The Crazy Bear in Beaconsfield is Crazy!

On Saturday night, my wife and I were very kindly treated by very good friends of ours to a meal out in the main restaurant at the Crazy Bear Hotel in Wycombe End, Beaconsfield. Having watched the builders, painters and decorators come and go for nearly five years, and heard so much about the digging out of the basement and the apparent tens of millions of pounds spent, we were both intrigued to see the results.

The Crazy Bear is on the same site as the George Hotel and the old Georgian Coffee Shop next door. The old oak beams, subtle lighting, expensive drapes and lots of dark mirrors form a major part of the ambiance. The Crazy Bear Hotel Beaconsfield has two restaurants, one English, one Thai, ten bedrooms, two meeting rooms and two bar areas, one of which is in the basement. Despite the fact that most drinks are double pub prices, the place was packed last Saturday night and the restaurant apparently booked up for months.

The food is expensive, though no more than the Spice Merchant Indian Restaurant in London End Beaconsfield. Like the Spice Merchant the quality of the food is quite excellent, although after only one visit to the Crazy Bear, the service at the Spice Merchant knocks spots off the Crazy Bear. If you are going to charge around £59 for your cheapest bottle of Champagne and £7 for a large Barcardi, then you really need the service to match. Don’t get me wrong, the service at the Crazy Bear was not bad, it was just not good, and given, it appeared to me that most folk were spending over £100 a head on average, the service should not just be good, but exceptional, which sadly it was not.

Don’t be put off from trying the Crazy Bear out because of my personal views on the service we received, as on another day it might match the superb quality of the surroundings and food. It is certainly worth going for the experience, even if all you do is have a drink and venture to the toilets, which are unique and extremely unusual to say the least. However, take your American Express card and expect your drinks bill to be more than your food, as the drinks prices are really crazy!