Shepherds Rest in Ashfield

We went on fri for lunch ,had been told previously that it was a good place for food ,took our two grandsons ,one 3 and the eldest 16 ,nobody in when we got there ,menu's were sheets of 4A paper ,think there was 6 items and a special board , ordered our food ,wasn't long to wait 3yr old wanted chicken nuggets and chips ,chicken outer was too spicy for a 3yr old he ate his chips ,burger for eldest grandson was very big he said it was good ,we had fish and chips came out and looked delicious, chips good mushy peas good ,but batter on fish was crispy on the outside but under cooked inside ,fish though was lovely ,it seems to be a good pub that is trying to build up its business and can't fault them for that ,they didn't have any salads on menu which is a shame ,I do wish the landlord good luck though x

It's in a beautiful setting that's a definite positive. I'd say it's great if you just fancy a beer in the sun. Unfortunately we decided to go for an evening meal. Now don't get me wrong the food wasn't bad but it was very basic (the menu we were given had maybe 10 items max) and the specials were 2 different pizza's. Not exactly what I expected tbh

Lovely pub in a great location, simple and straight to the point menu, with some great pub classics. Really friendly staff and very reasonably priced.

Sunday dinner today x a bit more expensive than the average but I am always dissapointed with the average x this was absolutely 💯 can't really fault anything we'll worth the money. Massive plates and very very generous amounts of 5 meats available today.veg all fresh and cooked properly,nothing soggy or dry.we were all impressed and left saying we would be back

Had a Sunday carvery with some relatives this is their opinion as well ,the food was superb 5 meat choices 5 vegetables , Yorkshire pud was that big it covered half of a large plate, excellent puddings . The staff was very friendly in all very nice atmosphere

Very surprised about comments on Quiz night , staff are really friendly and we had a lovely evening , so much so , in fact, that we went back for a meal onFriday night and are there again on Sunday for lunch , food is really good and the staff very helpful , no complaints at all from us , in fact we would highly recommend to everyone

Sorry to read the reviews from Quiz night , we were there and had a great night , staff extremely welcoming and attentive, ate there again on Friday , meal was delicious, well cooked and great value . Best fish and chips ever

Now then. Me and a few friends consistently head down to this pub every Wednesday for food and to take part in the pub quiz, which is normally decent….. Despite ordering 4 meals here, which are expensive for what you get anyway, we were looked down for drinking water! Sorry did I say expensive, I meant EXTORTIONATE. Sarcastic comments between the bar staff were exchanged “under their breath” when ordering a lovely refreshing glass of H2O. An unappealing blonde lady spoke badly about my friends and I to other customers, which we were later informed about. Accused of CHEATING on the pub quiz was insulting as I am simply a genius. We won anyway ahahaha. Upon paying for my bank loaned steak, which was boring and not at all flavourful , I was asked if it “broke me”. If I couldn’t afford it I wouldn’t have ordered it and would’ve ordered a £7 SINGULAR FISHCAKE. At the end of the day, I am a man who has a severe hereditary cardiovascular condition and have been advised not to consume any alcohol. BEING SHAMED FOR THIS IS NOT ON!!!!

Me and my friends are regulars at this pub attending every Wednesday for the pub quiz, on this particular week we ordered over £60 worth of food and drinks for the table whilst taking part in the quiz. However with it being a Wednesday and three of my friends driving, they ordered water as their drink, whilst ordering this at the bar two separate nasty comments were made by a member of staff with blonde hair, possibly a manager, about us ordering some waters on several separate occasions, this made us feel uncomfortable and pressured against ordering water. This same member of staff also accused us of cheating at the pub quiz and said we would not be able to receive the award if we did win, we also were glared at throughout the night and spoken badly about behind our backs to other people, this was very unprofessional and made us feel unwelcome throughout the whole experience.

