A typical old fashioned pub, the Bear attracts a large majority of locals who live near Bearwood,…read moreas the most dominant pub on the high street. Using the lure of sports and this summers Euro 2012 as the main attraction, the pub serves fairly cheap pints although the quality leaves somewhat to be desired. Since being in this job, It's almost gave me a licence to explore areas I would of otherwise avoided, and the Bear certainly falls under that category. As i previously said, a fairly local mans pub, the atmosphere is somewhat flat, although I can imagine that changing when England play France on Monday. Regardless, I won't be heading back for the game, with plenty of other, more pleasant bars showing the game!

The Bear has been my local for years. Situated at the end of the busy Bearwood High Street, it's…read morethe perfect place to have an afternoon or pre-night out drink with friends. With a good and reasonably priced pub menu, selection of ales, lagers and spirits, it offers Sky Sports viewing on the large tv screens, as well as live bands, a pub quiz, pool tables, a DJ on Friday and Saturday nights and various themed nights at certain points throughout the year. There's a function room available upstairs, a large beer garden at the back and the landlady and staff are always welcoming. There's no airs and graces about this place - it's a relaxed and down-to-earth atmosphere that has always suited me and my friends, and I always enjoy coming here.

Samba is an eye catching place in the middle of Bearwood, I was immediately drawn to the unusual…read moreshop front of this place (which is obviously named after the Brazilian dance) and wondered from the name if it'd be some sort of South American bar. (Unfortunately, it was not, but I'm not disappointed by that at all.) Curiously, I entered the doors to be greeted by tables decorated with orchid flowers, helping to make the pub feel very homely. The vibe of the pub was rather unique to say the least, and almost felt like I was stepping back in time. Grainy television screens surround the walls, and broadcast 80s/90s music videos straight from the MTV Classics channel. I loved the whole experience, and felt like I'd entered some sort of time capsule from the synth pop era; It was strange, yet very welcoming. Additionally, the TV advertisements between music videos were all in Italian dialogue, so I'm guessing that the pub broadcasts its channels from Italy. Obscurely, I think this really adds to the unique atmosphere at Samba. (Although hearing acne cream adverts in Italian would certainly be very confusing while sozzled!) The stage area of the pub was sectioned off, and had planks of wood lying across it, which is a shame because by looking at the size and amount of speakers, sound systems and lights, it seems as though a night here would be quite prolific; So I hope it is cleared up/improved soon! Prices of drinks here are phenomenally cheap; There was a football match on the day before, and according to the board, pints had been £2!! Crazy stuff!! I purchased two Sailor Jerrys from here for £4.80; I think this has to be the cheapest I've ever paid for my favourite rum. The staff at Samba are very friendly, and strike up conversations really easily. On purchasing the two Sailor Jerrys, the lad who served me asked if I'd tried this rum with lemonade. I actually hadn't, so I trusted his recommendation, which turned out to be great! The alcohol here is very diverse and unusual; I had a good look on all the shelves, which were full of drinks that I'd never heard of before. There was even a bottle of crystal head vodka, which comes in a plastic skull-shaped bottle; you very rarely see this anywhere! Unfortunately, there weren't many customers in the pub at the time of my visit (around 5pm) which is a real shame. But I'm going to check out Samba in the evenings to see how busy it is at this time. If this pub was situated in the city centre, I know for sure that It'd be a very popular destination!

Situated about 10 minutes drive from the city centre, this bar makes a pleasent addition to the…read morearea. Inside, it's a pretty stylish venue especially for the as Smethwick isn't exactly the most 'go-to' area This bar is ideal if you live in the area but I wouldn't go out of my way to go here. It was a quiet evening when we went and they had music playing from the TV's. There wasn't much of an atmosphere as there was a complete mix of people, both young and old, but the venue was OK and perfect if you're looking for a quiet place to go and enjoy a drink.

Very disappointing experience here this evening. Despite the pub being mainly empty, me and a…read morefriend were rudely informed that it had been too long since that we had ordered our last drink and that we should leave if we didn't order another one. We then left and ordered a drink at another bar. Never had such an encounter before. I would understand if it was busy, or if we were being rowdy, but it wasn't the case. Won't be drinking there again, and I wouldn't encourage others to either. I'm not normally a person to complain, but I was genuinely quite shocked. There are other ways to politely encourage people to buy drinks, but this was not the case at all.

