The Bear and Ragged Staff

Excellent Christmas dinner here yesterday. The food was delicious and the service was efficient and friendly. We are lucky to live close to this pub and come here regularly. The atmosphere is relaxed and the building is beautiful. The current team does a great job and they keep their cask ale in very good shape which is much appreciated. Special thanks to Ollie and John for looking after us so well yesterday .. and the chefs of course!

We needed to find a nice breakfast after staying at a local camp-site nearby. The Bear and Ragged Staff came up on Google maps and we took a chance. So glad we did! We had Eggs Benedict, poached eggs and mushrooms and pancakes plus coffees and hit chocolate. Service was excellent.

Food was delicious and staff were faultless. A very beautiful space. I recomment it for special occasions, romantic meals, and catch ups with friends.

Another faultless meal and service. Thank you Thomas, very attentive waiter.

Just lovely. Very homely rooms, amazing roast dinner and breakfast in the pub, and incredibly smiley service. Will return.

After 2 days of travel from Detroit Michigan through Amsterdam-London-Oxford (and learning how to use the British bus system) on a rainy chilly day in late May, we arrived in the lovely village of Cumnor and the charming Inn called The Bear & Ragged Staff. The warm welcome, thoughtful staff, cozy room, good food - we are so glad we booked 3 days here!

My wife and I stayed only one night after spending a day in Oxford. A beautiful inn and kind attentive staff. We wished we had planned a longer stay. Full English breakfast was excellent.

Really like the restaurant. Mushroom bourguignon absolutely delicious. Cosy, attentive staff, nice menu, reasonable value.

We had a lovely Saturday lunch, with service that was kind, thoughtful and attentive. Excellent choice of dishes. Highly recommended.

Attended for my birthday lunch. The staff didn't know it was my birthday but must have heard my partner saying happy birthday to me. At the end of our excellent meal the wonderful staff brought out the most fantastic brownies on a plate saying happy birthday. I was so touched. How thoughtful. I'm vegetarian and I was delighted with the multiple choices available. Opted for the vegan cottage pie. Honestly one of the most delicious meals I have ever eaten. Highly recommend.

Great stay. Friendly and helpful staff, good prices on the rooms and food and completely dog friendly. Really enjoyed our stay.

If you are looking for a beautiful, comfortable, and genuinely welcoming place to stay near Oxford, the Bear and Ragged Staff is an outstanding choice. The property has stunning historic architecture and an inviting atmosphere that immediately makes you feel at home. My room was exceptionally spacious, cozy, and tastefully designed, with a large and pristine bathroom. I loved the thoughtful touches—coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and bottled water provided right in the room—which added a layer of comfort to the stay. The onsite dining is excellent, the pub offers a charming setting to unwind with a drink after exploring Oxford or the countryside, and the staff are consistently warm, friendly, and attentive. Their hospitality truly elevates the experience. I would wholeheartedly recommend this inn to anyone seeking a charming and memorable stay near Oxford. I will definitely return.

We had a large family function hosted here and wow what a beautiful building, incredibly well kept with so much character and charm. Despite the unfortunate circumstances of us being there, the staff were absolutely phenomenal. They really couldn’t have done more for us and were incredibly patient. If I lived closer this would definitely be somewhere I would frequently visit.

Our favorite stay in the UK, charming and everyone was so welcoming! Thanks to Tawny (sp?) who checks us in & got our bags upstairs! We enjoyed our chats with Shirley Ann at the bar and loved the atmosphere. This inn was exactly what we hoped it’d be: quite old with modern fixtures, picturesque and inviting. Breakfast was outstanding! Kudos to the manager who cheerfully “popped up” to our room to adjust the heat….a lovely experience all round!

We loved our stay there! The breakfast on both days was delicious, the room was comfy even with a big desk so that it wouldn’t even be an issue to stay there for work. Our dog was also allowed which is a great plus for us. The pub and the conservatory are inviting and with the old building even a feast for the eye. We had a bit of a delay with our ferry and arrived after the normal check-in hours. Even so, the staff waited for us and were very helpful explaining everything concerning our stay. I can recommend the Bear&ragged staff to anyone who rather likes stay a bit outside of the city with a scenic village and nice countryside walks available

I visited the restaurant only. Delicious food, lovely family friendly atmosphere, Rosie served our table and she was fantastic. Plenty of space for big groups, wheelchair friendly, parking outside. Will definitely visit again.

