Outstanding food, convivial ambience and excellent service contributed to a wonderful dining…read moreexperience at this quintessential English country pub. Definitely a place to revisit for a special occasion or a casual lunch in the adjoining "Bakehouse". Highly recommended.

Great gastro pub. Fab food, atmosphere and really friendly service. Strongly recommended.read more

The Bear has become a good quality gastro pub recently with a nice atmosphere and a good menu and…read moresome great specials. The ambiance is relaxed country pub and the staff are very helpful. There is a reasonable ca park as it gets quite hard to park in the summer. I have visited for lunch and dinner and both were very nicely presented and well cooked. The skate is very tasty and the scampi and Jenga chips are good. The costs can be a little bit higher for lunch but the menu is very similar and therefore for dinner, I thought it was quite reasonable. Peter who used to be at another Billericay restaurant is the restaurant manager and as normal makes sure we get well looked after.

A large pub right next door to the market. It gets very busy evenings, especially Friday's. It is…read morealso quite close to the bus station and opposite Basildon railway station, so there shouldn't be any reason to drink & drive. The lighting is subdued or dark, depending on your point of view. Only had Pride & Bombadier on tap. Outside seating is close to the road, but it's not a very busy road, most of the time. No children are allowed in the bar at all, but I'm not sure if they can sit outside, so if you are thinking of visiting with children, best to ask first. There is a raised seating area to the right and a smaller one on the left. It is wheelchair accessible. They have a few meal deals, 'Grill & a Drink' £5.99, 'Sunday Roast' £4.99 and I think one with steak, though I forgot to write it down. Shorts are served in 25ml shots but you can double up.

This is a great place to have lunch in. They do a lovely Sunday roast with a drink. Bargain. It has…read morea nice atmosphere and is very popular with customers who come from work to lunch here. It serves all the usual pub dinners and snacks at a reasonable price. Also serves a pot of tea or coffee for the times you don't fancy a cold drink. They also serve a cheap breakfast, but this is only from 11 - 12 O'Clock. I enjoy coming here for breakfast or lunch, so much more better value than a supermarket cafe or coffee shop.

Amazing food and service, always made to feel welcome great value for the quality and portions…read morehighly recommend the mixed roast! You won't be disappointed!

The Shepherd & Dog was just.a pub which was very popular but I never had the inclination to drink…read morethere. That was then but now it's been revamped into a restaurant that serves dishes that are of very high quality. Their Sunday roasts are good value with plenty if taste. The staff are friendly, polite and extremely efficient. Customers do like to dress up when they dine here and I don't blame them. As it does add to the ambience

This is fast becoming a very good local pub,with friendly staff . I is on the village green, with…read moreparking at rear The management appear to be making great efforts to create a good atmosphere,with great food (at reasonable prices ) . I think they are doing a great job Steve B 18/10/2009

"the royal oak" a 5 min walk from ockendon station. my first impression on looking at this "ye…read moreolde" pub was well presented and clean, upon going inside initially it was dark. a very clean refurbished pub with a marble bar and exceptionally clean and pleasant surroundings. the bar staff were very welcoming and greeted me with a smile, they were attentive and made me feel as though they had known me for years. the beer garden has a relaxed tone about it with parasols and seating for over 100, the grass and border flowers are immaculate, whilst i was there, there was a wedding party in the other side (the restaurant) the food i hear is superb and well worth a visit on a sunday.. my overall impression is this is a place you can bring your wife/ partner to and will both be impressed at the attention to detail and warm friendly atmosphere... terry h (an impressed member of the public) 08/october/2013

A surprisingly nice and spacious but cosy environment to sit with a beer and a mate. Easy to find…read moretoo with a good location, everyone knows the Watermill.

This is a nice little pub, clean, & modern. There is also…read morequite a good restaurant attached - as such it will probably be my choice for Christmas day drinks - however I would like a little festive music please Landlord.

