The Herd Restaurant in West Berkshire

Burger was really good, chips were the best I have ever tasted.

Charming place, lovely team of people and great food. We had a fantastic roast, very generous with delicious sauces. We will return to try the steak cooked on an open grill.

Great spot. Our son was 18, and wanted steak. The Herd was the best place nearby, and they did him proud with candles on the dessert. Good variety of steaks available, and great to have the rub/sauce included with each, rather than extra. And it was lovely to be in the room with the open fire cooking. We didn't do sides or starters, as wanted to concentrate on the meat. Only slight downside was there was - at times - a chillish breeze coming into the room from the vestibule. Closing the door would help... Recommended.

Utterly brilliant, best specialist steak chef and platter on the planet xxx

Very average. Ordered the tomahawk to share. Requested medium rare and it’s a good job we didn’t order it more well done, as I think it would have arrived incinerated. Steak arrived rare and with a crust that was right on the edge of burnt. It was edible but very average. A tomahawk arriving with the bone black with soot isn’t a good look for an expensive steak . Peppercorn sauce was ok. Three way cooked chips were overcooked and soggy. Broccoli and mac and cheese were decent enough. Not terrible but not sure I’ll be back.

Always great food, their steaks are excellent. Good choice of rub infusions and sauces, nice to watch the chef prepare the meat on the open grill. Great wines too

Wanted a nice steak restaurant for a celebratory meal that wasn't a chain or just did steak as part of their menu and found this on TripAdvisor. It was just what we were looking for. Delicious steak cooked over a wood fireplace in the main dining room added to the atmosphere. Each steak could be customised to have a different rub and sauce to make it your own. It had the weight of some of the cuts on the board, so when it's gone, it's gone. We had a starter, full meat plank, and half chicken plank and the steak for mains, which meant the dessert menu was quickly dismissed as we couldn't fit another thing in. Friendly service was timed perfectly, always there when you needed them. Smooth Nero D'Avola made a perfect accompaniment. It's not cheap, but it's definitely worth it for a special occasion. We just need another excuse to celebrate something to go back.

**That was one tasty 😋 fillet** I opted for the fillet steak 🥩 medium, cooked on the open fire 🔥 over locally sourced apple wood and oak. I decided not to bother with a sauce, just salt and pepper, and I'm so glad I did. The flavour was absolutely fantastic, every cut and bite was amazing 👏🤩 The chef popped the steak on the open fire 🔥 🥩 and seared it, from there he massaged the meat with the opted flavour to marinate. Touch of class at this place and I felt the price was right for the awesome experience. The restaurant is fairly small, but huge, you get a real sense of how the room must have been in the 18th century. It was truly a great setting. The only shame was I was sat with a work colleague and not my lovely wife 🤩🤣 The service was perfect. There was a discretionary tip, 12.5%, which I paid because the service was great. The restaurant area was clean, tidy, and plates were taken promptly. The WiFi was good. The toilets 🚻 were clean and tidy. Accessibility ♿ was good also. I can't wait until the next time I'm in the area to enjoy dinner here again. Thanks for hosting me, keep up the awesome work 💪🤩🤩🤩

We arrived soggy wet and hungry and didn’t have a booking. Man on the front service said they were fully booked. Ok fine I thought no problem and we spent 15 mins figuring out what to do. We then realised the elephant bar serves food right in the same building. You’d think that he would have said “hey I can see you guys are cold and hungry there’s food over there” but no. Also we sat out on the booths for a 1.5 hrs and the herd was literally empty that whole time!!!

Dropped in for a delicious steak dinner. The sirloin was delicious and beautifully cooked. Looking forward ro coming back for some more flame grilled steak.

We had a truly memorable meal last night for our anniversary. 🤩 Home baked bread and olives to start and tomahawk sharing steak for main with a rosemary and garlic rub, medium rare, cooked to perfection. I had the creamed mushroom and truffle oil sauce which was exquisite, and my other half had whiskey cream, such interesting and unique flavours. The atmosphere had a perfect ambience with low lighting and the sound of the crackles of the wood fire - which by the way, was amazing to watch our steak be prepared! The service was fantastic and it was lovely to be surprised with bubbles on the house for our anniv. 🥂 The bottle of red we had was really nice, too. Would 100% recommend this place over and over. We look forward to returning! Thank you for playing a part in our special day.

