The Bear Inn in Taunton Deane

The best pub micro brewery in the town always a warm welcome bonus real log fire ,

Had my first visit for a Sunday lunch.. and it was absolutely beautiful.. great food great service and lovely local family pub atmosphere.. dogs and children were there and families.. they make their own beer and I can certainly recommend trying the black bear and if your not driving do try the others.. looking forward to a return visit to see their own brewery and try some more of their great foods and ale's

Just had a lovely meal here, Chloe was our waitress and she was lovely, nothing was too much trouble for her would definitely come here again, a lovely evening.

Great beer, great food, great staff. What more can you ask from your local pub

A pub with great food and a great atmosphere. Free parking a few hundred metres up the road. Worth a visit if you're in the area.

Very pleasant great atmosphere.

One of the best sunday roasts I have ever had. Plenty of veg too, considering that lately most roasts only give you a carrot and a parsnip... Creamy mustard seed cauliflower was to die for! The staff were extremely attentive and accommodating, considering our party was a bit of a handful with 2 toddlers and 2 dogs! Great experience 😄

We came here for lunch on Saturday and it was delicious! Sigrid was so attentive and brought the fun - we had a great time! She is a true asset to the pub and we will be back soon - thank you!

Friendly place.. great atmosphere

On a very wet October day we headed to the Bear Inn, dog friendly, log fire and convivial atmosphere. After taking off our wet coats in front of the fireplace the landlady came over to take our drinks order, she left a menu, how fortunate! We ended up ordering lunch, what a treat, hot, plentiful delicious and great value for money,all served by pleasant, hardworking staff. We left, warm, satisfied, happy and Daniel the Spaniel made friends with everyone who spoke to him. All in all a pleasant dry, warm and enjoyable afternoon. Well done team Bear!!

Booked a table of thee for Sunday lunch. Excellent food at a decent price. A little bit of a wait for the food but it was very busy and we were quite late in the sitting. Polite service.

Whilst it seems this is more of a drinkers pub the food was faultless and nice to hear it’s locally sourced too. Bonus they have their own micro brewery on site; the Black Bear Bitter was the best beer my partner has ever had the pleasure of drinking! My biggest rating was on their kinda bueno cookie pie which was to die for!!! Staff are friendly and attentive, bonus that they’re dog friendly too.

Great pub that does good food looking at the menu on the wall.

Buy one get one free pizza night, first family visit to The Bear and extremely glad we made the effort! The pizzas were amazing, service excellent and swift. The beer brewed on site was also refreshing. A pleasant, stress-free dining experience. Came home with boxed left overs for breakfast (apparently according to the kids!) The steak on the table next to us also looked excellent!

A very busy place. Staff were very welcoming and friendly. The food was plentiful and tasty but I did find the Cider Braised Ham a bit too salty for my taste. Otherwise, a very good meal!

Visited here for the first time, as we are not local, with my wife and daughter. I have to say, it’s a great place to eat. The food was lovely with great size portions, which is why I’m writing this review. It makes a change to go to a place with lovely fresh food. Also the lady serving us was outstanding, very welcoming, helpful and polite.

A traditional looking, whitewashed pub in this small village, it was presumably a coaching inn in a former life going on the arched passageway to the side. Staff were pleasant and friendly, although some of the very sweary locals propping up the bar were rather less appealing. The menu offered a decent looking selection of dishes, with both a main menu and a number of specials chalked up on a board above the fireplace. Ultimately though it was all quite disappointing, my Chicken Tikka curry was quite a small portion and tasted like something straight out of a packet and bunged in the microwave, on top of which there was no sign of the mango chutney that was advertised on the menu. For £16.50 it was way overpriced. Across the table, ham, eggs and chips fared little better, although this was admittedly a more generous portion with some decent sized slabs of ham, but it was rather gristly in places and both the fried eggs and the chips were overcooked.

The Bear Inn is just so lovely.. The service from the ladies Sigfried.. and staff wonderful.. The presentation of food was very good.. we would highly recommend it. Lynne James Elaine Radbone Taunton Crafters.

Delicious delicious delicious. Very good cuisine and friendly staff.

Pizza was great! Lovely big outdoor space, historic vibe on the inside

I have to be honest I'm regular here and always enjoy the food The pizza is amazing and the cheesy chip are the best we have had Infact every now and then my friend and I go to to the bear just to get cheesey chips and a cuppa we sit and enjoy our food and chat the staff are great always friendly and very helpful It's a busy place at certain times of the day so probably best to book

Great food and service all round. Large menu. Bonus points for being completely on board with gluten free dishes and understanding of Coeliac requirements. Probably the best gluten free pizza base I have had; so much so a non coeliac being given this pizza would not be aware of any difference.