Booked for meal in the evening, food was great and the service was very good.

A really lovely accessible pub with excellent food, atmosphere and service. You will not be disappointed! The pub is well decorated with an excellent menu and specials. The service is second to none but the place still has a very relaxed feel. Due to time constraints we only had the fish and chips but I would like to explore their menu further. The building is accessible and they do have an accessible toilet. However, due to the placement of both the baby changing facilities and the drop bar to the left of the lavatory, this rest room would not be at all accessible for a Quad or paraplegic. Please see my photos for details.

We loved staying and eating at the Bear and Ragged Staff near Oxford! The food is delicious and everyone who works in the restaurant and inn are so lovely and kind. It really was a highlight of our trip staying there. We stayed in a family room which was perfect for our family of 4. It had been a stressful trip so far and I was pretty anxious, so it was really nice to have a soak in the deep tub in our room and relax for a night. I honestly can’t say enough about our wonderful stay. Thank you to everyone who works there for welcoming us and being so accommodating and lovely.

We had an amazing time here. Located in a beautiful, quaint village just a short drive from Oxford city centre. Very comfortable and homely. The food was the best pub food I've ever had. The very affordable menu was big enough that you can eat there for lunch and dinner over several nights. The staff were excellent, especially Ollie. What a champion. So helpful and kind. We love you, mate. Promote that man. Thank you, Bear team!

Great food.blinding service. Super dining room. Full of oldies including me! it didn't affect my enjoyment. But I hope they get the big spenders after 6 and for weekend lunches. We were there Easter Saturday

My second meal here in recent months and my second fantastic experience. The food, ambiance and staff are all top notch. The team were happy to accommodate my party's accessibility and dietary needs, service was quick and the team made some great recommendations. The food was fabulous, my chicken schnitzel filled most of the plate!

I had the Full English Breakfast which was very tasty. We were celebrating Hazel's Birthday with a lovely brunch. The service was fantastic and the Staff were friendly and helpful. Really cosy Pub.

Our room was beautiful and spacious with a firm but comfy bed - watch out for the low doorways and beams! It's certainly got lots of character! We stayed for one night and had a drink in the cosy bar area by the fireplace followed by dinner in the restaurant. The food was excellent, our dinner was delicious and both had the steaks which were cooked perfectly. Our breakfast was excellent too, the full English was great. The staff were exceptional, very welcoming with great service and very attentive. We will certainly be back.

The food was astoundingly good and Alice our server was fantastic. Very friendly and prompt. Advice to perspectives customers: Try the prawn start if they have it. Phenomenal!

Brilliant experience at The Bear & Raged Staff! Room was beautifully presented, spacious and comfortable. Great facilities, with lovely touches. The team provided an wonderful warm welcome and nothing was too much trouble. Had dinner on site also and it lived up to the same excellent standard. We are travelling with our dog, and was great to have such perfect option. Thanks again for your hospitality!

After a couple of hiccups at the start, we had an amazing time, we booked for a large party with small kids for a birthday celebration. The food was absolutely delicious, the staff was great with the adults and extremely patient with the small ones running around. The space was very cozy and it was lovely to have a wood burner close by on such a cold day. We were really looked after and taken care of. Would absolutely recommend, maybe just give a call to iron out details at the start!

I had a delicious meal with my family, including kids at The Bear & Ragged Staff. Service was very good. I would be coming back if I was in the area again.

I ate at The Bear and Ragged Staff while I was in the area for work and came away genuinely impressed. The service was friendly, attentive, and well-paced, even though I wasn’t there for a long sit-down occasion. The food was excellent — well cooked, well presented, and clearly made with care. Yes, it’s on the pricier side, but that feels pretty standard these days, and importantly it delivered on quality. The portion, flavour, and overall experience made it feel like good value for money rather than inflated pricing. All in all, a solid, reliable place to eat, and one I’d happily return again.

