Harvester Mallard Hemel Hempstead — Restaurant in Dacorum

I'm a regular customer at the Hemel Hempstead Harvester, however today's level of customer service was abysmal and I'm reluctant to return. Service deteriorated recently anyway but I was optimistic that, since closing for a refurbishment and opening with a new menu, it would improve. Myself and my family arrived about 12:30 today, Monday 19th February 2018 and were provided with a table and menus. It was at the point we attempted to order our meals that we were informed that there were no rolls/bread so no burgers/sandwiches would be served. This left us unable to make the orders we'd decided on and ruled out half the menu. After deciding on alternatives, we also ordered a meal for out toddler only to be told that they didn't have fish fingers. Again we have to make an alternative choice. At the salad cart, there were no white rolls, no potato salad and no sweetcorn. When my toddlers drink arrived, I was informed they'd run out of straws! There was also no cutlery suitable for toddlers and she had to make do with an adult fork and a teaspoon. When we ordered dessert, the waiter at least reeled off the (numerous) options that again were not available before we'd settled on what we wanted. Full credit to the staff there who were having to deal with the face-to-face disappointment of the customers due to poor leadership/management who failed to ensure there was adequate stock; even if they'd run out due to a busy weekend they had enough hours Monday morning prior to lunch to source relevant stock. I was informed that a delivery wasn't due until Tuesday - if the restaurant remains open tonight I'd be very surprised. If a sign was placed outside detailing how much of the menu was unavailable, we'd have gone elsewhere - but I guess the management knew that hence allowing customers to come in an be seated before informing them that choices would be extremely limited. To reiterate, our waiter did a great job under the circumstances and I pity him having to face disappointed customers for the remainder...

I have already filed a complaint using the email address at the bottom of our receipt but I’ve heard nothing back. We were shown to our table but as it was pushed up tight against the wall we moved it out a few inches so we could eat without banging our elbows. Doing this revealed a disgustingly filthy wall and skirting boards! How an eating establishment could let the eating area get this dirty is beyond me…. Anyway, we ordered our food and then waited half an hour for it to arrive. My guest had the 1983 chicken combo and I had a chicken skewer. My guest found her chicken to be undercooked and very pink in the middle and my skewer and chips were cold! When we mentioned to staff about the pink chicken they were quick to reassure us that it was normal to be pink inside!! We were so taken aback by the complete denials that we totally forgot to mention my meal was cold!! (There was a couple behind us who sent their food back because it was cold, so I know it wasn’t just me!) We then ordered a dessert and my guest asked for 2 forks so I could have a taste. When it arrived our server presented us with 2 spoons saying they had run out of forks. Have you ever tried eating a waffle with just a spoon? It’s not easy!! There were no beers on tap, only lager or craft beer so even our drinks were not what we wanted. Overall, a horrendous visit and one we will not be repeating any time soon! I have pictures of the wall and skirting boards if you’d like to see them but unfortunately the lighting prevented us from being able to take a decent picture of the chicken where you could...

If I could leave a 0 star review I would. From the minute we first walked in there they were rude! Firstly they asked for my name for the reservation which I provided, the lady behind the computer did not even greet us. She then could not find our reservation and quoted to her colleague “Am I going blind?” I then provided my mobile number which they then found it but the lady said that, that was not right and that I shouldn’t have been able to do that. We were then directed to our table, which they said they would bring us some cutlery and napkins, which they never did. When the lady came to take our order for drinks, my sister ordered a glass of wine, and the lady asked for ID as she said she personally thought she looked under 21. We said that she is 27 at the end of this month and she was able to provide 2 different types of ID’s on her phone. Our mother was with us as well and was able to verify that. We understand that this is procedure, however other places have accepted ID’s on our phones in the past and have not had an issue. Also, we have both worked in Customer service (restaurants) and we thought the whole experience was atrocious and we will not be returning again.This was also our last night with my sister before we’d get to see her again for a very long time and our whole...