Had an absolutely lovely stop at the Bear after a dog walk. We were served by Sigrid, who was an absolutely great waitress, and was super helpful with our difficult dietaries! The loaded fries and nachos looked great - will deffo be back. A lovely atmosphere even in the mid week, and they are even dog friendly.

Local pub and busy. Excellent food at reasonable prices

We will definitely come back for a sunday roast. We both really enjoyed it

We enjoyed our time in the bear The cheesy chips are the best you can get pizza is amazing and the curry is good even if a little to hot for me but that's personal choice I go to the bear with my friend as sometimes as the food is good and the disable access is easy and the staff are friendly

Lovely food, very friendly staff. Best veggie breakfast I've ever had.

What a great pub! Good beer, friendly service and excellent food. We decided to visit because it looked like they had plenty of vegetarian options but with a long menu you often worry that it's come straight out of the freezer into the microwave. Not here! It all seemed very home made and was totally delicious. We had the veggie chilli loaded fries which were amazing and had a lovely fresh salsa. The lentil burger was also really excellent and again looked properly home made.

Beautiful setting for lunch with friends. Food was beautiful and service excellent. Brilliant that it was dog friendly.

Booked for by work in a function room, good was good and staff were very helpful

Absolutely incredible experience! The food was outstanding, bursting with flavor and expertly prepared. The service was impeccable, adding to an already wonderful dining experience. Sigrid, our hostess, was the highlight of the afternoon. She is witty, fun, and full of life, making us feel incredibly welcome from the moment we arrived. Her warm and vibrant banter truly enhanced our visit. Highly recommend! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wonderful lunch at the Bear! Sigrid was our awesome host and we loved the food. Also a great selection of real ales. Very relaxing little pub and we can’t wait to go again! 😋

The service was definitely the best thing about this place. We had a waiter called Sigrid, they were incredibly awesome and funny, they definitely deserve a pay raise!! (They're Very cool 😌). Other than that the food was amazing!

What a great discovery just a few miles away!! Couldn't the food as we didn't eat, but will be back to rectify that 😋

Excellent food and 3 cask ales on a warm cosy pub. Faultless, thankyou!

What a fantastic pub! Staff are so friendly and helpful. We visited as a family and had a wonderful meal and great value too. The food quality was excellent. Nice atmosphere too.

We have visited the Bear a few times but on this occasion we were not happy .As it was a Sunday, we went in at 12 to be told it was fully booked, and we could have a table at 2.30, so we went back just before, but it was total disorganisation and lacking staff.We were at first given the wrong menus and then we waited and waited for our order to be taken this was after going to the bar to place a order and being told they would come and take it.After a long while a very good 20mins our order was finally taken and yes the food was good when it arrived but you shouldn't have to wait that long just to order food and you should be able to order food at the bar .

Had a lovely lunch here, food was fabulous, with great friendly service

Great value food, excellent service, lovely ambience. Thank you so much for such a lovely lunch today. Your staff were absolutely wonderful!

We were on holiday in the area. Had a lovely Sunday roast. Roast beef was tender, Roast pork with crackling, nut roast for me was lovely. Homemade, not the usual frozen offering. The brownie dessert is amazing. Young lad served us, he was attentive, welcoming. Made me a lovely cappuccino after the meal. Highly recommend.

The Bear never disappoints and is an exceptional example of a friendly local pub, great food, great staff and a unique and cozy atmosphere. Always worth a visit whenever passing through Wivey

Drinks were good but the pizza was absolutely disgusting, no toppings whatsoever, could have aswell paid for margarita

Sunday Lunch just ok. Food barely warm and everything piled on top of each other. Looked pretty but had to disassemble to find out what was on plate. £15 a lot for 2 slices of meat, 3 small roast potatoes and a bit of veg.

Great service and food. I am Coeliac and they took great care to ensure my food was gluten free. Would definitely go back and recommend.

We visited The Bear tonight with our dog, atmosphere was good and we were seated straight away. The staff were very friendly and efficient and the meals were nothing less than perfect. I have a gluten intolerance and my meal did not disappoint. We were staying at a local caravan park so as an added bonus got 10%off too.

Wonderful local pub. Good food great atmosphere

Having booked a table for a family meal, it started promising and ended extremely disappointing. Having purchased drinks including a glass of wine for my 17 yr old daughter to have with her meal, a waitress firstly challenged her for ID, which we explained we did not have with us. Next thing the waitress returned and snatched the glass from my daughter and ran off saying I’ll take that and then continued to throw it down the sink. My issue is the apparent rules of the house for 16-17 year olds is that they do not allow any alcohol consumed under 18 yrs even when accompanied by adults when dinning. Unfortunately there is no notice if this anywhere within the pub so you only find out when you receive an overly robust challenge. My point to consider is the rules of the house is its prerogative however the manner in which this is communicated leaves a lot to be desired. We were left feeling badly treated as if we were in the wrong, when we were totally within uk law rules. My daughter was left to feel upset. After requesting an apology from the waitress we did receive what may loosely be considered one. The overall experience was not good to add to this the food ended up being mediocre and we left half in eaten. We had up to this point been regular customers for their weekly Pizza night. However after this experience we won’t be returning. If you are planning a family meal out I would recommend steering clear of the Beat.

