The Harwood Arms

An all-round fantastic experience! Went on a Sunday night for a quiet birthday celebration, and was the perfect choice.

It's a real hidden gem, tucked away in residential streets - has all the comfortable charms of a local pub, paired with top notch dining, wine list and service. Highlights were the cocktails before dinner and the rabbit platter for two - although it was all delicious! Lamb was very generous in portion size, and the donuts everyone raves about lived up to their promise.

Unhurried and attentive service.

My only regret from the evening was not trying the famous venison scotch egg... something to go back for!
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Very nice place. A superb service, without being heavy. The food quality is amazing.
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M
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, August 23, 2011

We visited on a sunny mid-week day for lunch. The place was busy but not packed which was surprising. The food was delicious, and very seasonal. We had both specials a crab and pea dish, and the rabbit and bacon faggots, followed by venison cooked three ways with potatoes and a lovely mushroom salad and the veal which was slow cooked. The food was very tasty and perfectly seasoned and we were really full by the end of our meal. Great place to come for delicious British food.

The place is fairly expensive with the usual overpriced wine bottles although you can get third bottles of some wine which is good. We settled on a couple of glasses each which were decent. They also had some home made cocktails which I didn't realise until the end of the meal otherwise I would have tried one.

Service was attentive. The place was relaxed and not pretentious in any way which I wasn't expecting but loved.

Will definitely be back for the autumn menu!
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Annie - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Friday, July 01, 2011

Went here following a friend's rave recommendation...

Loved the unassuming exterior of the place. I was getting a bit worried as nothing about the approach said michelin star. I thought maybe we'd got the wrong Harwood Arms. If Narnia had a pub, it would be this one, as when we entered we were struck by the fresh, homely and michelin-worthy interior.

Unfortunately, at 12.30 the pub was dead, and this did put us a little on edge. But the bar man was very relaxed and welcoming, not requesting we set up a tab, just letting us make our way to one of the tables to have a pre-lunch drink.

I have to say I was uncomfortably chilly throughout lunch, which was a shame. The service was impeccable though. Not stuffy, just bright young things who clearly enjoy working there and could testify to having tried the specials themselves and so knew what they were talking about for a change.

The starters were pretty as a picture - my scallops a very dainty dish but I was wowed by the presentation and attention to detail. The chicken salad also tasted divine - a delicate dish with a careful balance of flavours.

I think I made a poor choice for the main. I chose the roast beef. Don't get me wrong it was spectacular, but I afterwards cursed myself for not having been more adventurous and tried some of their famous game. As delicious as the roast beef was, a roast is still a roast and can only be elevated so far. The marinated mushrooms in the batter puddings were to die for btw, but the beef was not quite as meltingly tender as I would have expected.

Annoyingly we couldn't squeeze in dessert. I guess I'll just have to return for one of those and something a little more exciting than roast beef :) Can't wait.
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ksmy - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, February 23, 2011

We regularly go to the Pot Kiln for meals and drinks and love the place to bits, well we would have to otherwise we would stay home in Northumberland. On a trip to London, we decided to go to the Harwood Arms. We were not disappointed. The welcome was warm and the girls were very helpful. They found us a table and we had a nice drink whilst deciding what to order. The food was great and I will have no hesitation in going back the next time we are in London. Everything was very well cooked and the prices were better than everywhere else we had been in the capital, which is great considering how good the ingredients were.

Thanks to everyone at the Harwood Arms.
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Simon
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Saturday, October 23, 2010

I was very excited to visit the only Michelin starred pub in London, and I came away largely happy with the experience. The restaurant has a casual atmosphere, on a leafy street in Fulham. I love restaurants that serve up great food in unpretentious environments, so it was already right up my alley. There were several uncommon items on the menu that made the experience unique (e.g. brawn). The server was very knowledgeable about the menu and the cooking process for each dish. For mains the duck leg was delicious, and my dining partner enjoyed the sausage and venison dish. Overall, it was very good. I love the Anchor and Hope, and while I think the food experience at The Harwood Arms was quite comparable, I think what sets this place apart is the presentation of the food, the added touches on each dish, and the service. I would love to return for a Sunday roast!
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Bluenoser - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Sunday, September 19, 2010

Went there for lunch today (wanted to go for sunday roast but apparently you have to book few months ahead in order to eat there on a sunday).

The menu had a strange selection of food (e.g beef cheek, pig ear, deer, ox tail ...etc, not really my thing), so my choices were limited... (and u can forget abt it if u r a vegeterian)!

My brother in law ordered a poached salmon with brocolli for starters and the poached salmon looked like sashimi! I'm very sure it was not cooked at all - It might pass as a smoked salmon with brocolli dish but definitely not poached.

Main dishes were very good - we had lamb and grilled fish, the lamb was very tender, soft & tasty with a nice sauce but was a bit disappointed that they didn't have chips (they did have crispy potato which was good as well).

Was not impressed by the service though, had to wait for ages for our food (20mins for starters and another 40mins for main dish) and the waitress forgot to bring us bread, we had to ask them for it. She brought us some brown bread (which was very tasty too) and said white ones will be on their way - but they never came... apparently they r still making it!

Was hard to get the waitress' attention and was not impressed by the doggie bag they had (we couldn't finish the main dish cuz we kept eating bread whilst waiting for our main dish) - not only that they didn't have a container for the food (it was wrapped with aluminium foil) but on the paper bag it says: "The food in this doggie-bag is for the dog"

I was not impressed! Okay, may b u r trying to be funny but not when ur food came out so slow and by the time it came out we were already full from the bread and had to take the food away.

Last but not least - this pub does not serve cocktails (the only thing they had was bloody mary) but they do have plenty of wine & beer.

Not sure if i'd ever go back again - I'd rather stick to my locals!
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Sophdobe
6 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 5
Tuesday, June 29, 2010

We visited last night and were stunned by the incredibly small portions and the fussy and pretentious nature of the food, all overpriced. I have no idea why the Harwood Arms claims to offer good country food etc. Clearly no one has told people in Fulham that now in London you can have really good and reasonably priced real British food in such excellent pubs as The Anchor and Hope in Waterloo or the Canton Arms in Stockwell. The taste of the food is reasonably nice but certainly nothing special for anyone who regularly eats out in London.

To top it all off, when the waitress poured some wine into a glass and I asked her to stop, as I did not want any at that moment, she then whisked away the quarter full (untouched) glass, took it to the bar and threw it away. Is it usual to take away wine that people have just ordered and are going to pay for rather than assume that someone else will drink it? For some reason the waitress also whisked away my empty glass later on even though there was still wine in the bottle.

Needless to say, we won’t be back.
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4 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Sunday, June 13, 2010

after going quite a bit last winter before they got their star and loving it i was so upset with the experience today! their award has ruined them, only 3 options for main on the menu, the amazing beef they did all last winter is gone. the service was awful, they forgot our sides and our plates stayed dirty on the table for at least 30 mins with the staff gossiping at the counter. The manager who i havent seen before was less than apologetic when we complained.

i wont be going back
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6 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 4
Saturday, February 06, 2010

The food is great, always very carefully cooked and served. Sometimes it can be a bit twee - partridge starters with about 5 things on the plate, it's best when they keep it simple. I've had fantastic ox cheek, some really cracking venison and great bar snacks like kipper croquettes. They have been inspired by (or borrowed from) some very good restaurants but have managed to do it all well - scotch egg way better than the hind's head!

I like the use of wild food - both game and foraged greens and the menus are always a great read.

Staff are a mixed bag, some have been charming but some have been a bit too surly to be working in a restaurant!

Love the doughnuts!
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J - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, January 06, 2010