the Brown Bear pub Berwick upon Tweed in Northumberland

Went there yesterday in a group of 7 of us ranging from age 39 to 68. Drinks are overpriced but we went there because on previous visits the staff have always been very friendly and welcoming. Not yesterday. The eldest of our party was asked to leave by the door staff, when we queried it with who I assume is the manager she went to speak to them then walked straight past us on her way back to the bar without saying a word to us. We had to ask the doorman what was said, they were told we could stay but couldn't have anything else to drink as our friend was 'too drunk', she was sat there not saying a word, not doing any harm at all. We tried to speak to the manager again, she walked away in the middle of the discussion. Disgusting attitude, we won't be back. Much better places to visit than this one.

Absolutely fantastic atmosphere and very friendly staff especially Cherie,can't wait to come back. Laugh a minute and professional

What a great place! Loved it! Had an Easter weekend away and we were looked after with smiles and just an all round good time! Keep doing what your doing 👏! Xxx

Lovely atmosphere, service excellent. Very friendly..Cherie is an asset with her helpful, chatty and cheerful manner day and night... I good mix of people during the day.. who r all greeted with a Smile.. Karaoke very busy but fun... security checking IDs always a good sign...of control .

It was quite busy as karaoke was on the service was good and felt safe as the doormen were fantastic, they checked id's and were very observent.

was in the brown bear while on holiday in berwick with friends for a few drinks nice friendly pub and quick service with drinks.

Lovely bar with good selection of beers spirits etc. nice comfy seats and dj played some decent music that wasn’t too loud.

me and my fiends had chosen the brown bear for a drink, but when we came. We were confronted with an extremely rude bouncer. He had asked us extremely personal questions before allowing us entrance us to the club. Before entering, when asking the name of the bouncer he told us entitling that his name was Cameron. I have only made this account to warn other other women about our terrible experience. Please if coming into the Berwick area avoid this pub.

What can we say… always the best welcome and fabulous service. Damian and Sheree are the absolute best. We come back every time just because they bake our visits awesome!!!!

Warm & friendly atmosphere. Lovely staff & great service. Great place to meet and chat with friends.

Center of Berwick and dog friendly. Nice and cosy pub would recommend. Took my 2 german shepards who were served water....with ice.

Excellent pub,manager Damian and his co worker Sheree were very entertaining and friendly...would recommend it to anyone.. AND to top everything it's dog friendly..Yeah😂😂👏👏👍❤️

Ok place , just had a drink wine and a beer £8 went for the same again £ 10 Hubby got one I got the other . so it was only when we compared prices later we realised , I may have looked posher than him .

friendly staff a good group of customers new when a stranger was in and polite. centre to town. clean toilets.

Very friendly and chatty staff. Had the beer I like. No food at the moment due to staffing problems. Would call again.

I was having a drink with friends,we were on holiday for a weekend break,another couple from our hotel we're drinking here also,DJ Arrived pit music on load,the couple were singing,girl was dancing,they then were just sitting having a drink same as everyone else, Was shocked to watch security walk up tap guy on the shoulder and asked them to leave I could see they were confused same as our group as to why they were being ask to leave,managed proceeded to bring a large group of about 10 to replace there seating area,they were very vocal,we decided it was not for us so left went back to the hotel,the couple were having a quiet drink and still confused to why they got put out,later that evening we heard a commotion to look out front of hotel to see a fight out side the brown bear,security kicked a young boy on the stomach who was shouting at him,then clapping there hand,encouraging trouble,needless to say no one from our hotel went back.

Called and asked if they were serving meals. We were told they don't do food so walked out. Then thought we would have a drink there so went back in. I only drink hand pulled bitter. This so called pub only had one hand pulled beer. I said that I wanted a bitter and not a citrus beer. She offered me a taster. You could smell the citrus and you couldn't see through the liquid. I didn't have a taste and left. If you like a decent hand pulled beer avoud this place.

