The White Bear, Ruislip

It was a cold, grey October morning when we first stepped into the White Bear pub. After agreeing that the exterior was in need of a spruce up, yet nevertheless exuded a certain charm, we were shocked at what we found inside. �What the hell has been going on in here?� There were more different colours on the walls than Joseph had on his dream coat. This, along with the marvellous velour furniture, led us to conclude that Stevie Wonder must have quit songwriting and taken up interior design in the London suburbs.

Every interesting feature in this grade II listed building had been removed and seemingly replaced with the contents of the Argos catalogue circa 1987. Against our better judgement we ordered a drink and sandwich, and having survived we sat down to discuss the latest in what was becoming a very long list of potential premises. We should have walked away, by now you�d think we�d have known better, but somehow we just can�t resist a hopeless case. You see, we love the underdog. When we see the kid with buck teeth and glasses crying in the corner, we go over and talk to him. And so it was that we embarked upon our journey to resurrect the White Bear.

As most were tucking into their Christmas meals, we were busy planning what to do. We decided to try and take the building back to it�s Victorian roots, with wooden floors, darks panelling and a muted palette. By early January work had begun. The whole pub needed to be gutted before we could start.

It was all going well until a visit from the local planning authority threatened to derail our best efforts. It looked for a while that we may have to halt work and return the building to the state in which it had last been inspected. This turned out to be shortly after the last technicolor refurb!! However, after deciding that our plans were more in keeping with the character of the building, works continued �at risk�. �Not a problem� we thought �the whole thing�s a gamble anyway.

As the days passed, the site began to look less and less like Dame Edna�s boudoir, and more like somewhere we�d like to sit and enjoy a drink with friends. We documented the process for posterity, taking pictures at the key stages. The images you see here are during the very first few days of work. It�s unclear whether the spots in the pictures came from dust that was thrown up and had subsequently become trapped in the camera lense, or what we�d actually captured was the souls of drinkers past, finally released from their tortuous wine bar limbo!

The photos in this post serve as a reminder of where we started from, and hopefully, how far we�ve come.

Please remember that we have a sense of humour, we like to joke, and our comments are in no way meant as an attack on the previous owners. Everybody has a different opinion on what a pub should be and we really hope you join us for a drink and see if you like ours.

4 Mar 2011 17:25

The White Bear, Ruislip

My wife and I had dinner at the White Bear and it was excellent. The food was tremendous and the surroundings just felt so comfy and relaxing. I think this will become a regular treat for us. See you again soon.

Marcus & Deborah

4 Mar 2011 17:03