First the good stuff - the food we ordered was absolutely excellent; perfectly cooked, piping hot and plenty of it. Congratulations to the kitchen staff for a very enjoyable meal. Now the bad stuff - the old barman was rude, sarcastic and obviously modeled his customer service on Basil Fawlty's own inimitable style! He seemed to go out of his way to be off-hand and his patronising remarks when we asked about the menu were uncalled for. We are well aware that the Black Bear has stood the test of time for hundreds of years but no pub these days can afford to rest on it's laurels (the amount of for lease/for sale boards nailed to previously thriving pubs is testament to that). It's not rocket science to greet your paying customers with a smile, not a snarl, and they will recommend you to others. This pub is old, quaint and characterful - sorry barman, you were just old, rude and in need of customer service training. If you don't like dealing with customers then stay behind the scenes and let somebody with a personality take over. The Black Bear loses a star from us for bad customer service which is a pity because the food was so good. read more