Bear

This is an updated review — I am back to 5 stars with bear after my most recent visit with quite a large group, everything was top notch — from service, food, timing and cooking level of the steaks.

This is my first post on a Unilocal and my experience at bear is what has spurred me on to do so.
I had a lovely minute steak with chips for a tenner. Quick service, good food and a nice atmosphere.
However I did find a small pebble in my fries. I found it when I bit on it. Luckily no damage was done.
But the focus of my review is on the response from the staff.
The waiter first asked for the stone, took it down to the kitchen. Promptly the manager came up to me, asked me if I was ok and I had hurt myself. She apologised and explained how everything is prepared by hand and she had no idea how this could have happened. She immediately cancelled the bill and gave me a voucher.
It is rare that a restaurant takes swift and polite action on what could have been a serious injury. I’m glad I didn’t injure my teeth but I was really impressed with how the situation was dealt with.
Prep chefs need to keep a closer eye even if it was a freak incident. But Kudos to the manager for her professional handling of the situation

Bear was very busy when we arrived. The hostess took our details and contacted us when a table became available which was very nice.
We got the onglet to share and chips. The food was timely and our waiter was pleasant.
So I get the whole hipster thing but seriously the music was too loud! I am only 30 but I felt like an aul one raising my voice to speak and straining to hear what my partner was saying.
I would go back because the food is good but not in a hurry.

Very good location. There was a long wait so the hostess offered to text me when a table was ready, which I appreciated.
The meat was excellent, I only gave 3 stars because the side dishes were a bit disappointing, my fried kale was dripping with oil and was not edible as a result.
The potatoes were a bit greasy too… they definitely need to work on that!

Had the lamb chop and chimichurri. Lamb was cooked perfectly, and the side dishes were delicious.

Potato and crab croquet starter was delicious, as was the bevette steak done medium rare. Their yogi bear and bear jams cocktails were a bit too sweet but still very good. Overall great experience.

Great place for lunch time. They have a good selection of chicken and steaks with a hearty side for 10 €.
Nice atmosphere and staff along with good food.
During the week they close from 3pm. I leant this the hard way unfortunately.

Underwhelming at best
I got the breakfast omelet with haddock. Tastes good, presentation was ok. Some surprise bones as well were remaining.
My company had one of the steaks with fries. The dish itself was fine, however they have
something that looks like but tastes quite unlike ketchup.
I’m going to be very honest, I think that there are much better options at the same price point around that area.
At least the service is good, and I have nothing to complain about them.

Very disappointing brunch. Two of us ordered hash with beets and steak. We assumed it was potatoe hash with beets thrown in but in fact was beet hash… all beets! Not what you want for a Sunday morning and no real warning. It was also really bland, as was the steak. No seasoning and didn’t come with the spicy sauce advertised on the menu. I think the seasoning is hit and miss here in generla as I came for dinner once and the steak was nearly inedible with salt.
2 stars is because 1 of the 4 of us enjoyed her dish, spuntino truffled egg… but agreed she wouldn’t rush back based on service.
The server could not have been less interested in us. We had to ask for water and he never watched out to see if it needed a refill. He also didn’t seem to know the menu at all.
I’d skip. Plenty more brunch places around doing much tastier stuff.

I’ve been living here for a year and this was the worst experience I’ve had in a Dublin restaurant. There were 5 of us and the first two of us to arrive ordered drinks when we sat down, then no one ever came back to the table. After 50 min we decided to leave. If you actually want to be served DO NOT go to bear.

I had such high hopes for Bear, but left feeling disappointed and irritated. We went here on a Thursday evening and were seated quickly. I tried to get the attention of the server for what felt like an age before he finally came over and took our order.
The steak was nothing special, it looked and tasted like an average steak you’d get in a supermarket. The sides were okay, the millionaire fries were definitely the star of the show.
When we got the bill, we finished our drinks left the money in the envelope and got up to leave. One of the serves darted over to grab the envelope, thanked us, opened the envelope and started to count the contents as she walked away. If only the service was that quick during the meal!
Give this place a try, but go in with very low expectations.

Been here before but first time review. Arrived here today at midday as the first ones through the door for the lunchtime rush. Bagged ourselves a window seat and what with it being such a smashing day, got the full benefit of the gentle breeze blowing in the chance of a little people watching :)
I went for the minute steak with garlic butter (medium rare and cooked accordingly!!) along with a baked sweet potato. This for a tenner, not bad. The extra topping at € 3.50 a little spicier but the avocado, harissa, sauté leek and pickle was delicious. Staff were courteous and prompt, I like the location and facilities so it’s a winner in my book. For lunch anyway :)

I loved bear but it wasn’t as good this time around. Their steak was ok and nothing to write home about and their million dollar fries were previously as their name but were more like one euro fries this time around.
Expensive for what you are getting so I would expect more from it. Don’t think I will be back. A pity because I had been many times. The staff are on their phone too most of the time.

