The Ship Inn in Bassetlaw

Update - Nov '24. .. Friday night 2230 hrs - "Christ alive !" .. Deader than a dead thing that's been dead for a fortnight, then got killed . Sept 2024 - pub fairly empty & dead inside. Meaning quick service. Bulldog - rock band . Good 80's Rock/NewWave. music selection . Slightly ruined by groups of inebriated youngsters drinking heavily & to excess, playing ' finger up the backside' games, smoking & vaping in everyone's faces without any consideration . (Roll on a smoking ban !) + shouting abusively & drunkenly at each other , totally ignoring the live music to the chagrin of people wanting to hear the music. Didn't stay once the music stopped. 2024 - now in new hands. Still a nice pub. However, serving staff - No eye contact or personality discernable during the process. No friendliness. No warmth. That being said, it was a busy night with a live Rock band, DJ Russ & outside beer garden. 2023 - Neil Diamond alike night. Nice . Good service. Spirits - doubled up for an extra £1 !... Nice eclectic decor. Clean. Recommended. Cannot speak to food.

Never had food here the reason I gave them 3star we went on a Saturday night when they have entertainment on only 1 bar open with 2 staff and waited along time for a drink

Best boozer in Retford. Great atmosphere, friendly staff, proper live music 😄

Nice pub good beer. Now under new management, I think. Still good beer with friendly welcoming staff.

This place was going to be a lunch stop on our cycle around the Lincolnshire area but it wasn't doing food that Saturday. I had messaged the pub before to ask the question regarding 5 cyclists turning up for lunch, they saw my post, but didn't respond? Lady behind the bar was very helpful regarding sourcing food at alternative venues. 'Now that's what I call music' channel on TV was a positive.

Check opening times online, it's not what it says at the door. Batemans pub so a good pint!

Watched a local covers band here.... always a pleasant experience at the Ship... Nice decor, decent staffing too

Always made welcome. A good selection of beer. Service is usually quite quick. Clean, tidy and warm.

Lovely pub but the live acts always leave a lot to be desired

Went for the band. Neck oil on tap saved the night. Used to be my local but the range of ales is very pedestrian these days. Nice night though and doing a good job on the ambiance front. Amoeba Band for the win!!

Whoa what an amazing pub. The bar staff and customers have made us feel so welcomed and made us part of their pub family. Certainly will be back. Highly recommended to visit.

Lovely beer garden. & looked like a nice pub inside. Was clean & friendly staff

Great beer garden! Wonderful staff! Had such a good time

Great atmosphere. Saw a band in the beer garden. Staff friendly. Only negative is that it needs a little DIY care in a couple of places including the ladies loo doors. Certainly one has bowed and doesn't lock. The hedge in the beer garden needs pruning and There is also some wood falling off one of the wall by the barbecue. Will definitely return.

This was a fantastic pub to go for a drink at, with a classic country style layout! The mini images on the wall contribute properly to this, the counter is well-presented and staff were friendly. I enjoyed a pint of apple cider, sitting comfortably at a clean table!

I came here with my friend when I was visiting Retford. A lovely pub with a relaxed atmosphere.

Dissappinting. Asked for hot chocolate and didn't have any, asked for tea they didn't have any so got a latte instead. I walked past the kitchen and the hot choclate was on the side. Was abit annoyed but thought the woman may not have realised. Waited a while for our coffees and when it arrived it was just a standard strong coffee in a latte glass. Thought the woman may have accidentally mixed up so let her know. The woman who made them took them away to remake them. When she came back it was the same coffee warmed up in a cappuccino cup. It was scalding hot and I burnt my tongue. It was the worst coffee I had ever had. Don't put different coffee options on the menu if you can't make them. A latte is hot milk with a shot of espresso. Not coffee witha dash of milk. No apologies and the older woman was quite rude

My husband and I just had Sunday lunch at this gorgeous pub and it’s absolutely brilliant. The portion size was huge, I couldn’t finish but such great value for money, this pub should be mobbed for Sunday lunch at £8.95 per person. We’ve had Sunday lunch at most places in Retford, all far more expensive and much smaller portions but this was gorgeous. I’m coming back next Sunday for lunch with my friends

Good food. Great price. Staff really nice. Dog friendly. What more could you want.

Excellent service and food was A+++. Definitely go again. Straight across the road is the canal.

Massoooof homemade burger (Mexican one here) it was without a doubt so tasty! Excellent value for money I might add. Great boozer with a pool table which is rare nowadays. Friendly staff too

Stayed in Retford 4th time in a year from leeds. We had a great Friday night 30th September at the spaced out rave. Banging music. Will be back again

Great food,friendly service, allows dogs outside.

Good food, great value for money.

Love this pub! Staff are friendly, food is great and entertainment is good.

