The Shepherd and Dog in Basildon

First time for our visit. Such a lovely pub/restaurant. Fantastic food , brilliant service, wonderful atmosphere. Very polite young lady served us, knew her wines, helped me to choose a wonderful shiraz. Would highly recommend. Will definitely being going back.

There were six of us on a Sunday. Very busy but the food was very good and the staff were working hard to cover all the tables

Went on saturday for mums birthday,group of 8,we all couldnt fault it,had a lovely time with great food and service.

Food, service and location is fantastic. Clean and friendly, definitely worth a few visits.

What an amazing find, I was passing and stop for a bite to eat. Food was fabulous, services was attentive. I’ll definitely be back.

Amazing change, if you have not visited it in years. Go back, you will be pleasantly surprised 😮

Went today for lunch with 3 friends and was so disappointed with my meal, the other 3 ladies had the fish pie which looked nice. I had haddock and chips, the haddock had no smell of fish and no taste of fish and was so dry inside, I didn't want to make a fuss so picked at it. I have been home 3 hours and have been sick twice, as I hadn't eaten since last night it could only be this meal. We went there to look at it as a venue for my eighties birthday, and was so disappointed although my friends said their fish pie was nice. I just wished I had sent it back.

The waitress was lovely and gave us her full attention. The food was good but definitely not spectacular.

All really nice. Waitress lovely.

Lovely pub and excellent service, the food is amazing!

Went in there on a whim and the food was outstanding!

The service here is fab. I've been a few times and it's always been good. The food is of excellent quality and is cooked to a high standard, good choice on the menu too. Brought my daughter with me today (she's 3). She was made a fuss of by the waitresses and had a lovely kids meal!

Everything cooked to order with fresh ingredients. Very friendly servers and the new owner, Rebecca, is delightful and running a very good restaurant. She has 4 chefs, one of which is from Thailand, so some great dishes from there.

Came up to Essex from Maidstone, called through first as we wanted to eat but had a dog, very welcoming on phone saying not in restaurant but ok in bar to sit, eat etc with dog. Arrived and was greeted by AMY who showed us where to go, came over, chatted -took orders for the full English breakfasts with extra (BEST food - Tasty, could not fault anything) - the whole dining experience was first class from customer service / food - even the lovely interior of the pub. But it all comes down to first impressions and that Amy needs a payrise for that commitment shown to please the customer - big smiles !!! Recommend this place a million per cent.

We visited here yesterday as a family for Mothers Day, there were 7 of us. Atmosphere inside was lovely and upon sitting down the mums were offered a free glass of prosecco! The waitress came over to take our drinks order and advised us that they needed our table back by 5.15pm for another booking. Absolutely fine with this because we understand Mothers Day is busy (we were a tad worried 2 hours for 7 people wouldn't be enough time but brushed it off). We ordered starters first and the food was lovely, however the time it took between the starters being cleared and our mains to come out was around 40 minutes - we wouldn't normally mind as having a drink and a chat in between is perfect. but we had in the back of our mind that they needed the table back sooner rather than later.. the food came out to us around 4.45pm which left us half an hour to eat so we did feel a tad rushed.. Once our dinner was finished and the plates had been cleared we were waiting for them to ask us if we wanted to see the dessert menu but nobody came. My husband had to flag the waitress down to ask if we could order dessert to which she replied we could but to remember they needed the table back for another booking. Now we understand that they were busy with bookings but to tell us on more than one occasion that they required the table back for another booking made us feel as though we were being rushed out. All in all the food was very nice and the atmosphere was lovely however should we return it won't be on a special date (ie. Mothers Day)

We ate here from Mother’s Day, amazing food and service. One of the best Sunday dinners in the area and the staff are always so lovely highly recommend!

What an amazing place never been to a place that made you feel so welcome our waitress Anna was so friendly and attentive and a true asset to them as were all the staff who ensured everything was perfect The food was delicious and no long waits for it to be served Will definitely recommend and will come back for another visit

14 of us celebrating 3 family birthdays. Service and food fantastic. Molly & staff could not have done more!!

