Harlequin Bistro in Craven

Excellent first impression. Great staff.

Booked a table for 10 people for a 50th birthday celebration several weeks in advance of the occasion. On the day we called to try and adjust the time by 30 mins. After many calls, visits to social media and eventually finding a messenger option, we got a message a couple of hours before our booking saying restaurant was closed due to illness. Very disappointing not to be contacted in advance to let us know.

100% enjoyable. Everything freshly cooked and well presented. Vegetarian option was excellent. Pleasant surroundings. Staff very friendly and attentive. Well worth a return visit.

What a fabulous hidden gem in the heart of the village! The bistro has a fabulous range of gins and a regularly changing menu. Service was top notch and they book tables with enough time in between so it doesn't feel crowded or rushed. Had a couple of delicious courses and only wish I'd had room for a pudding! Would definitely come back.

Excellent service, very warm and friendly atmosphere, lovely food well worthy of five star's 👏👏👏

Home made fish pie - best i have had a for a while. Quiet place but the lady who served us was very friendly - as new visitors to Cowling a great find and will go back again

Fabulous food, great meal enjoyed by us all. Great choice of dishes all wonderfully cooked and reasonably priced, fantastic place to enjoy a family meal

Great resteraunt food was delicious, Service was great would definitely recommend, 5 stars we will visit again soon one to remember 😀

Lovely food, good prices and welcoming host. Definitely will be back.

Excellent quality. Good prices and pleasant welcoming staff. Thank you for an enjoyable visit. We will be returning.

This is food of the highest order. All freshly prepared and served wonderfully by Dominique. An absolute gem. We've driven past so many times and always said we'd like to try. Why did we wait so long. We'll be back many times from now. To top it off it was excellent value. Please support these small restaurants they certainly deserve it.

Just ordered the Sunday dinner , it was absolutely delicious, such a kind welcome aswell

Absolutely amazing food great price very good bar selection. Family fun business . Very welcoming

5 of us ate at the restaurant, my wife, myself my mother and father and my daughter. The food was absolutely out of this world. I personally recommend the lamb, however my wife recommends the pork, and my father reccomends the steak. All were absolutely sublime. I've never eaten food this good before, and I will certainly be recommending this restaurant. The staff are so nice you feel like you need to ask them to eat with you. If your reading this, do your self a favour this weekend, leave the takeaway menus in the drawer where they belong. Don't bother looking at just eat because we all know you'll order the same muck you ordered last week, and then complain about how bad it was. Treat your self, Get your glad rags on and book at table here. You will not be disappointed. THIS IS WHAT FOOD IS SUPPOSED TO TASTE LIKE!!!

Fantastic birthday meal with family. Guinness pie was great!

Excellent restaurant in a small village great food and friendly hosts

We went for a meal on Saturday night and the venue and service was excellent, plus very covid safe. However, it was the food that we were really impressed by. We have been so disappointed with the food at many local establishments since they have re-opened since lockdown, that we were delighted that Harlequins was top quality. Prices were great too.

We came here twice during a long weekend in Cowling in July 2021. The food was gorgeous and the service was perfect - so friendly and accommodating without being too in your face. We really felt welcomed and comfortable. Had a lovely evening meal on our first night then came back for a beautiful roast dinner with a few extra family members on the Sunday - both occasions were faultless. Would definitely recommend Harlequin to anyone and we will be back next time we are in in the area! Social distancing was observed throughout and we felt very covid-safe. Thank you for helping to make our stay in Cowling feel special.

Th food was just gorgeous, staff so friendly and efficient, nothing was too much trouble. If you haven’t been, especially if you are a local, please try it and support this wonderful restaurant, you won’t be disappointed.

The food here is exquisite, all food is fresh and home cooked and absolutely delicious. Great portions and you get a complete meal, no silly paying extra for veg etc. We weren’t rushed and it was relaxing and service with a smile, all very reasonably priced. We shall definitely be returning, a lovely evening.

