The Bear Grills Bistro, Devizes (From This Is Wiltshire)

The Bear Grills Bistro, Devizes

9:26am Thursday 12th August 2010 in

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The Bear Grills Bistro, Market Place, Devizes,

013890 722444

A new addition to eating out in Devizes is the Bear Grills Bistro at The Bear Hotel.

Gone is the old Lawrence Room with its rather dated ambience and in its place is a contemporary dining area with a modern feel and regularly changing menu.

It is difficult to know if the choice of name has anything to do with the Chief Scout and TV daredevil who lives not too far away in Ramsbury, but diners might be disappointed if they were expecting anything too adventurous.

For the menu is pretty safe with the meat on the grill being traditional beef, gammon and lamb rather than kangaroo or ostrich.

But the atmosphere is welcoming and the staff friendly and accommodating.

This area of The Bear has not been so busy or buzzy since it was run by the late, great Italian Tino Pupilli with his wife Geraldine as a pizzeria.

In those days you could be sure you would meet a few friends, or at least acquaintances among the diners, and it seems Bear Grills is getting the same sort of reputation.

The menu includes a few appetisers such as nuts and olives for those who want a nibble with a drink while deciding what to eat and at just £2.50 don’t add too much to the bill.

For starters there are a number of my favourites including fish cakes and chicken satay skewers.

I couldn’t decide between the two, so my daughter and I decided to have one each and share.

The skewers at £4. 95 were great and came with an obviously home-made satay sauce. I also liked the salmon and haddock fish cakes but they were a tiny bit dry.

I went for the grilled lamb chops (£14.95) which were tasty but just a little overdone. All of the meals from the grill come with a choice of potatoes, mushrooms and tomatoes.

My husband had the moules mariniere from the special board which came the French way with chips but he was disappointed by the lack of depth in the sauce. But it’s good to have a new place in town and we will be back.

Open seven days a week lunch and evening

Children’s menu

Courtyard dining available

Parking nearby

Specials board

Disabled access to bar but not to Bear Grills dining area

Extensive wine list

Our Eating Out is an independent review carried out by the Gazette without prior knowledge of the owners.