Greeted by an over familiar, highly excitable, rude bar person. He asked my 55 year old friend for ID and as we turned to leave he shouted "Only joking!" I told him we did not find it funny and he told me he was only making conversation. He wasn't in the least funny and he embarrassed my friend. Needless to say we didn't stay. There were only two other people in the pub. Wonder why?

Came in for a pint having seen it was dog friendly. Very welcoming from people in there, lady behind the bar was very welcoming too. Decent prices for drinks, food wasn’t available at the time but not a bother for us. Sat down in a nice spot and the dogs got a bowl of water which we didn’t need to ask for :) Nice little pub

If you want a friendly atmosphere with decent music being played, pop in for a drink. Staropramen on tap. We went on a Monday night just for one and the clientele were nice, the front half of the pub was nice and traditional and toilets were clean :) would love to go back when there's live music! Dog friendly.

Visited The Brown Bear for the first time in years. Met up with friends for drinks. It is very well organised and the staff were really friendly and helpful. Covid restrictions being adhered too buy not over the top. Good deals on drinks and nice...

Great place, under manager is a real asset to the place, very friendly and helpful. Reasonable prices for drinks too! 🥳🥳

Stayed next door but always came here for early evening drinks, Staff were great,very friendly and on hand when you were ready for next drink,

nice pub to have a night cap,just a few yards from hotel,good covid rules,table service,whisky lemonade/gin tonic,10 quid.

Weve been to this pub several times when weve stayed in berwick and before covid it was jumping on a saturday might but like all pubs now it was very quiet the staff were great and stuck to all the rules we still had a...

We were in Berwick for the weekend. Lovely place to relax with a beer. Staff were very pleasant and friendly. We hope to return soon.

The pub is very tired and dated inside. Lighting is poor and dull. Landlady was pleasant and welcoming and the drinks were reasonably priced. The food was OK too, but tables were sticky and the chairs really were falling to pieces. The local clientele were...

Called in for a couple of drinks on a saturday this is the only lively pub in berwick so you get all the locals in from pensioners to teenagers its good to people watch seeing pensioners getting very drunk and hitting on the teenage girls...

Many years ago, the B.B. was a rough pub, full of low lifes, however it came under new ownership some time ago and with good staff, a decent cellar it changed and became a decent pub, hence the positive reviews.

Called today 3/8/18 and to my utter shock found Brown Bear shut down and fixtures and fittings removed already. No idea what has gone wrong but pub is no more. A really sad loss.

Showed up about 530. Sat down At a table. No one acknowledged us. Not after 15 minutes. We were looking forward to the pies and pub food and beer. Finally got up and left.

Something to suit everyone. Fresh salad,awesome chips,friendly service. Big helpings,carry out box to take home if unable to finish . Good selection of beers including choice of non alcoholic if driving

The food menu was as flexible as you would wish - you could have almost any combination - I had jacket potato with chicken curry and salad. The salad was fresh. I can't remember all the names. One example of the humour was 'hardcore prawn'....

Came across this pub by chance when looking for a simple lunch. The wide range of gourmet sandwiches gave a fantastic choice of fillings, types of bread, wraps or baked potato. When they arrived they were huge and packed with fresh fillings. They also came...

Good beer from the wood friendly staff and great outdoor seating. Needs a little tlc but the manager is dealing with it. Worth a visit

If you like uncontrolled dogs barking at each other in the bar then this is the place for you! Not exactly a relaxing visit the other night when 2 dog owners let their dogs disturb people trying to enjoy the quiz!

Popped in on a quiet Monday evening. Great selection of real ales, and plenty for other drinkers too, nice selection of gins. This is a proper pub, and we understand that they are trying to run this as a community pub, to stop it being another statistic, another closed pub. They advertise food, chilli etc, we didn't eat this time. Would recommend.

As a regular visitor to Berwick and keen on most of the local pubs this is one for some reason I had not tried out previously. However this is what I would call a proper pub. Decor is traditional yet fresh and the pub is fairly decent size.