Dropped in for food, from ordering starters the wait was long, starters and main course came at the same time, the food was nice but menu is missing veg, I enjoyed the meal which was very much worth the money just would have liked the main course separate from the starter. Quality of food was great, staff were very friendly and hard working. I absolutely loved the decor. A live band were playing which was a welcome plus. The place was lovely and clean with a good atmosphere.

Great little pub. Excellent service and good food a very reasonable prices. The landlady's laugh is infectious. Definitely recommended and would go there again if I was in the area.

Fantastic food at some of the best prices I've seen in ages. Huge portions, the Mexican burger was a shock, loaded with avocado , lots of fresh jalapenos and a lovely thick beef patty. The atmosphere is very relaxed, dog friendly and a lovely little patio out the back. This is rapidly becoming one of my favourite pubs

Working near by and staying in Retford we called into the pub Tuesday to be told no food on till Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday. Nice friendly quiet place so went again Thursday. The pub was still quiet, the food was fantastic and great value. I can't believe this place isn't full and you can still just walk in for a table. Highly recommended the food 👌 😋 👍

Lovely atmosphere and friendly service

Excellent food and nice friendly staff 😋 updated from last review sorry to say food on Sunday has gone down hill and under staffed with no organisation at all I'm afraid I won't be going again 😢

Fantastic Joss is very friendly lovely roast dinners and excellent value at only £8.95

Decent pint of Moretti while sat in an interesting beer garden!

Great atmosphere with live music & ace beer!

Nice sunday lunch at a good price too.

Had a fantastic nite, the band heads will roll..were awesome the landlady is amazing. Thanks for.a great nite..

Staff polite and friendly, clean enough but Found John Smith's to be a fraction under £4 a pint! Far too expensive. No fire lit like the previous owners used to on cold wet days. Not nearly as it was a couple of years ago in my opinion.

Probably the best pub food in retford. Tried a few but for value and quality it’s up their. Couldn’t recommend enough.

Very mixed food, not consistent at all. Two members of our party order the steak, one was big and juicy but the other was thin and overcooked. My husband's burger bun was stale. Nice outside area and old school style pub with wood burning fire but the food let's it down I'm afraid. No kids sized portions either

Good food and good beer. The Batemans Rosey Nosey and Batemans Gold was in excellent form. A lovely clean warm pub.

Called in for food FANTASTIC all home cooked Will be back thankyou

Far too expensive , lacks value for money . £6 for 1 ½ pint of John Smiths. £3:30 to £4 most Pubs . A

What a lovely pub, like the framed beer mats. Well kept cask beer and lovely food. Batemans ale were very nice. My wife has fish and chips and I had the homemade steak and ale pie, very tasty and well received. Very friendly and helpful staff made for a nice evening. Would thoroughly recommend.

Lovely pub with excellent food. Good choice of beers and dog friendly too. Well worth a visit.

Went to see a band who are excellent, only thing that let it down was the prices, the amount of clearly underage drinkers & the rudeness of staff.

A marvellous night out with entertainment of the best around Charlie star a great performance and nice scrounging would go again

Very nice venue. Well set up for Band's and DISCOS. Very friendly staff worth paying it a visiting.

An ok pub can't comment too much as only stayed for one pint which was descent,was going to have food but they didn't have a kids menu and we had the kids with us probably a good night to be had , live band just setting up as we were leaving

Very disappointed no cask ale available, didn't feel very welcome

Great value Tasty On the doorstep.

I took my family of 7 after a long journey from Cornwall, we were well looked after, service was great as was the food and drink. Definitely go again.

Father’s Day, with no prior booking and they still got us in and had the food out pretty quick but it wasn’t just microwaved. We both had Sunday lunch and the roast beef portion was great, good price and it’s dog friendly as well. Happy days

Recently visited for the 1st time, friendly staff safe environment and fantastic decor. Will deffo return.

Good service. Well set up for contact tracing. Even took our temperature on entry. We just popped in for a drink on the way to the station. The decor might not be to everyone's taste but it is nicely done.

Amazing decor and outdoor area fantastic stage

Sunday dinner is brilliant here. Beef absolutely perfect, nice and pink, veg cooked well and homemade puddings excellent. Good value for money.

Very good food good ale and dog friendly, well worth a visit.

Pub has changed and I hated it. Was very disappointed

Nice place, not the cheapest pint tho. Sunday dinner is nice, even better if you ask for a pot of gravy (extra)

An excellent meal and service tonight from Dan.

Lovely pub. Friendly staff. Great atmosphere

Brilliant experience- great sunday lunch, good price as well! Would defo recommend 👍👍👍

Great night. Adding to the atmosphere tonight Propeller! May not be the best vocalists but great musicians. The beer and service were top notch and so we had a great night.

