The Freemasons Arms — Restaurant in Harborough

The Freemasons Arms in Market Harborough is the kind of pub that makes you wonder why you ever bothered with fancy gastropubs where the chips arrive stacked like Jenga and the beer costs more than your broadband. This is the real deal. A proper pub where you’re welcome whether you’re wearing walking boots, dog leads, or that expression that says “I just need a pint and a pie.”

Let’s start with the people. The staff are friendlier than your nan after two sherries. Nothing is too much trouble, and they somehow manage to make every customer feel like a regular, even if you only pop in once a year on your way to somewhere else.

Then there’s the dog-friendliness. This place doesn’t just tolerate dogs. It welcomes them. Your four-legged friend will be given the kind of reception usually reserved for minor celebrities. Water bowls appear out of nowhere. Treats are offered with a flourish. One member of staff may or may not have whispered “who’s a good boy” with such sincerity it brought a tear to my eye.

Now to the food. We’re talking pub classics done right. The burger arrives looking like it’s about to star in its own TV show. The chicken is crispy on the outside and pure joy on the inside. And the chips? Golden, crunchy, and generous enough to make you consider writing them a thank you card. This isn’t food for Instagram. This is food for the soul.

Add in a pint of something local, a dog snoozing under the table, and the gentle hum of good conversation around you, and you’ve got yourself the kind of afternoon that feels like a warm duvet made of gravy and contentment.

The Freemasons Arms isn’t just a pub. It’s a public service. Five stars, zero pretension, and one...

Myself and 4 friends from work had booked a table tonight for 5.30pm. We were shown to our table and were shocked to see that they had planned on seating us at what looked like a toddlers table that we definitely wouldn’t be able to sit around and eat a nice meal together and have a chat. Once we made a point of this, we were shown to a different table which was more suitable (after the waiter shrugged his shoulders at us). Prior to our visit, we had looked at the menu on their Facebook page and online which was different to the menu inside which was disappointing and misleading. One of our friends also does not drink alcohol and the menu online stated they had various non alcoholic beers but sadly there was in fact only one. When our food came we had to send it back as it was stone cold. After about 5 minutes the food was returned and was not any warmer. The waitress came over, asked if everything was OK to which I shrugged my shoulders and before I could say anything more (as I was eating at the time) she walked away.

Poor service in general and overpriced food. When paying that much for a burger you expect a lot more. Wouldn’t recommend if you want...

We booked a table for 1.30pm on Saturday. The Service was excellent and the girls serving us were really attentive. We drank cocktails ate lunch and continued to 6 when we ordered more food and more cocktails. Ten mins after recieving our order we were told we had 10 mins to drink up and leave as the table was booked for another customer. Up until this point we were unaware there was a time limit. This was despite other tables being empty. My annoyance is not at them requiring the table. It was the way things were managed. Having had our custom, (we intended to order more cocktails) we were told bruskley we had to leave., despite not being told we had the table for a set period. It would have been nice to have been offered a table apologisedthey needed to move us, offered help to move etc. It was only whenwe went back and asked if it was possible for us to have another table, did they say oh have that table (picnic table by the entrance). A downer to...