The William Bray in Guildford

appaling service. incredibly unhelpful staff. average food. A shame because the location is great and good aesthetics.

Have visited this wonderful pub on two occasions this year I have to say the food, drinks and service was first class. The first occasion was for a Sunday lunch, where my wife and I both had the traditional roasts, both of which were excellent. The second time more recent on occasion of my wife’s birthday where she enjoyed the cod in chicken butter sauce, while I had the Surrey farm rump steak both of which were cooked to perfection! My meal (on both occasions) was washed down with an excellent pint of Shere Drop ale, a local beer of course. In fact so good I had to have second pint! Lovely atmosphere with great service.

Mens toilets have been like this for at least three weeks now Jesus it’s dangerous. Nobody seems to be interested in fixing it

We met friends at this pub on a Saturday night at 6pm as it’s halfway between our homes. Wonderful warm welcome from the team who were very careful to seat us where we’d be most comfortable (4 adults and one dog). Good choice of local drinks behind the bar and attentive service from the waiting staff; our Labrador was particularly enamoured with the biscuits! We had the local steak, the cod and the venison as main courses; My steak was absolutely delicious; perfectly cooked and good sides and superb chips. Everyone enjoyed their meal and only wished we’d had room for deserts. The ambiance and decor in the pub is lovely; plenty of room with more formal seating at either end and a cosy bar with fire in between. The village itself is idyllic and I imagine in the summer it is very busy. I’d spent a while deliberating where to eat in the local area and was very happy with my choice. It’s always interesting to read reviews but worth bearing in mind that all pubs and restaurants these days have a huge challenge with staffing levels- particularly in places where the summer season may be incredibly busy (wonderful terraced garden in this case which i can only imagine gets rammed in summer) and the colder seasons perhaps not so much. The team at The Bray were all excellent and they deserve to be congratulated. We will be back!

Food was really tasty. I had the fish and chips and my wife had the roast chicken. Good selection of wines and beers and the staff were helpful and very friendly. Quite expensive but you very good!

Fantastic... Great service, great food. A must visit pub

I came here as part of a large group for the Bank Holiday Monday. Despite having pre-booked our first 2 courses, we were left waiting a couple of hours for our food. Service was also not the most attentive, failing to bring water a couple of times after having asked. The food was also not great, I had the fish and chips. The fish was incredibly thin and although edible, nothing standout, the chips were very weirdly shaped and offered nothing tasty, we theorised they were the off cuts from another dish. I then had the sticky toffee pudding which was tasty, but then that's something quite difficult NOT to make tasty. I understand there have been a number of issues recently regarding kitchen staffing, which explains the turnout of our lunch. and so hope that someone quickly steadies the helm before it is too late.

The food is absolutely delicious! Service is super and extremely quick. We have come multiple times and the staff are all so accommodating and friendly. Special shoutout to Desley who is always warm and welcoming.

Warm and accommodating. This is a country pub/ restaurant that combines both functions so effortlessly and appropriately. Great for a few casual drinks ( garden is sunny and sweet, indoors is warm and tasteful) and food cooked beautifully with great attention to detail. I had the cod which I can highly recommend. It was cooked to perfection! Good selection of wines and beers. The vegetarian selection has always been creative and delicious such as the really beautiful Thai curry which hopefully will be back on the menu soon! Come here for some relaxing ambience, lovely food and warm service. Thank you, Lesley, for going the extra mile!

1 star was for the service of one person who was very accommodating. The rest was terrible. We waited over an 1 hour and 1/2 for food. We only ordered mains. My lamb fillet was not fillet and was 2 fat strips I couldn’t eat it. The beetroot salad was a slice of goats cheese bits of beetroot and the rest rocket. Sole was ok lasagne was small. We had to drink, ginger beer lemonade tonic water and orange juice. They said they had taken off the cost of drinks and my meal. The bill still came to £74 that means as an average the 3 meals came to around £22 each. My husband paid the bill I wasn’t aware of how much until we had left. I’d recommend eat else where. The White Horse is a good shout. We didn’t book there as I thought I’d give The William Bray benefit of the doubt from when I’d eaten there a few years ago. Not a good decision on my part.

