A Lunch to Remember?
Growing up in Port Talbot we had two chain restaurants geared to families. The first was a Wimpy (which parents seemed to prefer to the golden arches on the account that they served the burgers on plates and we had to use cutlery) and the other was a Beefeater. Birthday parties were inevitably held at one of these venues or, if you were lucky, the function room of a local pub.
Harvester was a mythical place, only seen on TV adverts, which promised unlimited ice cream and a salad bar where you could help yourself. As a salad dodging child I have no idea why it fascinated me so much but it may have had something to do with this advert. Look how cheery everyone is! Even the chef looks happy. Maybe it's the suits they're all wearing or the glace cherries on the ice creams. Nobody ever looked that happy in either Beefeater or Wimpy, not even Mr. Wimpy.
I've grown up a lot since that advert aired and no longer dodge salad bars, which is probably a good thing given how often I eat out for this blog. Harvester has also come of age, now being overseen by Mitchell's and Butler who also own the O'Neills and Toby Carvery brands. They recently took over the popular Old Orleans site on Church Street and rapidly transformed it into Harvester St John's, taking it's name from the local church. Their head office invited us down for lunch to see how Harvester has changed since that cheesy advert.
Entering through the sleek glass doors I was first struck by how small the space was - it's predecessor was never huge but the new layout left us precisely zero waiting room. As we were greeted by a member of staff it become obvious why - the restaurant is primarily walk-ins due to its proximity to the shopping centre and it only takes bookings for larger groups. The bar, instead of being a cocktail hangout for those about to hit the town, is now a holding area for those waiting for tables (the wait whilst we were there was 20 minutes and the manager told is this was average).
The decor is somewhere between a coffee chain and a fast food restaurant - fresh green upholstery and wooden furniture marry against oversized prints of salad leaves and wedges of tomato. We settled into our seats and perused the menu (which is huge) before opting for starters of Breaded Mushrooms (£3.29) and Spicy Crackerjack Prawns (£3.99). I must apologise for forgetting my camera but I can say that they were presented attractively in a wooden bento-style box and were both a generous portion. Both were also very hot after being in the deep-fat frier to the extent that the mushrooms (being mostly water) were too hot to eat. I found this out after popping a whole one into my mouth. Not the best time to make this discovery! Once they'd cooled down a bit I was rather disappointed as they were completely devoid of flavour. The prawns were similarly tasteless (disappointing given the menu recommendation that they were for spice lovers!) and overcooked. The saving grace for each dish was the accompanying dipping pot - a punchy garlic and herb for the funghi and an oriental style chilli, ginger and spring onion dip for the prawns.
Onto the mains and I opted for the Chicken and Chorizo Skewers (£7.99) with sides of pilau rice and a black and blue sauce (blue cheese and bacon - hey I wanted strong flavours!) whilst my partner chose the Grilled Red Snapper Fillet (£10.99) with sides of baby potatoes and a parsley and creme fraiche sauce.
When they arrived the fish was certainly grilled but seemed to have been treated with all the tenderness and care of a burger, having been grilled to within an inch of it's poor pescine life. The potatoes may have been baby once but had now ballooned with middle-aged spread and were so overboiled that the only thing separating them from mash was their papery skins holding them together. Once again the sauce saved the day by being fresh and light but was lost against the fish.
The skewers were similarly hit and miss with overcooked chicken and a smoky flavoured sausage masquerading as chorizo (not a hint of paprika was found!) whilst the rice had a weird sugary aftertaste which was deeply unpleasant. The sauce just weird, being far too vinegary and with no real blue cheese flavour. There was bacon but this was more like undercooked ham than the crunchy texture I'd hoped for.
We stuck to soft drinks (£2.29 for unlimited refills of Pepsi or R White's lemonade) and whilst we gave the salad bar a whirl it was rather limited compared to the bar at American chain Ruby Tuesday.
Possibly the thing that I found most disturbing about our visit was the calorie counts on the menu. Call me a snob but I don't eat at chains very often and have no idea if this is a mandatory thing but it certainly made for sobering reading. A Plantation Platter (ribs, wings, prawns, corn on the cob and pineapple rings) is 980 calories whilst a 10oz rib eye steak is an eye watering 1040 calories - and that's before you add a side and a sauce! If that doesn't make you think then how about the children's Harvester Burger which rocks up at 450kcal? Add in a jacket potato, baked beans, ice cream and a fruit smoothie drink (covered by Harvester's 5 a day set menu costing £6.49) and all of a sudden your little darling has had over 1000 calories in one sitting without you even visiting the salad bar! Whilst I applaud any restaurant's efforts to encourage healthy choices you really have to question why some of these things are on the menu at a family restaurant. Food for thought? Most definitely.