I came here to celebrate a special day with my wife. The staff were amazing as was the food. I would be very happy to come back here.

The thomahawk steak was burned with a thick crust of charcoal. It left a persistent and extremely unpleasant very bitter charcoal taste on my palate. It was still lingering an hour after we got back home. This completely ruined our meal. This was a much anticipated birthday celebration that turned out to be the worst experience when it comes to the food. Also the red wine we chose was not available. And then it happened again with the second bottle. The house salad was poorly presented and in fact it looked like a handful of pre-prepared bag of salad from a supermarket. Normally you go out to eat as an occasion. But most of the food served was no more inspiring than we could have done at home. Of course the meat was much worse as it was cremated. This meal was one of the most disappointing meals we have ever had.

This was a nasty meal. An overpriced steak to share was ruined. Burned black and acrid on the outside, virtually raw in the middle. The salad was dull. Truly lackluster and sadly was not sufficient to mask the burned bitter taste of the poorly cooked beef. What a waste of money 💰 Plenty of money also. Red wine sauce, virtually tadteless. Mushroom..that was quite nice. Balsamic glased tomato? WHERE WAS THE BALSAMIC? We ordered two different bottles, but both wines were not in stock. Finally, we were furnished with an ancient old plonk, half of which we left half on the table when we left, along with a large proportion of the inedible steak. Admittedly we were offered a reduced price. But this celebration meal was a ruined nasty experience.

Everything was perfect, even the company was 10/10

Quite cold. Steak only luke warm. I thought it would be better. 5 star chips tho!

11/10 restaurant amazing atmosphere with some of the best food I’ve ever had couldn’t imagine a better place to celebrate with a meal

Superb Tomahawk steak cooked so expertly at the open fire. Service superb. Special mention for the highest customer service quality from Daisy.

Been here many times for dinner and afternoon tea, food is always fantastic, staff are very friendly and welcoming, Marvin is an absolute gentleman.

Just love this restaurant! Have been before with friends this time it was for father's day. One of my sons is a complete steak freak and is VERY particular about how is steak is cooked. He actually said this was the best steak he's ever had in a restaurant. I just love the food, the waiting staff and the ambience. Can't wait to come again, even if it's a bit out of the way for us. But please make sure you have the Provence Rose in stock - hate Pinot blush ;-)

It's absolutely incredible!! Food, staff, setting, just incredible. Many thanks to the chef for looking after us tonight!!

Nice little diner...worth a visit!

I ate a delicious piece of meat, and it was really a good piece of meat but pricey. The service was friendly.

Excellent food and experience this the place for steaks and chef show exhibition BBQ cooking in the restaurant

Booked afternoon cream tea for the Bank Holiday Monday. Initially we was told there was no availability in the afternoon and if we wanted a 7pm slot. Hence we said no. However a few hours later, they advised that they did have availability, so booked the 1pm slot. The waiter was very help and he was very attentive.  We was offered a variety of teas, alternatively coffees.  Great  selection of sandwiches and cakes, plus both plain and fruit scones. The waiter asked if we wanted more tea/coffee, which we did. As we couldn't eat all the cakes, he waiter provided a take away box, so we took away four cakes.  The only negative comment, was that we was the only people in the restaurant,  which was a bit strange.

Booked a table here 2 months ago over the phone Came for my table tonight but the restaurant is shut, no reservation anywhere in site!

Disappointing afternoon tea; all of the sandwiches were rather lacklustre, none of the desserts/petit fours were bad, but none of them were memorable either, and the scones were poorly formed, overcooked, and not that fresh. I wouldn't recommend it, nor would we return for this. That being said, the table next to us ordered a Sunday roast and that looked pretty good!