A large group of us came here for lunch on the bank holiday weekend. I've been here before and had great meals, but this time was different. I know they have had issues with the chef leaving, but I have to review what I experienced. The pub is very nice - attractive with indoor and outdoor seating in the middle of Shere. The service was friendly. Sadly, that's about it for the positives. We were a large group, but despite having pre-ordered our food, it took about three hours for us to have lunch. The food was painfully slow. Had the pub been full, that might have accounted for it under normal circumstances, but it wasn't. That said, I did say that the chef had very recently left. The other main downside, was that the food was not great. I had the cod. It tasted fine, but it looked like it was falling apart. I wonder whether it had been overcooked. Also, I think I got three half boiled potatoes (which were underdone). Bizarrely, it came with a chicken jus, which sort of kills it as an option for pescatarians. I had the cheese cake for pudding. It gave me shop bought vibes, but I may be being unfair. Others in our party also didn't rate the food. Hopefully, this pub will sort things out and get back to normal. I take that they have had chef issues, but good pub food is now quite easy to find, and people will vote with their feet and maybe won't give second chances.

£4.50 for the smallest bucket of chips, not happy. Would pay no more than £3 for these. Compare the size of the bucket to the size of the salt pot

So kind cheerful servers! Great food!

Claudio, Leslie and Alexandra were absolutely brilliant for our table fot 6 this eve. Food was amazing and chicken wings were legendary. Spectacular meal.

Great gluten free options and quality food! Will definitely return!

The atmosphere here is what truly brings me back. The service and food are nice, but the outdoor seating is lovely and makes for a wonderful place to have an afternoon with a friend.

Everything was good here and the staff were so friendly and happy. Eat inside or out. Everything was just perfect.

Great food and atmosphere. The team was fantastic and super when we had a little medical emergency. Top marks all round.

Tried to book a table for 12 for a birthday Sunday lunch - was told that it would need manager approval, that I would need to send an email, that we would have to pre-order, etc etc, immediately booked somewhere else nearby in less than a minute.

Booked for lunch today after reading the good reviews. Friendly welcome, good table choice and decent service. We ordered the salmon nicoise which had a good amount of salmon, but a single new potato cut into quarters, one small egg, no olives as described on the menu and no dressing. On placing the salad down on the table we were asked if we wanted any chips to accompany - chips wouldn’t/shouldn't be required if there there was more than potato in the salad that was a main dish. We did report this back and the service charge was removed (?discretionary anyway and the money should go to waiters) and a free drink offered, exchanged for a scoop of ice cream as both driving.

Glad it’s now run with quality.

Highly recommend. Front of House/Manager Libby couldn't have done more to make it a great experience. Good olde fashioned hospitality! Well done!

Popped in for an afternoon drink after a wonder around shere, and what a treat it was, ended up staying for three drinks and some cake! Purely because of the lovely Lesley, she made us feel at home and welcomed and nothing was too much trouble! An amazing FOH member and honestly, the reason we will be back for main meals next time! Thank you Lesley for making our afternoon so special, your humour, and service style was one in a million!

Although we didn't have a booking, Lesley arranged a table for us with the restaurant manager. She was super friendly, arranged a seat at the bar until we got a table. She made great food recommendations, all of which we really enjoyed. Incredible experience. Definitely going back and hoping we'll have Lesley serve us again.

Always excellent. Tremendous food and wonderful service. What more could you ask for!

Wonderful food & wonderful service! I cannot thank Kat and the team enough for their amazing service for our lunch party of 50 people. They were extremely helpful, flexible and just a delight all round! We were seated in the orangery which was lovely and well prepared. Everyone commented on how fantastic the food was. I would highly recommend for a brilliant pub lunch! Thank you!

Great local food! Portions are very generous and the service is excellent. It can be a bit pricey but it is definitely worth it 👍🏼

The booking for 7 people, for lunch on the Saturday 18th May at 1pm. Having driven for 2.5 hours, we all got the most famous welcome from Lesley and Ben, who immediately organised drinks, whilst the group gathered for lunch. Having had drinks we adjourned to the large dining room area, and had great lunch and a fantastic time. The Bill came, and it wasn't too bad either. It's a beautiful village, easy to park at the pub, and I am recommending you have a walk through shear afterwards, if you get the chance. All round, this place is brilliant, but made more so by it's attentive friendly staff, especially Lesley and Ben. Looking forward to being back in the Bray again soon. Best wishes John Griffin

Absolutely delightful. Our waitress was wonderful, friendly and efficient. The food was delicious - garlic prawns for both of us, then field mushrooms & compte on toast for me, and seabream , with chorizo, samphire & potatoes and salsa verdi for my father . Thank you The Bray

Great venue in a beautiful if busy village

Just went for a drink. Lovely pub. Not too expensive for Shere!