Right, although I'm on the Newcastle Elite Squad of Yelpers and very proud of what the Toon has to…read moreoffer, I think I may have found a place which would make me up-sticks tomorrow and move to Essex. Yep, seriously - Essex... I know! However, the Bell Inn at Horndon on the Hill is truly something else. Totally not what I was expecting to find a few miles from Lakeside shopping centre (which is work-related, the reason I found myself in this part of the country, just in case you were wondering...) The location is a 15th Century coaching inn overlooking the hills down to the Thames Estuary. As you go into the main pub area, which leads through to the restaurant, you step into an authentic English country pub atmosphere, low wood beams, open fire, numerous ales on tap (the local pale ale we had was excellent), random brass items on the wall, but all done properly and not in the faux manner you get in some pubs. What really sets this place apart is the food. Wowser, this was superb. When we mentioned to colleagues that we were going here, everyone said we would not be disappointed and they were not wrong. The menu changes regularly to reflect seasonal produce (a big tick in my book) and the quality of ingredients and level of cooking was top notch. Starter was English asparagus wrapped in parma ham served with the richest hollandaise I've had in a long time. The main was a breast of guinea-fowl, served with various veg, each individual item cooked to perfection. To finish was a dark chocolate cheesecake with hazlenut ice cream. Each course went down a treat, I was actually a little sorry to finish as it was that good. All served by very friendly and professional waiting staff, their attention to detail was second-to-none. You know when somewhere gets it right on the money, well this place has got it and then some. It comes as no surprise to learn that The Bell has won numerous industry awards including being on The Sunday Times Food List as one of the 10 best gastropubs in the UK. So if you ever, ever, ever find yourself 'dahn sahrf' anytime soon, get yourself along the A13 and make a reservation here. Oh and they also do accommodation here, sadly this was fully booked on the night of our visit. However, I'm back down to Lakeside next month and you know where I'll be staying this time...

An excellent dining room which is open on Mondays as well. It has never failed \to please…read more Adrian Winbow

A modern built pub, basic interior. It has two bars, one has the pool table in it. Not much I can…read moresay about this place. The staff are friendly and the Guinness is good. The outside seating area, is on concrete and close to a main road, though there wasn't much traffic when I visited. It does catch the sun though. Real ale was on sale, Greene King IPA & Abbott. Serves lunch. Has DJ's and Kareoke (did I spell that right?).

The Owl & Pussycat has been a Basildon landmark since I moved here in 1988. It's a modern building…read morewith very little in the way of character but fortunately, the staff and customers make up for that. The previous review covers the basics but it's worth adding that 'Live Music' is a regular Saturday Night event and we are not talking about girls singing over backing tracks. These are real bands of musicians playing real musical instruments, not a laptop to be seen. Good on you Les Irving, you're a legend!

The atmosphere here is absolutely fantastic such a warm, welcoming vibe from the moment you walk…read morethrough the door. The food was served incredibly quickly, and every dish was cooked to perfection, full of flavour and presented beautifully. You can really tell the kitchen team take pride in what they do. The staff were genuinely outstanding too, friendly, attentive, and always happy to help with anything we needed. Overall, it was an excellent experience from start to finish, and I'd highly recommend visiting.

Very clean, tidy and cheap drinks…read more Everybody from 14 to 90+ drinking in there. Does what is says on the tin. Doesn't do food as they do not have a kitchen.

I am only awarding this pub 3 stars because over the last year or so, I feel it has deteriorated. I…read moredon't mean in value for money, cleanliness, staff friendliness or the choice of drinks, but simply because of the smoking ban and the revoke of the entertainment licence. This was one of, if not, the best local pub in Basildon, but thanks to the smoking ban (and lack of musical entertainment) it is now practically empty compared to how it used to be just over 16 months ago. Having said the negative I would like to point out the positive, although it is non-smoking, there is sufficient areas to allow smokers to indulge in their nictotine fix, including a gazebo, tables and chairs and a patio heater. The staff are very pleasant and the drinks are very reasonably priced, I haven't tried the menu, but I think they now sell burgers. This pub has a very friendly atmosphere, it is frequented by both young and old alike, I have been visiting this pub on and off since the early 90's and have never witnessed any trouble. If only the music/entertainment was re-instated, I am sure this pub would once again be thriving.