My first working lunch of 2020 sees me crossing the road from our Cirencester office and straight into The Bear Inn opposite! You may think I’m not able to walk past a pub…. but it’s grey and drizzly and Ian has to make this a quick lunch to get back into the office for a client meeting. To be fair although we have been here in the past it was over two years ago and Ian tells me the place had a major revamp. What an opportune time to go back!
To the right of the bar the seating is cosy; I particularly liked the wing back chairs in front of an impressive fireplace. To the left is the more structured restaurant side with plenty of seating for various sized parties of guests. Having been pipped to the post for the fireside seating we sat at a table near the window in the restaurant area which was lovely and bright. The restaurant filled up quickly behind us and I was unable to find many people free areas to take many snaps of the tasteful new décor.
As Ian had already spied his menu choice from the daily specials board before we had sat down I quickly chose from this menu too, happily so as chickpea and vegetable tagine is right up my street!
Ian’s starter arrived quickly and he tucked in heartily to the red onion & goat’s cheese tart while I tried not to look envious. When my tagine arrived I was delighted, it was absolutely delicious and the accompanying rice was cooked to perfection. Clean plates all round with Ian devouring his chicken Caesar salad and being extremely pleased with his choices. With no room or time for dessert we paid the bill and took the long walk back to the office – approximately 15 steps door to door.
Great food and a lovely setting I certainly won’t be waiting another two years before coming back.