Harvester Spyglass Inn Weymouth — Restaurant in England

What was meant to be a family celebration meal turned out to be a total disaster. I booked a table for a party of 12 people. As we entered the building, we passed some very disgruntled customers leaving ranting on about nothing to eat. Upon arrival at the desk we were informed by staff that due to delivery issues over the preceeding 2 days that the menu was very limited. There was so much that was not on the menu, i ended up asking what was! Limited was an understatement! We were asked if we still wanted to go ahead with our booking, but with the taxi having only just dropped some of us off and being a group of 12, I didn't feel there was much choice other than to make the best of it.

While we waited for our meals to arrive , we sampled the salad bar, or tried to. Most of the dishes were empty. Time went by and as we waited and chatted and caught up with family life as some of us hadn't seen each other in a long time, we went on our second round of drinks, tried the salad bar again, but still very little available. Then the waitress came back to inform us that due to an issue in the kitchen, our orders would be at least another 20 to 30 minutes. That would've taken us up to about an hour and a half since arrival. (The restaurant wasn't even busy!) We asked, if the children's meals come come out as we had a 4 year who was beginning to get cranky and hungry waiting. We were told, No. After some discussion we cancelled and left. A couple of other tables looked like they too were leaving. I felt very disappointed as I had planned this well in advance to celebrate 3 of my sons birthdays, one who had travelled down from Lancashire. I felt sorry for the poor waitress who had to deal with us and a number of other tables, who like us left, and grateful to her for not charging for the drinks etc. But I am angry that management did not have the SIMPLE COURTESY to contact me either the day before or just earlier on the day of the booking to inform me of their problem and giving me the option of making other arrangements, should I have chosen to. As the menu was so limited they could have offered to give a discount if they were so worried about losing the booking. As it was, they not only lost my booking but a number of others too, plus the cost of the limited salads and the drinks. Furthermore, it has possibly left a number of customers less likely to book again! A phone call could have saved a lot of misery for the staff and customers, not leaving it untill we have arrived! Afterall, they would have known by at least midday that they didnt have the required stock in. It's the Easter holidays, they should...

Friendly staff that mean well, but basic errors all round and poor food makes Harvester somewhere I'll never eat again (this was my first try).

I paid £15 for a meal that was laughably synthetic. I have no idea how a chicken breast ends up looking and tasting the way it did - I suppose it comes in a bag pre-cooked and then microwaved or something. The saltiness was imbued in the chicken, rather than having been seasoned on top as it was plated up. It was soooo incredibly salty and as flat as a pancake. The gravy was also just a thimble full of salty jelly stuff, like it was made from granules alone. I felt like I was eating a processed, fast-food / bad-for-me snack rather than having an actual meal out. I had peas as advertised but the broccoli which was listed on the menu as an accompaniment didn't arrive.

Also, we asked for my parents to have a cheesecake to come out during mains, that also didn't arrive... at all. We asked for drinks and they didn't arrive either - I went to find a member of staff at the bar, only to be told the barman had been on his break so things had been mixed up.

Lastly, we went to pay the bill and asked for the sweet to be deducted from the total. There was no apology or concern or care, just a "Of course, I'll get the manager's key for the till" followed by a "Have a great rest of your day" as if something great had just been achieved. Such a weird experience - no "I'm sorry to hear that" or any acknowledgement of things not being up to standard. It was like an automated response where we were not actually listened to, which makes us think this kind of service issue is a bog-standard, everyday occurrence. Shame really, as I was hoping for at least a Wetherspoons equivalent, but their food is actually pretty decent in comparison - I'll be going there instead.

I forgot to add above that all ice cream was totally sold out, as was mac and cheese. No big deal, but was another layer to add to the list of errors that day.

Edited on 1st July, following the response to my review from the management - this sums up why things are so poor: no real contextual reply to outline how these things are to actually be addressed or why they may have occurred, just a basic copy and paste, generic follow-up. You had a chance to turn this interaction in to something positive publicly, by offering to call and speak to me, or offering a discount on a future visit to prove yourselves again, or a "free meal on us" etc. You've shown once again that Harvester is a place of very low...

Starter and pudding good.

The initial welcome was VERY flat/uninterested.

Didn’t ask us if table put at ok just told to sit at a place with fixed bench seats by salad bar when plenty of regular tables with normal chairs available.

Guy behind bar friendly, other waiting staff totally disinterested.

My starter mushrooms was great but my finances soup was a joke so ridiculously small and not even a bread roll or similar offered which is standard with any soups I’ve had anywhere.

The main course (we both had turkey Christmas dinner) was virtually cold and a joke in terms of quality and quantity but the main issue regardless was it was virtually cold even the gravy.

Due to attitude of waiting staff didn’t bother to inform them as would never know if they would do something to the replacement in spite.

We had issues here with staff and other things 3 years ago (I sent photos etc as evidence) and complained and had a lengthy reply from your business saying there would be improvements made. Yet 3 years later and simply not good enough. I will never ever go into this place again and waste my money and to be honest it’s put me off all Harvesters so you have lost my business forever. I ate in three different places each day after (pub groups and Italian restaurant group) and they were all superb in every way. I worked in drinks industry Guinness GB / Diageo and Carlsberg for 16 years dealing with On Trade venues throughout the UK then moved into Take home trade. Standards like the is place has would not have existed in the 90’s-2010’s I guess you rely on the constantly changing Spring & Summer holiday trade and stuff locals or...