Harvester Sovereign Harbour Eastbourne in Eastbourne

O really love their breakfast. I had the vegan option, and it’s really good. Within a week i visited two times because of taste and quality. Highly recommended

Staff were really helpful especially as I am gluten-free and had everything explained what I could have to eat It was half term and although very busy the service was prompt

On arrival we were told that they had run out of rotisserie chicken, which I was absolutely gutted about. I asked for the option of having a chicken breast instead of the quarter chicken on the main, which couldn't be done. I then requested for a side of ribs without BBQ glaze and the new hot honey, again it wasn't an option. At the end of our evening, after ordering the hot drink and small desert, we were told the hot machine was off. HOWEVER, with just the few negative points.. the service was absolutely amazing this evening and with every annoying request that I made, our waitress went ABOVE and BEYOND. She was apologetic with the requests that couldn't be done, but managed to fulfil every request even after saying it wasn't possible! Down to the hot drink, our waitress managed to source the hot drink! The manager on this evening - I believe his name was Chris, was brilliant after my moan. The guys who were also working this evening, kane? and 1 other guy, were brilliant too. What could have been a disappointing evening out, turned into a really good evening and we had a great laugh. So thank you!

After a very long wait for food last year, we decided to give the restaurant another chance today but unfortunately our experience was just as bad, waiting over an hour after ordering food. The quality of my bbq chicken stack was poor with very dry chicken, overcooked chicken strips and no rainbow coleslaw (as stated on the menu) The gravy on another chicken meal was bland and watery and broccoli cooked to a pulp. As part of the children's meals, we ordered lollies when paying at the bar but were told there weren't any by the time it came to having them. Sad to say I won't be giving the place another chance which is a shame as the location is great right on the harbour.

Booked yesterday last minute for an 8pm booking for myself and son. Arrived at 7:55pm and were quickly seated. Order taken promptly and advised to help ourselves to the 'unlimited' salad. Unlimited to me, means as much as you please, whilst food is being served. Whilst food is being served this should also be maintained, topped up and kept looking presentatable. Unlimited to this Harvester however means we will commence clearing it all away at 8:15pm, have many options unavailable or have bowls with the bare minimum inside on display. I initially thought the 'salad chef' was topping up so after I had a small bowl of salad to start, I returned to the salad bar to find it was empty. The chef saw this and as I returned to my seat the 'salad chef' was told to "go and ask the guy there if he would like more salad because whatever he might want, we will have plenty of in the fridge" did the 'salad chef' do this? Of course not, he continued to clean up. To me that's just rude. I wouldn't have expected the entire bar to be brought back out was after a small bowl of pasta at the most. Went to top up the 'unlimited' refill drink for my son for the first time to find that it had now been turned off. Server said that he didn't know who had done that and went to get the parts that were being cleaned so that we could use it. Went over 10 minutes later, for my own first refill to find that it had been turned off yet again and dismantled for cleaning. Gave up at this point! Remarked to the server regarding the salad bar and that I found it to be disappointing that it was cleared before we were finished he told me that they are not to clear it away until half past 8, and said he couldn't understand why it had been done so early. When I said that the 'salad chef' had specifically been told to come and check what salad I wanted and chose not to he just said he would feed it back. At this point if someone was to mention this to you, something in your head would click and make you ask if I would like something brought from the salad bar, not in this instance. Quickly took my money and disappeared off into the kitchen. Whether this was to feedback we will never know, he didn't return. Left feeling like I had been a little ripped off especially with an £8.60 charge for unlimited refills on a machine that is turned off and then broken down for cleaning whilst you are still open and serving. I don't feel like I will be returning so please do not add further insult by posting a generic apology like you have to so many other reviews on here. Generic responses do not address the issues brought up.