Went to the Brown Bear for Pie Mash and pees Highly recommended Nice quiet pub no music they have a good selection of beers. The staff are very welcoming. I have been before and will be back again.

We called in for a pint and a bowl of home-made soup at lunchtime. This is not one of those trendy places with gassy yellow mass-produced beer. Instead it is friendly, traditional and a proper English pub run by people who are committed to doing a good job. They had interesting local ales for me, and my wife enjoyed the best glass of 'real lager' that she has ever tasted.

Called in our first night in Berwick, (Thursday 10 May, around 9pm). Bought a beer which was cloudy and undrinkable. Barman was completely disinterested and refused to change. Very poor customer service. If you’re new in town, I’d recommend giving this place a wide berth!

We came in here after getting soaked in the rain. Bar staff were very friendly and helpful. They let us hang up all our wet stuff over the radiators. We all had pies that were great! Great beer too

Visited the Brown Bear this weekend with my husband, after a long walk around this beautiful town. We looked at several pubs and restaurants, and opted for this one, because whilst looking less sophisticated than others close by, this pub looked 'homely'. We were not disappointed. The décor is quirky and interesting, the welcome very warm, and the atmosphere relaxed. The local brews were wonderful. We ordered a home-made pie, mash and peas each, and they were exceptional. I cannot recommend the Brown Bear enough to anyone visiting the town...

Staying locally, we were recommended the pub for its beer. Great choice. Really good selection of real ales from the local area. We were hoping for food, but there was a quiz on so no food served. Very friendly staff & would certainly return on holiday & not a school night !

Fantastic selection of pies served with delicious mash, peas and gravy.

Went in on a Saturday evening after finding all the local restaurants were fully booked. Sat at the table at the back and there wasn't too much noise. Great choice of ales and ciders and amazing pies. Just what was needed after some long walks!

With a visit. Great surroundings nice chilling out place. Reasonable prices. Dog friendly. We will be back

Very good pub this. Haven't tried the food yet but but excellent range of beers. Very dog friendly. Also has a bookshelf which can never be a bad thing.

Called in for an after dinner drink with some friends. Strong smell of dogs very unpleasant,A man at the bar was so drunk that he was incoherent and falling asleep.

Fantastic lunch - stew, curry, pie with mash and peas, great beer, coffee and friendly service (including some free treats for our retriever). Lovely, cosy, properly traditional. As all pubs should be.

We were staying in Berwick for a long weekend and called into the Brown Bear for a couple of drinks on our way home from sightseeing. What a lovely welcome we had from the man running the bar. The local people in there were very friendly too. Call in and see for yourself.

We came for a drink in the day and saw they were having Live music on the evening. we returned later to hear many live acts of people just turning up. we were very surprised at the different styles types all very enjoyable felt very friendly and tasty pies were handed out. we will return to taste them again as they were amazing. the live acts I'm told are held once a month.

Stopped for lunch. Service can charitably be described as sluggish. Food selection is not great- pieminster pies, not fresh made, that you can buy for yourself in Waitrose. Despite the microwave style food it took the better part of an hour to arrive even though bar was almost empty. Considering food alone this would get one star. Given two stars for decent beer and nice decor. One for drinks only. I'd suggest eating elsewhere.

Great cask ales, delicious pub grub, great welcome from the Manager. The Brown Bear, under its new community management team, has recently had what might be termed an authentic retro refurbishment after years of neglect. Great atmosphere, dogs and children welcome, regular pub quiz nights and music gigs.

Fabulous warm welcome, great beer, coke in cans not on gun and then we come to the pies. Great selection and the price including mash and mushy peas was excellent for the quality of the food.. Would recommend to anyone in the area.

Interesting pub, very traditional, home made soup delicious, wide choice of pies on the menu, too value if you want unpretentious grub. Worth a visit.

Extremely friendly and knowledgable barman. The ale selection was extensive and in very good condition . Place had a relaxed and friendly vibe. Quirky chandelier quite arty and great to see a piano in a pub. So why not 5 .. the loos need some TLC.