The new real ale pub, in the old Midland Bank building on Bearwood high street, has a really…read morecomfortable feeling. High ceilings and enormous windows make it light and airy by day and atmospheric by night. The staff are wonderfully friendly and give advice about the ales on tap. This is definitely a intersting addition to Bearwood's nightlife.

We had mixed grill (large) starter Tikka wrap…read more Sheek kebab Chicken balti Chicken balti hot Lamb madras Naan rice chips 3 j20 2 bottles of water 1 pint lager 1 pint Coke bill was less than £55 Service good price brill taste good size brill I was going to take a doggy bag home but no one came back for a while so we left without.

This is a very large pub on a corner of shireland road in Smethwick. When leaving Smethwick town…read morecentre you cannot really miss the large building which is a very lovely old building restored into this pub. The atmosphere inside is very local but still warm and welcoming to those who are not regular visitors to the pub. The bar staff are really lovely and the range of drinks is very good for a local pub. They serve really good food as well including pies, burgers, sandwiches and lasagne, and also specials depending on the day. The Sunday roast dinner is a must.

Indian BBQ pub, pub has 2sections, bar and lounge. Has a ghetto feel but all the great Indian BBQ…read morejoints are ghetto. The mix grill is pretty good and worth checking out, it's as good as d2. They have a few good whiskys including dimple.

Didn't expect too much just being a local pub but was pleasantly surprised. Very good atmosphere…read morepleasant staff and a warm lovely atmosphere. Only gave 3 stars as it could do with a little more individuality to stand out from the rest. Would definitely go back for cosy drinks and to sample the food. Very adequate car park to the rear and has outdoor seating for the summer/ smoking areas.

A well placed pub, with in a short distance of Birmingham, Edgbaston and Harborne, The Dog serves a…read moremixture of fine gastro pub food and real ales. The variety at hand is able to accommodate people of all ages, with a great atmosphere on hand, especially over the weekend. A open plan lay-out makes The Dog one of my favourite spots to visit, especially in the summer months, where the outside seating encourages friends to meet up and share an afternoon together. As part of the 'Ember Pub & Dining' branch, the level of food in particular is always top quality, with an equally impressive and welcoming standard shared throughout the staff who work there. Despite being worth a visit, I would definitely recommend heading in over the weekend, where the atmosphere improves as the number of people increase.

Brilliant everything was great from the time we sat down to the ti.e we left was amazing we always…read morehave a takeawY but decided to visited best thing we done will be going back

We recently visited Purnima as a family of 4. I will start with positive points first. Service…read morestaff were really friendly. Manager of the restaurant (could be owner also) was a polite and energetic person who showed utmost care to the customer with a friendly smile all the time. So, all the staff were fantastic. Secondly, the ambience was also very good, it was not outdated but more matched to the type of food served. So, we loved it. All the prices in the menu was striked off and it threw us a bit out of balance as they mentioned that the new prices are getting outdated. This could be because, they may be taking over the restaurant from someone else and probably not ready with new prices for the dishes. But we would prefer to know exactly how much we are spending for a dish that we want to eat transparently. Lets come to the food part. Some of the things that we experienced. When we sat down and starters were about to be served, my daughter was given a plate which was not washed properly and had food stains. When we pointed it out , they took care of it immediately. The waiting time for the starters itself was a bit too high, we felt, as we waited more than 35 minutes for the starters to arrive. Quality of the starters in respect to the taste of the food, was average at best. Portions were not big, but we are ok with that, however the taste was not up to the mark. Main course - Naan bread were fresh as was very well done. Both veg and non veg main courses were bit bland and lacked proper seasoning. Again, we waited a long time between starters and main course. As we are big time foodies, and we like to try out new restaurants and we have reasonably a good pallet and so along with service ambience and everything, taste of food is very very important for us and i think thats where Purnima needs to put a bit more effort and make delicious dishes. Sorry, could not justify myself to go more than 2 stars.