Delightful pub with great food and perfect outdoor seating area on a bright Spring day!

Amazing Sunday lunch, every part was delicious! The dog friendly area was also nice and spacious and the staff kindly brought water for my dog.

Very disappointing. Lovely pub and quite friendly staff, but what seems to be a main staple - the burger - is overcooked, and a Bray 8oz may impart something to the cognoscenti, but for me it seemed to mean mass produced, heavy and tough. You know when you're not being asked how you'd like it cooked that you're part of a production line. Good chips! Pork rib was a bit greasy/fatty and tasteless. Fish and chips are fish and chips- taste of batter, but that's a universal truth about fish and chips, but mushy, or mashed, peas came in a bobbly little dish the same size as the tartare sauce, so you couldn't get it all out, and all was small! Lovely bottle of rioja at an inflated price. Hmmm....don't like giving less than favourable write ups, but never again.

Lovely place first class service & staff very friendly will definitely visit again

Love this pub. Squeezed us in when we didn’t realise it was Mother’s Day. Great food, attentive service. Understandably crowded given it was Mother’s Day.

Excellent food in a relaxed but smart environment. Some of the best pub fish and chips I’ve ever had. Would thoroughly recommend.

I feel unfortunately the food let's this pub down. Just a feeling of a lot of oil used and lack of fresh produce. However service and atmosphere are good, so drinks and meeting up here are recommended.

This pub will not leave you indifferent, only positive emotions and quality food.

We ordered the vegan roasts and were encoured by the server to have the yorkshire pud as she assured us it was vegan too. When the food arrived it was clear that the yorkie was not vegan, neither was the cabbage that had been cooked with butter! It was a shame because the pub is lovely. The staff need more training in dietry requirements.

Poor service. Waited so long to be seated the kitchen closed for over an hour. Previous visit food outstanding. Shame about service this time

Other than it being super busy (to be expected) all was good. Nice roast and the stone bass was delicious!

Never again - what an absolute joke. We came here for our second visit last Sunday. My partner and I ordered a“roast” and a quinoa salad with goat’s cheese and walnuts. We booked a table, so didn’t have to wait too long, which was good. After that it got worse and worse. The food took long, the service was slow and there were no check ups for new drinks. When the food arrived, we were completely shocked. The roast barely looked “roasted”. The potatoes looked and tasted like boiled potatoes, no crisp at all, the vegetables were probably microwaved. I had the quinoa salad, which barely had any quinoa in it, the same could be said for the walnuts, as there were only 4 walnuts in it. The salad looked more like a bag of spinach emptied on a plate with a slice of goat’s cheese in the middle, very disappointing. To top it all off, I woke up in the middle of the night and got very sick. Something was not right with the food and it would be no surprise to you that we won’t be coming back here. The service was bad, you’re still charged for the “service charge” and the food was very poorly cooked. Very disappointing and would not recommend coming here.

Christmas Day lunch. Worth waiting for and excellent service. Highly reccomended.

First time and its really nice the place and the service..

Had my birthday lunch here today 5* all the way. Staff were fabulous

Great pub but gets very busy on weekends

Very friendly place, lovely atmosphere and decor. Didn't eat here as we had to be elsewhere, but will return for a meal soon

Perfect place to stop by if ever in Shere! Nice selection of wine and beer. Really vibrant atmosphere with a friendly crowd

I've been served with very politeness, cosy place, many delicious food with plenty traditional English dishes. I’m glad to have been here!! Thanks Giuseppe

Wonderful Christmas dinner. Thank you you all for making our Christmas special The food was delicious

Lovely pub, top food and service. Been past many times over the years but never in - much cosier and (good) puny than expected. Surrey Hills beer on tap

Great place, love the atmosphere, the cosiness and good quality food. Only thing I would ask for is more vegetarian options on the menu. We would seriously visit more often if this was the case. We live locally there are four of us, two if which are veggies. Sunday roast is perfect! Thank you

Wild and noisy but great fun! Everybody gotnon happily

Shere is a lovely, but often crowded, Surrey village between Guildford and Dorking. As everyone knows, it's where scenes of the movie Holiday were filmed. The William Bray pub is a beautiful, large and ideal place to have a meal and or drinks. The food is great! So is the hospitality of the staff, who are very attentive. The menu selection is good and varied. My wife and I chose the Ocean sharing board, which was fantastic and more than enough for 2 people. I highly recommend this eating and drinking venue.

Amazing lunch today , definitely will be back .