Very pleasant staff. We had steak and ale pie - the food is basic i suppose, (they specialise in a variety of kinds of pies to suit many dietary preferences.) Easy, not overwhelming in size (thankfully) : just enough for a satisfying meal, and friendly service. I hope they continue with their venture to keep The Bear going. They're doing great to my mind. Looks like a relaxing family pub in the daytime.

Please stop the dogs. I called in for a pint with my family but could not hold a conversation because of barking dogs. I think one belonged to the lad behind the bar. The dog was on edge and barked frantically at every new customer including children. The bar lad tried his best to play it down but it's just not on. Stop allowing dogs into pubs and cafes.

Thoroughly enjoyed a quick lunch break in this restaurant while exploring the Berwick city walls. The service was polite and the pies were tasty. The locals that we spoke to wanted to hear about where we were from and we enjoyed the company. Great place for a quick stop. The beef and ale pies were delicious and made for a great lunch while exploring the area.

Service in bar was dreadful, probably waited 5/7 mins for service. Barman served a full glass of tomato juice and gave us The Lee and Perrins bottle to add ourselves which was impossible as the glass was full with tomato juice!!Lots of flies in window area and generally needed a good clean. Oh dear!!!

Nice position near bottom of high street. Quirky decoration and an excellent choice of beers and plenty of space. We also had a big bowl of peanuts from a jar

This is a great little place for trying several different beers on tap along with a good selection of wines by the glass. They have a unique menu of serving only pie mash and minted peas with gravy. Various pie fillings are on offer as well as desserts all at very affordable prices. Well worth visiting.

Found out about this pub before our visit to Berwick and we weren’t disappointed. A community buy out pub. Really nice quirky interior and a good pubby feel to it. Beer choice was great and the bar staff were really friendly and helpful. They offer Pies, mash, peas and Gravy but they do have an artisan collection of Pies with a good choice of Veggie and Meat ones. They also offer soup for a lighter meal. A great idea and the pies were amazing!! Really nice and enjoyable and will revisit before our holiday is over. You can buy a pint glass to support their enterprise-brilliant idea.

Stopped here for lunch and they were a dog friendly establishment. The menu is limited to pies and mash.There was a good range of pies, including vegetarian options (including gravy). Really enjoyed what we chose and it was very good value.

Good to know the local community have revived the pub for future generations. Good selection of local ales, fresh coffee, wine and cocktails.... and proper pub grub. Dog friendly, which is always important for us (x 3 dogs).

We saw this place a couple of years ago and wouldn't have given it a second look, but noticed upon entering the pub that there was a nice selection of real ales on offer. Nice atmosphere too. The staff are also very friendly and polite.

A great pub recently reopened by a community type organisation offering mostly beer from the local area. It stand in a nice position and supports local community groups. Food is simple but hearty but the beer and ambience are in themselves the reasons for visiting.

Had lunch with family. This is a community run pub which definitely caters to vegetarians and meat eaters alike. The menu is advertised as pies, peas and mash but is in a much better class than the average pies peas etc. The veg and lentil soup was great, just enough spiciness. The other three people each had a different pie, one was steak and ale, another feta and veg, the third goats cheese. This pub has a lovely decor- the central light fixture is great and really funky. Newly opened at the beginning of this year, I would definitely recommend it. I hope it continues to do well. Worth a visit for the food alone but it also has craft beers for those who are beer lovers.

We went in had pie, peas, mash & gravy. It was delicious, friends had the steak and ale pie, I had steak and Stilton. Would recommend this lovely little place to anyone. Good selection of beers too. Lovely friendly staff. We will be visiting again next time we're in Berwick. Top place

Had a four night stay in Berwick and this pub was recommended to us. We went on our second night and were not disappointed.The pies are excellent (good vegetarian selection) and a good range of beers and ciders. The Thistly Cross cider is very more-ish!!!!. Great friendly atmosphere and music. Liked it so much went back again on our fourth night. Would definitely recommend.

