Harp and Crown LKN — Restaurant in Cornelius

We recently had a wonderful experience. We had been to one Irish pub in the area and were disappointed in the food and the atmosphere.

Then we discovered the harp and crown pub. It was recommended to Us by an English neighbor who said the owners were a wife who is Irish and a husband who is English.

That combination shows dramatically when you come into the pub and have a feeling that you're in the real thing in Europe.

The garden seating is beautiful outside. However we chose to eat inside for our first visit.

We were seated by a wonderful young lady. Our next encounter was our waiter who was also exceptionally friendly and professional. It was not a long wait before he appeared and took our drink orders. It took us a while because of such a wonderful variety of beers in particular.

We got them and they were perfect. He came to take our order and was very patient with us asking questions about the menu items. Finally I told him to make a decision for me. We ended up starting our first visit traditionally. One ordered fish and chips and the other ordered shepherd's pie. They were absolutely perfectly cooked, wonderful tasting and just great to even look at.

Folks came by attentively to see if we needed anything or to clear our plates etc.

Prices are surprisingly reasonable and there is a nice variety of choices on the menu.

On the way we stopped at the front desk and the co-owner was there and she was very friendly to us. Everyone there has obviously been trained to be very friendly. I think about five people said goodbye to us on the way out and it felt sincere.

Not only will we be back but we're going to tell everyone about it!

Gene Blair

Update on February 25 2022:

We brought another couple with us who had not been here and everything was the same except our waiter this time. He seemed distracted or something. When I asked him about the beer he pointed to the chalkboard and basically said pick one. Unlike the original waiter. He didn't have time for us. He obviously did not want to describe the individual beers that all we could read was the names of instead of what they were like. I actually asked him if there was some in there that could describe to me a beer I might like based on my description of my tastes. He essentially said no.

In spite of this, the food was excellent once again in the atmosphere was very nice. I looked for one of the owners on the way out to share my experience but was disappointed they weren't there...

Really disappointing. Made reservations weeks ago for toady for theirs St Patrick's weekend, expecting a festive event based on the description and list of Bagpipes and Irish Dancing. No schedule was posted until apparently yesterday. We arrived to not only neither but not even music. That aside, was really a terrible experience. Here's why- Plastic Utensils. Gave my son kids menus w/brunch listed on one side, and then when we went to order, he was excited for his choice, only to be told then, that they weren't serving those today, and he could only choose between 2 ITEMS on the Kids Linch menu. 3.Ordered Shepards pie, and was looking forward to it, and when it arrived, A- looked nothing like what they show on line, but like a mass produced frozen meal they popped in the oven. Tasted like it looked. Asked to get something else. Manager shows up while I'm eating replacement, looks at me and puts his hands out w/ out words, as if to say, what's wrong w/ it? Odd. I shook my head too answer him non-verbally as well making face to express it wasn't good. I then said it's not good. He said it's been taken off, but can you tell me what was wrong with it? Never did he say anything like any Manager would like hey I'm the manager, I'm so sorry you didn't like this, I'll be taking it off, - No- instead after I said, well it doesn't look anything like what you show on the menu and doesn't taste good either. He, like the waitress say- it's the same portion, I said that's not the issue, it just doesn't look appetizing and doesn't taste good. He then presses again- well what didn't you like so I can tell the kitchen. I'd already told him. So I elaborated- well it's not appealing and the meatsause has a funny taste and the top doesn't taste fresh. Tastes like it was frozen. This was truly the ODDEST exchange I've ever had w/ a Manager in an restaurant. Needless to say, we...

Life is busy and my wife and I don’t get a lot of time on the weekend to go out. Imagine how disappointed I was when my anticipation for a great experience was crushed by rude service. We chose the Harp and Crown for our Sunday (10/22) afternoon because the weather was perfect to sit on the patio. Friends had been there recently and were raving about the food and atmosphere. We hadn’t been in a while.

We arrived shortly after 1pm, in time to watch football, have a few drinks and enjoy some food. They had a duo playing on the patio, duo was a bit too loud, but we figured we’d manage since it was such a gorgeous afternoon. The bartender turned towards and quite literally threw menus in front of us and then dismissively threw coasters down in front of us. There was no “hello,” or “I’ll be with you in a second.” We could feel the disgust and contempt oozing from her pores as sat there awestruck. She had four other people at the bar and the patio was far from full. We got up and went elsewhere.

I’ve spent over a decade in hospitality working FOH at a variety of restaurants and bars and this kind of behavior is appalling. I am disappointed that I didn’t get to experience what all my friends have spoken highly of because of a rogue employee who took her bad day out on two unsuspecting patrons. I probably won’t be back because a gentleman in a polo shirt asked us why we were leaving, and we told him the issue and just said “have a nice day.” There was ZERO attempt to win us back.

The lake has a plethora of dining and drinking options and unless Harp and Crown wants to personally apologize, I’ll be patronizing...