An utter disaster. I have been going to the Herd for some years. I had recently thought it was going downhill, but I was not prepared for this evening. Had our starters and asked for the bill cancelling our mains. Two other guests had similar complaints. I offered to settle the bill and was asked to pay for drinks only (which were still over 50% full as we left). Short sighted of the FandB manager but I paid without complaint, guaranteeing I will not be back. Every dish was a disaster. Dried scotch egg. Dry, verging on stale bread. A salad that was missing ingredients and was still short after being returned to the kitchen twice. The final was the watery and tasteless humous and thin, aged tzatziki that was genuinely a disgrace. I’m not sure I can stress this enough when I say that the dips would have tasted better from a tin. All in, with sincerity I have had much better meals on a budget airline. I don’t say that to be mean, but to stress quite how poor the food was. We left feeling sorry for the poor young “teenager” they’d left to service the restaurant on her own. She tried her best, but wow the kitchen was a disaster. I wish them well and as a local hope they improve. I will not be trying it again for years after tonight’s terrible experience.

You always know when you've had a good night if you think it's about 9-ish and it's gone 11pm! We came with four friends and the setting is great, big inglenook fireplace with a wood fire pit cooking your steaks right in front of you. Two shared a tomahawk, I had filet, hubby had a rib eye, one friend had sirloin and the other had hake - so it's not all just cow! All were amazing! Chef is cooking steaks right in front of you and carved the tomahawk at the table and then took some slices back for the one that wanted medium versus rare and just finished them off on the firepit in front of us. The service was amazing - we had the most delightful waitress - Sophie I think was her name. As her shift ended mid-way through our meal she came over to say goodbye and to thank us for being such fun customers - how nice! Have already recommended to lots of friends and 'encouraged' my sons to book for my mother's day meal, so we'll back next month!

Excellent steak, good chips, but little else on the side. Meal was spoilt by the 11/2 hour wait from ordering. There was no room in the restaurant so put in the bar which was very noisy. Staff unhelpful.

We visit regularly and we always have a consistently great night. The steaks are delicious and great value for money for the quality and location. The restaurant was really busy but we were still very well looked after. Great atmosphere. Thank you x

Lovely location, decent food. Take almost hour for food where literally was noone else at the restaurant. Small selection of coctails- not everyone drinks wine. Staff not very attentive. Nobody ask if food is ok or if we want something else to drink. We resign from dessert because there was something wrong with vibe. For us one off experience.

We came here for a birthday celebration and it was just a lovely experience. The chef showed us the cuts of meat before preparation. We ordered a Chateaubriand, and it was cooked to perfection. The cajun rub didn't detract from the flavour of the meat but added that little extra magic. The salad was so fresh I actually ate all of it! Od also ordered a macaroni cheese side, my eyes were bigger than my stomach. It was decent portion. My husband enjoyed his side Our waitress Sophie was lovely, friendly and attentive without being intrusive. We had a really nice evening in a nice atmosphere. We were not rushed to finish our food. It was money well spent and these days when you spend your hard earned cash, it has to be worth it. My one tiny complaint is the heating was not on, but with the cost of heating in 2022, I don't blame them one bit. We are planning to return in the summer to try the other options on the menu. We have recommended The Herd to friends and family.

Lovely dinner last night and great Steak experience. It is no nice to see the steaks being cooked in the fire next to you, thanks to Flo for all the suggestions and the friendly service! The steaks and all the other bits tried are very good and locally sourced! We will be back soon!

Food was ok but underwhelming for price.

Incredible sharing steak, attentive service and great options for sides. One of the best, if not the best, steak restaurants in the area!

Great service , didn’t have to wait to long. Good choices and they managed to cater for my requirements

We have always had good food here however on our recent visit this was let down by the service. There were some issues with the food which we ordered, an item missing and another being ‘uncooked’ and despite it being sent back there was no improvement. Instead of the chef coming to speak to us or a senior member of the team they let a young girl handle the situation which was a shame and totally unfair on her! Unfortunately will not be returning

Always a worry when the chef serves up, what can only be described as a soggy mess, instead of stuffing. Not to mention forgetting the crackling! I ordered a mixed roast which was supposed to have stuffing and crackling served with the meat. When the food arrived I had to point out that the crackling was missing which they kindly rectified. However the “stuffing” was nothing but a soggy mess. Just stuffing mix and water. I bought this to their attention and they took it back to the kitchen, only to be served the same soggy mess 3 mins later which had been microwaved! I left it on the plate until finished. I highlighted this again when our plates were collected and I was advised they would inform the chef. When they brought over the bill I asked them what the chef had said, to be told “they were sorry and did not expect it to be like it” We paid the bill in full and left and will not return or recommend based on they way they handled this. Very disappointing.

