Having been recommended the Harwood Arms as a great Gastro Pub, and especially given the Michelin Star rating it has, we were expecting something a little better than what we actually experienced.

The pub itself is nice, and possesses a warm and friendly atmosphere with a small bar which had a welcoming, relaxed ambience. The service in particular was the highlight of our visit, with attentive and friendly serving girls ensuring we were always happy, delivering our food and drinks promptly and efficiently. However the food itself was a huge disappointment.

Whilst we expected a degree of overpricing given the nature of the establishment, the food itself was well presented (with colourful sauce swirls and artful presentation) but generally disappointing in substance (bar the “home-made” bread of course). A smoked salmon starter -given it's constituents it would have to be spectacular to be priced that way…it wasn't. Roast Chicken leg with pressed potato and black pudding, whilst moist, was incredibly average and meagre in portion size, a hugely inflated meal at almost £18. The other meals were essentially the same – acceptable, pleasant but woefully overpriced and miles away from a Michelin starred
expectations.

If the portions had been of a normal size, or the prices lowered and the Michelin starred reputation set to one side in favour of it being a nice pub perhaps that would mark a higher score, but for us the Harwood Arms marked a somewhat disappointing foray into the realm of Gastro Pubs.

We came away thinking of all the better places we'd eaten at, which without such pedigree managed to serve better food at the same or lower price.

However it must be said again that whilst the food and value for money were poor to average, the service was excellent and the serving girls deserve all the praise from any positive reviews.

Go there for a drink…skip the meal.