Follow The Bear

I’m salivating already,” Mr Greedy said, as I edged my chair further away.

“And I could come back everyday for a month and still want to try everything on the menu. This is my kind of place.” No kidding.

Picture the Big Bad Wolf in Little Red Riding Hood and you’ll get a better picture.

But then this is definitely Wolfy’s kind of place with a menu bursting with dishes such as the ‘fur and feathers casserole’ which sounds more like an S&M night than a dish to me, venison sausages or chef’s pie of the day.

A fairy tale menu with a few pub classics, pizzas and platters thrown in for good measure, but don’t be fooled – the real emphasis is on seasonal, regional meat. Yup, Mr Greedy was in his element.

This is a hunter-gatherer kind of place and you fully expect to see a bowed man stumble in on a windy night and throw a bag of rabbits down on the bar in exchange for a pint of ale.

So where are the punters? Well, have you been to The Bear and Ragged Staff in Cumnor recently? Thought not. Manager Mark Greenwood can’t understand it. He’s bought the tenancy, scrubbed the place up, brought back all it’s original features and found a fantastic chef, but no one seems to know he’s there.

Having been in the Far East running international restaurants for the past 20 years, Mark thinks that’s enough. But of course over here, it’s more about word-of-mouth.

And restaurants’ reputations have never been built in a day – it takes weeks, months and even years of slogging away over a hot stove to accumulate a loyal clientele.

And considering how many people have taken over The Bear And Ragged Staff in recent years the reticence is hardly surprising. But Mark promises he’s in it for the long-term and is desperate to put the Oxford pub back on the culinary map.

He’s already set up a series of monthly game nights, a game New Year’s Eve dinner and a massive Burns Night celebration to prove his commitment. But if you just fancy dinner, there’s a full menu to choose from.

So back to the salivating.

To do it justice, we did actually try a bit of everything. There is a lovely pub at the front where you can have a drink before disappearing out the back to your table, so the local drinkers haven’t been displaced. In fact, several were sat at comfy leather sofas watching Masterchef on the big screen and I was sorely tempted to join them. But not with Wolfy panting on his leash.

So instead we were seated in the beautiful and large dining room to deliberate over the menus. It was a tad cold in there, but I suppose hunter-gatherers don’t need heat, warmth is for girls right?

As tempting as the charcuterie platter and Greek meze was, I opted for the Cornish Yarg, leek, courgette and sorrell tartlets with rocket and parmesan shavings (£5.50) to start and Mr Greedy dived into the pan-fried lamb meatballs, broad beans, mange tout, peas and fresh mint dressing (£5.50), both of which came up to the mark. So far so good.

Next up, after much oohing and ahhing and gnashing of teeth, Wolfy chose the pheasant supreme and I opted for the more girly dish of tuna nicoise. We also ordered the pizza, just to see what it was like. A good pizza, like a man, is very, very hard to find.

And I learned my lesson – ‘If you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em’ should’ve been my motto. And I soon realised that the gentler food is really a token effort. The salad wasn’t dressed, not an olive in sight and the tuna was overcooked, so not very appetising. Luckily I nibbled on the delicious Greek meze pizza (£8.50) instead and gorged on hand cut block chips (£2.50) and some delicious red wine.

And yet the pheasant (£11.95) was lovely, perfect for autumn and a great example of what Mark is trying to achieve here, although it could have done with some veg and more manly potatoes.

The puddings were another contradiction, because they were deliciously fussy and girly. They must have been concocted way after Wolfy met his untimely demise, leaving Little Red Riding Hood and Granny to wallow in dessert to their hearts content. The Mojito cheesecake (£4.50) was genius, and the shortcake biscuit that accompanied the banoffee creme brulee (£4.50) heavenly. The brulee itself was nice enough but devoid of any taste of banana, a bit like a practical joke.

Overall Mark is making a big effort here, so put on your cape, grab your club and bring the wench. Game nights begin on the last Wednesday of each month.