please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Now a Vintage Inn with their standard menu which is fine. It certainly is an improvemt over the burnt offering we had before.
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Great pub to stop off if you're cycling the Surrey Cycle Way. To be honest it's nothing too special. It does typical pub grub, but I have not sampled it. The ale is fine. Normally three or four to choose from. Pub tends to be on the quiet side. There is a big beer garden which is great for the summer.
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The Harrow used to be a bit crap. The food wasn't good, the atmosphere was non existent and the place was generally a bit run down. But it has now been refurbished. Nicely done too. They've managed to keep the old style of the building without making it look too modern. They also have a new chef which means the food is of good quality and reasonably priced. Real ales are a bit sparse but lagers are in the forms of Staropramen, Stella, Amstel and Carling, and are always crisp. Staff are nice and friendly too and there's no "locals only" feel which is nice. It feels cosy in there with log fires roaring away. I like it. And i'm placing it above the nearby White Bear which is slowly descending into pub oblivion.
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Scores out of 5
Beers on offer 3 - Beer quality 3* - Full pint? 3* - Service 0 - Clientele 2
Garden & view 3* - Welcome & staff 1 - Parking 4 - Toilets 3* - Comfort 3*
TOTAL 24 out of 50 OVERALL RATING 21 to 25 = 5
Comment: We were looking for a nice Sunday lunchtime pint & this looked like a nice pub and it had a Cask Marque. Inside the pub every corner was filled with diners hunched over bar tables with 4 people at the bar with only one person serving. 3 hand pumps but one beer was off and only Doombar and London Pride were on offer. After waiting 10 minutes and with 3 people still in the queue we left. The 3* are a base line estimate. I will try here again. Ho Hum off to Outwood for a beer then.
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Very poor experience last Friday when I attended for lunch at midday. The place was cold as there was no central heating on (perhaps it was broken). Several of us complained but there was no explanation. The bloke in charge then proceede to light a fire (that should have been lit at least an hour earlier).
So establishment felt cold and unwelcoming. We ordered three hot starter between the two of us. They came quickly but two were just tepid and the stuffed peppers were stone cold and uncooked. All dishes were presented on stone cold plates as is usual in Vintage Inns.
After complaining, the food was then re-issued piping hot. We didn't bother with desserts but just had coffee.
All in all a lousy managed example of a Vintage Inn. I have complained to the head office but shan't be going there again.
Utter incompetence.
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Nice pub in a lovely setting. Great outside seating area. Went on a very busy sunny Sunday afternoon but service was very good and everyone was served in the order they came to the bar. Didn't try the food but it seemed very popular. Three ales and usual ciders. Will come again.
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oh dear a Vintage Inn that is far from the best. A bad start as you smell burnt food as you walk from the car park. Service was pleasant and the waitress very good. Beer ok London Pride for me. But the food was slow to arrive although it was not busy on a wet Tuesday lunch time. My wifes fish cakes smelt burnt and left a burnt after taste, although they were not burnt. Perhaps they need to change the cooking oil a little more often? And what the heck is a 'Wilted Salad' warm lettuce.... Too big a menu. Do fewer things well - its a simple formula.
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In here last Saturday and very smart.
Another place that looks as though it for the food rather than the beer.
They have 3 hand pulls 2 were in use as one had the clip turned round (Doombar) on sale were Fullers London Pride and Adnams Ghost Ship
I tried the Adnams and very nice it was too and cost �3.00 a pint..
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Sorry but in the post below, I meant leading up to December 2010!!
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On one or two visits in the weeks leading up to December 2009 my friend and myself went for a drink on a Thursday night. A big mistake as this place insists on having a quiz on this night, whethe you want one or not. All this does, when it starts, makes it impossible to hold a conversation with the friends whom you have arranged to spend the evening with.
Why does the management persist in this nonsense in what is essentially an eating establishment with drinks thrown in. You have to sit there and try and compete with the Tannoy system and the banal question every so often.
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My husband and I had been in the habit of going to this pub every Thursday evening and usually encountered quite decent service, mainly teenagers waitressing but all really friendly and helpful.
However I don't know if they have had a change of management but our last two visits have been terrible and we will not be going back. There seems to be older staff there now who are quite rude and unfriendly, particularly at the bar, we were pointedly ignored when going up to pay one night despite catching their eye more then once.
Tonight was terrible. We waited over an our for our food and could see other people arriving after us, eating and leaving while we were still waiting. The food finally arrived with a mumbled apology and the person who bought the meals over went away for our sauces and never returned. We also realised we didn't have the right cultery on our table so my husband had to once again go up to the bar and got ignored for 10 minutes with our food going cold. He asked to see the manager and was told she was too busy. We walked out, leaving our food uneaten, appetite totally lost. This pub has lost two regulars but I doubt they care, judging by the current crop of staff.
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Waited 30 minutes for a bottle of wine from the cask as barman decided to serve everyone else in the bar before changing the empty cask. He has never heard of good will gestures when I asked for a bottle instead that was slightly dearer! Stale bread, slow service and grumpy staff - doubt I'll bother again even if it is my nearest pub!
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As our local I am sorry to say that I agree with the other reviews recently posted. We are not frequent visitors to The Harrow but after our last experience we will probably not go back again. Food was stone cold (still on the cold plates - yes, there's no excuse for this) and arrived with the wrong sauce. As mentioned before the manageress was little help as the pub was busy so she didn't care. She is a relief manager but still no excuse for not sorting this out.
Very poor food and not cheap either. Only saving grace was a decent pint of Sharp's Doom Bar.
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Nice position : good walking all around on the various areas of common and woodlands.
Over the years we had often used it with walking groups : but our last visit was definitely THE LAST where we will seek food unless assured it has changed for the better.
