The Watermill in Basildon

Stopped on the way back from Southend. Lovely place. Staff were really friendly. Food was really nice although the steak was a bit chewy!

The staff were super friendly and helpful the food was really good and would recommend it. The staff were so kind and we were seated fairly quickly. The food was absolutely perfect, looked very appetising and was served seemingly fast. They were even really helpful with me currently using a wheelchair to get around, helping me to find a place to put up my leg. Would recommend to absolutely everyone such a great place. Dessert was served almost immediately after our main plates were taken.

Nice food but not hot enough, prices are to high for the quality of the food

Andy and team are great! Thank you for making us most welcome! Would recommend for drink or bite to eat.

It was a family meal out and we noticed the service was slow. The food was good

Solid boozer with a good atmosphere and nice friendly staff Bar was busy and really did enjoy it Breakfast was great and worth every penny

Great staff especially Lyn, not so noisy and great location! Recommend 🙌🏻

Very disappointing visit. The service was extremely slow, leave our drinks at till for 12mins to go flat as they just forgot about it. Meal was supposed to come with grilled mushrooms and tomatoes, but only when you ask for the missing item waitress tells you they ran out of them. They should have the decency to tell you in advance. It's the worst beefeater we have ever eaten. As per the rule tells you to contact duty manager if your not happy but was told that not available. No wonder the entire service was poor and they overpriced us rather than giving discount for having 65% of the meal. Will not return to this place.

Worst customer service I’ve ever seen. Was given a cold treatment the moment I arrived. No one at the desk, waited nearly 15mins before lost patience and went to look for someone, keep this in mind it wasn’t busy at all. Only few tables occupied. When finally found someone, was asked to sit wherever I want. Waited again for another 10mins or so still no one then finally decided to walk out without eating. Not going back there at all.

Food took considerably longer than expected... some of the food, though admittedly not all was either cold or incorrectly cooked...a steak that should have been well done, was not...it was still a little pink inside... the response when pointed out was a grudging apology but nothing else. Would not recommend at all as this is the second time I've written a poor review...I gave them a second chance...wish I hadn't...Will not be returning in a hurry

Wonderful evening meal, for our 27th wedding anniversary, we're visiting family. Totally attentive staff, especially Lynn. Food was excellent cooked to just how we ordered it. Would highly recommend this place.

Friday 1:15pm one barman and one waitress. Understaffed, ordered the chicken schnitzel and came out pink. My partner has already eaten her food by now and iv’e been waiting 15 minutes for it to be re-done. Just wanted to get up and leave it was that dreadful. Just embarrassing. Last time coming to any beefeater now. Tarnished the brand!

Arrived for breakfast. No one at the reception. Waited a while. Had to go inside to find a staff. She wasn't interested at all. No smile no introduction, we felt that she dint want us there. Pointed towards a table with her leg and asked to sit there. Said will come but continued to chat with other diners. Did not ask what we were there, looked bored, we waited but no one came to ask. So we left. The whole vibe was awful.

Had a wonderful lunch steak cooked to my preference rare our server vicky was amazing bought all the sauces we needed food was out quickly really enjoyed it

Fantastic dinner spot with a great garden it even had a great selection of beers I did enjoy it.We had the ice cream which was delicious and tasty

Had a roast, which was extremely nice, the plate was full and plenty of food. Staff are really friendly and helpful.

Nice ambience, good food and service with value for money

Lovely food & service from all the staff, especially Lyn. Thank you :)

Avoid at all cost!! Would never come back hear service is terrible the waitress we had was rude and disstrctful. We sat down around 2pm, two adults and two kids. the atmosphere was quite a empty being an Easter Sunday. It too about 10/15mins to order drinks which then took another 20mins to recive them 2 soft drinks and 2 fruits shoots. She then took our food order and waited for an hour for two mix grills and 2 sausage and mash, when it arrive it was bland and no flavour. The waitress didn't do any check back. On the meal and once we was nearly finished she gave us the bill without finishing our food. She also told us if our children can keep the noise down as she couldn't think. Bill came into £66 paid it and left would never recommend to friends or family. Avoid avoid!!!

