James' review of Harwood Arms

Worst meal and dining experience I've had in a very long time.

The staff were hopeless (particularly the tall shaven haired guy with the little goatee and the French sounding girl).

Starters were decent – the terrine and prunes were good. The butternut soup was very average. The poached salmon was bland.

Main course was dire. The “beef on the bone for two” was embarrasing. The beef arrived cold on cold plates, the vegetables were soft, the yorkshire puddings were stale on top and soggy on the bottom, and the potatos were so salty it was ridiculous. We sent the dsh back only to have THE SAME ONE come back five minutes later, with microwaved veg, staler yorkshire puddings and the beef had gone from med rare to medium. Utterly ridiculous.

The tbone of roe deer which was the day's special and described by the waiter as “well yeh it is what it is, a tbone of roe deer” was totally average and bordering on undercooked.

The cod was very average. When the waitress came to collect the plates she asked if we enjoyed the meal – we said “no” – she asked why – we explained as above and she just smirked and cleared the plates.

Desert was decent if unadventurous – we had one of each of the four choices… they ranged from average to good.

The bill came – 4 people with wine ~£200 and they included the “optional” service charge of ~£20 which I simply couldn't be bothered to argue over.

Overall – a service and food quality totally undeserving of a Michelin Star – very, very poor.