Excellent..very nice place very good food very good atmosphere

Best place for atmosphere service and most Importantly,always the food. Sunday roasts my personal fav!!.👌❤️

Lovely staff, warm welcome 🙏 and great ambience and interior. Outside areas looked lovely too, and the pub had an interesting heritage, with black and white photos on the wall depicting their history. We had a Sunday roast, and the food was fairly good. The parsnips and potatoes were undercooked however; the stuffing was hard, and practically raw. The turkey was dry (overcooked) and the meat cut into thick strips which was perhaps something they can review. That aside - the cabbage and condiments were good. The flavour of the meat and Yorkshire pudding was excellent and you could tell the meat was well sourced. The staff were 👏 amazing and front of house excellent. So we'll go back again and hope the elements on the roast are tweaked to get a top class review.

Starters was good, mains average, service and the wait to be served the food wasn't the best, had asked the waitress for sauces, waitresses basically said she was busy but she would get them over to us, but never came. Did also ask whilst ordering the main if sauces were available, didn't feel like asking for the third time. Once we had our main our family had asked for the dessert menu to then be told we had nearly taken up the 2 hrs slot and that if we did want dessert, we could have it but would have to sit elsewhere...this was never advised to us on arrival, or whilst sitting down (we had booked a table).

Got to say this place is amazing. We was trying to get a table for a few weeks in a row just doing walk-ins and it was always fully booked. We finally booked a table 2 weeks in advance and was saying "this place has got a lot to live up to" and it did just that... food was delicious (salmon + salted caramel cheesecake), staff where lovely and chatty. Only downside is it's a little expensive but it is worth it and makes it more of a treat rather than an every weekend kind of thing. Would definitely recommend.

Nice food and good customer service at a reasonable price. Nice atmosphere. Will go here again.

Went here for a Sunday roast and honestly it was one of the best we have tried around the Basildon area, food hot and fresh tasting. Myself being vegetarian they couldn’t have been more helpful, some how we managed to have a pudding and again that didn’t disappoint!! We highly recommend and can’t wait to return! Thank you to all the staff, everyone was so friendly and helpful!!

Update - family birthday lunch yesterday. Totally brilliant experience, lovely staff, great meals. This is what I wrote earlier in the year: dropped by for a light lunch on a mid week day in August. It was busy, and not surprising - it merits a visit. It's a really good find. The staff are lovely (thank you Amy and Lou) ... and we had open-faced sandwiches that were delicious and well-judged. The rest of the menu looked fabulous too. We will try to go back.

What a wonderful meal, hot , fresh, and very tasty. Presentation and quality was of a high standard. We had the lamb and Belly of pork. A young lady called Tyler serviced us , she was very polite , well mannered and very informative about the menu . The atmosphere in the restaurant was very relaxing and clean . We can’t wait to return , and try other foods they have in Their menu .we all agreed the meal and service is one of the best we have had in a long time . Thank you Dee, Les , Jo , Mick from Billericay 🌹

Really lovely venue. Excellent service from staff. Delicious meal and good value for money.

Our new favourite place. Staff are so nice and welcoming. Food tastes lovely

I’ve had lots of food out of here never disappoints every time I’ve been it’s delicious, highly recommend for the people of essex also would like to say the atmosphere is lovely and the staff are always polite and kind no bad words about this place ❤️

By far the best place for food round this area. Staff was amazing, the chefs food was exceptional and my belly is full for once and not making noises, due the lovely tasty food. Thank you for such a lovely evening and see you all soon.

Have heard rumours about Shepherd and Dog …. it’s all true !! food amazing service first class if you want a great night look no further

Just had a lovely meal in the shepherd and dog. The food was spot on, and the service was excellent 👌

Really nice breakfast, excellent size and value

We had lovely sunday roast, plenty of meat and vegetables. Lovely staff and good service.