We popped in with the dogs; pleasantly surprised at the veggie options! The total seemed a bit steep at £53 for two people (2 veg burgers, a starter, two sides, two fizzy drinks) but the portions are excellent. The veg burger was missing *something*, flavour wise, but it was still a nice meal. Lovely atmosphere, too. A proper independently ran pub.

Great atmosphere, music, noise, good chunky chips. Love it there 😊😁

Food was amazing , the salmon was very tasty, excellent service from Harry very attentive and helpful . We will be back !!

Wiveliscombe is a quaint little village and the Bear Inn is situated right in the heart of it. Cosy atmosphere, friendly staff and lovely food. There were a number of locals eating there when we had our lunch, always a good sign.

Just had the most amazing steak meal. I have food intolerances and a little fussy at times. The waitress was so so helpful and made the meal so much more enjoyable. Thank you for such amazing service and food beyond words.

Proper old style boozer for locals. Very friendly. We had a lovely Sunday roast

Good value for money. Rump steak, peas, chips, mushroom and I took topper, and peppercorn along with a drink for £15.45. Cooked well. Staff are very friendly. Good value.

Enjoyed a couple of pints and a burger here

Great breakfast we had in there with a lovely well kept pint of Guinness..

Really friendly staff, well cooked food chicken and bacon pie was fantastic exmoor burger was also delicious compliments to the chef. We will be back soon

Nice pub, friendly staff and good food.

OK... Good beer.. Great cheesy chips..

Booked the bear after the White Hart cancelled our table the night before our booking the next day for lunch, things must happen for a reason as the food and service we had in the Bear was excellent.

Fantastic breakfast...best mushroom I've had in ages. Very engaging staff... get in early for breakfast as it gets busy & my 5 minute delay in choosing cost me 15 mins before tge witness was able to return. Great community pub & thankfully management running more local pubs now...

Good food, very busy which was good to see and excellent service. 2 for 1 pizza on a Thursday

Called in here as a large group of 21 for drinks, served quickly by polite and friendly staff, sat in the garden at first which is large with lots of benches, moved inside as the temperature dropped and managed to fit all of use onto a couple of tables by the lovely open fire. Excellent cheesey chips!! A proper pub would definitely return if in the area

We left it late on a Sunday in our quest for food Starting on Exmoor we tried several delightful pubs but to no avail And then... We came to The Bear! Not only were they serving but the roast was incredible. I had the beef and it was faultless. The crumble and custard for dessert was also excellent. Great value. Excellent food. Lovely atmosphere and genuinely kind staff. Proper pub. Can not wait to return. As my youngest asked: 'can we come here every day?'

Popped in for a quick lunch. Great menu - lots of meals at fair prices. Good service - when you order your drinks, they bring them over with menus if you are eating - a nice touch. The menu has classics and modern cuisine with light meals for well under a tenner but things like steaks are more money - but still competitively priced. Tempting selection of pizzas. Beer and wine was spot on and again fair prices. The food itself was good - decent portions, good quality and hot dishes were served on warm/hot plates (why do so many pubs serve good hot food on cold plates?). The wait for the food was quite short and the waiting staff were very professional. Clean tables and a homely atmosphere. We will definitely go back.

Absolutely fabulous pub! And busy which made for a great atmosphere. Staff were excellent and the food came out very quickly. Best meal I've had in a long time! OK, it was pizza and chips but wow, was that a pizza. I had the fish pizza and ordered a side of bbq dirty fries and they were really delicious.

We booked a table on a Wednesday for The Bears steak night. The meal was excellent, the steak was amazing and cooked to absolute perfection. What a great way of doing a menu, you are give a sheet of paper and you tick which steak you want, then which fries, and then extras, say mushroom, tomatoes etc. The meal also includes a small wine/pint of beer or cider. The meal was great value. The pub was lovely, a proper pub, with locals in drinking and a fire, a real charm. You can park easily just up the road in a council car park which is free after six. All in all a lovely place to go and we will definitely be back

Cracking little local, the epitome of an English pub.. great food, great selection of ale, friendly staff and good service 🍻🇬🇧

Very nice, freshly cooked burgers. We had the Big Bertha, the Pulled Pork Burger and the Venison Burger and we were all very pleased with our choices! A young adult member of our party just wanted a child's chicken nugget meal and this wasn't a problem. The prices were fair, the waitresses were attentive, service came with a smile and the general atmosphere was welcoming! I would happily recommend!

