I dropped by the Cirencester office today for a working lunch with Ian Sumbler, my favourite type of ‘working’!
Having taken a peak out of one of our office windows to gauge the weather, inspiration hit me and not just the fact I could see it across the street. We decided to eat at The Bear Inn, a cosily furnished pub full of traditional features which dates back to the 18th century.
So with just a couple of paces of travel we were settled at a table, drink in hand (obviously only a soft drink, not one of their very tempting Butcome ales on tap) and had placed our orders. Ian chose a Brixham fishfinger bun with panko-crumbled haddock goujons, lettuce and tartre sauce and I opted for green pea hummus with feta and warm flatbread. The lunch menu has lots of tasty options to choose from with pub snacks and lighter bites to main meals but as I think both Ian and I are in pre-holiday body concious mode we both plumped for smaller meals, which were delicious and still quite filling.
Ian confessed to being a regular to The Bear Inn, not always for meals, sometimes just for the odd pint, he does live in the Cotswolds after all, and I can quite see why. We didn’t have to wait long for our food, there’s friendly efficient staff and a lovely atmosphere to this dog friendly pub. Another sign of a good place is the fact that it was already filling up, not bad for a Wednesday at 12pm. Some people looked like they might be settled for the afternoon, not difficult with the comfy chairs, dark oak beams, and picturesque fireplace, not to mention the well-stocked bar….
As we stepped back outside the bells were chiming at St John the Baptist Cathedral, was this a sign I was to get back to my desk?