Lovely traditional village pub, lovely friendly young lady who served us, nice wine, good selection, good choice of snacks,will be back

A truly excellent birthday meal for us, two adults and our two year old. Called a few hours ahead to enquire about our toddler and delighted to see a high chair set up in a spacious area on the end of a large table when we arrived. Plenty of room for toys which were added to when a member of staff gave our little one a fidget spinner popping thing to play with. Which bought a full twenty minutes of quiet time! Little Miss had sausage, chips (changed from mash with no fuss from the listed menu) and peas. For the first time ever she asked for "more sausage", which is the first time that she has asked for more hot food. Our bizarre request for an extra sausage was no problem though and I stole a bite to see what the fuss was about - it was absolutely stunning. We shared our starters of deep fried brie and fishcake. Utterly divine and we savoured every mouthful, the gooiest brie I've ever had. Main courses were ale battered cod and chips and lasagne. Believe the hype - the batter is unbeatable. In forty-five years on this earth I have never had more beautiful batter and that wasn't even my meal, I had the lasagne! Chunky chips simply didn't need seasoning as they were already super tasty and the fish itself was a flaky piece of heaven, but my word the batter, with the tiniest touch of tartare sauce added, was pure filth. Lasagne was exactly how comfort grub should be - a bit burnt on the base and a generous portion bursting with flavour. Didn't even ask for a pepper mill as it simply wasn't needed and I ALWAYS ask for a pepper mill. Service was absolutely perfect - attentive without being overbearing from staff who genuinely seemed happy to be there and proud of the food they were serving. The location and the pub itself are absolutely beautiful. Seemed a little quiet to us for a Friday night but looking through previous reviews it looks as though a recent change of management/chef has made a sizeable difference. Absolutely recommended by two happy adults and a very difficult to please toddler.

First time visiting during the day, only been for an evening meal before. There was 5 of us, we didn't book however this wasn't issue. Pub owner gave us the choice of where to sit & was prompt with drinks. Menu choice, though limited was varied & all sounded delicious. Food was freshly prepared & cooked, not long to wait & was very happily received. No complaints from any of us! Will definitely be going back for lunch

Sat by a lovely log fire and watch a band on a Saturday night very good and lovely pub

Lovely pub, reasonably priced pub food. Great service by staff - very friendly. Would recommend

Went for dinner on Friday evening and really enjoyed it. The food was delicious, I had something from the main menu and my husband had BBQ ribs from the specials board. Food piping hot and so tasty, excellent value too. Puddings were gorgeous...didn't want them to end! One was a Cherry and Bakewell and I had chocolate brownie.... the best I've ever tasted.... both home made too. Atmosphere lovely and staff brilliant...nothing too much trouble. Added bonus too was live music. Lovely evening out...would definitely recommend.

The food was outstanding, the welcoming was friendly. Will definitely be going again. Would certainly recommend this pub.

Went for my birthday meal and I must say it's the best place I've been in a long time.i had fishcakes(so nice!)the lamb shanks fell apart and the fish and chips yum! Big chunky(hand cut?)chips can't wait to go again

Sunday Lunch was very good, perfectly cooked beef, huge portions. Really nice desert. Service above average for the area! Very good. Overall good experience.

This is a nice restaurant the food was lovely. Four adults all happy with chosen meals. Friendly staff and good service.

Excellent food,will be returning shortly

OMG! Best food ever, if you have not tried the fish and chips here, you have not lived! The batter on the fish is light, crispy and delectable ❤️ the chips - oh wow! The best I have ever tasted! The staff are amazing, attentive and can’t do enough for you. Guys, you really need to check this place out 👏👏👏

Just enjoyed steak night, 2 fabulous ribeye steaks for £30. Excellent value. Lovely country pub, great staff and really tasty food.

Just been here for a meal, didn't know it had been taken over, me and partner had the sharing rib steak....Oh my God, it is up there with one of the best meals we've ever had. Steak was cooked perfect, and the chips and all the trimmings were absolutely delicious. The staff were all amazing and we will definitely be going back.