Recommended for their pies which is the only food they sell. We were not disappointed as there were lots of flavours and they tasted fantastic. Good range of cask beers. What's not to like

One of the best pies I have ever had. Great selection of pies with some different options I haven't seen before. Try the mushroom and asparagus, out of this world. You should know that this place is all about pies, they do have a soup option, but dont expect other options. If you don't like/want pies then go elsewhere. That being said if you like pies then go here you won't be disappointed!

A great stop off during our walk around the Town walls. Pies are second to none and very reasonably priced. You HAVE to try their pies! Good atmosphere and friendly bar staff. Not very busy when we got there which was around 12 ish. Window seat is a good place to people watch.

Friendly staff, excellent selection of cask ales and local ciders and craft lagers. Such a unique selection of food as the pub only serves pies! Amazing artisan pies with unique fillings, very tasty and very filling with a very friendly atmosphere! A gem of a find!

Avoid this pub unless you have a fetish for flies, they are everywhere, we had one drink and left very quickly feeling very itchy !

I enjoyed this pub it had a good atmosphere. Great ales they do pie and mash . We didn't try on this occasion. Staff friendly as when asking about ales. On the Saturday night there was live music which was very good. We will pop in again and hopefully try the pie and mash.

Several real ales on handpumps. We tried at least four, all in excellent condition. There is an amazing pie menu, including vegetarian choices. I had the wild mushroom and asparagus pie, which was delicious.

We had a lovely meal. Only serve pies and mash, soup and roll, or sausage rolls. Great food... but limited options.

We really liked this place! Decor was great, helpful friendly staff, good service and fab pies! Most importantly to us, very dog friendly. We visited twice and sampled the venison, beef, chicken and the vegetarian options. Great pastry, served with peas, mash and gravy. A simple idea which works brilliantly. I wanted to give the pub five stars and the only thing that stopped my was a large number of mosquitos dead on the windowsill.

We'd been encouraged to try this place since arriving in Berwick. There's no denying that the food is good - I really enjoyed the well-filled beef and ale pie - but we chose a bad time to go. It had just opened for lunch and the staff clearly weren't yet in gear. We waited 10 mins - with no other customers in the place - for our orders to be taken, despite having placed the menus down after about two minutes. When we had eaten our fine pies, the two staff at the bar simply continued their chat until my companion decided to go up to the bar and pay. So good for food and environment, poor for service,

We travelled to see the viaduct and walk the walls, heading back to the station we stopped at the Brown Bear for a pint and a pie, and it paid off.Pies (steak and ale, venison bacon and lentil) were delicious and the beer suggested by the bartender very enjoyable. My only slight knock would be "it could be more cosy" with great beer and great food I'd just enjoy a more comfortable setting, but it wouldn't stop me going again.

The menu is mainly pies with or without mash, minted mushy peas and red wine gravy. Have to say the accompaniments did not seem suited to main selection of pies. We had venison pie with mash etc. and it really was excellent. Shame the pub was so quiet as the staff were really nice and friendly each time we visited during our week long holiday.

Stopped in the Brown Bear a couple of times for a drink and then deceived to have pie & mash one night too. Great choice of pies, some a bit different, some traditional all served simply with mash, mushy peas and gravy. They were great. Beer is good and also they do a few cocktails, the two that we sampled were lovely... we'll be returning for sure. Also dog friendly which is an extra bonus. I hope the Brown Bear goes from strength to strength after its 'hibernation'

Pleased to see The Brown Bear re-open again ,as we were devastated on our las visit to Berwick to find it closed.The pub has had a facelift since we were in last.But what a friendly welcome we recieved.Good selection of ales and lagers. The food looked really good . The biggest bonus for us was that it was Dog Friendly

Visited as we had heard a bit about the efforts to save the pub. Good food and an interesting selection of Ale. However if they want to encourage return visits they need to do better with their customer service both from the bar and the kitchen and improve their knowledge of the products they are selling. Fantastic effort though to rejuvenate one of Berwicks heritage pubs.

