Harvard Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in Christchurch

Don't book here. Just don't. Save yourself and dine anywhere else. We were a group of 18, and had to pre-order our fine dining meals 5 days prior.

Arrived to a cold Billiards room on a bitterly cold night.

One person had SOD, lentil soup which she did enjoy. The other 3 Entrées were decent sized and in fact twice as large as the Mains.

The Mains were delivered from the kitchen on an uncovered trolley down the cold corridor. Unsurprisingly, the meals were barely lukewarm, and what little we had of vegetables were cold.

Staff ineptly named the dishes incorrectly, calling out and setting down salmon when it was chicken, and the Caesar salad announced and set down was actually their House Superfood Salad with added fried chicken.

Crispy salmon was anything but, and so overcooked it was dry and chalky and clearly oven baked.

The lamb rack was a pitiful sight. 3 tiny pieces and no pink in sight, served on watery mush of kumera.

The duck skin wasn't rendered so it was inedible on one plate, another needed a steak knife to cut it, and one other was happy with theirs. There was some congealed sauce?? stuck to the plates. Nasty.

Because there was basically nothing on the $40 dishes,  my guests were left hungry. To add insult to injury, the 2 most basic meals of fish and chips (the only meal to actually arrive hot) and a Caesar salad, arrived 10min after everyone  else was finished.

Pre-ordered desserts were then  brought in, but noone had bothered to ask if anyone else wanted to order beforehand. They asked at that time.

I was going to get a Creme Brulee but decided not to based on the ridiculous wait time from the kitchen. And then I saw the ones who had. Eggy custard with no Brulee to crack.

I was disappointed and embarrassed for arranging the event and spent alot of time apologizing.

I complained about my salmon (when feedback was asked for) and was told to save my feedback and send it in an email.

They did bring out a couple of random desserts "complimentary" but seriously, the night was beyond saving.

Now, the reason I am so very infuriated. Remember how we had to pre-order? And "chef" still couldn't put a cohesive timeline of service in place. The menu we ordered from was what was on their website. But is completely different to their menu on site, which is basic pub food, burgers, ribs etc. Maybe they do that ok, who knows. But I will never go there again, and nor will any of the others.

Also, a family of 4 were ill and unable to make it. When they phoned to advise they were told if anyone else canceled they would still be charged for their meals.

Not sure if anyone took photos of the food, definitely not Insta worthy. Yes we ate what we could as we were hungry. Yes we paid full price for everything. No I didn't make a scene about it as it was a family gathering to celebrate our Mum's...

This is taken off the website by the owner, my response is below this. Situated in what was once the officers’ bar within the No1 Officers Mess for the NZ air force, this beautiful building invites you to experience quality dining with sophistication and class. With 3 amazing areas to enjoy, we truly can cater for any weather Christchurch has to offer. We are also a function venue and a hotel bringing you a triple threat of a hospitality experience. We have hand selected wines, local and important beers, a wide spirits range with a flexible cocktail menu and dishes that will make you come back for more, catering for all dietary requirements, all ages, and for all occasions."

The Truth. 15th June 2024. I will put my name to this at the end of my “review “ 22 people attending, 4 people had to cancel as three of them were sick. *note regarding this below. We were told to preorder our meals………. THAT WAS A ‼️ to start. Fine Dining, I have experienced better service and dinning at McDonalds. I am not joking. Our experience was definitely not as the owners description has on the website. I had the duck - absolutely disappointed. My sister gave me her steak knife to cut it. My meal was tepid. What accompanied the duck was pitiful, there was something on the side of the plate that was dried up - I was unable to move any of it with my knife. The only saving grace was I had ordered the salad as an entree. My husband ordered the rack of lamb. That lamb must have been 2 weeks old as it was pitifully small, overcooked and cold. He ordered the prawn entree - sad, they looked more like shrimps. Overall we spent $138.00, 2 entrees, 2 glasses of wine and 2 fine dining meals - NOT!!!! To add insult, the venue was colder than it was outside! My daughter and her family were sick and unable to go. She phoned and was promptly told if anyone else canceled they would be charged. I would not recommend dining here at all. An absolute...

The room was cold which made it quite uncomfortable, the toilets were freezing and we should have been dressed for the snow. The food was pre ordered 1-2 weeks in advance. When they brought the meals out it was unorganised and chaotic. Not a fine dining experience. The food was either cold for some luke-warm for others. 2 meals came out 30min after everyone else's These 2 meals were a basic ceaser salad and fish and chips... The food was average being generous. For the price and tiny size portions you would expect amazing... My 16 year old son who eats anything left his mash on his plate... His steak was over cooked. My pork belly was nice but barely warm... I ordered drinks that never came but they had added them to the bill..

Creme Brulee was in a breakfast bowl, tasted like custard with crispy sugar on top... Far from fine dining... not one of us was wowed or impressed... Spent $160, 2 average meals and 2 average deserts...

Sorry Havard but that was a disapointing night... Alot of us traveled far for this evening and we expected fine dining and a lovely evening.

The saving grace for the evening was...