Bear specializes in offering up lesser known cuts of beef, such as feather steak or bavette. These cuts are a bit toothier, but offer outstanding flavor. The steaks are perfectly cooked and seasoned. I accompanied my feather steak (which is a blade from the chuck section of the cow) with bacon baked beans and millionaire fries. While the beans were good, the millionaire fries were outstanding. Essentially, these are potato gratin that has been cut into rectangular pieces and deep fried. Decadent and, perhaps, over the top. But insanely delicious.
The space itself is very much in the current style, featuring reclaimed wood and steel, illuminated by Edison lighting fixtures. So far, this design methodology hasn’t worn thin with me and it was well employed here.
No Guinness to be found here, but there are a couple of tasty microbrews from local 6 Degrees.
I highly recommend Bear. I’ll be back next time I’m in Dublin.

The steak is cooked to perfection, and is delicious. Love that they are selective about their ingredients.
The ambiance is modern/​trendy, the lighting romantic. Good for a date, but saw plenty of people who were clearly just friends enjoying a nice place.
Selection of wine is better than I thought it would be, and they have a house option available in a small bottle for the shy.
Overall, great experience. I recommend.

Bear. I didn’t know it existed, I hadn’t heard of it but we were looking for somewhere to lunch and it was right there.
Turns out, they are part of the JoBurger family and do ‘everything meat’. Ok, there are salad options too but I only focused on the meat. 7.25Euro got me a steak and slaw combo in a wrap, nicely cooked, still pink and great value for money.
The waitress informs us that they try to avoid preservatives wherever they can so they make their own ‘ketchup’ which is more like a relish and they add a hint of cinnamon to it. LOVED it!
It wasn’t very busy that day and the service was quick and friendly. The music was great but a little too loud. Overall I think this is a nice, very reasonable place for lunch and their steak dinners do look good on paper also.

I was blown away by the amount of steak I was served. I was told it would be a lot, but damn son!
We had the bavette platter, rare. It was awesome. Cooked perfectly, lovely and juicy with a nice bit of char on the outside.
The million dollar fries are something else. Unbelievable!
I do think the steak knives need sharpening or replaced

This review is based on their brunch menu. I was rather unimpressed with this particular child of joburger. The venue itself is urban-​rugged. You know, wood everywhere with funky pictures and the tin cups to give it that urban edge inside what feels like a log cabin?
People aren’t kidding about the slow service. Took them ages to take our order. But the food came out fast enough. Although, they did take my steak back as I asked for medium rare and not well done. I was quite disappointed but then again my expectations of bear were high but was based on their dinner menu. The brunch menu isn’t as meat focused and all the cuts of steak are SO THIN! The red cabbage salad I ordered was also a bit of a disappointment… The cocktails are super sweet and so I’m glad I went with their Bloody Mary.
I’d give them 2 stars as I wasn’t impressed at all by their spread, but as they brought out my new rare steak, they produced 3 sauces they comp’d to say sorry. I really appreciate it when restaurants try to make up for a mistake as I feel this is a huge downfall in the irish food industry, where they don’t try to apologise. So, Bear, thank you.
I still aim to sample their dinner menu as it looks phenom.

I’d been looking forward to giving Bear a go for a while.
For brunch, I had wild mushrooms on sourdough with avocado. It was actually really nice, a very big serving and you could tell the ingredients were good quality. The problem was that it was that is was nearly cold by the time it landed on the table.
My accomplice for brunch got himself a steak. It was 20 euro and comes with nothing — no sides, no garnish, nada. He asked for it medium rare and it came medium well, and really, a bit greasy. 20 euro seems extortionate for such a small (and badly cooked) piece of meat.
The staff were lovely and service was great. However with the food being so mediocre and overly priced, it’s not somewhere I’d be rushing back to.

I am a total carnivore so not surprising that I am a fan of Bear. I understand it can be a bit off putting when you look at the menu and don’t recognise a lot of the cuts of meat but I find the staff really helpful if you are struggling. I always get one of the steaks to share and have never had a bad one yet. The million dollar fries are unreal and i’m quite sure there is noting more unhealthy in the entire world — they are basically cubes of potato gratin deep fried — heart attack on a plate. I tried the liver on my most recent visit and it was really tasty and just the right amount — served on toast with a balsamic glaze — very tasty.
The décor is very cool and relaxed and not too loud — so all in all i’m a fan !