As quoted by my partner "Weatherspoons+ (disappointment)" - overpriced, understaffed and overall disappointing". Went in after a good shopping trip in the Crumbles for a nice dinner before heading home, both of us haven't been in for a few years, but both remembered the place as cheap and cheerful, with a good selection. The experience we had couldn't be further from the truth. First of all - no carvery on Sunday, which we both assumed would be a staple in a place like that. Nevermind, it happens, decided to go for a nice burger and a simple fish chips. The decor was very generic with no real soul or personality, and a lot of kids running around (which is expected on a Sunday before half term). We got seated in about 5 minutes in the bar area. Ordered on the app, noticed they have raised their prices quite a bit, but understandable in this economy. Waited for about 15 minutes for our drinks (a beer and a glass of wine), at which point I went to the bar to ask. Poor girl at the bar seemed rushed off her feet, on her own taking orders at the bar as well as on the app. Took another 5 minutes of standing at the bar to actually get to ask about where our drinks are, at which point I got told they're coming as soon as possible. Seeing that the bartender had way too much on her plate already I said no problem and sat back down. A few minutes after our drinks arrived. Grabbed cutlery, but no salt or pepper or sauces available, food arrived about 20 minutes later (waiting almost 50 mins at this point), but no salad bowls for the unlimited salad. At this point my partner went up (I said it was his turn) and tried to ask the manager at the front about bowls and condiments and got in his words "completely blanked". After which I went up and managed to get his attention (I must have looked annoyed enough), and said we didn't get our bowls and there were no condiments available. The manager then brought these over to our table within a few minutes. The food was probably the most disappointing part (especially after the wait). My haddock was bland and tasted like it has been taken from the back of the freezer and warmed up in the oven. My partner ordered the Barbarcoa burger, which he described as "a thin beef burger with a bit of bbq sauce on it" and a small portion of chips (for £17 without a drink). Chips were OK but nothing special. The salad bar was the worst - some cut up salad vegetables and two bland pastas with barely any sauce. Overall we both struggled to finish our meals, leaving a bit behind (and if you know me I'm the kind of person to not only finish my plate but lick it clean). Both me and my partner have worked in hospitality previously (he still does) and are quite understanding, especially on a busy Sunday, and I would like to say I cannot fault the staff as they were running around trying their best but there was clearly not enough of them (we saw one manager, one bar staff and maybe two servers at the most). Definitely won't be returning as we paid £50 for drinks that were late, slow and not good service and food we could barely finish.

Incredibly noisy and took over 2 hours from being seated to get our mains and pay. That's it. Ordered the BBQ Chicken Stack and it consisted of some pale chips, half a chicken breast, and some overcooked goujons. Definitely not worth what it was labelled up as on the menu.

I had a terrible experience at Harvester in Eastbourne. I arrived at 8:30, ordered a beer, and then used the app to place an order for a snack at my table. After finishing my drink, I went to the bar for a second drink and to check on my order, only to be told that the kitchen was closed and they couldn’t serve my food. Although they refunded me, I was frustrated that no one informed me earlier about the kitchen hours. When I tried discussing it with the manager, they didn’t listen, showing zero interest in addressing my concerns. Ted, the staff member I spoke to, was extremely unprofessional, which only added to my dissatisfaction. I’m very disappointed with the service and wouldn’t recommend this location to anyone.

Love coming to this Harvester. Always great food. Staff work hard and are accommodating

Lovely food and friendly staff as always

Food was over cooked, service not up to standard ,tables dirty children running around tables just a place for a quick meal and expensive ,ps ,the free salad was crap !!

The food was lovely . I liked the new menu. Especially the corn bread. Will definitely go back to try more new things

Arrived at 7.50 pm, the salad bar was almost empty, one waitress running round like an idiot, poor girl..... then we were informed that food was stopping at 8.30pm. Harvester site was advertised as open until 10pm!!!! Avoid!!! (We went two doors down to the Italian place, who were brilliant). Friendly, cheap, and served us a lovely meal. Harvester need to seriously get a grip. Rubbish.

Why does it say on your website the Eastbourne Sovereign Harbour Harvester is open till 11.00pm on Saturdays nights to eat-in when just after 9.00pm we were told you were now closed?

It was ok . Very busy which probably was the reason it was so dirty. Plates just left on tables

Great new food on the menu. Staff rushed off their feet because of absences . Very busy and short staffed.

Emma was absolutely lovely. Very attentive and made sure we had everything we needed.

