Shepherd & Dog Pub

Staying in West Sussex for a few days (April 2015) and looking out for somewhere that could serve proper food instead of «Bar Meals». Chanced upon this real gem!
Brownie point number 1: we could bring our wee dog into the restaurant.
Brownie point number 2: the menu looked really tempting and not over-​expensive for decent food.
Brownie point number 3: they could offer a nice Marlborough Cab Sauv for Judi and a very decent Malbec for me!
Brownie point number 4: they have their own brewery (Downland Brewery) and their «Bramber» bitter is to die for — not the same as, but actually comparable with, Harvey’s Best.
The food arrived: Pork belly with a light, crispy crackling and a little taste bomb of a pork faggot. Served with spinach and the creamiest creamed potato I’ve had in a long time. Judi opted for the whole plaice with tomatoes, broccoli, capers and new potatoes. Declared to be ‘wonderful’.
Judi is rarely tempted to a further dish but the English cheese option was too much for her to resist; it came with a home-​made chutney that would have made the Michelin Man very happy — a happy, if over-​stuffed wife! I went for the sticky toffee pudding which did what it said on the tin — in spades!
Apparently (and not surprisingly) booking is needed at weekends despite tables out on the terrace and in the lovely, stream-​side garden.
You really need to try this place for yourself — if you like real food, that is!

Another good country pub to go to, this is the place. If you fancy sitting outside on a glorious day, you can take in the beauty of the countryside. After a long walk you can stop for a drink, or fancy having a bite to eat, the local food is divine. They cater from a platter, a small lunch or a meal, or whatever you fancy. Or a cold day/​evening you can sit by the fireplace, & warm up. It’s a very small place, & when it is very busy, can be very claustrophobic, the noise levels can be extremely loud. But if you choose to go later in the day, it is a lot quieter. The service is very good, although the staff can be quite snotty. The menus are short, but are changed frequently, but the food is very good, however expect to pay the prices, because it is expensive. For a busy pub, I would say parking is very awkward, as the car park is very small.

It’s a very efficient pub is the Shepherd and Dog. Unfortunately, that’s not what I look for in a pub. While their capable staff manage this busy and beautiful little boozer on the north side of the Downs, they sometimes forget to be friendly. It suffers from ‘bar staffing’ rather than ‘bar hosting’ and you’re pretty much invisible until a member of staff is ready to serve you. That took a while, and no-​one seemed that happy to be there when we visited. We were sitting right up in the top garden, which is some distance from the bar. When I ordered food I was asked for my table number. That’s fine, I get the system. But I wasn’t sure of my number, and was told I needed to head back, get the number, return to the bar and then the order would be taken. Bear in mind I’d already been ignored for five minutes. As I say, strictly speaking, I should have observed the rules. Nevertheless it’s this immovable efficiency that leaves the Shepherd and Dog trailing behind its neighbour, the Royal Oak when it comes to a warm welcome. We ordered two chicken and chorizo sandwiches. The bread slices were getting on for a foot long. Unfortunately, big bread doesn’t make a big sandwich, and the filling struggled to fill the void. At £7 each, not good value. Great location, nice garden, but a poor customer experience and a cynical trading post that knows its location appeal and thinks that’s all it takes.

