Harvester

Slow to be served — waited almost an hour for a table, then another 20 minutes to order food. After that another 20 minutes for the meals to arrive. There were 4 of us I appreciate it was 7.30 in the evening when we arrived but an apology/​explanation would have been appreciated. Having said that meal was very good once arrived.
It will make me question about coming back though. Shame as the meal was for my birthday

My first time at a Harvester reminded me a lot of dining at a chain restaurant in America — abundant, average food at low prices and not much atmosphere. But I have to say, my chicken and pepper stack (a grilled chicken breast with roasted peppers and salsa) honestly wasn’t bad, and the sweet potato fries were pretty good too. Add in the unlimited salad bar (stick to veggies, the pastas and rice options are pretty bland) and you’ll be quite full for not a lot of money. It’s all very basic food, but if you’re staying at the nearby hotel as we were and can’t be bothered to go into town as we couldn’t, you could do worse.

Adjacent to the Holiday Inn Express and thus assured of a constant stream of customers is this expansive Harvester restaurant. Spacious outdoor seating and a variety of seating inside, from tables for two to large tables to cope with family groups. The furnishings adorning the bare brick walls were tastefully modern. This restaurant is relentlessly busy, but we only had to wait 30 minutes for a table. Menu wise steaks, platters, burgers, pasta and fish dishes aplenty. All with a choice of sauce and sides, and free access to the salad bar. I went for my standard choice of a burger with bacon and fries, very tasty and perfectly cooked. My wife’s salmon was less successful though, a little overdone, with fried green beans, slightly redeemed with a tasty parsley sauce. Desserts were plentiful and varied, but we passed on this occasion. The serving on staff were friendly and efficient, and the drinks had unlimited refills. The reason I’ve dropped it down to a two is because of a flippant comment made by an unhelpful member of staff as we waited for our table to be ready.

We ate here twice as we were staying at the holiday Inn. I do not agree with the previous reviewers but then we are not local. The meals on the 2 evenings we ate here were of good standard, well cooked and good portion size. we enjoyed the help yourself salad with fresh bread rolls. The plate was hot as was the meal. On the 2^nd night we had our family with us, our son-​in-​law is a chef and he ordered the steak and had no complaints about the quality of the meat or how it was cooked.
The staff were very friendly and helpful when we changed chips for baked potatoes with our meal.
After our meal on the 1^st night we were given a voucher for a free ice-​cream with any meal bought. We thought it would be restricted to 2 ice-​creams but on the second night all 6 of us were able to have a free ice-​cream and it was a very well filled glass not what you would expect for a free ice-​cream. In fact some of the family had trouble finishing it.
We did eat early on both nights, around 6pm. The 2^nd night was saturday when you cannot prebook, it was busy being half term but I don’t think we waited more than 20mins for a table.
We would have no problem returning here again.

For some inexplicable reason, this pub always seems to be extremely busy. Either the hotels on this industrial estate are incredibly popular, or the residents in this particular part of Taunton really have nothing better to do of an evening.
As the other reviewer said, the drinks are very expensive and the queue for food can border on ridiculous. If you are staying at one of the nearby Holiday Inns, I’d nip in and book a table at some point in the afternoon you’ll be able to pick your time then at least.
The food is the average Harvester fare steaks and chicken with an all-​you-​can-​eat salad bar, which we were unfortunately informed is not part of a competition.
Check out the Harvester website before you go because they usually have some vouchers available to download and print.

The Harvester is directly off the motorway and is next to a hotel. The pub shares a large front car park with the hotel. On the menu, there is spit roast chicken with barbecue sauce and harvester burgers. These are their specialite dishes but I wouldn’t try any of their other dishes especially their steak which is really tough and chewy. The drinks are also really expensive. There are normally on Saturdays, really long queues and it is better to book for special ocassions such as easter and christmas as you can have to wait for up to two hours. There is a small area where you can sit outside with wooden benches and umbrellas.