Amazing food as always. Great speedy service. Value for money. Also feel very safe as all COVID secure regulations in place. X

Had a great family visit for an 18th Birthday party in our household. The COVID-19 regulations were executed brilliantly, among other precautions taken, tables were very spaced out to facilitate effective social distancing at all times and hand sanitisers were installed at all the entrances. However, there was still a great ambience which was lovely. The single-use menu was full of choice, I went for the classic Salmon as a main and a delicious starter of melted camembert on a garlic croute and field mushroom. Everything was truly delightful. We all loved our meals, some members even chose a dessert from the menu - classic ice cream and Irish coffees were the perfect end to a fabulous evening. Thank you to Harlequin!

A warm and friendly welcome awaited us at harlequin as we celebrated my birthday. The food was marvellous (every course). It was freshly cooked and plentiful. Cleanliness was second to none. There were hand sanitisers plus additional 'cleansing stations'.

Amazing food and drink. Looking forward to the reopening.

Hidden gem! The food was brilliant!!

Had the homemade steak & ale pie. It was amazing! Now I’m fussy and I wasn’t disappointed. Came with good hand cut chips and vegetables that were cooked to perfection. Lovely generous portions topped with tasty gravy! So rare to find a good meal that is better than what you can do at home! Would return in a flash. Definitely pop in if you are in the area. Wonderful find

I’ve been here several times with my mum and dad and the food and service is always incredible! Great vegetarian choices and they are always accommodating if there’s something else you fancy. The staff are the friendliest, ready to chat and extremely polite. The atmosphere is very peaceful, tables are spaced out so even when full, you never feel claustrophobic. As a person with anxiety I always feel very welcome and calm.

The restaurant was recommended to us while staying locally. We took advantage of the early bird offer of 3 courses for £15. Each course was generous and tasty home cooked food. The restaurant is spotlessly clean and warm (welcomed after a late Oct day on the Pennine Way) We were served by a friendly member of staff. Nice relaxing atmosphere. I would recommend and return if again in the area.

Whist staying nearby campsite walking Pennine Way we were recommended Harlequin for our evening meal. The food was very reasonably priced nice size portions as well as food I like and not too fancy. Lady serving was lovely and friendly. Restaurant/ Bistro was very clean and tidy (5 health and hygiene cert)

Excellent food and service outstanding.

The food is always amazing. It used to be just me and the wife. Now it’s with our young son, couldn’t be more friendly. Never had a bad meal, so lucky it’s our local restaurant, and that’s what it is, restaurant quality food and drink at pub prices. If you haven’t been, give it a try. 5 ***** Keep up the good work guys Ps the tandoori basket starter is a firm favourite

A small and friendly restaurant with a great ambience, excellent food, fantastic service .A very special experience for my first visit to the area .If you like delicious, mouthwatering food , I suggest you stop .A very romantic atmosphere which I also attribute to the person I was with .Angie Lewis, Leeds

Great food at very reasonable prices. Good wine. Good service.

Always great food and a warm welcome!

Can not thank the owners and staff enough, they made this special day even more amazing , definately would recommend,whatever you are celebrating, food was fantastic, atmosphere was brilliant , and everyone enjoyed themselves .xxx

Firstly the food. Starters passable but then oh dear the roast beef!! It was like an old woman's corset that you could pull and expand! Totally inedible and the worst beef I've ever had! If the restaurant owners looked at the return of food they must have seen this was terrible!!I suggest anyone reading this does themselves a favour and visits the Hare & Hounds, Lothersdale just ten minutes away- absolutely superb!We were at the Harlequin for an after church choir get together and it was dire. Terrible food staff overwhelmed by the numbers and rotten food. It's our second attempt here and the very last!We like good food but not this place so avoid it like the plague!!Also no atmosphere whatsoever it's so bland and lackng!!

My wife, my mum and I visited on Saturday night. Apart from a singleton in the corner, the restaurant was totally deserted. At the bar we ordered a Campari and lemonade (no more Campari left, so we had the last few drops in the bottle with some lemonade for free), a gin n tonic and a Bloody Mary. Had to ask for the lime in the GnT and initially no Worcester sauce on the bar, but we got there in the end. The ladies didn’t have starters but I had tasty tandoori chicken pieces in a poppadum. Good. For mains, we ordered the fish pie, beef medallions and the chicken supreme. The medallions were rump, not fillet steak, and were consequently not so tender and required good teeth to chew them; the fish pie was okay, but nothing special while the chicken supreme was cooked moist and had a delicious sauce. We enjoyed a bottle of Viogier with dinner but we decided against having desserts and left the now-empty restaurant. Of course, Harlequin is not fine dining but neither is it a bistro nor pub grub or cheap eats. Somehow Harlequin has lost its way and can’t decide what it wants to be. In the old days, it was packed every night and was very well regarded. Now the owners need to decide what they want to be and change quickly. Unless they do, I fear Harlequin may shortly go bust. That would be a shame.