Harvester was a mythical place, only seen on TV adverts, which promised unlimited ice cream and a salad bar where you could help yourself. As a salad dodging child I have no idea why it fascinated me so much but it may have had something to do with this advert. Look how cheery everyone is! Even the chef looks happy. Maybe it's the suits they're all wearing or the glace cherries on the ice creams. Nobody ever looked that happy in either Beefeater or Wimpy, not even Mr. Wimpy.
I've grown up a lot since that advert aired and no longer dodge salad bars, which is probably a good thing given how often I eat out for this blog. Harvester has also come of age, now being overseen by Mitchell's and Butler who also own the O'Neills and Toby Carvery brands. They recently took over the popular Old Orleans site on Church Street and rapidly transformed it into Harvester St John's, taking it's name from the local church. Their head office invited us down for lunch to see how Harvester has changed since that cheesy advert.
Entering through the sleek glass doors I was first struck by how small the space was - it's predecessor was never huge but the new layout left us precisely zero waiting room. As we were greeted by a member of staff it become obvious why - the restaurant is primarily walk-ins due to its proximity to the shopping centre and it only takes bookings for larger groups. The bar, instead of being a cocktail hangout for those about to hit the town, is now a holding area for those waiting for tables (the wait whilst we were there was 20 minutes and the manager told is this was average).
The decor is somewhere between a coffee chain and a fast food restaurant - fresh green upholstery and wooden furniture marry against oversized prints of salad leaves and wedges of tomato. We settled into our seats and perused the menu (which is huge) before opting for starters of Breaded Mushrooms (£3.29) and Spicy Crackerjack Prawns (£3.99). I must apologise for forgetting my camera but I can say that they were presented attractively in a wooden bento-style box and were both a generous portion. Both were also very hot after being in the deep-fat frier to the extent that the mushrooms (being mostly water) were too hot to eat. I found this out after popping a whole one into my mouth. Not the best time to make this discovery! Once they'd cooled down a bit I was rather disappointed as they were completely devoid of flavour. The prawns were similarly tasteless (disappointing given the menu recommendation that they were for spice lovers!) and overcooked. The saving grace for each dish was the accompanying dipping pot - a punchy garlic and herb for the funghi and an oriental style chilli, ginger and spring onion dip for the prawns.
Onto the mains and I opted for the Chicken and Chorizo Skewers (£7.99) with sides of pilau rice and a black and blue sauce (blue cheese and bacon - hey I wanted strong flavours!) whilst my partner chose the Grilled Red Snapper Fillet (£10.99) with sides of baby potatoes and a parsley and creme fraiche sauce.
When they arrived the fish was certainly grilled but seemed to have been treated with all the tenderness and care of a burger, having been grilled to within an inch of it's poor pescine life. The potatoes may have been baby once but had now ballooned with middle-aged spread and were so overboiled that the only thing separating them from mash was their papery skins holding them together. Once again the sauce saved the day by being fresh and light but was lost against the fish.
The skewers were similarly hit and miss with overcooked chicken and a smoky flavoured sausage masquerading as chorizo (not a hint of paprika was found!) whilst the rice had a weird sugary aftertaste which was deeply unpleasant. The sauce just weird, being far too vinegary and with no real blue cheese flavour. There was bacon but this was more like undercooked ham than the crunchy texture I'd hoped for.
We stuck to soft drinks (£2.29 for unlimited refills of Pepsi or R White's lemonade) and whilst we gave the salad bar a whirl it was rather limited compared to the bar at American chain Ruby Tuesday.
Possibly the thing that I found most disturbing about our visit was the calorie counts on the menu. Call me a snob but I don't eat at chains very often and have no idea if this is a mandatory thing but it certainly made for sobering reading. A Plantation Platter (ribs, wings, prawns, corn on the cob and pineapple rings) is 980 calories whilst a 10oz rib eye steak is an eye watering 1040 calories - and that's before you add a side and a sauce! If that doesn't make you think then how about the children's Harvester Burger which rocks up at 450kcal? Add in a jacket potato, baked beans, ice cream and a fruit smoothie drink (covered by Harvester's 5 a day set menu costing £6.49) and all of a sudden your little darling has had over 1000 calories in one sitting without you even visiting the salad bar! Whilst I applaud any restaurant's efforts to encourage healthy choices you really have to question why some of these things are on the menu at a family restaurant. Food for thought? Most definitely.
Comments
Bland food and uninspiring salad. Didn't realise the calories were so high though. Luckily most of our toddler's food ended up on the floor! That girl's got taste! :)
Some sandwiches and salads outcalorie a Big Mac because of the ubiqitous mayo.
There is basically no excuse for a child's meal racking up 1000 calories. Not to mention the grams of fat and the three days worth of salt some of them contain.
The salad bar thing pisses me off too, its horrible, its been out for hours, its wilted, horrible, cheap rubbish.
I know someone who bangs on about harvester because of the salad bar and I always say if that's what she thinks a good salad is then she needs to raise the bar.
Hate it. Would rather eat my own cats than go to harvester.
also wimpy was fabulous, bring back wimpy!!