Disappointed no steak on menu no salad choice cold chips expensive drinks nice place not be returning 😒

Booked in for a family birthday, one person vegan, no set vegan menu but when asked re vegan options was given several choices and it was cooked from scratch; food was delicious, atmosphere great. Very happy

Popped in for couple of pints after walking in the local area, very cosy

Curry night on the Wednesday. If you’re looking for a curry drenched in tomato soup & served with soggy rice, this is the place to be. On arrival, we had to retrieve the menu ourselves, after asking the staff numerous times. We had a table booked for 10 people, & we had 1 menu on the table. What was extremely disappointing is that I received a call from Shepherds Rest in the afternoon asking me if we’d be ordering off the main menu or having the curry night, I advised majority will be ordering off the main menu but some may have a curry. So, when the waitress came to take our order, she advised there was no ciabatta’s… why were we not informed of this on arrival? Majority of the party wanted one of the ciabatta’s off the main menu. This was extremely disappointing that we were not informed that they’d ran out of ciabatta’s, as I’m sure if we were told, we would have left. The waitress had to take our order 3 times… 3 times, 2 different waitresses & still managed to get the order wrong. Service was shocking. The curry tasted like chicken in tomato soup, with a side of soggy rice & a half decent naan bread, that wasn’t just my opinion that was 6 other people’s as well. The dishes came out incorrectly, the chips were submerged in oil, the ‘baked ham’ was incredibly dry. This was the worst meal I have ever had from this place, when Barlow’s owned the place it was divine but it’s massively gone down hill now. I personally won’t be returning & neither will the rest of the party. As having Indian in my ethnicity, the way they made the curry was incredibly insulting & no I didn’t go to the pub for a curry, it was the only reasonable priced item on the menu. FYI, chicken tikka masala from spoons is more tasty compared to the monstrosity I tried last night & that’s really saying something.

Curry night on the Wednesday. If you’re looking for a curry drenched in tomato soup & served with soggy rice, this is the place to be. On arrival, we had to retrieve the menu ourselves, after asking the staff numerous times. We had a table booked for 10 people, & we had 1 menu on the table. What was extremely disappointing is that I received a call from Shepherds Rest in the afternoon asking me if we’d be ordering off the main menu or having the curry night, I advised majority will be ordering off the main menu but some may have a curry. So, when the waitress came to take our order, she advised there was no ciabatta’s… why were we not informed of this on arrival? Majority of the party wanted one of the ciabatta’s off the main menu. This was extremely disappointing that we were not informed that they’d ran out of ciabatta’s, as I’m sure if we were told, we would have left. The waitress had to take our order 3 times… 3 times, 2 different waitresses & still managed to get the order wrong. Service was shocking. The curry tasted like chicken in tomato soup, with a side of soggy rice & a half decent naan bread, that wasn’t just my opinion that was 6 other people’s as well. The dishes came out incorrectly, the chips were submerged in oil, the ‘baked ham’ was incredibly dry. This was the worst meal I have ever had from this place, when Barlow’s owned the place it was divine but it’s massively gone down hill now. I personally won’t be returning & neither will the rest of the party. As having Indian in my ethnicity, the way they made the curry was incredibly insulting & no I didn’t go to the pub for a curry, it was the only reasonable priced item on the menu. FYI, chicken tikka masala from spoons is more tasty compared to the monstrosity I tried last night & that’s really saying something.

Called in for lunch on Thursday. Was aware there were new owners so thought we'd give it a try. We weren't disappointed. The food was excellent and so was the friendly service. I loved the menu which had just enough choice. I had the liver which was delicious and my wife tried the hot beef crusty ciabatta which she also enjoyed. Will definitely be returning.

Went on first night of reopening. Now run by people who understand hospitality. Excellent food and service with a great atmosphere varied and interesting menu. Has a great beer garden and kids play area looking forward to summer visits. Dog friendly .

Thought we would give it a try and turned out it was there first night of reopening. Excellent food and quick service considering it was packed. Servers could be more knowledgeable but hey it was first night. Great atmosphere will definitely be back. Beer gardens and play area look great for summer visits.

