Award-winning chef Carlo Scotto has swapped London for leafy Buckinghamshire with BEAR - an intimate fine-dining spot tucked inside the Crazy Bear Hotel in Beaconsfield. With just 14 seats, this is Scotto’s most ambitious project yet - a subterranean chef’s table where every diner gets a front-row view of the action.
The concept is similar to that which made Scotto's name at restaurants like Xier and Amethyst - tasting menus with global flair, drawing on influences from Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Half the ingredients are foraged locally, so expect dishes that change with the seasons and the whims of nature, whether that's oyster mushrooms and burdock root from Hogback Wood, wild garlic from Peterley, or blackberries from Roundhead.
Dinner kicks off with delicate canapes - think langoustine with kohlrabi and oyster leaf - before an eight-course procession of plates that might include Ike Jime Chalk Stream trout with wild sea beets, agnolotti stuffed with gem squash and black garlic, and miso-glazed duck with girolles and damsons. Desserts are equally inventive: quince tart with Beaconsfield honey and black truffle, or apple with marigold and bergamot granite.
Drinks are just as considered. Head sommelier Matthew Wakeford curates pairings of rare wines, vintage sakes and artisanal meads, while the lounge bar serves foraged cocktails like a Mushroom Old Fashioned and Wild Garlic Martini.
The setting is pure drama: deep blues and golds, geometric wallpaper, aged brass sconces and a Nero Portoro marble horseshoe counter where Scotto and his team plate up in full view. If you’re looking for boundary-pushing British cooking in an intimate setting, BEAR is worth the trip.