My original review is below After 11 years I returned and Lyn’s service was excellent. ‘This Beefeater has the best, well trained staff I have come across, very friendly and the service is excellent. My wife and I have used this place for over 4 years and it is consistently good, superior to similar types of restaurant’

Honestly never want to.come back. The staff don't want to engage, I have an allergy and they seemed put out about it. Could hear them yelling at each other in the kitchen and the inconvenience of it. When order was finally taken (restaurant was empty) the food came burnt and hard to bite into. Wouldn't suggest anyone coming to the watermill, I've been to other beefeater that have been lovely this was was awful

Great cheap breakfast Got there around 9:30 and the card machine + toaster weren't working but that was fixed soon enough so wasn't a problem Breakfast came quick and was very nice, only complaint was that the sausages were hard and chewy and bacon was a bit undercooked. Other than that very solid breakfast would definitely go again, 100% worth it for the money

Heidi goes above and beyond to make you feel welcome. Also Lyn was a lovely server.

Great experience, food was good, the service was excellent from Lyn will defy e going back!

The food was excellent as usual and the service was brilliant Our server Lyn was amazing and very helpful

I would like explain my recent experience with you, we had booked accommodation with the Premier Inn next door and looked forward to enjoying our evening meal & breakfast at the Beefeater Restaurant. Our table was booked for 7.30pm. we arrived to the restaurant in a prompt and timely manner. It was explained there had been no note received from the Premier Inn at booking that we had wanted our 3 separate table bookings merged together so we could be a party of 7 we were given a table for 5 and a table for 2 next to us albeit with a post in between but we made the best of our seating arrangements. Our server was polite and introduced herself, we later found out this was her first full shift, but no complaints she went up and beyond in her service toward our party. After waiting 2 hours and still no starters, I had approached the shift manager now identified to me as Pete, he told me food was on its way!! 10 mins later mine and my daughters starters were placed on the table, I then questioned the manager on how long the rest of our parties food would be he stated because we wanted your starter first this was what was holding the rest of our food order up, he said the restaurant was busy although there were 6 empty tables in the area we were sitting and I begged to differ with his excuse for poor waiting time, at this he started waving his arms in the air, blaming us for wanting our starters as starters and became exceptionally rude, and extremely unprofessional for a Manager. The new member of staff was more professional than him on her first full shift!! Our girls had been competing at a competition all day, wanted to eat and get an early night and after waiting as long as we had it was a nightmare of an experience. I was very disappointed in the service from the Manager of such a well known and established company like Beefeater which is such a shame especially in this economic climate that going out for a meal now is an expense that is done less frequently. On a positive note the food when we finally received it after 2.5 hour wait was good quality, hot and good value. Breakfast was a better experience and food service was prompt. (Weekend of 5/4/25)

Had a lovely meal food was cooked to perfection and service from staff was great too

We had a great cheap meal, the bar maid (angel) was quick and helpful, thanks angel..

Lovely place very friendly Lovely staff particularly Heidi and Lynn

Great atmosphere, lovely food. Bar staff Angel, Heidi and Lynn really friendly people! Would definitely recommend.

Had lovely lunch food was very nice waitress was efficient and bar staff were very helpful friendly and kind.

Had a lovely evening here staff was very friendly especially a young lady called angel would most definitely recommend

Lovely service and manners from Heidi, Angel was very welcoming and polite upon my approach to the bar and served me a lovely Guinness, the environment was friendly and the cleanliness was kept to the highest of standards, the food I ordered came out to speck, and compliments to the chef Pete and Chris for the food they provided, the General Manager should be proud of his employee's, I look forward to returning here again in the near future.

Heidi was brilliant lovely food will be coming back

Great atmosphere, great restaurant and lovely bar staff. Very friendly staff including Lin, Angel and Heidi

Heidi lynn angel amazing service

This restaurant is over run with mice! We were sat eating our dinner when we saw the first one and told the waitress. She wasn't surprised and said she would tell the manager. He didn't come over and apologise to us. We saw another one and when I got up to speak to the manager, he was dismissive giving me a card and telling me to leave a review so here it is! We also noticed green mouse traps around the restaurant! Don't go there until the pest controls have been and got rid of the mice!