Absolutely fantastic, warm cosy ..fabulous food & amazing staff ..so happy it’s reopened what a great reopening

I booked a table to celebrate my in-laws 60th wedding anniversary. We turned up to The Shepherds Rest with our 82 year old parents to find that the pub was locked up and no sign of anyone!!!!!! A woman hung out an upstairs window and said the company had shut the pub down with no warning and were supposed to contact everyone who had booked. I had NO notification whatsoever. So we were all dressed up. With balloons and 60th wedding anniversary gifts etc and 2 disappointed 82 year olds!!!!! Appalling!!!!! Fortunately another WONDERFUL pub fitted us all in within 10 minutes and treated us like royalty when they heard what had happened! Go to The Red Lion in Underwood instead! They are an independent family run business who care for their customers. Unlike the owners of The Shepherds Rest at Bagthorpe. So disappointing! So annoying! I didn’t even want to give one star to be honest This happened 21/9/23

Went for a Sunday Roast & was really impressed with the quality of the food & the portions.

AWFUL FOOD - have been here so many times and it’s always been amazing. But not this time. Shocked the pub was almost empty. We sat and waited and waited and our drinks order was eventually taken. We had to get our own menu as not given any! We ordered, 3 steaks , medium rare, medium, well done and a burger. Approximately 1 1/4 hrs later having been told only once it wouldn’t be long, the food arrived, CREMATED could tell the difference between the steaks ! All burnt. The chips where just thrown on the plates, one of us had a ridiculous large amount another hardly any. The peas tasted disgusting. Unusually no one near to ask is everything was ok. We’d waited that long and it was late we just ate what we could. We they took the plates they then asked if everything was ok. I said no and explained why, she just said sorry, we are a chef down and basically ran off into the kitchen to hide. It was quite apparent the bar and waiting staff were very embarrassed about the whole thing. We weren’t the only ones that wasn’t happy. Then we saw the chef come out the kitchen. OMG what a dirty, scruffy, unkempt man to be allowed into a kitchen to cook, he looked a health hazard. We won’t be back, which is a shame as the place used to be amazing and our go to place. My recommendation

Excellent Sunday dinner couldn't fault it

Good service staff are friendly

Slightly disappointed, having to pay extra for cauliflower cheese and most of it was stalk , meat was quite bland didn't taste like it had been roasted at all I had lamb my hubby had beef . I will not be returning or recommending

Very Nice country pub, always beautiful food worth a visit.

Nice old pub. Lovely staff,food very nice.

did not live upto price an expectations

Great service, good food, staff lovely and attentive without being over the top. Nice portion sizes and cooked lovely, definitely tell it is fresh and home cooked.

Absolutely fantastic steak. My best recommendation? I will be going again 👍🏻👍🏻

Fantastic place set in beautiful surroundings. The food was really good and well presented and the staff couldn't do enough for us... We will be back soon

We have been several times and had lovely large group meals as well as a small intimate meal and they cater for both perfectly .. Sunday lunch is highly recommended .. lovely quaint pub and friendly staff

Great pub with good ale and good food. All food local sourced where possible. Nice outside spaces too for summer.

Had a lovely meal didnt have to wait long and price was very reasonable. Staff very polite and well mannered

Lovely lunch had today homemade chips and nice and crispy fish ,fantastic butterscotch tart and cornflake tart for pud, nice friendly staff 😋

3 stars based on the slow service only. Food was outstanding when it eventually came out. Was booked in for 6.45pm & food came out at 8.15pm. No apology or explanation.

Murky beer & dirty glass! Staff not interested, too busy chatting to mates over the bar. Disappointed, used to be a lovely place.

On the website . For Thursday says its open. Travel to have lunch and its closed . Very disappointed. Should update the website

Cannot fault food Really enjoyed the steaks delious and tender... such a shame there wasn't enough room to sit while waiting for our table.

Beautiful location and food excellent.

Went without booking staff very kindly let us have a table tremendous food and attentive staff Best Sunday roast put for a long time

Lovely food, great staff team. Really enjoy our visits 😊

I would not describe the Sunday lunch in here as one of the best around. It's not even as good as a Toby. The roast potatoes were hard, the small bit of stuffing was also hard. The extra meet was not up to much.My wife said her Turkey was quite nice. The Staff asked people to move off there table as there time was up.I love the pub but the Sunday lunch didn't cut the mustard. I know the staff cant controll the punters but is dinner time it was full of extra loud people, who didn't seem to have any control of there childern/ grandchildren one small boy was rolling around in front of the bar, then ran in front of one of the waitress with two meals in her hands.I saw that this was recommended, try it your self, but I wouldn't have my Sunday lunch in there again.

