Soup Of The Day Soup Of The Day

A comforting bowl of homemade soup, featuring fresh seasonal ingredients and aromatic herbs; flavors change daily.

The Harvard Inn

The Harvard Inn

40 High Street Stock, Essex CM4 9BJ, Chelmsford, United Kingdom

Steak • Hotels • British • Vegetarian


"today harvard inn (22 October) visited with friends for lunch and drink. we received not the warmest reception, 3 young girls working from the bar, but were more interested in their phones than actually a service. when we came to our table, there were no best or serviettes. we waited 15 minutes to take our food order and ask for a wine list. then we had to wait 10 minutes to order a bottle of wine. when the weeping was overlaid, he was left on the table, we were not offered to try it and it was not poured for us. waiting for eating was long, 35 minutes for 2 x sausages and maic and 1 x fish and chips. When the food finally arrived, there was no cute yet. we had to ask that, and it was just in a stack on the table. the fish and chips were very good as the sausages and mashing. until a human hair was found in the maic! the waitress came over and took the food with an empty expression and murmured an apology. we waited for some time again that teller will be taken away and ask for the bill. also here it took at least 10 minutes to pass. I wouldn't worry about waiting, but the bar was absolutely empty! halfway through our meal came a table of 10, there were already cutlery and serviettes laid and water was provided. the staff seemed to be much more attentive to this group. I am incredibly disappointed as I was already in the harvard inn and eating and the service was impeccable. Not sure if there is a change of hands or if there is a lack of training. the young staff seemed to have no idea, and as already mentioned was more interest in chatting and their handys. I am grateful that the meal with the found hair was taken out of the bill. sad to say that I don't return."

Skylon

Skylon

Royal Festival Hall London, SE1 8XX, United Kingdom

Wine • British • Italian • European


"I used to really like Skylon it was somewhere you took someone for a special treat a real destination. But times have changed, there is so much more competition around I can’t help feeling that Skylon has faded a little. It still has potential; it still could be great, but on this occasion, it fell short of the mark. Maybe it was just the January blues, or maybe because most people were probably dining on the ES offer menu, but the staff seemed tired and lacking in energy, food service was very slow, and little touches were missing (for example, water wasn’t topped up, and even when we asked, it took over 10 minutes). Our starters were nice almost worth waiting for! and it felt like the mains could have been nice they were well cooked, and generous with ingredients, but all incredibly salty especially the risotto. Such a shame, because this really let it down I managed to eat around half (alongside some bread to offset the saltiness), but then gave up. I hate food waste, so asked if I could take away the rest (a small spoonful with some salad would have done us for lunch the next day). But apparently this is not possible at Skylon... this also shocked me... I’ve not encountered anywhere for a long time which wouldn’t accommodate a “doggy bag” (occasionally places have charged for a box, or occasionally the packaging has been a little makeshift, but people have always been happy to help). As a venue, it’s still nice has a great view, so with a bit of a shake up could be great again, but I won’t go back unless I hear that things have changed."