Lovely restaurant, plenty of parking, very good service. Friendly staff and great food. Lyn was the waitress and she was great. Thanks very much

Every time I've visited in the past 3 months there is always at least 3 items not in stock. Running on skeleton staff, having to split between working the bar and running tables. I feel bad for the staff who are clearly trying their best with what little they're being provided. But the one thing I think is unacceptable was a MOUSE in the restaurant running under the tables. Only saw this after we had finished eating and after waiting 25 mins for the bill mentioned what we'd seen to a member of staff who shrugged it off and said they'd let management know the next day. Won't be coming back again for a long while not until some improvements are made

Was waiting at the entrance for roughly 10 mins before anyone came to see me. After being seated and ordering a drink, I was then waiting 20 mins for my drink and around 45 mins for my food which they couldn't seem to get the steak cooked right. Neither mine or my friends was cooked correctly and was very over cooked. Not worth the near hour wait for the food. Some of the staff were very polite and helpful

Waited ages to be seated. Steak tough and fatty. Veg is not as listed on the menu. Or tomato or mushrooms which you was given but not on menu totally different From menu. Peas that were given instead of asparagus different colours very off putting and sceptical of health. Not worth the money won't eat here again, but I had no choice tonight .

Arrive was told there was no table was rudely told to go sit in the bar and order. The young lad behind the bar didn't know how to process a voucher. Wait for the food was comical. To the point we was about to leave. Food was dry and cold. The 8oz steak was tipped warm. Sorry but we won't be coming back.

The restaurant and bar appeared to be understaffed and it was slight chaos. The starters of chicken goujons, chicken wings and mushrooms was mainly bread, no real body or taste to the dishes and the mushrooms were very watery. The main meal of surf and turf was burnt, skin still on prawns and the calamari rubbery. Gave wrong sauce with triple steak meal and forgot the additional sauce we ordered, both remedied but staff overwhelmed. Skipped desserts and left feeling robbed of nearly £80 for a mediocre meal.

Staff was extremely helpful! Food was very good as well.

Food was ok , staff are over worked but friendly so the service was abit slow . Watermill is never overly busy so it's quiet . As a last minute place to go for a bite with the family ... yeah it's ok

Nice unlimited breakfast cooked and continental, staff friendly and welcoming.

Sunday treat for granddaughter, food was ok, atmosphere lacking very quite and dull, but landed a parking ticket, was unaware and not told that you have to enter your car reg on the pad by the door ?? A sign stating this would be nice. So beware you have been warned. Ps restaurant said nothing they can do about it, not their carpark..

Was lovley food, vicky the waitress was very friendly and polite ( lovley lady) would highly recommend going here! Thanks

The best steak and service I've ever had in my life, I highly recommend it

I've been taking my family to the watermill beefeater, Basildon for the past 7 years. We always hope for Karen D. to serve us,as she's so friendly and welcoming. As usual she made us feel like we were spoilt with her warm attentive manner. We were saddened to hear she is leaving the watermill and moving to the Haywain. Having been a family custom to have our dinner with Karen, we've decided we'll be moving from the watermill too and going to the Haywain,instead.

Good place for food, came out quickly and great service from Lynette.

Really good evening out with the family, good food and drinks. Vicky our waitress was lively and funny and made the evening!

Had breakfast and the wonderful Lynette and Alex the waiter were wonderful couldn’t be happier 😃

Food was amazing, I had a salad with halloumi. The halloumi was cooked to perfection and the salad was nice and fresh, our waiter Vicky was absolutely amazing with customer service and making sure we was all happy with our food, she made our time at windmill very pleasant and I would love to come back again very soon.

I always used to like this place. Unfortunately the last couple off visits have been disappointing. Crispy calamari was soggy and what should have been a well done steak was medium (at best). By the time I was able to get the staff attention it was too late to put it back on the grill as my partner had eaten most of his and we like to eat together! The staff were OK about it and didn't charge us for it but when you go out for something to eat you want something to eat!

Lovely food and great service from Vicky who regularly checked if we were happy with our food and is also very easygoing and funny. Big up Vicky and would definitely eat here again!