The staff were very helpful, efficient & friendly. Food good, good value too

Service was poor. We ordered food and some items were missing. We notified the server, who rectified this after a short wait. During the meal we ordered additional drinks, which did not arrive, but were on the bill. We had to have the bill adjusted to take this into consideration. We were not impressed with the selection of sauces as the red devil was missing. The remainder of the food was excellent.

Good place to eat but it could do we refurbing as some of the seats etc our little warm

Had an amazing meal this evening in a lovely location! Was served by Sean on the bar he was amazing and very helpful

Dog friendly, away from the main restaurant. Staff were extremely friendly and very helpful. Food was also excellent.

So you know what you're getting with the Harvester and this review is based only on my experience. The food isn't 5 star but it is tasty and fairly priced. The service is hit and miss on the day but always fair, sometimes you may have to call someone over for the bill ect. The salad is a really good deal as it means you don't really need a starter and it's in the price. The location of this Harvester means you have great parking and nice scenery. I do think that maybe some music would lift the place but generally it's a nice place. It's also good if you just want a pint. Me and my Dad come here for a Christmas drink.

Stopped for a drink and nibbles, calamari was horrible wasn't cooked in the middle, garlic mushrooms disgusting as I bit into a big squirt of oil came out over my clothes wouldn't recommend

Order was missing several items

Went with family for lunch what a lovely place

Very good food, only gripe was items were missing, no peas with 2 x cod and chips, they should check before sending item out for delivery.

Just to start this off, the food was lovely and the staff were very happy and welcoming. Our waiter Kane was lovely and helped us with whatever we needed, however when asking another member of staff for something they never returned. We had no knives and forks. A table next to us had all of their salad bowls piled up while they were eating their mains leaving little to no room for them to eat. The same happened with others too. The atmosphere came across very chaotic. Staff bumping into each other, leaving empty dishes on peoples tables, no cutlery on multiple tables, things being dropped, loud crashes around the restaurant. Made you feel a little on edge. It is a shame because the food is good, but the atmosphere and service really brings this place down.

Sad salad selection, meat was very chewy and chips like cardboard. Pricey for what you get. Staff seemed fed up and not approachable. Won't be going back.

Kerry made my visit particularly special. I had a big fishing competition at the weekend and we hosted our awards at the bar last minute. Nothing was an issue for her and she made a nice area we could run our event. Always pleased to go in there and the staff are great. Please thank her specially.

Took the family out for celebration meal the other week and was made up with the place , last time we came was before covid so quite a while but our server Jeorgia was very attentive polits and took care of everything . Food was lovely and hot although I did miss the pit man not being on the menu . Over all thoroughly enjoyable will definitely come again .

Great food, great service. Loving all the options on the new menu! Our waitress Jeorgia did a fab job making sure we was looked after, will definitely return

Tried the new menu it was really nice and a really good variety Our waitress Sam was really friendly and recommended the new corn bread which was lovely

Enjoyed our visit and felt family friendly. The food was nice to eat and promptly delivered. The staff were friendly. The atmosphere was normal for these kinds of pubs.

Great food, tried the new beef taco’s and was delicious and good value for money. Other meals our table had were haddock and chips and calamari and chips all went down well. Kerry was a great front of house, and Kane was out waited and very attentive.

Waited 1hr 20 for food on a Saturday evening. Our whole table left as at this point they said our food hadn’t even been cooked yet!

Food was delicious, customer service was fantastic and the atmosphere was really good

my server lana and food runner amy were so attentive to all our needs

Great breakfast at great price - excellent service though short staffed - Sam is lovely and she served us really well

This restaurant lets the whole area down on the outside it really needs a tidy up, and repaint on some of the windows... also the walls outside have been repainted white by all the other restaurants except by Harvester which makes it look even worse..this place could look amazing but unfortunately it just looks rundown and tired from the outside.

Overall a fantastic experience. Very friendly team and couldn’t do more for me and my kids. Loved the fish and chips and the kids loved their pasta! Pass on my thanks to the kitchen team.

Good great and service great. The manager keri was amazing as we didn’t book

Noisy, dirty, poor quality for the price. Salad bar was a mess and understocked. Everything the cheapest kind of commercial food. Loos block and overflowing, restaurant needs a deep clean! Realise it was a peak time to go (7.30pm on a Saturday) but wouldn't recommend. Free parking was good though!

