Stum's review of Harwood Arms

This pub has just been awarded a Michelin Star, but don’t expect a first class service!

The staff were totally out of their depth, extremely inattentive and quite unprofessional. Upon arrival we weren’t shown to our table and no one took our coats. Some bar staff and waitresses were hanging around in the bar area, and one was actually biting his nails. When we sat down, our waiter referred us to the daily special on the special board without reading it out. The problem was that from our table the view was restricted so we couldn’t actually read the board without getting up. There was one special on the board, which made it even clearer that the waiter just couldn’t be bothered to read it to us.
Then a pitcher of water was just plonked on our table without pouring our glasses, condiments weren’t replenished and when we finished our wine we weren’t offered another – we were just left with empty glasses until we ordered another bottle. Even at Pizza Hut you would get a better and more attentive service!

As for the food, for starter I had Poached salmon with laver bread mayonnaise, boiled new potatoes and watercress. It was quite nicely presented but quite bland in taste. For my main I had the Roast Cornish cod with chanterelles, sea purslane, salsify fritters and garlic mayonnaise. The cod was undercooked and the fritters dripping with oil. The only seasoning I could taste was salt. Again, I found this dish average at best and without any flavour.
For dessert I went for the Buttermilk pudding with pears and golden raisins poached in mead. This was the nicest dish of the evening, sweet and creamy.

In summary, I was expecting delicious food and outstanding service – a Michelin Star Experience – but what I got was a very average meal with a terrible service.