Currently running a beer, food and arts festival. 21 beers from 6 local breweries, local bands,…read moreoutside seating. The landlords have gone to a lot of effort to make this a welcoming pub. Friendly bar staff. Soft drinks for drivers and kids. Well kept real ales. We've got a good local, but if you haven't, or you're looking for a change, it's a great venue. The special events are near continuous, creating a reason to visit almost every day. Sunday - almost all tables reserved from 6pm in the main eating area. Book to avoid disappointment.

One of Bedford's best out-of-town-centre pubs, The White Horse offers a decent mix of comfortable…read moreseating and a more conventional dining section. The pub draws a good crowd on a Monday night for the weekly open band session run by super-talented local musician Mat Roberts, but beware the karaoke on a Saturday unless you're well over 50 or deaf. Extremely friendly landlord too, who often makes the effort to walk around and ask his customers how they are.

A true locals pub that makes a change from all the chain pubs in Bedford. The atmosphere can be hit…read moreor miss, sometimes it's a lot of fun, friendly and easy to have a great night, others you walk through the door and feel like you should back-step out right away.

The Bear has been my local pub for 8 years now…read more Its situated on the high street but has a real homely feel to it, it does have a lot of regulars who have been going for years but its has lots of different events such as acoustic nights and the reggae barbecue to get different crowds in. They serve food at lunchtimes and sometimes have curry nights and have a party on Halloween, Christmas eve and New Years eve with a buffet available. The pub has a pool team and poker nights, and you can play miniature football, put some tunes on the jukebox or play on the quiz machines whilst there.

Now a branch of Tesco Direct.read more

Top marks for this openminded pub/bar. The only gay establishment in Bedford and the favourite…read morehanging out place for the local hockey club. Visited it once since all other places had closed. Gays seem to keep to themselves and don't mind the drunk crowd that barges in after 1am. The place is popular since most other pubs close earlier. Toilets are quite small, the staff are friendly and the music follow the same theme. Don't miss this place if you are out partying in cosmopolitan Bedford.

Good establishment. The issue here is the bouncers. They are homophobic and won't listen to their…read morecustomers. The Barley is a good pub, but the bouncers let it down massively.

My partner and I went in here for some lunch whilst out shopping. We are new to the area and chose…read morethis place randomly. We were very pleased with the service and the staff were efficient and friendly. It had a nice atmosphere and was clean. The special 2-4-1 offers are fantastic value, and we were very happy with the food (both quality and quantity) I had Cumberland sausage and mash, and the sausages were lovely and nicely seasoned, the mash was nice and creamy, and the gravy wasn't too runny.. If you want a decent value for money meal, I'd recommend to give this place a go.

Once a year or so, whether they like it or not, I like to visit an old school mate and his wife…read more They live in Bedford. Every time I'm there I insist on a lengthy visit to The Wellington Arms. Why? Simple. It is the best traditional, urban pub I know. Anywhere. You can't move for beery memorabilia (no, that's not what you find on the floor outside 'Spoons every Sunday morning, incidentally....), waxed pine furniture and TONS of real ale. These fellas must have 10 on at any one time. Yes, 10!!! As you stand like a rabbit in the car head lamps, they even offer you samplers. Fantastic. The landlord refers to it as a permanent festival. He's right, check out the website. A great home from home & a place to cherish. I can't believe it hasn't been reviewed before. Real Ale Drinkers of Bedfordshire, put down those Fairport Convention albums and get off to The Wellington now. Yes, NOW! You'll be wondering where the time goes......

A very excellent pub located on the edge of the centre of town . Fifteen taps selling a wide range…read moreof guest ales . Very welcoming and comfortable . Service very good . Easy to access . Well worth walk from town centre .

