I love the Harvester restaurants so I do tend to go on a regular basis! Here is my review on the Harvester restaurant in Eastleigh, Hampshire.
THE CAR PARK
I have to admit that this car park isn't huge and it's on a really weird slope, although there are some more parking spaces in the Travelodge car park which is right next to the restaurant. We have never actually had a problem with finding a space but then we do tend to go early as we have two small children who do not like waiting!!
ENTERING
Upon entering the restaurant you notice that it is a nice clean place and you dont usually have to wait long before you are greeted by a friendly member of staff who asks how many are in your party then promptly takes you to a table.
When we have visited with a large group we have sometimes had to wait in the bar opposite as there has not been a table big enough available at that time but we have never had to wait too long!
The tables at this restaurant are well laid out and are not too close to one another or they have dividers between them so it feels quite private.
When you are seated you are asked what you would like to drink and informed who your waiter/waitress will be (most times i've been there it's been a waitress - think perhaps once we had a waiter).
Another great thing the harvester do is if you are seated before 6.30pm (5pm on Saturday) then they give you the earlybird menu which is 1/3 cheaper than the later menu!
THE MENU AND SALAD CART
I always find that they give you long enough to browse the menu and decide what you all want (some restaurants
i've been to simply do not give you enough time, then when you haven't quite decided what you want they stand at the table huffing and puffing till you do!!)
They have a great variety of starters for example -
BBQ chicken wings - these are lovely and coated with just the right amount of BBQ sauce, although you do get very messy with these, my husband and children always find it very entertaining as i'm trying to sit there eating them like a lady but end up with BBQ sauce in my eyebrow!!!
Fresh melon - this is ideal if you want to be a bit healthier but not half as amusing as the chicken wings!
Crunchy breaded mushrooms - a favourite of my husbands, comes with a garlic and herb dip to dip them in.
If you dont want a starter you can fill up on the unlimited trips to the salad cart and believe me I really do make unlimited trips as my 1 year old daughter loves salad so I find myself going up and down with plates of cucumber, sweetcorn, carrot etc etc. This also keeps her happy while she's waiting for her cooked food to arrive, children really do hate to wait and this is one of the reasons we always choose the harvester because we can keep her satisfied in between meals! There is a variety of dressings to go on the salad and a particular favourite of ours is the red devil sauce - we have no idea what is in it but it tastes absolutely gorgeous!!!
There are many great main courses too -
Simply chicken - this is my favourite, it is a plain double breast of chicken with peas and jacket potato so is very healthy (although I always have chips instead of jacket potato so thats not so good!!)
The harvester mixed grill - my husband's choice, you get a 4oz prime rump steak, sweetcured bacon steak, chips, 2 fried eggs, licolnshire sausage whirl, black pudding, onion rings, grilled tomato and peas.
Simply pasta - this is a vegetarian option, it is linguini in a rich tomato sauce with garlic bread although if you're feeling healthy (i'm usually not!) you can let them know and they'll leave the garlic bread off!
They have recently changed the childrens menu - they can now pick from the adult menu, any meals that have a YG next to them means they will do it in a smaller portion for young guests (hence the YG, very clever!). This is good as it makes the children feel very grown up ordering from the big menu!!!!
ORDERING
The waitress brings our drinks and then takes our order and is always polite and friendly towards us and the children even when they're being loud - she will usually then go and fetch some colouring pencils and pictures for them to colour which keeps them happy for all of 5 mins!!!
We are asked if we would like the childrens meals to be brought out with our starters which is great because children do eat slowly and this gives them longer so they are able to eat more.
She then informs us that we can help ourselves to the salad cart and our meals will be with us shortly.
THE MEAL ITSELF
We have never had to wait very long for our starters and the food has always been cooked to perfection, I have occasionly had the chicken a bit burnt around the edges but personally I like my food well done so it didn't bother me! More times than not the food is perfect.
You get a plate with some pots of sauce on, ketchup, BBQ sauce and mustard, occasionly there is a sour cream and chive dip as well but if there is not then, as it is my favourite, I ask the waitress and she is always more than happy to go get some for me.
The waitress always returns to the table to check everything is how it should be (usually when I have a mouthful of food!), she also asks if we need any more drinks etc.
DESSERT
After we have finished our meals the waitress asks if we would like to see the dessert menu (silly question really!) and again gives us enough time to decide without making us wait for ages!
Some of the desserts they serve are -
Sundae best - this is my favourite, creamy vanilla ice cream with either strawberry, raspberry, chocolate or toffee sauce. This is also not too big so you can manage it after having a big meal.
Bramley apple pie - this is a lovely combination of bramley apples, sweet shortcrust pastry and creamy hot custard.
The children have a smaller version of the sundae best with their choice of sauce. They can also have a raspberry jelly or fruit skewers (mine have never tried this but believe it has pineapple, watermelon and strawberries on a skewer with a pot of ice cream on the side)
You are able to order a second spoon with many of the desserts as they are very big and you might not want to attempt it by yourself!!
They also have a range of coffees and hot chocolate etc for afterwards - I have tried the hot chocolate which I found to be very tasty and on that particular day a great replacement for a dessert.
The harvester do a fantastic Christmas menu if you feel like dining out over the festive season although you do have to book for this.
LEAVING
After we have requested the bill and paid the waitress always brings over a balloon for the kids (apart from one occasion when apparantly the manager forgot to order some and we had sulky children in the car all the way home!), this seems to be the highlight of the meal for them and they leave happily full and playing with their balloons (by playing I mean hitting each other over the head with them then screaming because it's popped!!)
PRICE
If you get the earlybird menu then it is great value, although saying that I think the regular menu is good value as you get a great meal, and it's worth it's weight in gold simply because it saves me cooking and washing up (or loading/unloading the dishwasher, ahem!)
We usually spend between £30 - £45 for our family of four.
OVERALL
I have always preferred to dine at the harvester over other restaurants and would highly recommend it to anyone with a family, they really treat you well and take care of your needs.
A fantastic place to eat out.
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I like Harvesters too. Those breaded mushrooms are lovely! x
Bollinger28 11.11.2007 13:19
Not been to one of their outlets for ages, and by the sound of it, I've been missing out! It sounds a fairly reasonable price to pay for dinner as well, Lexy
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Advantages: Honest, wholesome, value-for-money food. Child friendly. Disadvantages: Some restaurants have very low standards. Not especially couple-friendly.
tiddlekins 26.05.2008 (27.05.2008)
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Review of Harvester Restaurants
Nov 11th, 2007
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