George and Dragon Pub

When I received an invitation to the reopening of the newly refurbished George & Dragon for a complimentary three course meal with drinks in exchange for a review I couldn’t have been happier. But unfortunately I was unable to make the evening in question. Therefore you can imagine my delight when I received another email saying that I could visit at time that suited me and they would be more than happy to honour the deal. So a couple of emails later it was all arranged to go on Sunday. I know Epping quite well and have either walked or driven past the pub on many occasions without actually going in so I really can’t tell you what the decor was like before. But what I can say is that the pub looks very nice now. As you enter there is a seating area for drinks to your left then in front of you is the L shaped bar which also has a few stools and tables. If you like you can also eat in these areas. To the right as you enter is the Dining area which is nicely separated in to sections making it ideal for couples , families and large groups. On our arrival we were greeted by member of staff David he asked for our name but unfortunately there was no reservation on the system. As it turned out it was to be largely my fault as I didn’t check the date of booking thoroughly. But once I explained to David why I was there he couldn’t have been more helpful. He managed to shuffle some tables around despite the fact they were extremely busy and found us a nice table. We started with a drink while looking at the menu. It’s a large menu that caters for everyone from Sharing Platters , Starters , Salads , Mains , Steaks & Burgers , Sides & Desserts with the inclusion on a Sunday of Roasts ie Beef , Pork , Chicken & Lamb plus vegetarian. I have to say even though we didn’t order a roast they did look very appetising.

Starters

We decided to start with the Lobster & King Prawn Pot in devon crab creme fraiche & toasted ciabatta bread and the Chargrilled Lamb Koftas with a goats curd , tomato , pepper , cucumber & mint salad. Both starters were delicious and a great way to begin our lunch.

LOBSTER & KING PRAWN POT

CHARGRILLED LAMB KOFTAS

Mains

Now it was on to our mains to which were really very good and perfectly cooked. We had the Chicken , Leek & Creme Fraiche Pie topped with a ham hock crumb served with Kale mashed potatoes & green beans. We also chose the Roasted Pork Belly & Seared Scallops with potato dauphinois , squash purée , green beans , almonds & crackling.

CHICKEN , LEEK & CREME FRAICHE PIE

PORK BELLY & SEARED SCALLOPS

Desserts

So now to finish with desserts and there was no disappointment here either the Sticky Toffee Pudding with bourbon vanilla ice cream was a real treat. Then a bit of theatre to finish as we also ordered the Melting Chocolate & Peanut Bomb filled with sticky toffee pudding & peanut butter cream served with bourbon vanilla ice cream and a hot salted caramel sauce poured over the top.

STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING

MELTING CHOCOLATE & PEANUT BOMB

These desserts certainly were a great way to finish our lunch where the food was excellent and matched by good friendly service especially from David who was always making sure everything was ok. Although this was a complimentary lunch i would definitely recommend a visit and would take great pleasure to returning myself. The pub was very popular and now that I’ve visited it’s not hard to see why as the food is good the staff are friendly and there’s a nice family atmosphere.

I would just like to finish by saying Thank You to the George & Dragon for the invitation it was a pleasure. Hope to see you again.

#GastroPub #Epping #Essex