Very friendly welcome on my own felt like I was visiting friends food 10/10 am a chef an I can't fault the food nice an warm the first time I've done trip advisor it was worth the write up

Excellent in every way, went in as strangers and departed as friends, food amazing. Thanks Chef, attention in bar area 5 star, cannot fault in any way

everytime I have been the food has been amazing , never had any issues with the food or service, the staff are friendly and can't do enough for you, we have had a few family meal there when family have visited and they have went out of their way to make sure we had a great time, I would definitely recommend, a lovely place to eat

We had my husband's birthday dinner there last night and were amazed at the quality and presentation of each course, considering the reasonable prices.

A very warm welcome for a group of hikers wandering in late on a Sunday after finishing another segment of the Pennine Way. The roast was fantastic, our starters even better! (tandoori chicken I think? So goooood) Hardly had room for dessert, but theSticky Toffee Pudding really did top things off nicely. The drinks selection wasn't large, but what they had was great. But truly the biggest stand out from the evening was the friendly hosts!

Lovely place and really freindly staff. I had a starter and main course,a sparkling water and at the end a peppermint tea. All the dishes we had were lovingly presented and the service was prompt. The food was piping hot and mouth watering delicious. The bistro itself is spotlessly clean and very pleasing to the eye. The tables were well laid out and spaced with ample room to walk about. The chairs are very comfortable too. All in all a top place to eat and relax. Top marks to the staff and the chef. Thankyou. 👍

Four of us had a really excellent meal here tonight, fabulous fillet steaks and halibut mains. Very friendly and helpful service. The quality of food greatly exceeds initial impressions of the setting.

Always welcoming, take the time to get to know their customers, beautiful fresh food, amazing selection of gin!

First time visit for us but we were definitely not disappointed! The food and service was top class and they went out of their way to ensure all our needs were met. This even included leaving out garlic when I said I had a dental appointment the following morning! We will certainly be back!

Had a really welcoming meal after a days walking. Deliscious steak and lamb rack. Cannot praise the cuisibe enough.

The food was absolutely lovely. The atmosphere has a really friendly homely feel. Highly recommend you all to visit!!

Vegetarian meal that did not disappoint and succulent tender braised steak in red wine with perfectly cooked vegetables. There was one vegetarian option which if at another restaurant would normally very disappointing for me but the vegetarian option at the Harlequin has always been exceptional as was this beetroot and quinoa burger with goats cheese, and yah not a bun insight. Instead served on garlic potatoes with Mediterranean vegetables. Great !

Group of 10 ate there today (4pm / 6pm ) & all agreed it was hard to fault with a varied menu , great 2/3 course options & super friendly staff .

Once again food and service was excellent the pigeon starter was amazing.

Well run restaurant great food and staff

Fantastic food, fantastic service as always

Excellent food , wonderful service ,definately visit again soon .

Absolutely amazing place. Friendly staff, exceptional food and hospitality to die for. We will be back 😁

Came here last night there courses food excellent descent beer pleasant surroundings lovely owners good service very reasonable prices would recommend this place anytime

Excellent, 8 adults and 1 child for a birthday meal , everyone really enjoyed all the meals , from the owners to the waitress it was all great , big thanks from all of us and we will definitely be back.

Thought the food here was excellent -probably one of the best steaks I've had. The food has that 'home cooked' feel to it. Good service and very reasonably priced. Another reviewer mentioned getting some art on the plain walls. Great idea. Highly recommended.

Top quality food. Excellent range of drinks and lovely owners.

Great food and excellent service

We visited here for a family meal. It is our local restaurant and we hadn’t been for a while. The food was lovely and the service from the owners Dom & Dean was as friendly as always. We had the bargain early bird menu, 2 courses for £10.95. I had the lasagne which was amazing followed by a very tasty lotus biscuit cheesecake. My husband had the fish pie and the same cheesecake which he was very happy with. The kids had their usual sausages & chips followed by hot chocolate fudge cake which they loved. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone. The food is great and the service is very friendly. I was very impressed with the new gin selection (photo attached), I think I’ll be working my way through it in time, it will be a good excuse to go again.