Gggrrr! The Shepherd and Dog is so infuriating! It’s like being on a roller coaster of a restaurant experience.
The first time I visited here I was really disappointed by the food. I had a roast dinner and it wasn’t good. Small portions, a bit dry, cheap ingredients — really not a good experience. Yes, the surrounding are stunning. The pub is nestled at the bottom of the Downs, it has a large beer garden with a stream running through it. But with food this below par I was certainly in no hurry to rush back.
Fast forward three years and I decide it’s time to give it another go. My boyf and I arrived around half two after working up an appetite in the gym. The restaurant is really busy (it’s quite small inside, and limited on space when it’s too cold to sit in the garden) but they are happy to put us on the waiting list and we can sit and have a drink at the bar. There are a few good local ales on tap, we both had the Truleigh Hill, a light beer named after a local landmark.
Our table was ready before the half hour was up and we were seated at a nice table in front of the fire. The restaurant area has low ceilings and exposed beams so it makes for a really cosy place to sit. We ordered some olives to start as we were peckish, and then both went for the roast beef. Well, the roasts were amazing, they have definitely turned around the quality of the food here. The meats are all locally sourced. The beef came as two think slices, nice and pink in the middle and full of flavour. The veggies were varied and tasty and the Yorkshire pudding was ginormous, perched on top almost challenging the Downs themselves in grandure. This was verging on a five star roast experience — something pretty hard to achieve in past experience. If we had left at this point it probably would have been so.
Unfortunately, we decided to stay for dessert. The boy had apple crumble and custard. It wasn’t really crumble-​like and the custard was really watery, but it was passable. I, on the other hand, went for the treacle tart. I was expecting a plate of gooey, sweet treacle mix on a crisp pastry base. What I got instead was a dry, unflavourful slice of cardboard. Either they had completely messed up on the recipe and missed out most of the golden syrup, or it had just been hanging around the kitchen too long (or possible both)…either way it was inedible.
I told two members of staff when they cleaned the plates and when we paid the bill that the pudding wasn’t right and they said they would inform the chef. We were offered complimentary coffees which we didn’t accept but didn’t receive any feedback from the kitchen.
It was such a shame as the roast had been so good and we had emphasised this to the staff. Overall, come here for the roasts, the ambience, the surroundings and the friendly staff, but give the puddings a miss, particularly as the food is quite expensive here.

The Shepard and Dog is a very special place. Sitting right at the bottom of the Downs and looking like something out of the enchanted wood, this place is absolutely beautiful. It’s the light at the end of the tunnel for walkers, who have come view the magnificent sights of the South-​east hills.
With a huge Garden, perfect for all — children, adults, dogs, birds! It’s so picturesque on a spring/​summers day, equipped with a lovely little brook to boot — its fairyland!
The pub isn’t cheap, but the surroundings more than make up for it. I would prefer to sit outside when eating or drinking obviously, but for when it’s a bit chillier, inside is ok, fairly cosy but they haven’t quite nailed the comfortable rustic vibe I would be hoping for, it’s quite dark in there, and the view from the inside looking out isn’t the best. Such a shame when you know what’s outside!
The food is good, a roast here is deer but of good quality, though heed on a Sunday they are usually very busy and they can run out fairly quickly!
The drinks are what you’d expect from a country pub, nothing fancy, it’s definitely a pint sort of place.
5 stars taking in the whole surroundings in a spring/​summers day. It would be scored down if I was basing it purely on the pub itself.

We went here on Sunday for lunch, and had the most Appalling Meal. the Roast Beef was Dried up and leathery, we should have realised it would be as the Waitress when we asked for Medium rare told us it was pre-​cooked and reheatedwe all sent it back and 3 of us had Lamb and 1 Fish, the Lamb wasnt much better equally tough and very fatty, all the Veg were old and precooked, the Roast Potatotes had definitely been pre-​cooked the day before and heated up!!! as they were yellow in the middle, the whole meal was very salty. To Pay £14.50 for sub-​standard food is a joke.
The people on the next table also complained to each other but asked for sharp Knives to cut it and persevered with it.
A very uninterested member of staff came over and he asked us if it was ok? we said yes, stupidly paid for it and left! having left most of it!
Never again will we go thereshame as its a lovely setting

Beautiful place in a beautiful setting.
Seriously, they could have served barbequed sheets, and I would have never noticed. It’s truly scenic.
AND
Any establishment that allows dogs is A-​OK with me!

Dropped off a bit since I used it last 2008. I used to do a lot of sketching/​painting in the area back then and always lunched here. Had a really good menu, and fantastic desserts. We will go there again.