Christmas day dinner at the pub excellent Christmas starter Dinner Dessert staff welcoming would book again

Had the best Christmas breakfast with grandson (and mummy/daddy). Magical experience and hope it’s on again next year. The staff were amazing and the food was lovely. Reindeer, snow, Santa & Mrs Clause, festive bouncy castle to name but a few of the experiences. Well done x

went for xmas lunch with work , food amazing as always, service, very friendly and efficient, our colleagues will def be coming back, shout out to Amy and Tyler , who served us, great friendly girls x

As a group of 9 we had Sunday lunch in the marquee absolutely fantastic, amy was brilliant, can't thank her enough for making our lunch wonderful she was backed up superbly with the rest of the team. A good job well done, thankyou

Visited here this week for a Christmas Lunch as a party of 3. It was close to 15 mins before our server came and asked for us drinks or if we were ready to order which I was slightly embarrassed by as we were sitting there like spare parts. We opted for the £35 set Christmas Lunch which comprised of Starter, Main & Dessert with a complimentary glass of bucks fizz. The prawn cocktail starter was served in a tumbler like glass which I personally found a tad awkward in digging the food out of. The Turkey main dinner was lukewarm, roast potatoes not the best & gravy like watered down dishwater. The Apple & Mincemeat spring roll with custard desert was probably the best dish, however the serving of custard was put into a miniature sauce dish, therefore making it virtually non existent! The staff themselves were always very friendly and professional, but in my opinion the £35 price paid for this meal sadly did not match the quality it should have been. Had it not been for the fact that I had a lovely Roast Dinner at this Pub in the summer and this had been my First visit to this Pub I would given this Review “2” Stars instead of “3”. This is my very honest opinion as a person whom visits many Pub Restaurants all over Essex. It was a real shame that the food or service did not match the same level as my first visit here in the Summer.

My wonderful friends and I had a lovely Christmas lunch today cooked to perfection! 👌. We had a pram with us the staff made sure we had a table with lots of room around us! The staff can't do enough for you!! Highly recommend 👌🎄🎅

Went for a Christmas party in the tent behind the pub. Food and service were pretty damn good and not what i was expecting. Disco was marvellous and the singer we had was also fantastic.

Very nice food an enjoyable meal for 4

Been a few times since the refurbishment and I'd say this is now our go-to pub for meals out. Been twice recently with work friends and have thoroughly enjoyed both meals.

Recommended but disappointing Sunday lunch. Charged for salmon but they only had cod. Charged for bottled water instead of tap water that we actually wanted. The mini desert didn’t arrive until after we had drunk the coffee. However, on a positive note, Tyler our waitress was very friendly helpful and efficient and very sensibly put a plastic sheet under the high chair.

We had lunch here. Staff were great as was food. Nice atmosphere we shall return.

I went there today for the first time and they were very busy but got us in! The food was amazing and the service was really friendly! Best food I’ve had in ages!

Food was amazing we had starters and mains all were 5* and brilliant service we will definitely be back 😃

Had breakfast there. Good food and service, pleasant staf

Annual Memorial Day for heavenly birthday

Just wow 🤩 Fantastic food, fabulous staff .. Kids and pet friendly. Food and drink menu is amazing. We enjoyed our Sunday as a family here and will definitely come back.

Visited for the 1st time today. Great roast and great dessert highly recommended. Will be returning.

We visited S&D tonight to celebrate 3 family birthdays and the surprise news of new additions to our family, fabulous news Chloe & Sam, congratulations to you both. While i have visited numerous pub restaurants and only a small handful pass the home cooked food method, the shepherd and dog surpassed all expectations. Absolutely amazing food, fantastic waitress service, clean friendly comfortable environment and plenty of parking, we took a quick look at the massive garden with plenty of space and seating, festoon lights and a children’s play area. On our family visit tonight we were blessed with another massive surprise, Andy proposed to Franchesca and the whole restaurant and staff were party to the announcement. Were over the moon with today and so glad we chose the shepherd and dog tonight. We will definitely be back and we will be telling all our families and friends. Thanks foe making our evening special and the champagne 🍾 gift was much appreciated by us all. 10/10 on every level, Drinks 10 Food 10 Atmosphere 10 Environment 10 Service 110 ✅ Actually amazed i have not found this beauty before. Regards Roy

Enjoyed a lovely Sunday roast which was well cooked, beautifully presented and delicious. The staff were all so friendly, helpful and attentive. The pub feels very welcoming and we look forward to many more visits.

