Shark — Restaurant in Harlow

As I am not original from Harlow, I have found my self in many pubs trying to find the "right one". Most pubs you walk in find they are very "clicky" and as soon as a non regular walks in everyone stares and then the whispers start. For this reason and a few others I have always felt uncomfortable in the pubs round Harlow. This all changed however when I discovered the shark!! The customers didn't stare or whispers behind your back instead they approached and asked where the accent was from. At last a pub where us northern folk where accepted!!

This led me to become some what of a regular at the shark. I love the wide variety of entertainment from bands to karaoke. Some of the bands I have seen are amazing and I can't believe the shark were able to book them.

The karaoke nights... Well these are my upmost favourite, doesn't matter if you can sing or not (me being the later part of that) you are always made to feel welcome.

The staff are just amazing. Highly trained to ensure they remember the customers names and most of the times there drinks too! They are friendly upbeat and always welcome you with a smile. That takes some doing in a busy night.

The manager always seems to be around mingling with customers and even partaking in the karaoke. He always seems friendly and again always with a smile.

WELL DONE GUYS KEEPS UP...

Cast your mind back if you will, to a time in the days of yore, where you you could visit a pub and find it was not a gastropub that only sells drinks in jam jars and gourmet scotch eggs for £12, or a Wetherspoon. Heady days indeed, but rejoice because despite the proliferation of the aforementioned establishments it is still possible to find a public house with an actual atmosphere where you can purchase a pint that hasn't been fermented by beavers in Tibet or other such nonsense, and the Shark is one of these rare gems.

The staff are friendly in an actual friendly way, not in the faux friendly American 'Have a nice day my cheeks are hurting from the fake smiles I'm forced to make all day' manner. The live bands are always excellent and play actual music not avant garde bleeping.

Karaoke may not be everyone's cup of tea but sometimes shouting 'Don't Stop Believin' at the top of your lungs beats having an actual conversation with your friends and the Shark's excellent resident Karaoke DJ ensures that every singer no matter how tone deaf gets their moment to delusionally convince themselves that they can sing like Adele.

To conclude: drink here, don't go to Hoxton, eat crisps not hay smoked wood chippings....

Went for a "country and western" event with my family but just turned out to be a karaoke dj playing country music and after 9pm was asked to leave because my daughter was too young to stay. I felt they used the word "event" just to get more people in through the door that was ment to start at 7 but didn't start doing anything till 7:30 and couldn't stay past 9. I'm sorry but ever since covid people haven't made much of an effort to go out to pubs like they used to before covid and then being asked to leave when we could have spent more money in the pub just seamed like a joke. Especially seeing as I was approached and asked to leave but there was another family there that know the manager and he let them stay just a bit...