Nice pub, food was tasty. Only downside was the wait at the bar due to the comedy night. Please put on more bar staff when you have events like that.

Met a friend here for dinner and had a really lovely evening. The restaurant is in a nice setting and the service was excellent throughout. Steak was INCREDIBLE. Beautifully cooked, absolutely delicious and served with just the right amount of triple cooked chips. Will definitely be visiting again!

Best steak house in the country by far!

Wanted somewhere to go to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary that was on the train line from Didcot. Read the reviews which prompted me to book. So glad I did. On arrival a young girl just pointed to where our table was rather than seating us, so wasn’t too sure how it was going to go (maybe a little training required?) No need to worry however. The lady who cooks the steaks, does so in the dining room and cooks for all the current diners at the same time. She has a huge plate to do at once but cooks them exactly how you want. Had the fillet steak and it was gorgeous. Thank you chef. It was the hottest night in UK history and you were stood by an open fire! We were given our first drink ‘on the house’ which was a lovely touch. The service was good and staff friendly. Will definitely be back

Just the most wonderful restaurant around, especially if you're a meat eater, the steaks are faultless. Service friendly and helpful as always. We've never been disappointed

The wife and I had a great experience again at Herd. The waitress was very attentive to my wife’s food intolerance needs which is always appreciated. The food was excellent, the filet steak was nicely cooked and very tasty. My peppercorn sauce was delicious and there was a good amount of French fries. This is the second time we have eaten here and it won’t be the last.

had chateaubriand cooked to perfection. great service great food. multimesc foarte mult. loved watching the chef cook on the open log fire. she knows her onions for sure. hope to hebe back sooner rather than later. T.F.

It’s all about the Steak and boy what a meal. Not just the meat but the theatre of it being cooked over an open fire is not to be missed.. it does get busy so book ahead.

Nice steak cooked in front of you.

You need to book in advance. Hotel car parking fills fast but public car park next door is free after six. Cheery welcome and shown to booked table. Right by the cooking grid. Started with large chicken wings (12 off). Delicious dipping sauce. Best wings ever! The fillet steak was cooked over a wood fire giving it a real BBQ flavour. Perfection. Followed by gooey chocolate cake with scoop ice cream. Very rich flavour. Overall an excellent meal out with top notch waiter/waitress service.

Very nice meal and to watch your steak being cooked just great A1

One of the best steaks I've ever had

Great food, menu choice and service. Room ambience could be a little more cosy. It's a bit stark.

We had an outstanding Sunday lunch at the Herd - delicious roast and trimmings perfectly cooked meat, pleasant setting and very good value - hugely recommend !

Steak was àmazing. Lovely atmosphere, fab service and wonderful wine. A real treat and highly recommended

Arrived a tad early by 8 minutes and were graciously accompanied to our table. All laid out very precisely along with linen napkins. Asked if we wanted drinks. Subsequently our orders were taken. The chicken wings were juicy, tender and plenty of meat! The BBQ sauce was excellent. Delicious. The Chef cooks the steaks on a cast iron grate on a wood fire. He checks the degree of cooking by pressing gently with his gloved hand. The filet steak, medium rare, was cooked to perfection. The steak was top quality tender and flavoursome enhanced by the smoke from the wood fire. The food was top notch and the service by the Chef and waiters was faultless. Attentive, courteous and friendly. Will we come back. Certainly. This was up there with the best in Berkshire. Thanks to tonight's staff for their exceptional service. Car park was full but after 6pm the public car park is free. After 9pm the toll bridge is free. @Herd Restaurant.. Marketing.. No need to comment. Review speaks for itself!

We love our regular treat for chateaubriand at The Herd and believe we are very lucky to have such a wonderful steakhouse in our village. I would recommend anyone looking for a good steak, cooked to perfection to try The Herd.

Arrived a tad early by 8 minutes and were graciously accompanied to our table. All laid out very precisely along with linen napkins. Asked if we wanted drinks. Subsequently our orders were taken. The chicken wings were juicy, tender and plenty of meat! The BBQ...

It was our first visit and overall we were impressed and will be back. We do however have some constructive feedback about the starters, the Tzatziki and Hummus in the Mezza Board is really tasteless and disappointing and the Tempura Calamari was over cooked. The...