Lunch with son and daughter in law. Had roast turkey and it was the best I've ever tasted. This waitress was very friendly and helpful. Great place to go.

Went Sunday for my Daughter's birthday, there were 23 of us!! It was very organised and service was great. We sat outside in the marquee. Atmosphere was lovely as had DJ playing in the garden.. was very chilled. Food was lovely, could just of done with some more veg on the roast All in all very pleasant afternoon and would def go back

First visit to The Shepherd and Dog with my partner recently, what an amazing place!! The food was brilliant, we were so pleased! Such a beautiful place with a lovely huge garden area, absolutely stunning! We went for the Sunday Roast and the food was brilliant! I went for the Leg of lamb and my partner had the Trio of Meats, well presented, super delicious and just what we were hoping for! Overall, great services, great value for prices and amazing staff who did their upmost to make you feel welcome! Special thanks to Rebecca & Lou for being so friendly and attentive! We will definitely be returning very soon! :) Thank you!

Visited after reading reviews, couldn't fault anything. Thank you for very good food, helpful staff and a lovely venue. Update: Removed 1 star as the food was disappointing on my next visit. Lamb burger was dried out and beetroot and goats cheese salad was a let down this time, not the variety of beetroot, lacked cheese and way too much dressing.

Only used for drinks, but friendly staff and a very nice, clean pub and garden. Great choice of beer. Food looks good, and restaurant always busy, so guess its good too.

Me and my partner popped in for lunch today after we heard from friends about this place about how amazing it was and wow the food did not disappoint it was fantastic!! The service was second to none from the moment we walked through the door we was greeted with happy workers and a well established pub , a thank you to Rebecca & Lou for looking after us you was fantastic, we will be returning in the near future.

First visit to The Shepherd and Dog. Did a quick search for a Sunday dinner and found this pub. The food was served hot and was super delicious. Only went for roast, no starter or dessert as we were full from it. So glad I went for the trio so I could have a bit of everything. The staff were lovely, friendly and attentive. We will definitely return. Thank you!

Great food and wonderful service the staff really couldn't do enough for us.

Unfortunately felt extremely ripped off. Ordered the meat platter for £19.95. Two meats were not even included (chorizo and pepperoni). Three types of basic processed meats chucked on a plate with 5 dry breadsticks and not even a dipping sauce. Not even a piece of fresh bread. Very disappointed. A greedy profit making approach. Worst meal ever had. Waitress friendly only good thing to say. Fosters was flat too. Following the comment from the Shepherd and Dog we appreciate the apology . You ask the question 'how can we improve if we are not informed?' This we felt we were doing by uploading an honest and polite review. Commenting that we 'ran to social media' seems a bit uncalled for. You suggest that we should next time tell the waitress. We did make two requests off the waitress. Perhaps a better approach in future would be to let a customer know if the meats advertised are not available prior to serving to avoid the customer's inconvenience and delay rather than your suggestion of the customer calling the waitress over to correct things. With regards to the breadsticks comments, my understanding is the purpose of them is 'dipping sticks'. We did ask for some mayonnaise which we received as otherwise we only had the option of eating the sticks dry. The tiny portion of 4 small pickled cucumbers (2 to 3cms in size) and 2 slices of sundried tomato were not something we could dip breadsticks in. Starter or not at £19.95 we did not feel this meat platter in our opinion was good value for money or good quality. With regards to the Fosters shandy. Whether it was flat because of the lines, glass widget, gas or anything else we have no idea. As a customer we are just letting you know that particular pint was flat. It was not gassy and was served with no head and we had to ask the waitress to change it. We did therefore to quote 'have the confidence' to call the waitress over twice but by this point we then resigned ourselves to the fact that this was a disappointing eating experience rather than call the waitress back yet again to ask for breads or dips or the meats described on the menu.

