The White Bear

Reviews

• KY

  kelly yould

  5 days ago
  5.0
  Great bar amazing atmosphere
• JT

  Jenson Troy

  5 days ago
  5.0
  What a bar good for my birthday
• AW

  Anthony Wilson5452

  6 days ago
  5.0
  The place is lovely and cosy drinks are strong and the kareokee is brilliant.
• PK

  Paul Kingston

  Sep 21, 2026
  4.0
  Came in after a concert at Vault 27 up the road.Fairly quite which was surprising, will definitely call in again.
• DS

  Deborah Shaw

  Sep 16, 2026
  2.0
  **Very disappointing Sunday lunch – expected muc**Very disappointing Sunday lunch – expected much better** We visited the White Bear in Barnsley on Sunday 13th September 2026 for a booked table of six at 5pm. We spent approximately £115 and, unfortunately, the overall experience was very disappointing. We had expected a much better standard of food and service based on the positive reviews we had read. Firstly, there was a mixture of dinner forks and smaller dessert/children’s forks at the table, so I had to ask for a replacement. The two beef Sunday lunches arrived first. When we asked for horseradish sauce, the barman appeared not to know that this was a traditional accompaniment to beef and asked me to repeat my request. He then went away and returned to tell us they didn't have any. More importantly, both beef meals had very little gravy, which made the meals dry and difficult to eat. When the four chicken Sunday lunches arrived, we immediately noticed that the stuffing and pig in blanket advertised as part of the meal were missing. When I asked where they were, the barman initially told us that these items weren't included. When we pointed out that they were clearly listed on the menu, he then checked the menu himself. He subsequently went to the kitchen and came back to tell us that they had run out. This was a huge disappointment for the four people who had ordered chicken. Had we been told when ordering that these items were unavailable, they would have chosen the beef or pork option instead. We had booked the table the day before, so there should have been an opportunity to let us know, or at the very least, we should have been informed when ordering. Again, the chicken meals had very little gravy and were dry and difficult to eat. What made the situation worse was the lack of customer service afterwards. The barman never returned to ask whether our meals were okay and didn't offer any compensation or alternative for the missing stuffing and pigs in blankets from four of the six meals. There were several very simple ways this could have been handled — offering a different side, a free drink, a dessert, a reduction on the bill, or even a small refund for the missing items would have shown that the pub recognised and valued our disappointment. At one point, the barman also left the bar unattended while he sat down eating, looking at his phone and talking to a colleague who had also sat down. This didn't give us the impression of a particularly attentive level of service. The comment that most people have their Sunday lunch earlier also didn't sit well with us. We had booked our table for 5pm the previous day, and our understanding was that Sunday lunch was served throughout the day. It shouldn't feel as though customers are somehow at fault for ordering later in the day and finding that advertised menu items have run out. We were particularly disappointed because we had read good reviews on TripAdvisor before visiting. However, we subsequently became aware that the pub offers a free shot in return for leaving presumably a good review. That certainly made us question how representative some of those reviews might be. Overall, we feel our visit could have been handled so much better. The food was disappointing, four of our six meals were missing advertised items, the meals lacked sufficient gravy, and there was very little effort to resolve the problems or acknowledge our disappointment. For approximately £115, we expected a much higher standard of food and service. Unfortunately, based on our experience, **we would not recommend the White Bear in Barnsley and would not return.**

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