Takes time to get your food even though they were not busy. Not hot..seagulls enjoyed it more than us on uncleared plates

We called in for breakfast, really enjoyed it, great portions and prices. Excellent friendly service.

We were pleased it was quiet and not busy, the staff were very nice and polite. We had our salad from the cart and looked forward to our main meal. Unfortunately, it went downhill from there. My chips were actually cold and my scampi warm. My mushy peas were delivered about 5 mins later. My husband’s chips were luke warm and since he had ribs I told him to eat his before it all went cold. I sent mine back. I just couldn’t face cold oily chips. Eventually, after having to chase up, I got hot scampi and chips, but we obviously couldn’t eat together which was annoying. Not once were we offered a free drink while we waited on my meal. That small gesture would have gone a long way. We decided not to have dessert or coffee after that and, won’t be returning. My first thought was our regular Italian a few doors down. I wish I had just gone there instead. Won’t be returning to the Harvester. But, the waiting staff were lovely.

Wonderful service great good always a pleasure

Best meal I've eaten at The Harvester (been many times). Freddie our waiter was very attentive and got everything correct even though we had a few out of the ordinary requests. All five of us cleared our plates which I believe says it all.

For a restaurant chain that deals in a lot of chicken based meals to not have any chicken available at 5.30pm is really poor

Been in this harvester a number of times over the last few years, it now seems to be getting a bit tatty and untidy especially the outside seating/eating area.

Not very busy. Used Tuesday £8 chicken deal. Half roast chicken, corn, fries and chilli sauce plus Harvester famous salad for starters. Amazing deal.

Food diabolical garlic bread was toasted then spread with cold butter and served so wrong cold food won't go back

The first time I’ve been here and had lunch with family the food was really good and delicious the staff where really friendly and helpful the atmosphere was great very clean I would highly recommend this place for lunch or dinner

Lovely place we visited many time's over the last week, for food and drinks . Great service, friendly staff, and food was delicious. Totally recommended

Food was OK. Service slow and very dirty and busy.

The service was fine and the salad bar was good but unfortunately the chicken was under cooked.

Service was awful, food had clearly been from a microwave. I attended at 4pm and did not leave until 7pm. Short staffed, bad attitude staff and a manager that’s just as rude!!! Disappointing as I bought my daughter and 2 of her friends (all aged 4) for dinner and desert. When dinner didn’t arrive until 5:30pm and then 3 ice lollies took another 45mins! Service was just awful. Don’t go!!

Had a great breakfast with my daughter. She really enjoyed the food. I was pleased with the service we received and would definitely come again.

Lovely food and well cooked. Once again spoiled by uncontrolled children.

We loved it! Arrived early for our booking and sat straight down, all staff were so lovely and polite. Salad was great good choices, kids had the kids deal with desserts we had mains with a side and desserts because they looked so good we couldn’t not. Everything was perfect and reasonably priced we rolled out stuffed and happy!

Poor food,salad bar awful not much choice service was ok but not great,tables not cleared or cleaned poor all round

9 of us booked in for breakfast at 10am, no one else dining as we entered. We wrote our orders down for the server for ease, despite that- the orders came out wrong. People with the wrong eggs, beans with foreign body in it, missing toast, too many drinks. My beans and mushroom were freezing cold. Got the bill and they over charged us too! Had to get it amended twice. New staff that use to work at Treacle mine served us, clearly use to how it worked there where people pay just a set price and collect their own drinks. Don’t have the skills to manage proper ordering etc. Very poor attention to detail. No wonder the place is dead with situations like this. I won’t rush back.

Lovely breakfast outside. Staff friendly service fast

Lovely evening out last night served by Charlie very friendly and helpful telling us his recommendations on the menu. Would definitely recommend for the service

Freddie was great, very attentive and great service.

5 stars, Freddie is just the best. Give him a pay rise.