Our daughter chose Herd for her birthday lunch and she couldn’t have chosen better. Service was attentive and the waiter was incredibly patient whist we faffed around trying to decide which bottle of wine we wanted. I had the roast beef and although I didn’t...

The steaks are cooked over a wood fire in the restaurant and are absolutely delicious.. the best ever.

Love the fact that the steaks are cooked in the dining room, in an original fireplace. Beautiful old building, the steak was amazing according to my husband and I can say the portobello mushroom burger was also excellent, as was the gin. will definitely be...

Fantastic food at a not-unreasonable price. Came here on a Thursday night for our wedding anniversary dinner. Fantastic service, but mentioning it was our anniversary and first night out without our almost 2 year old when making the reservation was entirely ignored. Also, on a Thursday night the chateaubriand and tomahawk steaks were gone very very quickly, so make sure to arrive early if that's what you're planning on!

Great steak, excellent steak! Marius was outstanding. We really enjoyed our time at the herd and can thoroughly recommend the experience. Thank you!

Fantastic steak best I have had, staff very friendly and professional would recommend

I took my wife here for her birthday meal. The decor and atmosphere of the dining room is quirky and fun, and the service throughout the meal was friendly, efficient and unobtrusive. We were made to feel welcome and relaxed. First up, the steaks. These...

Brilliant place for a wedding reception and a great watering hole after band practice.

Staying in Whitchurch on Thames for the weekend and decided to visit The Herd for Sunday lunch, was not disappointed. Friendly staff, delicious food, catering for both meat eaters and vegetarians and topped off with delightful cocktails. Would definitely recommend.

Had a drink in the lovely garden behind the main restaurant on the hottest day of the year. Really quite astounding setting as it is another picturesque building in Pangbourne. It seemed like the garden of an aristocrat in the 18th century - there were bar stools and comfortable seats outside which neighboured a churchyard and graveyard. This sounds a little weird but it was actually very nice and a relaxing place to have a drink!

Yet again great steaks, cooked to perfection and very tasty. Sides are ok but my preference is for ordinary french fries. Chef was very informative and waiting staff attentive. Will return.

Not good steak was actually like charcole on the outside very dissatisfied considering how much it cost

Best steak restaurant in the area. Great being able to see the steaks being cooked while you wait, can't beat the flavour of the open fire. Good service and nicely spaced tables so you don't feel crowded.

Called in for an evening meal with pre dinner drinks in the garden at back of hotel. Cod goujon starters followed by medium rare fillet with a blackened Cajun rub, superb. Good wine list and a friendly service.

This is a firm favourite. It has great decor, and you can watch your steaks cooked on their wood fire grill. The steaks are always amazing, cooked perfectly. They are served with really crispy chips and the side dishes are also yummy (recommend the macaroni and cheese). The desserts arent quite as special as the mains, but still enjoyable. We will definitely be coming back!

I have dined here over 5 times. Took my partner here for the first time and he loved it. Ordered the half Mezza sharing platter which had Hummus, Feta, Tzatziki, Olives, warm Bread and dressed salad leaves. We pre-ordered 500g of Chateaubriand - medium rare....

32oz of steak to be eaten between us in 14 minutes before 10pm for an 8:15 confirmed booking was a really fun but expensive challenge. It was blamed on the kitchen at least, not COVID, although a bit more customer attention would go a long...

We visited for a birthday meal & were not disappointed. We had a great table right by the cooking station. The steaks are cooked on an open oak fire. The food was of an excellent standard as was the service throughout. Would definitely recommend

Great steak menu but also cater very well for veggies. Lovely setting and atmosphere

Lovely food & wine, nice dining area, staff friendly & helpful. Safety measures in place. A good time had with friends.

Fabulous steaks, my third visit and can't wait to return for a Tomahawk Tuesday, £50 steak shared between 2, great sauces, great rubs, great cutlery! Thoroughly recommended!!

Very attractive room and interesting Indian decor. Steaks were terrific and burger was very tasty too. Service was good. They'd made a mistake on the numbers of our party but fixed it without complaint. Good covid meaures here too - staff with masks, tables nicely distanced etcWould go back.