We go to this place on a regular basis now with our dog for a midweek treat. The place is really welcoming with a very cosy environment. Very friendly staff and really dog friendly. The lamb shank is honestly as good as you’ll get as is everything else on the menu. This is a fantastic place with a real country pub happy vibe. Great people either side of the bar. Can’t beat it !

SERVICE WAS ADEQUATE BUT PERSONALLY I THOUGHT THE STANDARD OF THE BASIC LUNCHTIME MENU WAS VERY POOR & LACKING IN CREATIVITY FROM THE CHEF/COOK PLUS AGAIN ON A PERSONAL LEVEL OF OPTION THE MEAL I HAD ORDERED AND LOOKING FORWARD TO EATING ( GAMMON STEAK WITH GARDEN PEAS AND CHIPS ) WAS WELL BELOW PAR SERIOUSLY BELOW. I LITERALLY ONLY ATE THE GAMMON STEAK

Lovely pub. Great effort with the Christmas decs!

Fantastic food on the first visit, will definitely be coming back.

Loved it going for back for Christmas meal tomorrow excellent staff and service

We had a lovely lunch here last week and the food was fresh, well cooked and really good value. It has a lovely ambience and the staff were attentive and professional. All in all a really lovely pub, great food and friendly staff. Highly recommended.

Great food, great service and lovely location.

Fantastic Sunday roast. Good selection of veg, sides of cauliflower cheese and sausage. Beautifully cooked and plentiful. Service was brilliant. All this with 2 rounds of drinks, 3 deserts and all under £110.00 for 4 people. Great value for the quality.

The food was excellent buy my partner was disappointed with the sausages as he was expecting Barliws and not what he got

Fabulous meal, lovely service, will definitely return, thank you.

What an amazing place!, catered for a party of 11, food was just superb and the staff were excellent, good choice of drinks and brilliant children's food, wouldn't hesitate to recommend and will definitely be going back sometime soon.

We visited yesterday for Sunday Lunch, the food was excellent, the service from the staff was first class. We will certainly be going there again.

Nice roast meal, little expensive beautiful surroundings friendly staff

Not very good got there for 12 pm they showed us to our table we waited 20 mins to be served and asked what we wanted to drink then another 10 minutes to get our drink really bad service meal came meat was over cooked and vegetables was over cooked didn't bother with a desert as we didn't want to be there all afternoon so very disappointed with this place won't be going back

We visited today for Sunday lunch with two friends and our two dogs. Arrived at midday and the car park was pretty full with lots of people milling round. I thought it would take ages to get everyone sorted and seated but the staff got everyone to their tables quickly and came back for our drinks orders and food orders really promptly. The service was excellent, the food superb (two of us had turkey, one pork, one beef) and it was perfectly cooked with loads of vegetables on the side. The price, at c£72 including drinks was great value for money. We’ll definitely be back.

Lovely food will be going again

Lovely warm welcome from the young staff, nice simple menu, great food, inexpensive Pinot Grigio £9.99, tasty lamb shank, choice of 4 steaks, comfortable tables nicely spread, prices competitive. Cannot fault the place! Will return soon.

Visited this place twice in the last couple of months with family the second time happened to be steak night so i had ribeye which melted in your mouth and the wife had tuna well two pieces would definitely have this again the waiting staff were very attentive and helpful and polite thank you

Spot on, best steak I have had in ages, great service, great meal.

Absolutely fantastic Sunday lunch carnt wait to go back

Wow. Great food. Wonderful, attentive staff too. Nice location. A really nice place. A big thank you to Reece and his team.

Brilliant food and good service.

We tried this based on the reviews and were so glad we did … the Sunday lunches were amazing … we agreed the best we’ve ever had … choice of meats and extras at reasonable prices … the puddings were home made and a must … service was excellent throughout from the friendly phone manner to the genuine goodbyes as we left … can’t wait to go again

Excellent food and service. Forget Miller n Carter. We have not been to this pub for years and decided to try after many recommendations.We had the steak deal for 2 Comprising of Jurassic steak Skin on chips, mushrooms ,salad , Stilton Sauce and a nice bottle of red £40!! Will return for sure!