2 for 1 birthday treat voucher compliments harvester was reason for our visit to sovereign harbour ! A nice little change of pace from the Eastbourne Airshow! Neither of us overly hungry so it was scamp and fries all round! We both had our self serve salads which was actually very good for choice and flavour! Good choice of beverages at ok prices! The main meal came after 20 minutes which was perfect for us! 12 large pieces of Scampi/ fries and peas was served hot and tasty! Well done the kitchen! The wife went for afters which looked great unfortunately the spoon that was inserted into the pudding was coated in someone else's chocolate pudding and had Not been washed correctly! The staff immediately replaced the sweet with a much larger portion so no big drama! We will definitely go back here at next year's air show!!

Had a banging meal here last weekend. I had the chicken skewers. Wife went for the vegetarian main . Both enjoyed it very much . This place is immaculate, believe me they are all different good and bad but this harvester has to be one of the cleanest we've visited. Big shout out to our waiter Freddy who was a legend. Top lad Freddy excellent customer service. X

Freddie was very pleasant and helpful.

Our server, Freddie was very friendly and helpful, although he was extremely busy due to holiday season, so service was slow through no fault of his own. Adult meals were great, especially as we took advantage of the £8 Tuesday chicken offer. The bigger eats kids meals with chicken goujons was extremely meagre though - 2 chicken goujons and a handful of chips is really not enough for a 12 year old! The burger option was slightly better as it was more filling. Fortunately there was enough excess from our adult meals to share around!

Really good experience, food was quick and well presented. Our waiter freddie was lovely, kept checking on us to make sure we were okay and if we needed anything.

Very nice place by the marina. Waiter freddie was very friendly and helpful especially regarding gluten free foods and what was on the menu.

Best ribs i've ever had.Freddie was very helpful and excellent at recommending what dishes would be best.

Freddie offered fast and friendly service. Meals always hot and tasty.

Staff were pleasant and polite. Food was a massive let down. Portion sizes are drastically smaller. Mixed grill stated half a chicken, 8oz steak. What arrived was a quarter chicken and a tiny medallion of awful quality steak. Peas where like bullets. Only nice thing was the chips. Didn't stay for desert. The place has also gotten extremely dirty. Walls have dirty black scuff Mark's and food splatters all over the bottoms. Under the tables were bumpy and sticky from what I'm hoping was old food and not picked and wiped boggies, and the creases in the chairs had an abundance of crumbs and sticky lumps of god knows what. Would definitely not be coming back. If your foh is like that, I hate to think what your boh is like.

Great service from Freddie. Brilliant as always.

Georgia was excellent waitress for us this evening. Food was good too

Georgia did a very good job of looking after us. Very polite and friendly. Food was very good as well.

The starts & main came out the same time & the service was very slow & the food was not Hot !!!

Very clean restaurant in a fabulous location in the harbour. There is a car park a short walk away. Freddie was very friendly and helpful, we were visiting from Hertfordshire and will definitely come back next time we are in Eastbourne

Got served by Freddie excellent customer service, very nice to chat to kind and friendly

Freddie is very nice and helpful and fast

Busy, family friendly and lovely, welcoming staff. Our waiter, Freddie, was helpful and friendly and made our meal out a lovely experience.

Freddie was great, five star Freddie! Will be back

Great food and excellent service from Freddie, who helped throughout our visit to this restaurant!

Very helpful front of house chap (went that extra mile) but cleanliness outside not great, cigarette butts, food droppings and snail trail ,the whole patio area needs a good clean

Overall the staff are friendly and helpful, particularly Freddie who tried his best to keep us happy. The service was quick, but took ages to clear the tables. The floors were messy and very sticky, was literally sticking to the floor with every step table was also sticky and not laid we had to take cutlery from other tables. Salad bar not kept up to standards very off putting with food spilled over in containers and waited a long time for bread rolls. Not sure I would return in a hurry.

Massive outdoor seating very dog friendly sat along a marina with draw bridges and crystal green water and just the short walk away to the beach. Only issue was the service was slow and tables were not cleaned for hours on end.

We came during Airbourne, so no surprise to see the place was busy, but the service was fantastic, with Freddie doing a fantastic job of keeping on top of so many customers, and staying sane while doing it. Food cooked really well, well stocked salad cart, and kept really clean despite the packed restaurant. I've been to a fair few Harvesters over the years and this ranks among the best meals all round.