Just had dinner, staff are very friendly, atmosphere is nice but the food is phenomenal! I would happily travel for a meal this good. Anyone within 20 miles should make the effort. Recommending the rump medallions with peppercorn and brandy sauce, though the lamb rump with ratatouille was also incredible.

Visited yesterday evening early doors. Lovely friendly welcome and a steak to die for. Very reasonably priced. Will be coming back.

I had the sea bass and it was one of the best dishes I have had. It was our first visit and I did not realise you could just go for a drink as well. We shall be back!

5 of us for the meal and all of us thought the food was excellent. Spacious dining area and the prices were reasonable. The fillet steak at £17 with salad and fries is very good value. Service by Ella & Ellie was excellent. Thank you

Very welcoming host, Dean. Nicely decorated, light and spacious dining room with good quality tablecloths and napkins. Drinks served in drink appropriate sparkling glasses allof which add to the dining experience and sets this restaurant apart from local "gastro" pubs. Varied menu, good selection of specials, would say ideal number of choices not too many to overwhelm and just enough to feel that you have been given enough options.Three of us very pleased with our meals; roast beef, chicken in white wine sauce and goats cheese in filo pastry with Mediterranean vegetables. All vegetables fresh and cooked perfectly. Lemon tart and cinnamon waffle puddings did not disappoint either. The bill at the end was very reasonable considering all of the above. Special mention for our server Ella, personable, smart and efficient.

We were intending to go further afield but the bus didn't turn up so we called in the Harlequin again. We have been here before and this time it was even better. The food was hot and delicious, my husband had the chicken supreme and I had the fish pie off the early bird menu. Good food at very reasonable prices. Definitely worth a visit.

Not been for several years but very surprised at the standard of the food and ability to please .we called in early lunch on our way home and just wanted something light, very good menu and also special offers but might wife asked if they could prepare a Greek salad with prawns and after checking said it would be no problem and I ordered a risotto with a side salad.

Food was lovely. The services was great.

Lovely staff and food was excellent. Will go back again.

Had a lovely freshly prepared meal for 4 of us - the men enjoying a Huge home made steak & kidney pudding, reported to be very tasty & hot.

Always excellent. Food top class and the owners, Dominique and Dean, are lovely. Highly recommended.

Friendly people. Great food. Child friendly! Loved it!

We live locally and decided to give Harlequin a try, having not been for several years. I agree with most other reviewers on here in the fact that the food was excellent but the atmosphere could be better. We both had the ribeye from the specials board, which was a real treat and cooked exactly as we wanted it. There were a few other diners in by the time we left, and we were there quite early so perhaps it picked up later on. I think the restaurant suffers a bit from not having a car park - but it is definitely worth a try if you are in the area - you can usually get parked in surrounding streets.

There was 8 of us that decided to go for a meal here. All of us didn’t have a bad word to say.

The place was empty apart from my son and I. Nice decor, nice staff and the lamb was the best in the area. A very relaxing good time.

Really enjoyed meal, tasty, well prepared hd presented. Waitress could have been a bit more cheerful!

We went for a family meal for my Dad's Birthday Saturday lunchtime. The food was fabulous especially the fish pie. We had great friendly service. The two course menu was a great value choice at £10.95 per person. Will definitely go back.

Excellent meal, nice wine and superb hosts

We called in for an evening meal and found the early bird menu; the food was all fantastic, it would have been worth it at full price, but it was remarkable at £35 for two courses, glass of wine each and coffee. It was quiet on a midweek winter evening, but we were made really welcome. Highly recommended.

Nice food but shocking front of house

A group of us walking the Pennine Way stopped here on a Friday evening. The staff were friendly and welcoming and the food was very good. Varied choice and well presented, and most importantly, very tasty!! I would definitely recommend giving this place a try.

We visited on a Wednesday night lured by the offer of 2 steaks and a bottle of wine for £30, we were not disappointed! Meat perfectly cooked and served with succulent accompaniments. The rest of the menu also looked tasty and good value. Afterwards we enjoyed a drink or two at the bar and a chat with the owners, a really enjoyable evening.

