Everyone please avoid North Weald harvester! Disgusting service and rude manager!
I phoned them last week about going on Saturday for my birthday. Wanted to book a table as there was 11 of us! Told me I couldn’t book a table but it definitely wouldn’t be a long wait as they open the upstairs on weekends. Was told the lo…ngest the wait would be is 20-30 minutes. So we trek the 30 miles on Saturday evening, when we get there at 8pm were told there is a 2 hour wait! Waitress wasn’t very polite and couldn’t care less. I went to the bar and luckily got served by a nice barman, I asked for a complaints address and phone number. He went off to get it. He came back and said manager said I couldn’t complain to head office and it would have to be direct to them. Bearing in mind he previously told me they have complaint forms. I asked to speak to the manager. After 10 minutes she finally came and repeated that I had to complain to her and not head office. I explained everything that happened and she wasn’t bothered and was actually rude to me. She finally told me she could give us a table in 45 minutes! I still requested the complaint address which they did finally give me after at least 20 minted of asking! I went to speak to my family and we decided we were willing to wait the supposable 45 minutes, however when my sister went to tell them they said it would be 2 hours at least even though they had told me 2 minutes previously it would be 45 minutes. Bearing in mind it was gone 8.30pm at this point even a child could work out that it would of then been at least 10.30pm by the time we was seated and they would of stopped serving food an hour before that. After they were rude again we decided to leave and find somewhere else to eat which would obviously be a problem at 8.45 on a Saturday night for 11 of us. This completely ruined my birthday and it had cost a lot of money and time for 11 of us to get there and they didn’t even apologise, just tried to stop me complaining to head office.
I was annoyed enough at that point but as I had previously had ok service at harvester restaurants I decided to go back with my in-laws for my birthday celebration with them. This time there was 7 of us. We arrived at the harvester at about 8.15 0pm last night. I asked for a table for 7 and was told it would be another 15 minutes as the table of 7 they had in would be leaving soon. So we went to the bar and had a drink. After half an hour I asked the same waitress who told me it would be very quick now. After another 10 minutes my father in law went to the bar and asked the barman! He came back 5 mins later and said it would be another 15-20 minutes. I looked at the table we was waiting for and surprise those customers were still eating dessert so there was no way they would of been finished 45 mins before that like we were told when we arrived there. After another 10 mins and the customers were still having desserts I found a table for six and asked the wAitress if we could have that table with an extra chair. She agreed and even stated she was going to ask us if we wanted that half an hour ago but just didn’t bother.
We ordered our food quickly as they would stop serving food soon. The starters came and at best I would call them edible. However after another 25 minutes or so our main course arrived and to be frankly honest i would say school dinners would look delightful if was sat next to our main courses.
We had a whole mix of different dinners but all looked far from nice.
My fiancee had fish and chips and his fish looked disgusting and was unedible the batter was so hard you couldn’t chew through it and the fish felt like rubber. All of our dinners cane with chips which were cold, chewy and also looked like rubber. It was obvious that our dinners had sat on the side under those lamps for a ling time as it wasn’t even warm. They were cold. Someone had salmon which they said was disgusting. They said it was ‘ok’ right in the middle but apart from that was terrible. My Bruce had a burger and had one bite and said she wouldn’t eat it as it was rock hard. Luckily I had spit roast chicken which was ok but shame it was cold and the chips were so bad. I told the waitress how bad the food was and she said ‘yes I can see how bad the fish and chips are just by looking’ when I said it must of been sitting on the side waiting she said, well it probably has but only for how long the other meals take to cook. At this point I had had enough. So we left still Hungary, wasted our time and money. Then to make matters even worse as I walked down the steps outside, u got to the bottom of the steps, and completely fell over onto both of my knees. There was hardly any light out there so I hadn’t seen the hole in the pavement at the bottom of the steps so I had two injured knees, a sore Anjou and cut hands where I had landed on them. I went unto the pub to wash my hands and check my knees. I made the bar man aware of what happened and hd asked if I wanted to fill in an accident form. He went off to get one but didn’t have any so wrote my details on a price of paper. He went out to see about the pavement which he called a ‘rut’. He apologised and said it was terrible. I then left as I was in a lot of pain. I ended up spending all night in the local A&E at hospital as I have injured knees and one ankle. I now have to go back to the hospital again in an hour to see a doctor!
To be honest I should never of gone back after saturday night when they ruined my birthday meal. I can’t believe I trusted them to go back for my 2nd birthday meal,
They have completely ruined my birthday and now I’m injured and I am getting married this year.
To be honest I’m still quite shocked and shaken and I am in utter disbelief.
Sure when I was injured the manager should of bothered to come and check I was ok. She couldn’t of cared less. Luckily they had the nice bar man who help me with my injuries but I think he was even shocked when he went to investigate. Also as I was leaving for the last time, there was a couple sitting at a table by the door who hadn’t eaten half of their Gammon dinners and were complaining how terrible it was.
Please just avoid this restaurant. Don’t let them ruin your time and health like they have mine.