Lovely pub and décor inside + out, food nice but not much for your money portions quite small on lunch sharing platter

I have given up with this place. I have been about 4,5 times now on a Saturday over the past year and they always have an excuse for Not being able to serve food.

Good little drinking pub good beers on & four good real ale on as well the staff are friendly there go & enjoy a few drinks there with friends

Lovely atmosphere and great entertainment

Very nice pub had a lovely time. Great service and atmosphere.

Excellent Sunday lunch, good beer. Nice place all round

Great Sunday lunch, good service and friendly faces 😁

Great pub. Good entertainment. Good food.

Great pub, nice atmosphere, polite staff

Small menu excellent quality food good price small but good choice of wines

Kim fest 2019. Raising money for stroke awareness on Monday 26 August. What a totally awsome day . Loved every minute of it. God bless kim xx

Lovely little pub, relaxing atmosphere and good staff :-)

Smart pub, nice staff, and good beer. Great courtyard garden too. Definitely recommend.

We just like to meet our friends here and have a drink

lovely food and a nice bottle of wine reasonably priced

Great balance between eating & drinking plus a really great outdoor area

Good food. Well presented reasonable prices. Beer good to

Lovely pub good choice of beers etc well worth a try very helpful staff great food 10/10

Excellent food, great service, good atmosphere. We'll be going back

Nice atmosphere, very small and cosy pub. Buffet for a birthday do was a bit average, but plenty of it. Staff attentive even though they were clearly busy. Overall a decent place.

Excellent menu, service was attentive but not OTT. Food was very nice, great range of desserts and the bill was not at all unreasonable. Very happy with the evening.

Good music venue. Needs more staff.

Great beer and warming fire. Recommended.

Normally I'm not one for this, however after my experience at the Ship Inn and it's owner John, this New Year's Eve I need to express my opinion. Myself and a party of eight purchased tickets for the Ships New Year's Eve entertainment. We arrived and tried to find a table in the court yard for the performance. Upon entering the area we were greeted by reserved seating, this has never been mentioned or published anywhere. The tables which were reserved were also empty. After asking numerous staff members about help with seating none of which could help we noticed that people were bringing chairs from inside outside so we started to move chairs and a table. John the owner came over and asked us to move the table back. Nicely I asked him why they had not put enough chairs out if they knew how many tickets they sold. John then became agitated and said "he had had enough of this, it's my New Year's Eve too" he was very threatening, leaning towards me and shouting and swearing at me. I am only a small women and felt very intimidated by his behavior. I asked him to move out of my way so I could leave the pub to which he didn't, so I had to force my way by and promptly left. John you don't know what it took for me get dressed and put some make up on tonight to come to your pub and celebrate the New Year spending my money in your pub. (remember you never ever know what's going on in people's life's so always treat them nice) The experience left me angry and upset. As the owner of the pub, you would expect him to act with a certain decorum. I guess owning the place allows him to speak to his customers like dirt. After spending alot of money at The Plough (2nd business to the ship) for Christmas dinner with family and spending alot of time at The Ship you have now lost a loyal customer. The rest of party from tonight also walked out as no one agrees in spending any more money to go towards your business. I also understand it wasn't just me that was targeted by John's threatening and bullying behaviour this continued throughout the evening towards other customers. The response that I have received from the ship regarding my complaint is simply unprofessional and very sarcastic which shows the unprofessionalism directed by John. It's such a shame as the staff are lovely and so friendly.

Warm welcoming pub. They offer real ale and a varied gin bar. Fire to keep you cozy and an outside seating area where live music is often scheduled.

Excellent service and beautiful home cooked food. Really tasty. The waiting staff are lively and attentive. The pub itself is well presented,homely and has an outside area like no other. I highly recommend this venue.

Carvery is a set meal with a choice of meats. Meal was OK but a bit overpriced at £10. Nice pub overall though.

called into the Ship in Retford yesterday for lunch and it was superb. Great pie with large pieces of tender meat, lovely salmon with fresh vegetables (cabbage with turmeric was a revelation) and beautiful fish and chips. We'd definitely recommend giving it a go.

Fantastic pub for football watching super Manchester city 💙

Great place to drink in retford.

Very worm and cosy place good selection of beer a larger

This pub is overpriced for its area and kids being noisy is a problem.

Fantastic staff and friendly locals. Best pub in Retford in my opinion. Foods good, wines good and ales are spot on. If I was a pirate this is the Ship I would steal.

One of the best places in Retford for a friendly night out, and with a decent band playing most Saturdays.

Lovely food, no atmosphere though. Staff were lovely. Will try again soon though.

Nice pub. Lots of quirky ironwork. More importantly the beer is good.

Gorgeous food and friendly service. Love the decor too.