Harvester Ancient Briton St Albans — Restaurant in St Albans

ONLY GAVE 1 STAR AS YOU CANT PUT 0. ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING!!

I am absolutely appalled by the service and overall experience that myself and my family have just endured at The Ancient Briton in St Albans.

I booked online after finishing work to take my family out for my birthday and half term treat. We were happy as there was a table available straight away which unlike the other 2 local ones so we booked, I now know why there was room!

We were seated immediately and was waiting for the rest of our party, my mum and dad and my 7 yr old son We were offered drinks after 15 minute wait and then waited a further 20 minutes wait until the drinks came. This arrived and drinks were missing, I then had to ask for the rest of them. We then ordered and went to the salad bar.. the salad bar was nearly empty, there were no bowls, the rolls were like rocks so we took what we could and sat down. Whilst getting the salad, we could see and hear a full argument in the open plan kitchen about time and orders wrong. We ate these and waited for the mains... we could see all around us people having issues with food delays and it was evident it was busy, that's fair enough but we were not updated once by the waitress.

We waited over an hour for the food and still nothing, we asked the waitress and she went to check. 10 mins later she advised us we were next and 5 mins... the group next to us were still having issues and the table behind had waited the same time as us. Another 20 mins and we had to ask again where our food was... 10 mins later it arrived, 2 orders wrong, my sons meal had four chips and that was the kids mains and not light bites or big appetite!! 2 others were freezing cold. This was not acceptable. My dad sent his immediately back and my wife had given up hope!

I asked a different waiter at this time to speak to the manager as this was unacceptable and just not on. The manager at this time then came to the table opposite us and sat with them and argued with them in front of the whole restaurant and was rude and abrupt. She ignored us and walked to the kitchen. I took my wife’s freezing meal and went to talk to her. kaz, the manager was rude, dismissed me straight out in front of the restaurant. I handed her the dish and went back to my family to advise them we were leaving.

My son was crying as he was so hungry and had to leave his food, my daughter was starving and did not eat and I was not willing to pay for the food due to the quality, the wait, the service received from Kaz. I advised my family to leave and I would go to the bar to a quieter area to speak with the manager Kaz. I went to the bar where the family who Kaz had argued with advised me that she was not coming out to speak to any unsatisfied customers.

To say I was alone in my views is an understatement as there was at least 6 other parties in our area dissatisfied by either the food, the speed or the service.

I have never left bad feedback but I...

We were in the area and we were hungry. We came to the Harvester this afternoon,it was not busy at all for a Saturday afternoon. This was probably one of the best experiences we have had at the Harvester chain. The atmosphere and vibe felt quite tranquil. The exterior looks like a fairytale building,the interior is the typical Harvester style and full of character and charm. The toilets were very clean. The food from the salad bar was fresh and replenished well. The food is delicious from the salad bar and you can’t really go wrong with it! The colours of the veg are very vibrant. The service was friendly and the food came out very quickly. The food was delicious as usual. I had the pork belly and corn. The dish was beautifully presented. The pork especially was beautifully presented,the pork belly tasted nice and had a reasonable amount of flavour to it. The veg on the side was fresh and delicious. The mash was tasty and very generously portioned. However my only one criticism is that in the last year Harvester have significantly reduced the choice for gluten free diners and made the amount of choice inadequate for consumers who are gluten free. Whilst I appreciate that since the reduction of choice there have been two new main options added on that are gluten free. However,there has been a new change to the menu meaning that the chips are not 100% gluten free now. The pork belly and corn dish that I ate comes with chips and I was told by the server that I couldn’t have the chips with it. I only ordered regular chips so I’m presuming other chip options such as the sage and onion fries are no longer gluten free. It’s now either a choice between mash potato or jacket potato. I am shocked that a company like Mitchells and Butlers does not have standardisation with their food. I have eaten at their other brands such as Browns and Miller and Carter many times and never had an issue with fries but for some reason it may not be 100% gluten free here,however I have not eaten chips at either of the brands I stated above since February so it may have changed. I also had a similar experience at a Vintage Inns restaurant in February with the gluten free options. On the other hand,I feel that Mitchell’s and Butlers is probably the safest choice for me being a gluten free diner as all the staff are really well allergy trained and our server was really well trained and protecting me from any potential cross contamination. It was a great value meal and the food was lovely. Harvester is not cheap but it is a good option if you don’t want to break the bank. Today’s experience was one of the best I have had at a Harvester. I would highly recommend Harvester...

On arrival at approx 20:00 another party of 3 in front of us were told there were no tables available and the vacant ones were booked, they left and went elsewhere. I then said I take it that applies to us at which point it was there is an orange light and a table is now free, we were shown to our table our waitress was extremely nice and tried to help with my daughter's allergy CHILLY and Paprika which is not covered in the allergies book. In all the time we were there the tables that were supposed to be reserved were never occupied, in the whole restaurant there was us party of 3, a party of 10, a party of 6, a party of 4 & two parts of 2, so there seemed no reason to turn the party of 3 in front of us away. Salad bar was very sparse and sauces run out but getting them filled was a issue that became relevant at 21:00 when all tables were approached and asked if anyone wanted more salad could we get it now as they were clearing it all for the night. From 20:00 there were no rotisserie chickens available for the combo meals, my wifes and daughters burgers arived with no lettuce, tomato or sauce. The whole eating experience was not what I would have expected. By the time we left at approximately 21:40 all gaming machines were off some lights were off and bar totally unmanned it looked like a case of will you all go home so we can, what a shame when you consider establishment's are shutting all the time this does not help. As I said previously the only upside to the evening was our waitress who could not apologise enough for the issues, she...