We also suffered as a group from the cold plate and therefore rapidly COLD soup phenomenon. Referring this to the staff was not really met with any helpful solution.
As a Vintage Inns chain pub, this achieved the WORST PUB LUNCH of the YEAR AWARD from us (and strangely, a nearby VINTAGE INN was awarded the BEST etc etc in the same year)
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"Moaning about cold plates is overly picky."
No it's not. Any eatery can be judged by its ability to use hot plates and it is obviously a 'fault' of the management here, as other Vintage Inns can manage to at least give hot food a fighting chance if it is served onto hot or warm plates to begin with.
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The comments from the previous few contributors are not greatly warranted. This is a pleasant country pub, reasonable food, nice place to come out for a spot of lunch.
Moaning about cold plates is overly picky.
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Oh dear. This place seems to be less than average nowadays and the management and staff look a bit jaded. And sins of all sins, they serve their hot food (not always all that hot) on cold plates! The table staff are able to carry all that hot food in their hands without any protection!
One thing I can't stand is hot food served on stone cold plates - ughhh!
I heard a couple near me, the other night complaining of that very problem and when he paid the bill the senior staff member was completely disinterested of his complaint about hot food on cold plates.
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We have been going to The Harrow for years but will certainly not be going back. We had to wait ages for our food and when it arrived it was awful. The manageress was very rude and abrupt. I would not recommend this pub to anyone and just a little drive up the road to Warlingham have found two pubs serving excellent food at reasonable prices.
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A typical "chain " pub the real ale is served frozen stiff, Ranulph Fiennes would beg for mercy it is THAT ice cold. Food is the priority,service is exceptionally poor.The decor is faux country house inn of yester year , if this was in Disneyland as Ye olde English Inn it would make sense.
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This pub impressed me no end on my only visit so far. You really get the feeling that every teenager for miles is employed here on weekends and as a result, there is no shortage of staff to provide excellent service.
The menu was creative and mouth watering, The food was even better than the menu suggested. First impression was of a pub that knows how to look after customers and the community in general.
Walking outside to find an Aston Martin DB9 burbling away in the parking lot didn't do anything to dampen my mood either :o)
GuRoo - 19 Apr 2008 08:26 |
Friendly staff and a pleasant hostelry.
Remains consistent and worth coming out of your way to visit.
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Went to the Harrow inn on Sunday lunch, it was busy when we went in and was really impressed by the comfortable atmosphere and friendly staff. the food was excellent. One of the waitresses was telling me about a new menu which was starting this week, i have to say it sounds fantastic. best pub in the area will definately be going back, wont drive this time, so i can sample more of their beers.!
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have been to the harrow a number of times and what strikes me most is the inconsistency. First time was the wait at the bar, second the wait for food, third the teenage staff gossiping and not serving. Today was the worst. Truly tasteless food, I suggest you avoid the Sunday Roasts- but this totally out of character from previous visits and the standard menu. The staff and manager did all the right things to try to recover it and the menu choices and the quality of(soft) drinks were great... but never has the need for a consistent team performance been so clear. Come on Harrow, sort it out.
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Nice location, seems a nice cosy interior, though was empty on my afternoon visit, and had a pleasant enough day to sit outside.
The food is quite expensive, I really enjoyed what I ordered, but they are giving the impression that you are paying for 'quality' so if y0ou dont mind splashing out a bit fair enough
Would re-visit, though dunno with any tight mates as I know who will get lumbered with most of the rounds...
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Agree with MartinRAF - polite bar staff who while I was there had to contend with some very rich young girls talking about their daddy's place in Tuscany yet one of them wanted free soda. Splash the cash treacle and have a port and lemon.
Amstel wasn't free to this less rich customer. Justice for the Amstel One.
Anyhow - nice pub in a pleasant location. Very good food menu and decent range of beers although as previously stated not always full range of ales on.
But remains a pleasant hostelry worth a visit in summer for the beer garden and in winter as well.
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Went to this pub tonight, they had one real ale on (London Pride) which was OK but it didn't last long. When it finished very little effort was made to get it back on despite my protestations! They have three hand pumps but despite the recent revamp that has taken place they clearly haven't bothered to deal with the beer situation! Had some food, just the straight forward cheese/bacon burger which was ok but really wasn't worth the money and was a bit bit burnt with soggy chips! This pub has seriously gone down hill since I was thete last. The one good thing was the service - young people but they were very polite so no problems there!
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Went to this pub last Sunday, whats happened?? it used to be thriving. Now there's no roast dinners after 6p.m , the fires weren't alight, all in all a waste of time.
deccy - 20 Jan 2007 16:10 |
Used to be a nice pub with a nice restaurant and good food. Sadly, gone downhill over the last year or so. Visited recently for a sunday lunch and although the food was ok, the service was very poor. Had to ask for clean mugs as the ones we had been given were filthy inside. Then had to ask for milk to go with our tea. The staff were mainly young girls who spent more time standing around chatting to each other, rather than serving the customers. They made more noise than the entire pub put together. It was a relief to leave. Such a shame. The sooner the management gets it's act together, the better.
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Part of a chain, but all the same superb quality pub food at a reasonable price. We have high expectations and always leave the Harrow delighted with the food. Consistency is there biggest asset. Service can sometimes lack but they have worked on this recently. A firm favorite and will continue to eat there.
Eddieed - 20 Jul 2004 10:10 |
Bland food, lacklustre beer, sticky tables ... everything you'd expect from a big chain pub. Has a no-smoking area, but what's the point if the punters take no notice?
Richard - 3 Mar 2004 13:27 |
Situated on the edge of Farleigh Common this pub has in recent years been extended and is now primarily an eatery with the complete lack of atmosphere that results
lout_from_the_lane - 20 Feb 2004 13:29 |
