This is a lovely traditional pub with many quant features like wooden beams and low ceiling. The…read morelandlord is a nice chap and the staff are all friendly. It is set off the cobbles in the town centre and it does have steps up to both doors so access isn't fantastic. The local restaurant Cafe Symphony has recently taken over the food side of things and this has meant a significant improvement! The food is great and choice is wide. They've even got themselves a decent coffee machine making it a pleasant stop for a lunch time coffee and bite to eat. The toilets are very clean and there is a baby change facility a nice surprise for a pub!

First the good stuff - the food we ordered was absolutely excellent; perfectly cooked, piping hot…read moreand 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.

We were very pleasantly surprised that the beautiful outside of this restaurant was matched by…read moreexcellent service and delicious food inside. The staff were friendly and helpful and were very accommodating to us and our baby. The conservatory at the back means that the dining area it feels spacious and light. I had the sausage and mash which was delicious as well as being a generous portion. Excellent all round, would highly recommend.

Great place. Super staff, great food and atmosphere…read more We've just come back from Spain and couldn't be bothered to cook so off we popped. Not the same as eating abroad but hey it's excellent. btw 5 stars are due to the tokens we've collected over the visits we've made so we got £24 off - bargain. We only managed starters and a main each due to being tired and enjoying the quality and the quantity of the food. A shared bottle of house prosseco helped us along nicely. Curried cauliflower soup and pate for starters were both excellent. Mains of steak and battered fish was also excellent. All good and looking forward to our next visit

Beautiful little country pub with super friendly staff and absolutely fabulous food. Not had…read moreanything here that we didn't absolutely love. They have over 130 gins behind the bar and the owner is a mine of gin related information :-) Really excellent - but get there early to secure a table!

Nice local pub with standard selection of beers. This place has changed hands a few times over the…read morelast few years but all owners are freindly. Darts, fruit machines, sky sports etc - everything you'd expect from a local pub. Good atmosphere. Plenty of parking available at the side of the pub, and theres even a beer garden to the rear.

Good pub food, great service and a selection of different beers. A regular haunt for us especially…read morein in the summer when the play area and beer garden is at its best.

A well known local nuisance, this place is over priced and over rated. Avoid.read more

Very friendly and welcoming pub that has excellent food. Beer is great too. A new extension in 2011…read morehas added extra tables, but kept the character of the rest of the pub.

Even though we live all the way over in Leeds, we have now been here twice in 2 weeks on account of…read moreHot Steve's family live in Mow Cop and there have been a couple of family meals out where the Bleeding Wolf has fitted the bill nicely as a restaurant capable of coping with a table of 10+ diners. Extensive menu with lots to choose from I've had the mushroom stroganoff and the scampi respectively on our visits the chips are chunky and deliciously cooked. Portion sizes are deceptively large so you'll have to be mindful when you order as the puddings are worth leaving room for. Being an expert on these things, I'd heartily recommend the chocolate and guinness cake over the chocolate fudge cake much richer and gooier without the sickly sweetness. I'm going to have to google the recipe Nicely decorated, friendly staff, clean loos and reasonably priced good quality food what more could you ask? What's that you say? An interesting back story into how the pub got its name? They've got that too you'll have to visit to find it out though : )

Good old fashioned pub with home made food. Family run pub which is always busy…read more The lamb, chicken and beef roasts are good. Always book though especially on a Sunday because its usually busy . For some reason you dont get as much food when its busy, but still nice food. Split into restaurant and pub. The bar its cheaper and just as nice. Love this place at Christmas time, great food and atmosphere. I have booked for the 23rd Dec :)

Good old fashioned pub, with great food to boot!…read more Not quite a full blown gastro pub but well on its way. The food was good quality and there was a varied selection. I had tuna steak that was a little over done for my liking (but as I happily eat sashimi maybe I am not the best judge) but was still moist. Tried a bit of the steak pie and lasagne that my friends had and both were very nice as were the generous plate of fries for the table to share. All in all a friendly rural pub atmosphere with good pub Grub. Would definitely go again and was a nice place to take friends from foreign parts keen to see a traditional British boozer.