Food was amazing staff brilliant especially lyn our waitress

Whilst the serving staff were brilliant and polite, the food was horrendous 😐 and very expensive for what you got the stakes were inedible as tough as hell despite up grading to the serlion and the atmosphere has really gone down hill won't be returning anytime soon I'm afraid

Had a lovely lunch. Steak was cooked to perfection. The lady who served us, Lyn, was so friendly and helpful. Will defo go back

I stayed in the premeir inn which was a nice hotel but don't get the meal deal. The food is awful! My breakfast in the morning was inedible, it had loads of egg shell in the scrambled eggs, the sausages were still grey and cold and the black pudding was so sloppy I couldn't even pick it up with a fork. The steak I had for tea wasn't seasoned and tasted like nothing but the grill bars it had been cooked on. I've stayed at a lot of premeir inns through out the country for work and this is the worst beef eater I've eaten in. Save your money and go to just eat.

Food was brilliant, terrible service from small blonde waitress will not be going again

staying at the premier inn attached to the beefeater the staff and food are amazing the manager andy is very helpful and always happy and will do anything for you and the kind lady lynette is the best in the morning always happy to welcome us excellent service highly recommend

Went to the watermill for dinner last night with my family. The service we’ve received from Lyn was outstanding, she made sure we were looked after all night. The manager Lynette was also very attentive.

Went in for breakfast yesterday and Lynette made my experience amazing! Just went in to fill the hunger and her service is impeccable truly an asset to the business will be coming back very soon! Thank you team for a great breakfast!

Popped in for a coffee , as we had an appointment, staff was very friendly and helpful locating the baby changing room Great service and a really nice restaurant to have something to eat

Fantastic Experience at Beefeater! I had a wonderful dining experience at Beefeater, and I have to give special thanks to the amazing staff. Izzy was a fantastic host—friendly, welcoming, and attentive from the moment we walked in. She made sure we were comfortable and well looked after, adding a personal touch that really enhanced our visit. A big shoutout also to Heidi, the manager, who went above and beyond to ensure we had a great time. Her attention to detail and excellent customer service truly stood out. She checked in on us throughout our meal, making sure everything was just right, which was much appreciated. The food was delicious, the atmosphere was warm and inviting, and the staff made all the difference. We’ll definitely be returning soon—thank you, Heidi and Izzy, for making our visit so enjoyable! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Went for breakfast today, and there was hardly any continental breakfast . I had to keep asking for bread. There was no juice, and the cooked breakfast was horrible. Doubt, we will be going back after that.

Very sloppy outdated establishment. Outside entrance tables were full of empty glasses strewn around from the night before given this was just after midday. Inside we decided to have some drinks which were limited to the usual mainstream brands Noticed in the bar area flies merrily buzzing around which was a total put off. Management seems to be more interested in chatting to the local drinkers rather than providing customer service .Decided to orderwhile staff rushing around like headless chickens it took about ten minutes waiting. The menu was limited to bland microwave heated food. Due to the lack of staff we were kept waiting for twenty minutes between ordering. My overly priced steak had a twangy greasy taste to it. Staff are friendly enough but l could eat more for less in a local Witherspoon which l tend to avoid. If you're younger this could be an opportunity to experience retro walk back in time to cuisine offered by pubs during the 1980s/90s minus ploughman's lunch or prawn cocktails in seafood sauce. Probably the worst eating experience in years.

Andy and Lynette have been absolutely brilliant looking after me and the team this weekend. Can't have been easy ensuring that a team of 14 working back to back 12hr shifts days and nights. The food at both breakfast and evening meals was superb. Great staff who couldn't have been more accommodating !!!! Keep up the good work and hopefully see you all again soon.

Andy was absolutely wonderful on breakfast today he had a bright smile and just in general had a lot of energy

Food was nice, staff and management were all amazing 👍

Lovely food and great service will be coming again!

Awesome fish and chips, I have a good time and found the staff friendly.

Great and friendly staff, amazing roast dinner highly recommend it.

Very friendly staff and lovely bit of food and good locals and good laugh

Service was terrible only 1 waitress for the place waited 30minutes for our order to be taken waited nearly an hour for our food, the tea cup tasted of salt and dirty. Will not be returning it has gone down hill.

