Harvester has apologised and said it will "take appropriate steps" to improve following a string of negative reviews about one of its Bristol restaurants. The chain has been popular with families for decades, but many recent diners at the Snuff Mills branch have left bad ratings online.
Although not everyone agrees and the majority of customer reviews have been positive so far this year, there has been some particularly harsh criticism in the past couple of months, with dozens of one and two-star reviews on TripAdvisor and Google. One customer, writing just a week ago, claimed the fish living in the restaurant's pond were "all gasping for air and some [were] even floating upside down".
She shared several photos on TripAdvisor appearing to show at least one orange fish looking lifeless at the surface of the water. In response to her complaint, the restaurant's account responded to apologise and confirmed "we are trying to get the issue with the pond rectified as soon as possible".
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The reviewer added: “So off putting when trying to eat, not to mention the absolutely filthy colour of the water. Spoke to several members of staff and not one of them was interested and blamed it on the public putting coins in there. Absolutely dreadful place.”
She also claimed she was "brought a glass empty and told to fill it ourselves" and the food "wasn't great". Most of the other negative reviews also comment on the quality of food.
The British restaurant chain was taken over by Mitchells & Butlers in 2010 and has more than 160 restaurants across the UK. In 2022 the chain announced plans to reduce its food-related CO2 emissions by increasing the range of meat-free options on the menu.
But according to some of the customers who have eaten at the Snuff Mills branch, the quality of the meat alone may encourage more people to order more sustainable plant-based options. One customer complained that the chicken appeared not to have been cooked fresh to order and claimed it arrived at the table "shrivelled up and dry".
Another claimed that the kids' steak was "inedible" while others spoke of fishcakes that were "stone cold" and gammon that was so salty that the kids complained their "mouths hurt". Some customers who were looking forward to ordering certain meat and fish options found that many options were not available on the menu, partially as a result of a broken fryer.
One customer acknowledged that they were expecting "cheap and cheerful" food but they felt the prices no longer reflect that. One customer who visited in March praised the "polite and courteous staff" but said they seemed "overworked and under-resourced", adding: "We will be avoiding this place forever and will not be going back to a Harvester any time soon….shame, as the food, ironically, was good."
However, the restaurant has had some really positive feedback too in the last month with one customer speaking about the friendliness of the staff who made her ‘mum’s birthday amazing’ and another commenting that the food was ‘delicious’. Others also say they love looking at the fish in the pond, with one saying it was a "beautiful centrepiece to look at whilst enjoying our food".
One customer who recently visited for lunch spoke highly of the food and the service: “Visited Harvester Snuff Mill in Frenchay Bristol with my elderly Mum in Law. We were served by Courtney who was brilliant. Our food was excellent. I had the triple combo with jacket potato. Mum had a BBQ chicken stack with chips.
“Salad bar appeared fully stocked. I enjoyed the salad. We both had pudding, mum enjoyed her treacle sponge with custard and I had Sundae best with yummy toffee sauce. Courtney took excellent care of us. We will return."
A spokesperson for Harvester said: “We always aim to offer our guests the best experience possible, and this is reflected in the many TripAdvisor reviews we’ve received over the years, but we apologise to guests who have recently shared poor reviews. We’re committed to operating to a high standard, reflected in our ‘GOOD’ rating awarded from our most recent Environment Health visit, however we want to reassure our guests that we take onboard all guest feedback and will take appropriate steps to address any areas for improvement.”
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