Called for an evening meal and had the early bird menu which is great value. There is a good choice and the food we had was served quickly, hot and delicious. The staff were very friendly and although the restaurant was quiet they made us extremely welcome.We will definitely be returning.

Amazing food, great beers on tap, great value for money amazing place.

4 of us called in for a meal last week, everyone chose a seasonal meal, all were excellent, no complaints about anything, The hosts are charming as well, I look forward to many more visits.

We really like this place for the food is great always a good wine selection and we are always with great friends that makes the evening and we always get a warm welcome, the only thing that lets Harlequin down is the decor....sorry but it is just so beige.....it's a real shame so not a lot of atmosphere, will not stop us going as the food is so good but with so much wall space is it maybe possible to have local artists show their work for sale on your walls just brighten it up......as I say great food, lovely people that own it.....x

What a great place to stumble into. The wine was fab and the owner knew we had been walking and said she would give us pints of water too without us having to ask. The food was excellent. We did not need lots, and we ordered two starters each which was all we wanted. A great eatery.

oh wow again, sorry for lateness, but we went here a couple of weeks ago and took my brother in law and my sister, we were not disappointed , excellent food yet again x

I can only endorse what the previous Pennine Way walkers have said below. Full marks all round for welcome, friendliness and excellent food. After a weary day, it was just what body and soul needed. Many thanks. Oh - and great music :-)

Whilst walking the Pennine Way in July we stopped overnight in Cowling. Our B&B; host recommended the Harlequin so we went and checked out the menu, chatted to the proprietor and felt very welcome. The specials menu had pigeon breast which my wife fancied but was unsure so the proprietor offered to do a small one as a starter.

We have passed this bistro so many times on the way to other places so thought we'd give it a go. So glad we did. Really lovely to sit at beautifully laid out tables with table cloths and serviettes. I had The £13.95 for three courses. Absolutely amazing value. Delicious homemade chicken liver pate, rump steak and cheese and biscuits. My husband had tandoori chicken basket and pigeon breasts from a specials board. The whole meal was excellent with top quality ingredients. Brilliant unobtrusive service too. When we left we realised it was way over their closing time for lunch but it had been so relaxing we hadn't realised and there had been no pressure to finish. A real find. We will be returning as soon as possible!!

Visited as a group of 3 on a Saturday night - what a treat! I had the baked mushroom for a main followed by the beef with orzo pasta which I would have again any day!The beef was so tender and flavoursome, served alongside mediterranean veg. For dessert the meringue with fresh fruit was the perfect end to the meal. Hope to return soon!

Beautiful food as usual. Nothing too much trouble and made to feel very welcome.

When we walked in the pub looked like a normal pub and we didn't know what to expect foodwise, but the staff and really friendly and helpful, and the meals are delicious. I had the salmon, beautifully cooked and my husband had fish pie. Our friends had something different and they said it was also very good. I would recommend this especially if you are on the Pennine Way. We'd definitely go back if we were in the area.

We (my son and I) ate here at the end of a very long day's walking on our way up the Pennine Way. Whilst the restaurant doesn't necessarily look that inviting from the outside, it's well worth venturing inside. The food was excellent - the best main course we had on our trip. The cooking is clearly done by a proper chef and all the staff were really friendly. Highly recommended.

Food was very good big portions and good value. Very warm welcome and staff really friendly will definitely go back

We came hear as a group of eight walking the Penine Way and had great food - well cooked, hot and fresh and a good variety on the menu. Staff were friendly and helpful on a busy Friday night and I'd recommend this place to any hungry hiker for an evening meal.

After a long, cold, wet walk across the moors, we were very happy to receive such a warm welcome, hot soup and perfect hot chocolate at The Harlequin Bistro yesterday. The owners were really kind and friendly to two weary walkers and we left feeling much better for our visit. Definitely a place to call in at if you are on the Pennine Way and not very far off the route either.

My mum is a fan of The Harlequin but I had not been back since the new owners took over. Read the reviews and decided to give it a try. Very glad we went, lovely tasty vegetarian risotto, pan fried chicken with seasonal vegetables both perfectly cooked. Puddings mostly home cooked, can recommend the sticky toffee pudding. Friendly welcome and very reasonably priced. Will certainly be returning