So we arrived and waited at the 'Please wait here to be seated' sign. We waited for around 5-10 minutes to just be seen to. The waiter, bigger guy, said we should grab a drink and then come back to be seated. So we did. We were then sat down next to plenty of free tables so I don't know why we had to wait. The younger gentleman who served us was great and he is the contributing factor to the 3 stars. The food was nice however lukewarm. Probably sat out for a little bit because it seemed like the younger lad that served us was doing all the work. Overall, I'd give 3.5 stars. Not good enough for 4 stars, feel like 3 stars is too harsh. However I can't give 4 stars

young man who served us was worth a thousand stars and should be working somewhere else this place is horrible food was terrible

Dirty , run down, the hotel isn't any better. Shocking state for a premier in. The restaurant smells damp, carpets are disgusting. Food came covered in grease and the breakfast was appalling

Where do I start. No stars for service and experience. Arrived for breakfast as booked at 0630. Nothing set up, waitress to busy on phone to show us to table and tell us where things were. Eventually she took our order at 0650, bread still frozen, not all tea facilities were out. The evening was just as bad, ignored at desk as 2 staff were on phone. Staff didn't know who ordered what, shambles. Into the bar with kids running it, everything was to much effort. One member of staff poured 1 pint in the 2 hours I was there as she did not want to get off her phone, the other was to busy with her partner. Only the young man seemed to be doing anything. Tables left dirty for more than an hour as it was to much effort or staff didnt even notice. Even had kids jumping off tables, chairs and partitions with nothing said to parents, who just so happens one of them worked there. All together a disgusting experience and will not be back. Manger seriously needs to give this place their full attention. Worst ever. Shame as the hotel was spot on but what i experienced at the adjoining bar will make me avoid this place.

Ordered a steak, when it came it was just fat and gristle. I was in the bar area and a few regulars shouting and swearing.

Watermill, Basildon, Essex. Unfortunately the boiler had broken down, which the staff had told us so we knew we would be chilly. We went into the ‘continental food’ area to be greeted with empty surfaces, no milk, a non-working coffee machine, several stale pieces of bread in an otherwise empty basket, rock hard pastries and a single bowl of yoghurt pots. We then sat at our table and a lovely waitress came and took our breakfast orders (floor staff were lovely). Whilst she took the order to the kitchen there was a sudden eruption of a VERY disgruntled chef who was shouting that if the company wasn’t happy then send him home! It was an extremely unprofessional and aggressive outburst that I would expect him to be removed from the company. Not only did he embarrass himself but also his fellow colleagues who were trying to make the best of a bad situation. His tirade made us feel so uncomfortable that we did not trust the he would prepare our breakfasts properly or safely so we spoke to the lady who served us and explained that we wanted to cancel our orders and leave. She was very apologetic and understood. It was such a shame that they had to deal with the chef too on an already stressful day. We won’t be going back there sadly as it is in fact somewhere we often visit and this is the second time in a row recently that the we have been let down here.

Breakfast with family was better than expected or read! Few things not available but believe it to be a company issue.Will be returning and was a pleasant experience

Very friendly and home like atmosphere! Food is delicious. Very special and friendly service by a waitress Lynda! Very professional and quick service. Will definitely recommend to anyone and will come back again!!! Thank you

Arrived at 1.10, was seated immediately and given drinks, there was one waitress, working really hard but didn’t get to order out food till 2.20, the food was good but the restaurant was so cold, we ate in our coats, she tried to turn the heating up for us but too late. She said staff hours had been cut she was on her own. We were so disappointed, we didn’t stay for further drinks

Staff great sadly they were pushed to there limit as quite a few people in restaurant so not the quickest bit not there fault. Had breaded mushrooms for starters , seriously overcooked and when I pit my fork in then they shot off the plate they were so hard . Ordered ribeye medium , was well and truly mullered and overcooked and really grisly for a rib eye , the table shook when I cut into the steak . Got given a 25% off voucher but won't be needing that I'm afraid . Chef needs serious training.

Warehouse issue lead to limited pastures, staff constantly apologising for something that was out of there control.

Burnt scrap ends of food lipstick around the glass twice watermill you've gone downhill

Had an amazing roast dinner , thanks to Billie, and John in the kitchen, Amazing service from Amy who is always very helpful.

