| Product: |
Harvester Pub & Grill |
| Date: |
02.07.08 (93 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Salad bar
Disadvantages: Not great vegetarian choices
I met up with an old friend yesterday and we decided to go and catch up with all the latest gossip over lunch. We normally go to an excellent chinese buffet place but all the antibiotics I've taken lately have left me with a dodgy belly so I wanted something a bit blander. We decided to go to a Brewers Fair we had visited a few times before but when we got to our destination we discovered it had been turned into a Harvester restaraunt.
The restaraunt we visited was The Broxden Manor in Perth. Gone were the kids play area and ice cream machines from the Brewers Fair days and in its place was unfinished wood beams which to be honest made the place look more like it needed a coat of paint rather than the rustic look I think they wanted to achieve. It was still a fairly pleasant atmosphere.
When we went in we were seated promptly and a waiter brought our menus and took our drinks orders. Our fresh oranges and sodas were made with freshly squeezed juice which made a nice change. We decided against the starters and went straight for the main courses. The food is fairly typical for a chain pub with all the old favourites like chicken, gammon, scampi and fish and chips on offer. I had been looking forward to the seafood salad I normally get from Brewers Fair so was disapointed that there were only a couple of salad choices on offer. There are never many vegetarian options but my friend was happy to settle for mushroom linguini and I plumped for fish and chips.
I was impressed that we were invited to help ourselves to the salad bar while we waited for our food at no extra cost. I filled up a bowl with potato salad and peppers as well as the usual salad vegetables and covered it with my favourite blue cheese dressing. There were also freshly baked rolls which were divine.
By the time my main course came I was already feeling full but ploughed into my food anyway. My fish was enormous, well cooked and very tasty and was served with some mediocre chips and peas. I asked for ketchup and the ketchup was cheap and vinegary so points off there. My friend enjoyed her pasta and we shared a massive side order of garlic bread with cheese which was a bit bland.
Thanks to the salad bar we were now too full to even attempt to try dessert. I've got a massive sweet tooth so not having pudding is almost unheard of for me.
We never ate from the kids menu but I was impressed that instead of the typical burger and chicken nugget options, kids can actually order smaller portions of main dishes such as steak or stuffed mushrooms for £3.99.
You can expect to pay from around £3.00-£4.50 for a starter and main courses come in from about £6 to £12. Many of the dishes are available a third cheaper before 6pm.
Our bill came to around £15 for two main courses, drinks and one side dish so good value there. I wasn't blown away by this place but it is definitely a step upmarket from a lot of chain places. You wont be wowed by the food here but it was nice and fresfresh and well cooked and the service was great. This is an ideal place to go for a relaxed informal meal with friends or family.
Summary: A nice place for an informal meal
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