A really lovely place to stay just outside Oxford. The Bear and Ragged Staff has plenty of character, with beautiful old architecture and a warm, welcoming pub atmosphere that makes you feel comfortable straight away. The room was spacious and cosy, and the bathroom was a great size for a pub room, clean, modern, and well laid out. Nice little extras like tea, coffee, hot chocolate, and bottled water in the room were a thoughtful touch. One small improvement would be having the TVs connected to the internet to allow for streaming services. Food on site was excellent, and the pub is a great spot to relax with a drink after a day of exploring. The breakfasts were delicious. The staff were friendly, helpful, and genuinely welcoming throughout our stay. It’s definitely best visited with a car. The Oxford Park & Ride is an easy 10-minute drive away, but public transport from the inn can be tricky, especially with the current road closure near the train station. Would happily stay here again and recommend it to anyone looking for a comfortable, character-filled stay near Oxford.

Tasty, well presented meal with friendly staff and good portions for money.

Self described gastropub. Very pleasant, comfortable layout with a good selection of drinks on offer and pleasant attentive staff. Sadly, apart from some decent quality beef based dishes the menu was underwhelming in variety and of mediocre quality. Happily, we were with great people so that didn't matter too much but we would have been disappointed if we were looking for a decent feed.

Reviewing as a guest of the hotel. The room is definitely quaint and supplied well, and the bed was comfortable. But come 7am the trucks turned up! Yes two! Outside the bedroom door and started to unload kegs, very loudly from the storage area underneath the bedrooms!!! There was no pretence to even pretend to care about the guests above, even hearing them ask if someone wanted a coffee! Rolling kegs along the ground is super loud and to not even give guests a head up, in my opinion is not acceptable at all. I work PST so work until around 2am, but to get a wake up call at 7am without even requesting one was a little to much for me. Serious attention. Required here.

Had the prawns on sourdough toast which was so hard and difficulty cutting even with a seated knife. Not good value for money.

I must have gone on a bad day, the service was really lacking (week night). The food very average, not on par with the other pubs in the chain. If you intend to visit it’s a gamble and not the cheapest one. I wouldn’t go back, the deal was sealed when we had to pay on our way out because nobody would come back to the table. The pub was very quiet at this point, no excuse.

I have also reviewed on Trip Advisor. Went for a meal last night (5th December 2024). Husband had the burger, which he enjoyed and I had the turkey Christmas special. Dolloped on the plate like a care home meal and it didn't taste good either. Sprouts were missing so I asked for them and they were delivered half way through the meal, rock hard and flavourless. Had the same meal last week and although it didn't look visually appealing, the taste was better which is why I came back. Now we won't bother spending our hard earned cash here. Told the server whilst paying and she honestly couldn't give a toss. All she said was "sorry". You can either learn from this and improve your business or ignore it as I suspect you will. There are many establishments around Oxford serving far better food. I should have taken a photo of the plate so you can see what a shocker it was.

It was my other half's birthday, and we came in for a nice meal. The staff was absolutely brilliant, very welcoming and attentive, with a special mention to Oli who served us on the day. However, the food couldn't have been more disappointing. We opted for the Sunday roasts; I had pork and my other half had beef from the specials. My pork consisted of two thin slices, and the porky smell was very off-putting. My other half's special beef was tough and completely overcooked. The trimmings and the roast potatoes were nothing special. The venue was nice and cozy. I would happily go back for a drink after a nice walk around the reservoir, but as for the food, I'm afraid we will be staying away.

Lovely location, but the quality of the food and service were below standard. We went for lunch around 1:30 and most vegetarian options weren’t available. Orders were incorrect when arriving at the table and the bill was also incorrect. Chicken Milanese was overcooked. Kids meal, which specified unsalted chips for a toddler, came throughly salted. Toastie was mostly crust. A pub that came well recommended but failed to deliver.

Looking at other reviews of 5 stars, the food here is either a big hit or big miss. We recently visited and the beef was like leather. I wouldn't have fed it to my dog because it was like chewing through an old pair of boots. It didn't cut even with a stake knife because it was full of hard gristle. The staff seemed incapable of just admitting it was terrible and seemed to want to justify and defend it. They tried to convince me it was just how beef is in a roast and brought out a replacement plate of the same stuff. I sensed they either didn't care or had been told to say its fine. I found that approach to be more off putting and unsettling than the food itself. Unlikely to return because there are better places to go!

Had lunch here ths week with friends, we were very disappointed with the meal. A couple of us had sirloin steaks, they were tasteless and dry. Service was very impersonal, such a shame as we have previously had good meals here, will not be going again!