Disappointed for breakfast today. The full English we ordered came out like warm. We knew there was no eggs, crumpets,sugar,pancakes,Danish pastries but we thought dont worry we will still enjoy coz it is cooked fresh. Well it was cooked fresh but left to go cold. Don't be having another breakfast ever again here. One good thing the waiter was full of beans and happy..nice chap.

Went there new years day, arriving around 2pm , for an impromptu lunch we haven't visited here for some time ,the pub part was very quiet and looking through to the dining area, it appeared the same, quite odd we thought for a new years day, we eventually got seated ,after I found a member of staff to confirm that the restaurant was actually open, we were advised that a couple of items on the menu were unavailable, we both agreed that the atmosphere was lacking and the decor was tired and grim, we both eventually ordered our choices for dinner, ten minutes later the waitress returned to say what I had ordered was not available, and presented me with a menu, with menu items that had a tick next to, I was told that these were not available to order, sadly this represented nearly half of the menu items offered, We left the restaurant without further ordering, vowing never to return. I'm sure other people have had a good dining experience here, but for us it was not to be.

Visited nye and we really enjoyed it-great atmosphere-Lovely waitress and enjoyed our last festive meal of 2024………..

Loads of food off the menu as problems with the supplier. Pub empty and lacked atmosphere. Pub is quiet dirty. Last visit.

Waited all year to have a family Christmas dinner so booked the Watermill for 12 of us big mistake was booked in for 2.30 didn’t get seated till 3.45 4.10 for starters the staff was unhelpful and by this time we all walked out our family Christmas dinner was spoiled the atmosphere and restaurant looked shabby and dirty will never walk in there again for all of us 653.50 for the meal we didn’t have so have put in loads of complaints to get our money back and I will get our money back I will take it further our family meal together what a joke you are Watermill

Went there with work on 13/12/24 booked well in advance, nothing available on menu , food was dropped on the floor during service, never again

We booked Christmas dinner, we turned up on opening time and still 2 and half hours waiting with no food. Absolutely horrendous experience for us as a family. Got offered no good will gesture. Can’t believe the service we have received here. We have an autistic 7 year old and a new born baby so they decided to seat us upstairs with a pram we had to carry. Just awful our son got his food and we are still waiting for ours. The outcome we got was unacceptable.

Half of the menu wasn't available

We stayed at the adjoining Premier Inn so had breakfast here. We stay typically a couple of times a year when visiting family and the breakfasts here used be ok until a couple of years ago but it’s definitely as if the management just doesn’t care about their customers anymore. I kinda feel like I’m being treated with contempt. We were greeted by a sign saying that the so called unlimited breakfast would be limited to two of any one item per person due to supply shortages. We saw exactly this when we stayed in June this year. Good grief for us that’s not a problem at all, as typically we’re eating later in the day, but for crying out loud there’s several supermarkets within a couple of miles radius put a little bit more effort into it go out and buy some eggs, bacon, sausages etc stop being so lazy 🤷‍♂️ One time we visited and were told the only eggs on offer would be scrambled eggs, honestly this is beyond ridiculous! Sort of like the Little Chef experience of sorry we haven’t had any omelettes delivered yet today! Anyway our breakfast turned up on cold plates and the items were well cooked and tasty enough but all but tepid or cold. I’m not a toddler for crying out loud I can eat hot foods! I really don’t know how an eatery like this could possibly be so incapable of making a half decent breakfast, I could do a far better job myself and I don’t have a Scooby about catering. Sadly though there is no alternative locally so I expect we’ll be doing the exact same thing in a few months time.

Came here after having a bad experience in another beefeater not expecting much but the waitress Gemma was amazing explaining all menu items etc and all alternatives available. The chef john cooked the food beautifully steak spot on for myself and friend Food was faultless

Booked for unlimited breakfast, when we arrived a sign in door said they were having supply issues so only 2 of each item allowed ( not a problem for us ) we were seated and waited for over 30 minutes for them to rake our order ( people seated after us were served befor us ). We went to have some of the continental items 1/2 of which had run out already ( no bread out, no yoghurt, no pancakes and croissants had been cut into pieces. Then when cooked breakfast came out for the table next to us they were telling people that they had run out of the items they had ordered, at this point we complained and left. We had been in there over an hour and still no cooked breakfast. Service was so slow despite plenty of staff. Will not be returning again.