestro lugar favorito para comer fuera Nos encanta venir aquí para una comida casual, nunca tuvo un problema en todos los años que hemos estado viniendo. Entre otros platos, el cerdo asado en domingo y el pollo cajún se han convertido en uno de nuestros platos favoritos, una cocina casera muy sabrosa, esperamos con ansias venir cada mes aproximadamente.

Not impressed at all. Such a shame the decline of service as well as the quality of the food. My mum had a stroke and my family came from Brighton to join us for our first meal out since she was out of hospital 3 weeks ago, we thought we would celebrate my sons girlfriends treat to us. I was served a totally different dish to what was on the menu that I ordered, I didn't want to make a fuss as my mum would get stressed so I humbly ate some & gave the rest to my son & girlfriend. I was fasting 4 days & wanted to break my fast with protein not rice a carb so I wasn't at all happy although didn't want to ruin the meal for everyone else. It was bland & tasteless wrapped in a sauce that didn't do it justice. I checked with the other family members & we agreed to say something as it was false advertising. I was offered a free dessert. I ordered a tea that never arrived and overall was not impressed by the lack of how important it is to serve what what is described on the menu. That could have been fatal to someone with a rice allergy & the pub libel. It was poorly managed the situation as it felt like it wasn't really a problem, that night I had stomach pains with nausea as I never eat rice. I needed to write this to express just how important it is to serve on a menu what it actually is! No - one wants to ruin people's lively hoods but the Bear Cross needs to step up, felt a waste of an evening & money.

Birthday celebration lovely food well presented and excellent service

Lovely home cooked breakfast at the Bear Cross today. Good value and delicious flavours.

I'll be honest.... I'm not a pub person so much anymore. I had a hour to kill as my car was tied up with a MOT at KwikFit across the road. So I popped across to the pub and was greeted nicely and politely. I got myself a gorgeous bit of Sultana and Apple cake and a perfect coffee. The place was friendly, clean and very professional.

The place looks tired and needs money spent to make it more appealing. The food and service were good, but the place lacked ambience.

Great experience, service highly recommend

I went with 5 other people, excellent service all round , friendly staff

Okay for a bite to eat. A little on the expensive side for what you get but it was okay.

Lovely staff and Lovely service thank you

Sadly the food let’s down what it is an otherwise good experience. The team are super friendly and the atmosphere is that of a friendly cosy local. I had the burger, supposedly beef, but had the texture and taste of a heavily processed, straight from the freezer slab of some mysterious meat like substance. The huge chips were pleasant enough but let down by a mayonnaise which lacked the creaminess and taste of one. The roasts my partner had looked like a better option so perhaps I chose carelessly on this occasion.

Lovely relaxed atmosphere. Very personable staff. Great food . Large free carpark. On a busy roundabout but you hardly noticed this once inside the lovely clean friendly pub. Highly recommend

Went in for dinner on a Friday night. Unfortunately my meal was barely edible but even though I hadn’t eaten all day I still only managed half of it. My partners slow cooked beef was good but my steak pie was overcooked to the point that the moisture had been sucked out of the meat and pastry resulting in tough, stringy beef and a dry, hard crust. The potatoes and gravy were tasty but the accompanying swede, carrots and broccoli were woefully overcooked and literally disintegrated to the point I had to scoop them onto the fork. Highly disappointing meal.

Awesome food, awesome service and an awesome place to visit. Well worth the experience

We enjoyed a fantastic afternoon as a party of 20, in order to celebrate our parents’ 60th wedding anniversary. There is a great selection on the menu and all of us thoroughly enjoyed our meals, including the children! A lovely atmosphere and lovely staff! Would highly recommended.

i loved this place going to come here more often. perfect for a meal with friends or family.

Great food, substituded parts, no problem. Crowd of 8, Kevin could not have been more helpful, brilliant member of the team. So good with starter and small main, coukd not eat a dessert 😥 We will be back!!

We had our 40th wedding anniversary here, what a amazing buffet they do, everyone committed on how lovely the food was, even kept going back for more. Free tea & Coffee with buffet. The staff are very friendly & helpful. Will definitely be going back. 👏👏👏

We were a party of 5 celebrating a 75th Birthday. Food, service, ambience - super. What more can you ask? They offer a great menu which is inclusive for vegetarians and vegans. The staff are exceptional.

Have visited this pub many times but this was the first time under new management. Our waiter was Kevin who was very pleasant and after only 2 weeks at this restaurant he was already very proficient. The dining room team need to work more as a team, they seemed to be hurrying around and on this occasion we did have to wait awhile for our drinks. This said I expect they are all quite new and in time will be better. The food was as good as ever and choice and price excellent. If you are in the area then try this pub as it is well worth it. We will be back. Keep up the good work Kev your a star.

