The George & Dragon hotel in Basingstoke and Deane

We stopped off here for a late lunch on a whim during a motorway trip from the south coast to Bedfordshire. (Asked Google to show the nearest pubs/restaurants and this was the nearest that was open for food in the afternoon.) The place wasn't very busy, service prompt and attentive, but not overly so, and food delicious. We both opted for pies; me the Sun Inn Fish Pie and my husband the Cottage Pie - piping hot, very tasty, with a selection of perfectly cooked vegetables. There were plenty of gluten-free options for me, and it was good to have that choice. Portion size was perfect too, not too much to make you feel over-stuffed or the need to leave some, but we definitely feel like we have had a good meal. (My one preference would be for just a couple more green beans on the plate! Not a deal-breaker though 😊.) We would be happy to make a detour here again in the future. Thank you! 😋 (Generally, the restaurant area didn't have quite the atmosphere of the cosier drinks part of the Inn. Having more clientele would help.)

I’m a bit late writing this review but reminded to do so because I keep getting emails from the pub. We called into the pub to talk to them about arranging lunch for a large party after a christening. We did that especially because we wanted to know where we might be sat. This was an important event for us. We were shown a lovely area and it was explained how tables could be put together. We booked, and were looking forward to it. We were surprised when we arrived for the lunch to find we had been put in a tiny annex away from the main dining area. Chairs had been squeezed in, there was no room for high chairs or the pushchair and we had to squeeze past each other to reach seats. The children kept having to duck under the table to go to the toilet. We had been asked to pre order our meals, but many of them were wrong when they arrived and four of the desserts did not arrive and we had to find someone to ask for them ( after about 15 mins of waiting). All in all it was disappointing to say the least and we will never go there again. It felt like we were just treated like captive customers and they couldn’t be bothered. Actually we have lots of family events and our repeat custom would have been valuable.

Had a great lunch today. We last ate here beginning of the year vowed never to go back food was inedible. It is now September and we fancied a lunch out so we came you both had really great food. We will be back.

Stumbled upon this place whilst passing by and really chuffed. A good proper pub. Nothing fancy, just a nice old skool English pub. Good beer, nice atmosphere, friendly staff, and the locals seemed happy to chat too. Bravo.

1hour and 40 minutes for delivery is unacceptable for a take away the food arrived cold, after a hour wait contacted restaurant and was told food was on the way 40 minutes later arrived 🤷‍♂️