Sheila Long Had a great late lunch My brother was over from Australia there were 21 of us He had booked the wrong shepherd and dog by mistake But they managed to squeeze us all in with big smiles Tori our waitress was exceptional and very patient The food was all freshly cooked hot and delicious as well Well done you guys and compliments to the chef

Had a great evening here celebrating our friends birthday! The staff are super friendly and extremely efficient. It’s a shame it’s not on my doorstep otherwise it would certainly become my local! Well done to the team it’s the best service I’ve had in a while!

Roast dinner was really good ! 👌

Our first visit to this lovely old pub, the food and service was excellent! So great to meet Molly who runs the pub with her mum💛we will definitely be back soon, so glad we found this gem!!🌟

First time to the Shepherd and Dog and it was a brilliant evening. We had a dish from every continent - the options were vast from Indian Curry, to spicy Thai dishes, to fish and chips. We were greeted and looked after by a lovely waitress throughout the evening where nothing was too difficult - which with nut allergies, Gluten intolerances and six mouths to feed was no easy feat, but it was done in style and will definitely be going back!

Thank you to the Shepherd & Dog for being hospitable and accommodating myself and my family at such short notice to help us celebrate our daughters 30th birthday. As always the food was lovely, Thai food is the best. The staff are attentive and very friendly. This pub has a spacious garden area and an outside bar. It also has a grassed area with activites to keep children amused. Well done S & D. 👌

Had an enjoyable meal the staff we're great,

Lovely birthday lunch, with friends , and my first visit to this wondeful pub. Welcoming and friendly staff, who decorated my birthday table, candle in my dessert, and boxed gorgeous cup cake as a gift. Really, special place and the food so fresh and beautifully prepared and presented. Super pub garden and modern fresh decor inside. Will definitely return, loved it! Thank you team Shepherd and Dog!

The food was very good, the server was a little bit annoying but their heart was in the right place

Had a fantastic meal tonight, Lou was superb so friendly & we had great banter with her made the evening, great staff, great food, great pub

This was the perfect venue for our wedding reception Becky & her staff were absolutely amazing! We did not have to worry about anything Becky decorated all the tables took care off day food /desserts evening buffet all the food was absolutely delicious! We could not off asked for a better wedding thanks to all the hard work the shepherd & dog put in for us & we were very grateful & pleased with everything.

Had a lovely Sunday dinner in the marquee, everything was spot on and Tory our server was excellent. Had a lovely time. Will definitely be back.

Beautiful home cooked food with an original twist .

Scampi was nice, chips were excellent. The service skirted close to being rude. It was a Friday and our table was booked for 7:45 . And it felt like they were on the hurry up from the minute we arrived. By 2130 the pressure to leave was really intense. All in all the service rather spoiled the meal. Won't be hurrying back.

OMG, the food is just fab, and the service, the staff is brilliant. It’s a must, the menu is small but so good and changes every so often. You must try it, you will not be disappointed 👏👏👏

Lovely garden to sit in with drinks, eat in or outside, we say inside and food and service was lovely.

Not much to say other than perfection .fathers day meal. Amy our waitress was amazing looking after us .the 3 meat roast is something else. Gorgeous. First vista and won't be our last . They made our fathers day very special. Great staff .Great food. Great singer. Keep up the good work shepard and do 100 percent see you soon

Absolutely a surprise to hubby & myself to share a new experience at this public house owned by Becky. As locals of London road, Wickford we were regular customers in the 90s onwards, but once covid occurred we didn't realise new owners appeared. We enjoyed the relaxing, friendly, soul music vibrant / luxurious little touches here. Tracey, customer service & all staff a pleasure to talk to. Thankyou for a pleasurable afternoon/ evening chilling after a busy working week for hubby & I. We'll be back soon for sure. Vanessa & John Ellis

First time visit & can honestly say best Roast in years. Presentation amazing. Loads different flavours. Roast Lamb excellent. The owner clearly has put a lot of effort into the decor. Really great colours & furnishings. The garden area deserves an award alone. I shall definitely be returning with family & friends & can't wait to try a weekday meal. Special thanks to Molly for the warm welcome & efficient service.

