Harvester Staunton Arms Portsmouth — Restaurant in East Hampshire

Staunton Arms has just had a refurbishment, so this was the first time of visiting since the refurb. Refurbishment is good and I loved the colour scheme. It was my husband’s birthday today, so we went there to celebrate it. My husband ordered sirloin steak, which he enjoyed; I ordered the barbecue chicken stack, which I have every single time I go to a Harvester, but there was something very strange about the chicken and it wasn’t cutting as it usually does, but was stringy and weird looking throughout; it reminded me of stringy cheese with a bit of elasticity, with the slimy consistency of octopus and looked more like reformed meat, than a piece of chicken breast. I mentioned it to pur waitress Emily C and she too agreed that it was strange, so took a piece of it to the chef, who asked what it actually was; he told the waitress that The Harvester had changed their chicken supplier when they changed the menu, which makes sense with why I noticed the difference. I’m a tad concerned that the supplier they’ve now gone with, are not supplying as good a grade of chicken as their predecessors and it’s left me thinking that I don’t want to eat this meal again because of it. It was bad enough that the chicken in breadcrumbs that came with the chicken stack were swapped out for silly little pieces of chicken that have more breadcrumbs in ratio to actual chicken, so it’s a shame that you’ve actually changed a dish that was popular as it was and ruined it. Emily was very helpful and happy. Last but not least.. they had no pepper and when I asked a different waitress for some, she told me that they’ve been waiting for a delivery; for someone who enjoys pepper on my food, I found this rather disappointing and also wondered how an established restaurant can be so lapse in their...

Harvester Staunton Arms – Refreshed Look, Familiar Flaws

Recently refurbished with a brighter, more open layout. The venue includes indoor seating, bar area, and a small beer garden. Free parking is available, but you must register your vehicle on arrival—signage isn’t always clear, and missed registration can result in fines. The car park also suffers from potholes and poor lighting, which affect accessibility.

The menu is broad—rotisserie chicken, grills, vegetarian options—but the salad bar is often depleted or unhygienic, with mixed utensils and low stock. Menus themselves are frequently sticky or visibly dirty, which undermines the refreshed interior and basic hygiene standards. Service is inconsistent: some staff are friendly and attentive, others distracted or slow to respond. Food wait times can exceed an hour, even during quieter periods, and substitutions (e.g. sweet potato fries for jacket potatoes) may incur extra charges without warning.

Family offers like Kids Eat for £1 and Chicken Tuesdays are promoted, but not always clearly explained or reliably available. Toilets have been flagged for poor cleanliness and limited upkeep.

During busy times, the atmosphere can become loud and chaotic, especially around the bar and salad station. This may be challenging for visitors seeking a calm or predictable dining experience. For a quieter visit, weekday mornings are generally more relaxed.

Overall, Harvester Staunton Arms has potential, but still needs clearer communication, better upkeep, and more consistent service to match its...

Not a great trip if I'm honest! But for an 80th birthday meal wasn't even very busy in the restaurant. Ordered drinks. Took over 20 minutes to come out and the food took almost an hour. When it did arrive there were things missing off the meal example, no cheese in the burgers. No topping on the rated fries etc. The food was only lukewarm and we've been waiting so long already. We didn't want to have to send mills back for it to be microwaved and come back out and everyone be eating at different times. Unfortunately, the bill was paid by one of the party at the bar secretly so he didn't get time to advise of our issues when paying. Since this we have sent an email on the Harvester website and got a response saying cool to discuss. We have tried to cool nine times over a period of 5 days and keep being advised there is no one available that can deal with the call. Email back to advise of this and had no response since.... Seems that once they have your money the customer carries out the window, prices prices have also increased and I feel the price we paid we could have gone somewhere and got a lot better food and service. Will remember this for future birthday meals. But I would like to add a waitress was extremely helpful. It was her first shift at this Harvester she apologised for everything. I did feel a bit. Sorry for her, it wasn't her fault. It seemed there wasn't enough...