Beer and service great. Food disappointing.

Good and service were amazing !

A group of 9, we chose from the a la carte and enjoyed a very pleasant meal, at about £35 per head. Would be interested to know if the clock is original or a replica.

Would highly recommend this place to stop and eat. Great service and food!

Elegant building with pleasant decor. Most of the bitter wasn't available when I visited but the one that was tasted great. Friendly staff. Beautiful village.

Sunday lunch booked for two couples (meeting middle distance), first good point was an easy access carpark! Welcomed with a smile and from then on it only got better! Considering it was pretty busy the service was charming, the food was good, the wine excellent and without exception, all the staff were helpful and HAPPY! Picking The William Bray to meet our friends was a real stroke of good luck and will become our meeting place of choice from now on. The whole ambiance of the place was an absolute pleasure... what more can I say but thank you so much to the staff for such a lovely meal!

Really like it here but we were disappointed last time after going for a roast and they were served cold. I sent mine back and they gave me a new one which was hot, which is great, but none of the staff who dealt with us apologised. Other experiences there on days other than Sundays have been really good so it was a shame our last visit wasn't as good.

Amazing quality food and service was friendly and helpful. Definitely will be back to try the roasts!

A very well traditionally pub run in a quaint little village in the heart of the Surrey hills. Needed to amend my reservation last minute which they did and when it came to the meal I had no complaints. A lengthy menu serving generous tasty portions. Important to book in advance as only one of two pubs in the village.

A lovely village and this establishment, in the heart of the village, should be the prime place to visit. The food was run of the mill with nothing outstanding. The menu, when it arrived after a good 15 or 20 minutes, had items crossed out. The staff were very busy, but not attentive and not easy to spot - just dressed in everyday clothes. The service was not good I had to ask when we were to have our meal after about 30 minutes of waiting. The tables were booked for two hours and about 10 minutes before the end of our time, a waiter appeared to mention the time we had left. I pointed out we had a long wait for the food (& menu) and this should be taken into account. He had the audacity to virtually say it didn't matter. We were having coffee and had to gulp the hot coffee down or leave it. I wish I'd had the nerve to ask for the service charge to be taken off, it wasn't deserved. As they were very busy, the noise was loud. There was no atmosphere at all and I, for one, was glad to leave. A table near us had quite a few kids who couldn't sit still and behave, mothers were more interested in their bubbly than controlling them. Kids and pubs don't, nor shouldn't mix. Consider other people. Parking was a nightmare. Won't be going back. There is great potential, don't be complacent, up your game.

This is a lively village pub with great food, we very much enjoyed the food we ate. However the service could be improved and this is why I have only given an average rating. I was meeting two friends for Saturday lunch and after 10 minutes of waiting we asked for some menus, about 15 minutes after that our order was taken and after another 40 minutes our food arrived. So we waited a good hour from our booking time for anything to eat. Now, we didn't actually mind too much as we were not in a rush, the environment was very pleasant and it had been a while since we had all got together so had lots of catching up to do. My problem with this situation is that around 2 hours after our booking time the waiter had the nerve to tell us that they needed our table back for the next sitting. Post Covid I have a lot of sympathy with restaurants wanting/needing to maximise their takings and imposing a time limit on table use, I have no problem with the fundamental approach. However if you're going to use that approach then you need to ensure your service is in top shape so the customers do not feel like they're being rushed out straight after their last mouthful. I should say our waitress was lovely - polite and friendly, there was just something wrong with their system.

We have eaten here many times over the years. The quality of the food remains the same. Excellent overall and with a cosy and friendly atmosphere. Highly recommended

A good pub with decent beers and food. Good seating and lively but not over noisy atmosphere

Amazing Sunday roast with perfectly cooked tender beef and chicken.

Our first visit to the William Bray exceeded our expectations: great service from friendly people; excellent quality food that is well above the average pub food; and a beautiful and relaxing setting - we will definitely be back! We found the portion of baked monkish to be on the small side, but that seems to be the problem nowadays when you order fresh fish - you get very little of it! But this is only a very minor gripe - overall we were delighted with our dining experience.

Our first visit to the William Bray exceeded our expectations: great service from friendly people; excellent quality food that is well above the average pub food; and a beautiful and relaxing setting - we will definitely be back! We found the portion of baked monkish to be on the small side, but that seems to be the problem nowadays when you order fresh fish - you get very little of it! But this is only a very minor gripe - overall we were delighted with our dining experience.