We had a nice outing — all 10 of us on Boxing Day. The local hunt was meeting when we go there, so there was lots of hubbub in the car park. Very festive feel.
Slightly odd (and rather expensive) menu and not very good service. They forgot to bring water. The starters (well some of them) were huge, the mains less so. The puddings though — ahhh yes. They added a star back. Especially the apple and plum crumble. Rib sticking good — just what’s needed before the strenuous climb up onto the south downs and a walk across to Devil’s Dyke.
Only one opportunity to order drinkes (and this is a pub!). No salt in the bread. I did have a good pork belly. But Madame’s whitebait were a bit skimpy.

Since the change of management in 2009, the Shepherd and Dog has lost its charm. The delightful, if eccentric, eating area has simply become a set of identical rectangular tables serving food from laminated menus. Great location, but sadly a zero score on atmosphere.

The Shepherd and Dog is a relatively cosy little rural pub blessed with the perfect location for a quiet drink with a group of friends on a lazy summer evening. There is a limited amount of parking and for those looking for a steep but none too lengthy walk it’s easily reachable from Devil’s Dyke. The garden is definitely a major high point of the Shepherd and Dog experience with its two tier feel and trickling little brook running down the right hand side (fenced off to avoid injury to children) the whole space comfortably shaded by trees. The pub itself on the other hand is something of a disappointment. The combination of excessively high prices and undercooked food really take the potential soul and rural charm out of the place, lending it the distinct feeling of a botched gastro pub that really craves the type of wealthy London commuter who will be too polite to mention that the size of their «roast» left them decidedly wanting. All things considered this is a lovely location with a mediocre pub to provide you with drinks and a lovely garden in which to drink them.

I know its a bit further out of town but if you’re visiting Brighton, you’re more than likely to go for a nice long walk on the South Downs. If you go to Devils Dyke and keep walking down, eventually you’ll find the Shepherd & Dog pub nestled right at the foot of the hills. By then, your legs will probably be aching, your stomach rumbling and you’ll be gasping for a pint.
The beer garden backs onto the public footpath that you walk down and when you arrive it resembles a kind of oasis. There’s a little stream and bridge so if you have a dog he can have a swim and cool down. The food is great here, I’d go for the Sunday roast if you’re there then as its huge. When you order it, have a good nose around the place as there’s not too many 17^th Century pubs around.
You can always get a cab home after wards as its not too far out of town or you could just skip the walk and drive.

Went there for my Birthday last year walking down from the top of Devils Dyke.
Food was scrumptious and the beers excellent.
Been there again since as its so good.

This is in a fantastic setting, backing up its beer garden onto the South Downs with a lovely little stream going down the side of the grounds. It’s best in summer when you can sit outside, but beware it get’s very very busy. I have been here a few times when they have had to stop serving until they catch up in the kitchen. The roasts are very good. I can only fault the gravy, as it’s a bit too thin for my liking. They don’t come cheap though; you really pay for the location. You will need a car to get here unless you’re staying in the village.

Second time I’ve been here and yes sireee the roasts are stil tip topeeee Had a Roast Beef last night and it is without a shadow of a doubt the best Roast I have had outside of my mums kitchen

I’ve been to this pub for a roast and whilst I wasn’t in the best of health at the particular time (a nasty accident en route had meant a change of trousers) the plus points to this establishment were obvious. The barman was charming and witty in a way in which this denizen of London wistfully regrets is no longer typical of many pubs. The service by the staff was haphazard at best but for some reason this increased the pub’s «we’re no restaurant but we do a damn fine roast as a matter of fact» attitude. When my grandmother required a different type of cup so she could hold her coffee, one was quickly sourced and I found this helpful.
The Shepherd and Dog filled very quickly just after 12 and I would recommend arriving early to bag a good spot. The dining area was small and cramped when busy and to some — particularly, as I was, with an elderly relative with mobility issues — this may present a problem. I ate a prawn salad jacket potato which was sufficiently crunchy to satisfy me, whilst my companions feasted on the much appreciated roasts.
Paddyman’s verdict? A long thin bar and a good selection of ales (one of which — an 8.1% one — nearly dispatched one of my companions!) with an attractive outside area, the Shepherd and Dog sits in beautiful surroundings and should more than tick every box a pub-​goer looking for a quality bit of gastro-​pub nosh would require.