Fabulous meal. Steaks cooked to perfection. Customer service was amazing. Thank you for a lovely evening - great way to end the summer

Excellent fillet steak and the mushroom sauce is superb.

Delicious food, nice staff and atmosphere

Tried to book this restaurant online. Their online booking isnt linked to a diary so you are reliant on them actually confirming if you have a booking or not. Unless you chase (2 phone calls from me + an email) they may or may not bother actually telling you if they have space or not. Or they may just claim your booking never came through... avoid, avoid, avoid.

Came here on my birthday and was blown away by the steak (ribeye, was incredible) the service was great too in fact it was so good my partner and myself managed to book another table 3 days later and we were served by the most cheerful lady - Mariana-Livia, excellent service from her and the food was incredible once again.

We went here on a Saturday night and were informed the restaurant was full but we could sit in the bar. Ok, fair enough I thought this would be fine. Things started to take a bad turn when one of the bar staff came over to speak to me confused. I had used the on table instructions to order by a web interface.. something which has become commonplace in the age of Covid as restaurants need to take contact details. She told me that it doesn’t normally work and proceeded to take my order again. From this things just went steeply downhill. Service was slow and pretty terrible - we waited at least 45 mins for a drinks order. We wanted desert, got given a desert menu and then nobody came back to take the order. When I checked the online site - the kitchen had closed! Ok thanks for telling us or maybe taking our order before that happened. Staff weren’t wearing their masks properly (seriously cover your nose!) and guests were loud, rude and not socially distant. I would avoid again!

The great thing was that during the pandemic the setup & service adhered to the social distancing rules, which didn't impact the ambience as you might think. Starter was below average as I went for the bread basket which turned out to be drier that Ghandi's flip flop. The main was just ok, it didn't excite me to come back for me or spark a taste of greatness. There were however some nice fundemental touches, like cooking the steaks on the open fire for all to see & the waiting staff were extremely attentive but without dribbling over your table, like some do at really high end restaurants. It was reasonable priced with good service, but the food just didn't have that "wow" factor.

Have been here 4 times now with my partner and we can't reccomend it enough, steaks to die for!!!! Absolutely mouth watering steaks, cooked to perfection, didn't even need to use any sauce they were just perfection with cracked pepper and salt! Such a good charcoal taste off the meat which I love, only downfall is we were put in a side room for social distancing purposes but noticed there was lots of dust and cobwebs in this room ontop of the cabinets, I am allergic to dust big time and kept sneezing through out my meal! But otherwise cant fault it! Highly recommended the cheese board, the cheddar is delicious.

Really lovely meal, nice environment and excellent service. Was great watching the steak being cooked in the room, and it was delicious. Really enjoyed it, will return.

First time at the elephant restaurant both ordered roast beef the beef was tough, the vegetables plenty for two people but Luke warm, roast potatoes tasted like they were boiled rolled in duck fat and thyme and tossed around in a pan not like home roasties they were soggy and tasteless. No one came to the table to ask if the meal was ok. Table was booked for one o'clock left at restaurant by one thirty. Sorry to say but we will not be returning. Did not stay at the hotel just used the restaurant.

Amazing food and the stuff were so lovely we had such a lovely evening

Best steak joint in the UK; cooked in front of you. The Cajun rub is amazing

we went on 14th July, doing well with covid rules but the ventilation is dire and as they have the grill in the room we felt it way to smoky. we asked to move tables as they sat right next to the grill, close enough to feel the heatMeal very average

Celebrated our son's 20th wedding anniversary with 2 teenage grandchildren. Great steaks cooked in front of us and delicious puds. Not much atmosphere but they had only just reopened due to Covid

Brilliant food and setting, will be back!

Turning steak eating into a real experience. Only the high-ish prices to beware of

If you want a good Steak. This is the place to go. Good service good food.

Porterhouse steak is amazing. Cooked to perfection and devoured accordingly!

We visited here for my 30th birthday with a group of 10 people and I cannot recommend this restaurant enough. The staff in the restaurant could not have been more wonderful during the whole visit. From the moment we arrived we were looked after, organising for drinks to be brought to the table, ensuring we had an extra table for the cake, checking if there was anything additional we needed. The food is amazing, every member of our party commented on the quality of the food, and some have already planned their next visit.

Great food Great pub Nice atmosphere Highly recommended