Wonderful pub in the pretty village of Shere. Food was amazing especially the moules. Great staff too, very friendly and happy to help with our dietary needs. Will definitely be back when we are next in the area. Five stars all round.

Excellent location , service and food The staff is friendly , the location is in the heart of Shere village. Both the drinks and food menu offer various options that suits different tastes.

Great location and amazing staff

Great food, great service, great atmosphere. Pricewise not the cheapest pub for sure, but then you get what you pay for. Highly recommended! 👊

I want to visit and feel, when ı Will visit U.K I heard from a friend

Unlike other reviews we were totally underwhelmed. Table booked for 3.45 x7 persons. For Sunday roast. 2slices of overdone beef (requested rare) bullet roasts. No substitute veg. Waited 1hour for roast chicken. No apple sauce for pork!! A lot not available on menu. Great shame 😂

I visited The Bray with a local friend and olleagues after a conference in London. The restaurant is very nice inside. Quite honey and cozy. The service was really good except for not getting my drink order correct the first time (I ordered a rum and coke and they just brought aa coke). I had the short rib which was good, but I felt was relying to hard on it being smoked. I love smoked food and smoke lots.of things at home, but it seemed to be missing something. Add to that that something didn't agree with my stomach and had the aspects of food poisoning, but that could be just my body and beef so I'm not blaming them. Most of the rest of the group had the fish special. The sticky toffee pudding was also really good and well balanced for a dessert. Overall I was very happy with the experience and would recommend to others.

Lovely outdoor seating area. Always have a pint here when walking around Shere. Food looks great but not many options for Coeliacs.

Well appointed "gastro" style pub in the heart of Shere, a lovely unspoilt Surrey Hills village. Our lunchtime roast beef baguettes and salads were wonderful, sat on very smart decking overlooking the high street (in warm sunshine). Idyllic.

Don't ever have medical issues in the toilet....YOULL BE IN THERE IN THE DARK!!!!

Food was nice and fairly priced, however, service was slow for such a quiet time.

Our food was dreadful. My roast was awful - dry potatoes, chemical gravy etc My wife’s scallops looked ill! - looked like a health risk. Her chicken caeser looked and tasted awful - she left both and ordered fish and chips. The fish was a soggy oily sponge. Will never return.

Meat looked overdone, had requested rare but told comes as chef sees fit. Thought not good start till I tasted it. So tender, best roast I've had in a long time. Good meat, well matured, perfectly cooked. Portion perfect, veg perfect, and gravy the best. Did ask for more gravy. Did not disappoint and recommend.

Beautiful and delicious food. Scallops and panacota dessert

Had a wonderful baby shower party

We had lunch at the William Bray today, it was our first visit but will certainly not be our last. The pub is lovely, the staff were very helpful and friendly and the food was amazing! We were a party of 8 and all of our food was wonderful! I had one of the best beef roasts ever and the puddings were delicious too. What a lovely find!!

Fantastic pub and welcoming staff.Great pub in the middle of Shere. Definitely will go back

Pub is in a lovely village. Nice decor. Friendly and attentive service. Food was average and limited plant based options.

Very English village - charming shops and eateries. Nice walks and only a short distance from LGW airport on the train. Nice food freshly cooked by the chef

Early evening supper with dog. Fantastic ambience, service and food. The best pizza I’ve ever had despite living in Europe for many years! A simple Margherita was a culinary experience! Now I must return to try all the other pizzas too! Good choice of great variety of other dishes too and husband’s choice was also delicious. A lovely evening all round. We’ll be back.

Perfect evening, friendly staff eager to please, attentive, knew the menu inside out. Charming and welcoming with delicious food. A lovely ambience.

Excellent food, pleasant and quick service. The chips were delicious!

Perfect lunch to celebrate my Auntie 80 Was fantastic

The cheesecake. Oh sweet baby Jesus

Lovely chilled food in the front garden. Service and food matched the weather. Was amazing!

We were seated by the cutlery and service station, the two you girls were making so much noise throwing the cutlery into the drawer that we couldn't have a conversation, I had lamb on the bone,it was dry and crusty, my wife had fish and chips and the batter was soggy, very disappointed.

Dropped in for a drink in the sunshine before heading off for dinner with family. Lovely garden and setting. We were served delicious cocktails by a helpful, friendly and knowledgeable waitress called Jess. Many thanks indeed.

Lol the waitress said sit anywhere when there were 4 of us. so i did then i got told i couldn't sit there lol apparently ?? im sorry it's 7pm and it's empty calm down