The Pleasant Pheasant - Epping

The pleasant pheasant was a fantastic place to eat, no load music just a really nice atmosphere and the food was delicious .

My husband and i celebrated our anniversary with a late lunch at the pleasant pheasant. The french onion soup was amazing and hubby said the wild boar sausages were really tasty. The staff were so friendly and accommodating, Crystal went out of her way to make cocktails to order. The outdoor space at the back is so cosy and the smell of the smoking oven was really homely and welcoming. We would highly recommend and will be back again very soon to support this local independent business.

When we first arrived to the not so Pleasant Pheasant, we were left standing at the entrance completely unacknowledged by the staff for 5 10 min. We could feel people’s eyes on us but had no idea what was so odd about the scene; this should’ve been an indicator of the night that was to come. The service was poor, the cocktails and starters took over 30 min to arrive. The Old Fashioned had large granulated sugar on the bottom of the glass as opposed to syrup. The chorizo was overdone, texture was chewy and the onion and cherry tomatoes it came with, gimmicky and incoherent. The olives were small and presentation was poor. We did not get sharing plates even though we requested them. We didn’t have a chance to order our mains as the servers wouldn’t wait on us to order our meal. When we requested our bill to multiple servers, the other tables overheard and shared their equally poor experience: long wait times and terrible service. Towards the the end of our stay the owner came out to speak to customers a good move. However, he did not contribute to lessening the pressure on his inexperienced team and instead regaled customers with excuses about the track and trace system decimating his experienced staff. After avoiding us completely he settled in the corner with a couple he knew and a glass of wine. Regarding the restaurant ambience, the lights were too bright even though bulbs were missing in the pendant lamps, and the tables and menus were dirty. A reasonably priced game restaurant would be a welcome addition to the Epping high street however on this evidence the owner has prioritised short term profit over the longer term customer experience and the benefit of word of mouth.

Food superb but only if you like game , lots of staff but very inexperienced and nobody seemed to be managing them ,ordered a bottle of wine and it already had been opened and was not full when it was put on our table this is unacceptable, staff had little knowledge of how to mix drinks or what food was on the menu it’s a shame as Epping needs an upmarket restaurant

Obviously a very new restaurant and we wish them all the best, great to have another place to go locally and I will be going back. Food cooked really well. The staff are enthusiastic and whilst finding their feet were genuine about wanting to give a positive experience. It is very meaty orientated as the name suggests. Shot pieces in game, but if your signing up to that type of food then it’s expected. It all tasted lovely and there was a great wine selection. The Chef, who I think May have been the owner, recommend to our server (who may have been his partner) a bottle called Fiasco, which is an Italian Red. I really enjoyed it.