Wonderful proper west country pub great steaks and wonderful atmosphere

Delicious meal at the Bear a lovely cozy pub with excellent beers and ales - had the vegan Penang curry with loads of vegetables and naan bread and a wicked blackberry crumble and ice cream

Slow food service. Other customers vaping at the bar infront of staff. Lots of flies hovering over tables and not a fly trap in sight. Vegan and vegetarian food options. Food quality and flavour was mediocre, but definitely hot and fresh. I wouldn't choose to eat there again.

Good pub food and friendly staff 😋

Did not go in the pub as can't get wheelchair in

Fantastic hosts, as always! Amazing food, top pizzas, and a cold pint of Thatcher's! What's not to love.

We booked a table over the phone, my daughter asked if it would be possible to warm up some food for my Grandson and was told that it wouldn't be a problem so she confirmed the booking. On arrival, we asked the waitress to warm up the food and she took it away, she returned a minute or 2 later saying that they weren't allowed to do it but she didn't know why. We asked for dome.boiling water instead and she went to get some but came back again saying that it wasn't allowed. The waitress was lovely and very embarrassed as she didn't understand why she wasn't allowed to do it. The food was average so we wished we'd been to our original choice instead. Just avoid if you have a baby that needs food/milk warming up as they're not baby friendly at all, very annoying when they told us on the phone that it wouldn't be a problem. My son-in-law had to then go over to the Co-Op to get a pouch of something fruity that my Grandson could eat cold. I'm assuming it was the chef that said no but could be wrong, very disappointing experience. The waitress that served us was lovely, about the only plus point!

Sorry not for us. People were friendly enough but trying to navigate a wheelchair around the bar area was very difficult. Once we got settled we could not read the menu in the lighting. This was a lunch time visit and we were sat at the back of the bar. Needless to say we did not order anything.

Had a lovely meal here with family when I visited

Met up with friends for Steak night. Reasonably busy. Ordered food by completing a form, type of steak, what veg,what sauce etc, good way to put in your order, also you get a free glass of beer or wine. All staff very friendly. Not a long wait for food which was very good. Would go backwhen in the area.

Called in as sister pub wasn't doing meals. Not disappointed lovely snack and good service from a fresh faced young man. Credit too him .

I sent eight guests over to the Bear last night as we were fully booked and this morning they were raving about their meal with you and said that they loved Wiveliscombe and would be back. Thank you.

The food was very good. I liked having the choice of options other than just a roast. It was hot and the staff were all friendly

Great find, excellent food and atmosphere. Very friendly staff.

Service was average, another table arrived after us but got their food quicker, not too fussed by that. food just about acceptable, chips were luke warm

Good traditional pub in the heart of its community. Excellent food and service. Thank you for being just that.

I stayed in Wiveliscombe for 2 nights in June. I ate Fantastic FOOD and drank unbelievabley good beer. The owner John and his staff were really friendly. I had the Best Steak and ale pie I have ever had. The inn itself is a fabulous place with a massive beer garden out back with both open and covered areas. The inn also has its own brewary. I was disappointed to learn that the bear ale wasn't ready I'm sure I missed something good. Unfortunately the Bear inn does not do accommodation, if it did it would be the best. I recommend the Bear inn. Utterly Fantastic.

Love the Bear! Tried a burger off the new menu and it’s probably the best burger I’ve ever had. Was sat reflecting on the whole experience for 20 minutes as it was that good.

Enjoyed two dining experiences in The Bear over the last three days. Last night we had the fish and chips, absolutely superb. Fish well done with crispy batter and crunchy chips and peas as accompaniment washed down with a pint of local cider. Thank you Brandon and staff for a super night, hopefully we will be back.

It's a classic country pub, but also has its own brewery and a beer garden. Pleasant staff, free parking close by.

The staff are great but our main meals were very mediocre - overcooked steak and dry lasagne. There might be more joy with the freshly cooked pizzas and nachos.

Just the most amazing Sunday lunch excellent food and service highly recommended

Had a great lunch with wine and a couple of very good pizzas

A basic town pub. However we went on 2 for 1 pizza night and the pizzas were excellent. Staff really good too. Good choice of ciders and beers

Would recommend this place to everyone, fabulous steak last night. Great staff, very friendly and extremely reasonable prices. Dog friendly too.

Great atmosphere and excellent food.

Never a dull moment at The Bear - always busy, especially on Steak or Pizza night. Best to book to avoid disappointment! And some pubs are struggling - not here. A real pub with service and lots of locals enjoying a natter.

Nice food and nice service. Slightly disappointed that it wasn't as nice as the Martlett Inn (Same pub owner)

Had a good value pub meal. Unpretentious food at an unpretentious venue.

Really great pub, friendly staff, good food and dogs welcome

My husband and I went there with family for breakfast which was very good, and the staff were polite, helpful and friendly.