Harry's Bar & Restaurant, Thorpe-le-Soken — Restaurant in Tendring

SO DISSAPOINTING Four of us (2 couples) had booked this restaurant (20/01/18) to celebrate my brothers birthday, after hearing good things about this place. I had booked the table well in advance, this was our first (and last) visit here. We arrived on time & was informed our table was not ready, no worries a drink at the bar. I placed our drinks order, and after ’sometime’ it arrived, and was not complete! Still it was a Saturday, a busy evening ! This set the tone for the rest of the night !!!!!!!! We were eventually shown to our table, negotiating between people already seated. To say ’they pack them in’ is an understatement. Another long wait before our food order was taken. I had ordered a bowel of OLIVE’S as nibbles, while we waited for our food. These never materialized. On enquiring about them, I was told by the waiter, that he thought we wanted them with the ’starter’ course. REALLY !!!!! The starters finally arrived. They were of average quality. I ordered the Mussels, & had to ask for a finger dip bowel. Surely they should be aware this comes as part of the dish. I ordered a bottle of wine. This was just ’plonked’ on the table, not presented & unopened ! The main course. Again we waited a while for the table to be cleared, but they left the empty glasses, cluttering the table ! 2 porter house steak's, a rump steak, & a Harrys homemade burger was ordered. They steak’s were below average in quality. I ordered a ’Béarnaise sauce. This was so thick & lumpy. I actually held the pot upside down and it refused to pour ! Overall, the entire meal was way below expectations, & of very poor quality. Trying to attract the attention of the waiting staff was a ’mission’. They seemed more interested in chatting among themselves. I eventually caught the eye of the guy who seemed to be in charge (I forget his name). I pointed out all of the above, he was totally disinterested. I ordered coffees & liqueurs. He did offer to remove the desserts from the bill. WOW. I requested the bill. Guess what ? This was at the table in seconds !!!!! Perhaps, this was a ’one off’ ? Perhaps they were understaffed ? Perhaps ???? We will not be returning. The evening was very poor. But, the...

What an amazing place to go and quiet both the hunger and thirst.

First of all, I met the owner while parking the car (yes....there is a small space at the back to park a few cars) and he was very nice and pleasant from the start. Told him we came for the line caught cod and chips. He assured us we will not be disappointed.

On entry there is a well established bar area if you are just there for a pint...or two or a few😆 (we all know how the saying goes...."just popped out for one). At the bar, there is a comfortable seating section. A few locals were enjoying this area which gave the place a warm and friendly feeling.

To the back, there is a beautiful restaurant area with a good floorplan. I didn't count the amount of tables but you can definitely have the place packed and still have space to enjoy those by your tables company. Beautiful art (I saw a lot of Banksy) against the walls to give it a modern contemporary but luxury feeling.

At the very back there is an outdoor area with seats and tables if the weather is nice.

The staff were very friendly and attentive too.

Food arrived and I must say....the owners claim that we won't be disappointed was spot on. The fish and chips were super well presented and delicious. Portions were worth every penny. Tbh, coming from London these were still below our prices we normally pay.....but better quality.

I would recommend this establishment to everyone that finds themselves local and has a hunger spot to fill.

Will return to Harry's Bar for seconds when we pop over...

Booked in advance for Christmas meal , asked if we needed to preorder, was told no. Seated for meal and requested the Christmas menu and was informed it was pre-order only. The waiter did ask if the chef would mind taking orders from the Christmas menu but before he went to ask we ordered from the standard menu as not to cause issues. The pork belly and chicken wings were good and those that had it enjoyed their meal. The pil pil prawns were disappointing, I found a couple of bits of gold foil like from a butter wrapper in the sauce. The lamb shish was tasteless and salad was basic, no dressing. The bread that came with the lamb shish was just a tortilla wrap from a packet. The chicken breast was dry and the calamari was rubbery and over cooked. Those that had the fries they said they were really hard , overcooked, and again from a packet. Having dined at Harry’s a few years ago I was expecting more , and maybe some freshly made elements. So mixed bag with regards to the food. The service was good although not many were dinning...