Bears Den Pizza

The Den, the myth, the legend. 

Bears Den is a traditional college dive bar, sitting just across the road from the University of Central Arkansas campus in Conway, AR. Previously known for $5 pizzas and cheap beer, it was definitely not a spot you'd show off to visiting parents for dinner. (Don't get anyone started on the old bathrooms.) But Gordon Ramsay swooped in like an avenging angel of culinary standards with his show 24 Hours to Hell and Back in late 2019, renovated the insides, and revamped the menu. The end result is the death of the $5 pizza, but they're now serving from scratch sauces, dough, and cooked in a brand new stone oven. It's definitely still focused on the nighttime entertainment activities between trivia, karaoke, and live music throughout the week, but you're pretty safe bringing the family out to eat here during the day. 

The pizza I settled on was a Meat Lovers, jam packed with the meaty morsels you could hope to find. You can absolutely tell the dough has leveled up - crispy on the bottom with a nice chew and mellow flavor. It became a great vehicle for all the toppings without overwhelming the other flavors, and as you can see, supported the weight of itself well. I personally love a thin and crispy, slightly charred crust so the way this was cooked was perfect for me. Their new stone oven did a great job toasting the top cheese layer. 

I didn't get a really good cheesy pull shot with having to drive it home, sorry cheese lovers, but the shredded mozzarella itself was perfectly fine and not oily. Not having to blot the pizza oil beforehand is a nice change from the normal budget pizza options. The red sauce, while not greatly distinguishable on its own, was pleasant and the acidity of the tomatoes helped cut the fat of the meats. Again, none of the meats stood out individually, but overall the composition of the pizza and balance of ingredients was surprisingly good. I definitely felt like the whole was far greater than the sum of its parts with this pie. 

COVID Note- The staff were all masked, the waitresses gloved and sanitizer available. Bars are a pretty high risk for COVID spread, but picking up food here did not set off any spider sense warnings. 

Keto Note- I hope you like salads! It was a great move for Bears Den to simplify the menu, but there aren't a ton of unique keto-friendly options here. Some of their dips like the buffalo chicken or pizza dip would be good if you can provide your own crunchy chip-vehicle, but  by default they come with tortilla chips. There are no custom keto friendly pizza dough options listed at this time. 

GRADING

Vibe: good pizza and beer dive, but new and improved to be decent while sober in the daylight!

Value: 4/5 - $15 for a 14" two person pizza is not too shabby! Some items on the new menu seem a bit high, but the improved quality overall seems worth the extra dollars. The drinks seem pretty on par with what you can expect from a bar in the area.

Service: *5/5 - *based on call in order, dine-in or entertainment mileage will definitely vary

Comfort: 4.5/5 - The bathroom improvement essentially earns a whole star on its own. Casual dining with optional alcohol and entertainment.

Food: 4/5 - Not a pizza that I will dream about, but definitely one that I will be coming back to.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I'm impressed with the renovations that they did and I'm not sad to see the old $5 pizzas go given the vast improvement in quality. Overall it was a well composed pizza and I'm excited to try some of their other pies like the Mexican Chorizo or Chicken Pesto. The new Bears Den seems like a perfectly legitimate place to bring your family to during the day and at night (in a post-COVID world) to relax and partake of one of the rare night entertainment options available in Conway. If you haven't been in since the renovation, I'd definitely recommend checking it out.