Excellent food and well priced will be going back

flying ants outside spoilt the day

Lovely beer garden to the front of the pub, that gets evening sun. A good selection of drinks. Not had food there yet but what we saw of other people's looked very nice.

Sunday lunch with family not our first visit as we live locally ,delicious food well cooked as always , our only disappointment was the menu on the table as we were going to have starters ,but were told because it was Sunday lunch we couldn’t have starters ,perhaps just put Sunday lunch menu out ? as the starters did sound rather nice but can see the logic around that , enjoyed the Sunday lunch though and had to have dessert lemon tart with coconut ice cream , very tasty well worth a visit

Visited for Sunday lunch, and it didn't disappoint 😋

Lovely service from staff greeted with a smile Delicious food freshly cooked. Nice outdoor environment with small play area for younger ones. sweet birds and tidy tunes in the background. Most enjoyable experience

Very nice,friendly staff nice and clean

Lovely place in lovely surroundings. A tad inaccessible, but that adds to the charm. Currently (6/21) has excellent table service.

Visited for sunday lunch ,Hubbie had Lamb and Pork I had Lamb both were beautiful .Sat down , drinks order taken straight away.Then ordered meal , waited 15 minutes and it cam e.Service was great , waitresses were lovely Nothing was to much troublePrice was average. Will visit again Fabulous x

Lovely pub, excellent food, never made me feel uncomfortable at all. Great service 👏🏾👏🏾👍🏽

Well, I think this was one of, if not, of the best roasts I have ever had. A friend's wedding reception. Helpful, courteous staff and a beautiful venue. The meal was perfectly cooked, fabulous creamy mash and a fantastic veg serving. The pub restaurant also put on an amazing evening buffet, although unfortunately, we were too full to partake!! Thank you for such a lovely afternoon. Wish I lived closer to visit again!

Visited on the off chance on a Tuesday and it was quite busy so wouldn’t expect to get a table inside. we decided to sit outside and when ordered food they did advise a 40 minute wait, however an hour and a half later we was still waiting.It’s safe to say we won’t be dining here again.

First time visit roast was amazing will be returning staff very polite and organised

Nice pub, tucked away down a country lane. Pleasant garden during the summer. Food menu ok, but quality could be better.

Great food, good prices, huge playground for the kids. Only downside was a LONG wait for our food (though we were warned on ordering). Lovely spot nonetheless.

Fantastic food and friendly staff. Highly recommend.

Called at 3 but stopped serving so came back at 5. It was really busy outside and we went inside and ordered a meal. Realised we had been waiting a while so asked a member of staff about our meal. Apologised and couldn’t have dealt with it better. The food was well worth the wait and we will definitely be back. Lovely staff and excellent food..

50min wait for simple order. Most disappointing meal I've had for a long time. Gammon almost half size expected, overdone

SERVICE WAS SHOCKING WAITING 1HR 3OMINS FOR FOOD AND IT DIDNT ARRIVE !

We decided we would like a Friday night meal with friends. We chose the shepherds rest as we generally like this place and is fairly local. we ordered our meals we waited one and a half hours then asked politely how much longer and was told fifteen minutes, We had had drinks and noticed other tables were being served before and after us so questioned with the Staff and they said “I will check” no reply after that came. We waited patiently for a further fifteen minutes and ended up leaving to go for food elsewhere before it ruined our evening. I went in to the bar staff and said we had asked for the manager so why didn't he come and speak to us, the lady walked away and I asked why on earth it had taken so long to which she replied that the chef had not turned up in the kitchen and she thought that someone had come out to tell us, when I expressed that no one had came out to tell us. The management of our food and order was terrible and the manager should have come and told us that they had no chef and apologised we were told we wouldn't be charged foe out drinks at least that was some sort of compensation. i would suggest that if the chef doesn't turn in then costumers should be told when placing their order for food may be a little late.