We had a waiter named Freddy who was serving us, he was very polite and always ensured we were looked after.

Freddie went above and beyond and my son wants to say he's the best and made his birthday very special. Thank you Freddie!!

Good food. Freddie was our server. He was fantastic!

Consistently polite and fast catering especially Freddy. Good food and good beer, with a good atmosphere.

Harvester Soveriegn Harbour has been great up until recently. Unfortunately, we have experienced, over the past two weeks, two very disappointing meals. 1st meal. Salad bowls came out with brown/yellow dirty crust marks on them - these were unmissable and quite frankly, huge bits of old food. It was downright disgusting, and clearly not checked. We then had our main meal, served with a "grunt" from the staff, and clearly no intention of taking away our dirty bowls, despite approaching the bar twice regarding this issue. Our main meals were dry, clearly overcooked, and appeared to have been placed in a area for some time prior to arriving at our table. We were asked to approach the bar to order dessert - which we did. It arrived, dessert was fine. However, we built a tower or plates, bowls, glasses, the list goes on. Considering this was a thank you meal for my parents, we left feeling like we had spent hard earned money on being treated sub- standard. The Harvester was fairly quiet, on a weekday evening. I dread to think what it would be like on a busy day. Just for reflection, we have previously been there on busy days, where we have had perfect service, and the food quality was great! 2nd meal. We decided this must be an isolated event. Nope. We arrived and ordered. Salad bowls had so much red/yellow/brown crust, we had to put them on another table - it made me feel sick. 4 ounce steak arrived - it was bearly a 1 ounce steak, and clearly overcooked - burnt to a sinder - i laughed at the size of it, honestly thinking it was a joke (?). The mixed grill steak again burnt to a sinder. I left nearly the whole meal - £27 quid. Shocking. The chilli con Carne looked like it had just been layered on the bowl - I would not order that, if it was me eating it. The bowl it arrived in had old food crust around the outside - which made me think what is under the actual food on the inside of the bowl! At this point, we left. This was a birthday meal - we don't have alot of money, and this time felt like we just chucked £70 down the toilet, a complete waste. Cannot believe how downhill this place has got in the space of a few weeks. We won't be going back. For such a great location, these events have not done any favours for you. Do not normally put reviews online, however, this was not an isolated event, it's happened twice in the matter of days, and our concerns have been clearly ignored when directly communicating with staff.

they really go above and beyond for allergies (more to cover their own backsides - i had to sign a waiver before we could complete our order due to being allergic to food items). also the salad bar is a great touch as there was real delays, just dont order a garlic bread it isnt what you think it was literally bread with raw diced garlic placed on top. no parking.

Due to previous recessions, my expectations of the food weren't too high... But we were pleasantly surprised. The grilled cockerel was very good, and the salad buffet has something for everyone.

I booked my table today and received the confirmation. On my arrival I could see that restaurant is closed till 11.30am because of maintenance issue. No information on the website. I was very disappointed. I shouldn't be able to book my table if restaurant is closed.

Nice place been hear before lovely location overlooking the Harbor. Because we ate outside, you have to order & Pay for your own food at the bar the only problem is the que got a big big it needed a few more bar staff when it gets busy. Would recomend hear it's really nice

We dined in 26/6/24 arrived approx 5pm waited 10 minutes to be acknowledged only to be told to queue at the bar to order. Waited another 15 minutes to order as only one member of staff serving. After ordering told to help ourselves to cutlery & napkins etc but boxes empty we had to ask 2 times before they were filled up. The ingredients of the mixed grill when it arrived were different to the menu & the steak was pink even though we asked for well done. The salad bar was half empty & some of the lettuce was brown. I think it was a case of not enough staff as tables outside not cleared soon enough & seagulls all over them. We visit Harvester at Bybrook Barn, Ashford, Kent & never had any problems there always great food, staff & service.

Everyone was really friendly and helpful. Food was good, and salad bar pretty well topped up. When I needed things , staff were more than happy to assist. I had a disabled friend with me , who had an awkward moment, but staff came to the rescue, and even though I said I would deal with things Kerry insisted I looked after my friend whilst she dealt with it, and was so kind and caring and reassuring to her. The staff are all a credit to this restaurant.