Great place. Should've come sooner. Fantastic for the kids too.

Great food very special service.

Spacious, clean pub/restaurant. Lots of choice on the menu. Our food was hot, well cooked and nicely presented. Also outside seating.All the staff were very friendly and polite. Good service and reasonable prices. Clean toilets and plenty of free parking either outside or down the side of the premises

Great roast. Lovely friendly staff. Good selection of beers

Great pub. Staff are amazing facilities are great and the food is magnificent.

Great food, great staff, great atmosphere. Thank you Louise for a fun Wednesday evening.

The food was delicious and had a good portion size. The staff was friendly efficient and a credit to the place. Relaxing atmosphere with a happy vibe.

First time visiting shepherd and dog and it won’t be the last, staff and food exceptional throughly enjoyed it my new favourite place

Booked a table for 9 for my dad's birthday and sat in the conservatory area which was nice and light. The menu had a variety of pub staple classics along with a few other options like Pad Thai. As the prices were on the higher side we felt confident that the food quality was going to match. Unfortunately that was not quite the case. Firstly it took a long time for the food to arrive (45 mins), the two skate specials (£26 each!) had a very small portion of fish and lots of potatoes to fill up the plate which was disappointing. My dad asked for an alternative to broccoli for his meal which the waitress said she will check with the chef. When it came out with broccoli still on the plate the response was "I put a note for it but the chef didn't do it" 😂. The burger was a bit of a sad looking thing with poor quality meat and coleslaw. The 4x kids meals with a small scoop of ice cream were fine but at £8 each you would expect more. The rest of the meals were all OK but overall it just felt underwhelming. A suggestion would be not to pitch yourself at higher end gastro level if the quality doesn't match.

First time, great food, service and atmosphere, will need to come back for full menu at the weekend x 😋 🥂🍾🍽

Can’t read instructions delivered wrong address and brought back then re ordered for following week But they forgot order One little old lady without a dinner two weeks in a row Could do better

Had the most amazing experience here today for Sunday roast food was exceptional, our waitress tory made our visit that little bit extra with her smile and personality definitely a asset to the company, nothing was too much trouble for her to accommodate us fantastic will be returning with friends!! And the Eton mess was out of this world!! Thank you shepherd and dog keep up the good work.

Went to our first quiz night at beginning of April, enjoyed it so much we have already booked for May

A great place for afternoon tea. The staff were so friendly.

Corned beef hashcakes to start, suet pudding main, creme brulee dessert. I could not find a flaw in quality or quantity. I can also vouch for chilli & garlic prawns, pork belly bites, pancetta-wrapped monkfish and braised lamb shank (due to my fellow diners). Service was very good, efficient and friendly. Overall great experience.

Such a lovely place when we went for Valentine's Day. Amazing service and such delicious food. Very good value for money, will definitely be returning x

I have been coeliac for about 8 years and if I have eaten out have been gluten so stopped trying, I went for the Sunday lunchtime with my whole family and was amazed that I could eat with my family from the menu. I had the lamb with cauliflower cheese , I asked the waitress about the gravey who then checked with the kitchen and found this was also gluten and dairy free. Happy days. The whole meal and experience was amazing and will be certainly be going again, my mum has already said it was nice to see I could be included in a family meal out and we can all go again. Thank you for a very good meal and brilliant service.

Excellent service with amazing food. Really accommodating waitress who catered for all our needs. Looking forward to our return visit..