FOOD WAS FANTASTIC AND VERY NICE JUST HOW WE WANTED IT 😋 WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PUB TO ANYONE ELSE WHO WANTED A NICE MEAL 😊👍👍

Staff nice, no where outside for non smokers, but I used to be addicted to 40 a day and I was allowed to poison everyone in the pub, so we're making progress Food average, but ok Quiet for a Summer Saturday night, I'd give it 5 years max before it's a new block of flats, so get there quick x

Really nice place to have a meal will definitely go again 🙂🍽

Came at 745pm for a Roast Dinner but they were out of all roasts but they did accommodate my little girl with mash chicken Yorkshire pudding and gravy . Unfortunately the chicken was very dried up and she couldn’t eat it but they did find a spoonful of mash extra to give her . Our food was lovely .. not big portions just the right size for me . One of the members of staff that served us was very accommodating and friendly . We are on holiday here . Gutted we didn’t get our roasts but we should have come earlier… enjoyed the sun and ate late . We would certainly come back here and recommend this place . I think my daughters chicken must have been what was left over from the Sunday lunches sadly so very dry . I had lamb chops and my husband had peppered pork

One of my most favourite restaurants in this local area. Lovely staff, very efficiently managed by Becky, and Tom. Perfect menu, with smaller appetite options and plenty of veg. Thanks for feeding us so well.

The steak pie is the best in Dorset no question about it! Usually good service but be sure to book ahead as most of the time they are busy due to the good food. Only downside is most of their clientele are very elderly so does smell of care home slightly. However I must Insist the food is special especially their homemade steak pie! A must try if your in the area

Staff very professional. Food very good

Brilliant meal again.Thanks to the chef for another lovely meal out.Service was great despite how busy it was, can’t believe how many people were in there on a Wednesday lunchtime! Will be back soon x

Today’s lunch was an essay in mediocrity. The fish in the fish and chips looked like it had been found in Tutankhamen’s tomb and then refried a couple of times before serving, then try to find any fish in the middle. It speaks a lot if a pub can screw up fish and chips. The other meals were, well, totally mediocre. Service by one waitress was charmless with plates plonked on the tables unceremoniously in front of us. The interior of the pub could do with a refurb, too.

Great food,plenty of gluten free choices., friendly staff. Small portions available for the elderly

The vegetables were fresh that accompanied the food.

Great Gluten Free Sunday Lunch as always, we go here every time we visit Poole, never had a GF lunch like it, you get Yorkshire pudding and cauliflower cheese!! Most restaurants take it away if your GF, even though it has changed hands still the same great food and staff.

Visited with friends for coffee and cake

Good food, extremely slow service from the staff who seem.more interested in chatting at the bar rather than taking orders or payment. Waited 15 minutes after being given the bill for someone to actually payment on a not busy Monday lunchtime....

I have eaten here in the past but not since new owners, I had some chips and a Guinness ordered at the bar and sat outside as it was a sunny day. Outside is nice but as it's right by a roundabout it can be noisy, but great if you're a people watcher or like to see activity around you. Chips were as expected and no complaints. I would eat and drink here again. They have an on site car park, not massively big but I've always managed to park

Lovely food. First time back with new owners. Would have liked to seen a change in menu as this has been the same one for years. Kevin our waiter was lovely and very friendly.

This was only my second time visiting the Bear Cross despite only living near by, we went for a birthday meal and found the meal very enjoyable, everything was cooked perfectly, the service was excellent, will try and go back again.

Had a lovely meal, friendly staff and loved the fairy lights in the restaurant! Very reasonable prices too.

Tasty food at a reasonable price. Friendly staff.

Didn't eat here have heard good things though from a friend who worked here recently who's a world class chef. Prices a bit pricey seems to be an older crowd we were there at 2.30 til 6

Great place to watch the football, shame about the game.

We were a group of builders looking for a Friday morning breakfast. Upon entry we all thought our hi Viz attire was wrong for the occasion but the Bear cross staff welcomed us in and the food was top notch. Probably the best breakfast I've had apart from my wife's. Just incase she reads this. Thanks Bear cross, hope we can get back soon.

We had a beef roast dinner and was very happy. Meat was served and cooked perfectly. I am a fussy big eater and this was perfect. Thank you. I would come again

Lovely meal and a great evening.

Really lovely breakfast and very pleasant staff.

Not the first time I have been here. Excellent food and service. Highly recommended 👌

Excellent service in a friendly pub/restaurant. Food amazing as always .

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit here with relatives. There was an excellent range of delicious home cooked food. We ate from the smaller appetite menu which was very good value.

Nice spacious eating areas with plenty of parking. Extensive menu and great food. Service was attentive and efficient.

Really nice atmosphere to talk with the family. Lovely friendly service, and excellent food. Accommodated all 13 of us at one table.

We always have amazing meals , but when we came fo my Husbsnds Birthday 18/2. We where very disapointed, the menu has changed, food not cooked to the usual standard and service very lacking it was only 6.30 and not many tables booked. We particulary come as has a great GF menu.So sad.

This is a great place to bring family friends and loved ones. There is ample parking available within the area. There is also disable parking available here onsite. The food and service is excellent especially off peak times. Booking is better especially if you want to be on at peak times. There is good selection of wines, beer, cider and spirit's. Food is great and one could choose between light bites of main dish too. Highly recommended to everyone who want to have a great time with family friends and loved ones. Thank you and have a great day 👍🌞

Good place to stop if you're looking for somewhere to eat. Food and service excellent. Will definitely stop there next time we're in the area.

Really nice meal. Service very good.

Let's start with the venue. Nice and cosy maybe to cosy with the radiators on full. Decor was good, very ambient. Service was really good, couldn't do enough. Now the food is really nice. But there was not a good balance of value for money. Braised minted lamb steak was amazing but the mash potato and Veg was the size my 4 year old eats. 8oz burger and chips was excellent. Kids pasta was very small and both my kids were still hungry.