We called in for a pint whilst on our 1st visit to Berwick & nearly didn't go in as it looked very quiet, although it was a midweek afternoon. So glad we did as not only did they have Stowford Press on (very reasonable price) but also a menu consisting almost exclusively of pies with or without mushy peas & mash. After seeing a couple of plates coming out of the kitchen we decided to have another pint & said pies. They really were top notch & would highly recommend & again very reasonably priced.Staff were really friendly & the whole place just felt really comfortable.A proper pub

Popped in not expecting a lot .What a mistaken idea ,lovely traditional old pub ,great beers ,service and pies to die for .If you like pies go here great choice .Not to be missed if visiting Berwick .

Just dropped by for a beer on a quiet Monday afternoon. There was a good range of drinks including quite a choice of local real ales and a good choice of wines. The place is large but very clean and tidy and quite modern looking. I understand it has only been reopened a little while and they announce they pay the bar staff a living wage which is obviously a good thing. Our beer was nicely kept and the bar staff were friendly. The food looked interesting as it comprised of different pies from more traditional game and beef to some inventive veggie options - spinach and pander. There was a soup of the week for £3.50 so it looked like you could get some reasonably priced food on the hoof here although the choice is a little limited..

Recently been bought by a local group hoping to bring new life back intro this pub.As yet all very average. A lot of hype and information about what is going to happen but watch this space as work in progress. Went a few times on recent trip to Berwick as my partner enjoyed the beer but feel the staff need leadership and to be a bit more friendly. I feel they should have at least had a little banter as we were obvious holiday makers. I wish it well

We had heard that the Bear had re-opened but only yesterday got round to going there. Dont go if you like john smiths and plastic attitude. This is a proper pub with proper beer and simple but delicious food. The people are enthuastic and imaginative. Live music is coming soon which is of interest to me but, if you are a group of friends wanting a night out in a relaxed and comfortable environment get here and make it early if you want to sit 'cos it deserves to be full. And the enormouse range of pies are delicious.

This is a must when visiting Berwick upon Tweed.Delicious and beautifully served. A real treat. The pies were delicate, hot and the peas minted, potatoes mashed and great brown sauce. A tradional pub that was saved and reopened. Great selection of beers and ciders as well as tradional bar drinks.

recently discovered this friendly little bar, it had a great atmosphere, good beer/wine prices, we will definately return

Such an enjoyable pub for really good drinks, including Thistly Cross cider, delicious food, everyone so friendly. Dogs made very welcome too.

What a wonderful pub-quirky decor. Friendly staff, great range of beers and simply the BEST pies-cannot recommend highly enough!!!

Lovely friendly place. Good beer. Food is just pies but they are excellent. Not a gastro pub, a community pub and all the better for it. Dogs welcome. Worth a visit.

Had a lovely Sunday lunch of award winning pie and mash in this lovely traditional pub. Staff were friendly and helpful, we even tried a sample of the pale ale before buying. A great experience after a lovely walk.

Looking to try a steak and ale pie while on vacation in the UK, we found the brown bear after two failed attempts to get dinner at other places that were closed (looking at you Leaping Salmon!). The setting is unassuming but there were several ales on tap I hadn't seen before and the Bar tender was helpful in giving suggestions and some samples. Sat down with our party of seven and all ordered a pie. They were all delicious! Simply fantastic food, fantastic beer, laid back atmosphere. Wish we had stayed longer just so we could go to this place again! Ill recommend to anyone going to Berwick!

Called in for a lunchtime pint and found a welcoming interior (dogs allowed). The food menu was a range of pies (pieminster - not very local I know - but good quality) and the place was busy at lunchtime.

Berwick's not a massive place and of the places we visited this is one of only 2 places we'd recommend drinking in.Place is clean has a decent vibe and friendly staff with a good range of beers on offer.Food looked appetising consisting of Pieminister pies with mash and peas but we were a little late for eating as they finish serving at 6pm