The Ship is a rather unassuming place from the outside and is something of a rarity in Bedford town…read morecentre, in that it's actually very nice. Log fires and real ale are the order of the day, along with a good selection of whiskeys. It's a great place to have a quiet drink during the week (unless you happened upon our charity pub quiz the other night), but really comes alive at the weekend, especially during the summer. I've been on several occasions when it's impossible to move due to the crowds. This gem of a pub hides one more little secret though. That secret is the Coach House at the back. A tiny room housed in an off-shoot of the main building holds around ten tables with maximum seating for around twenty people a night. Very nicely decorated and lit, it's a lovely place for both a romantic dinner or a party for ten. But what makes this place different is that you cook your own food. And what a superbly delicious idea that is! Although the starters looked good from the menu, both @Mooley and I decided that we wanted to head straight to the main course to sample the steaks we had heard so much about. Whilst waiting for them to be prepared we indulged in a glass of rather nice Rioja each, though neglected to make a note of what it was we were drinking. Dinner didn't take too long to get to us, and what a sight it was! The picture really doesn't do justice to the sheer scale of the food we were given. As we have similar tastes, both @Mooley and I ordered the 8oz Aberdeen Angus fillet steak, chips and vegetables, with a side of onion rings. But this was no pub grub. This was food the likes of which I've not seen in Bedford before. The homemade chips were of an enormous size, but didn't suffer at all for it. In fact the outside was just the right amount of crispy and the inside was fluffy and white. The seasonal vegetables were numerous and flavoursome, and the onion rings were spot on. What can I say about the meat though? It was as thick as footballer's wife and sizzling as it was brought out on top of a volcanic rock, which seemed to have been heated up to the temperature of the sun. The top and bottom were nicely browning, whilst the middle was red, soft and absolutely stunning throughout. Despite consistent cooking during the time it was on my plate, the rock simply served to lightly blacken the outside and give a wonderful texture of crispy and soft. The inside of each slice of meat I cut was then placed for no more than a second on the rock before being doused in stilton sauce and popped in my mouth, where it instantly melted on the tongue. Without a doubt it was one of the nicest steaks I've ever eaten and my hat goes off to both the restaurant and the supplier. Despite being stuffed from the enormous main course, I couldn't leave the restaurant without sampling a desert. @Mooley didn't want one and simply ordered a rather good black coffee whilst I tucked in to my lemon meringue tart. After finishing our coffees and filling up our wine glasses we headed into the main bar to listen to the rock jam session happening inside. A very nice way to round off the evening. As you can probably tell from what I've already said, I absolutely adored the Coach House. The decor, the atmosphere, the reasonable price and the wine, but mostly the absolutely stunning food. More people need to know this place exists and everyone within a ten mile radius needs to pop in and give it a try. I can guarantee you aren't going to be disappointed.

After walking around Bedford for an hour trying to find somewhere for a drink when we stumbled upon…read moreThe Ship.once in the door we traveled back in time. The low ceilings , the smell of the 400 year old open wood burning fire. I fell in love with it. Te drinks were well priced . Great whisky selection and comfortable ambiance. We had a totally relaxing afternoon and a good few rounds were consumed. Would go back again. Love old pubs

I have a bit of a split opinion on the G&D. It's a really nice place to go for an post-work pint or…read moreearly-evening drinks but at the weekends it gets too busy and the music blares out so that you can't talk to anyone. Overall a decent pub.

The George and Dragon is a very lively pub and is popular with the 20/30s crowd…read more It plays a lot of R'n'B music at weekends so is a fun place to go if your into that kind of music. It has a large beer garden with outdoor heaters for those who smoke and it also has a very large function room upstairs which is ideal for renting out for special occasions, i went to a 21st Birthday here and the music and food was really good. It serves lunches too but i haven't tried these so can't comment on the quality of the food.

My absolute favourite spot for a pint in Bedford. I have come here multiple times with friends and…read morehave never had a negative experience. The sheds in the garden make for a nice, intimate setting to sit with friends and socialise as well as the wider garden being having a great atmosphere when it gets full on a Saturday night. The beers from the tap are always good quality and the service is always good relative to the amount of people at the bar. It tends to get packed in there as the building the very narrow, especially by the bar so it can get a bit claustrophobic during busy hours. However the bartenders always handle it well and quickly get orders out during even the most busy periods. I can't comment on the food they serve as I've never ordered but overall by experiences here have been more than excellent and I will continue to come here for a long time.

A disappointing approach to COVID, together with poor beer and average food. There are far better…read morepubs in Bedford.