Harvester Sovereign Harbour Eastbourne in Eastbourne

Visit A) 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. Visit B) Returned for new years for festive menu specifically as per my booking and only when arrive told it isn’t available as they deliberately run down the stock. Ruined our plans as only booked for the special set menu. Sauces all low, so much missing food items, festive menu not sold. I’m so sick of this place, it’s rubbish every time

My daughters gammon needed to be cooked more very under cooked had to wait over 10 mins and ask for the meal I had the camembert and tomato tart I unfortunately found it a bit sickly my husband had a lovely meal dirty combo I think about 3burgers and ribs our son had the chicken burger meal he enjoyed that too

Had a great time. Food was tasty although portions small. Service was excellent by our server Kane

Price of food has increased alot and quality has gone down. Staff and venue are still very good but the food isnt sadly I had ribs and a burger. The burger i would rate a 5/10, was pretty generic, nothing to scream about. They forgot the cheese on the cheese burger. Wouldnt recomend tbh. the ribs i would give a 2/10, they genuinly tasted like the frozen ones that come in a bag from frozen isle in lidl, they didnt have much flavour and the bbq sauce wasnt a glaze, so it ended up tasting very bland and artificial / rubbery/ watery. When inspecting they were not cooked on a grill and seemed to have been boiled (no sear marks from being cooked on a grill or in a pan), my guess is they come in a plastic bag, boiled and then sauce added at the end. Very depressing as they used to be my favorite item and they seem to have been swapped for a cheap alternative. Overall the meals were the same price as what i would pay in london but for below average quality frankly. I am not sure who this venue is for now, it used to be a place my parents would bring us as childen as was affordable and tasted nice, i dont see how familys could afford to eat here anymore when meals are ranging between £18-£30 per person, not including drinks or sides.

Fantastic service, smelt clean and there was no rush. The staff were brilliant. One small thing, my plate was cold so my steak became cold quickly!! Had a good time though!

Great service, Thank you Freddie!!

Had a lovely family meal this evening and was assisted by Freddie who was super friendly and really helpful! Would like to thank him for his amazing service, we will definitely be returning!

Lovely evening with friends. Food and service was really good. Our server Freddie was fab! Thank you!

First things first. Tomatoes are cut too big for the salad. Ridiculously big. No one wants to bite into half a tomato in their salad bowl. Next. You served me Birds Eye southern fried chicken for £20 you cheeky Charlie. Absolutely horrendous. Third. Chips were nearly frozen. I’d rather them be double cooked then under cooked. Don’t know what people you’re hiring in the kitchen but they’re all completely off with their timings. 2/10

Christmas lunch not enough staff to longi a wait between courses, ordered drinks that never arrived would not use again

Freddie at the Eastbourne harbour was a great server. Made our evening enjoyable and was very attentive

Freddie was fabulous. Very friendly and attentive, 10 stars!!! 🌟

This is a great restaurant! Food and atmosphere was amazing, it’s been our tradition for a while to come here every Christmas Eve and I love it every year. Freddie was a great server, very friendly and helpful! 10/10

Excellent service by Freddy, very passionate and friendly. Overall, the food was good and quick.

Freddie's service was top notch, food was enjoyable.

Freddy was a great server and very polite and ran back and forth to give us napkins

After a long morning on Christmas shopping duties, we stopped by Harvester to grab some lunch before heading home. At first, we felt we were waiting for ages until someone decided to turn up to take our order. Then we were greeted, looked after, and served by Freddy, who was a super friendly and attentive chap. When places are busy like it was today, you don't expect much from the stuff as they're running around in panic mode. He, however, made us feel super welcome, and he was regularly checking on how we were getting on with the food of if we needed a drink top up, hence why it is worth a mention. So thanks, Freddy!

Had a great meal, with a very attentive server, Freddie. Busy and noisy on the Sunday before Xmas, but to be expected.

A lovely meal all round and our waiter Freddie was very attentive and looked after us really well.

Freddy was very attentive. Very friendly and helpful

Great food, great service, especially waiter Freddie. Thankyou!!

Are server Freddy was fast, hard working and amiable.

Unlimited salad for £6.99 is well worth it. Peroni costs £6.60. Struggled and gave up with the online order system but I'm sure it's usually good!

I guess you get what you get at a Harvester. We stopped by for brunch. Even though it was much quieter than on our previous visit, the food was poorly cooked. Our server did her best but a series of slip ups and “oh sorry you didn’t get that because we haven’t got it” (why not say up front?) left a sad taste in my mouth. They weren’t even prepared to replace the spilt (albeit by me) espresso. What would that have cost in goodwill given that they’d already let me down on the breakfast? 40p maybe to refill an espresso cup. No obligation of course, it was my mistake, but they missed a chance to distract me from the burnt sausages and missing guacamole. On the upside there’s a nice view of the Marina

Thank you Harvester for your message. I am sorry I was unable to leave 5 stars, but unfortunately it wasn't the best on this day. Scrambled eggs were cold, sausages were really hard to cut and eat. We had 2 different people serving us, one lady was friendly but the other not so much unfortunately. I managed a quarter of the breakfast, I wasn't asked how my meal was. I did mention it wasn't great, and was told sorry to hear that. Hopefully it was just a one off, I am prepared to come back and try again at some point.

Booked to Breakfast with Santa as treat for my Grandchildren. Get a phone call on a Saturday evening to cancel for the Sunday morning. No matter what reason , absolutely poor service. Attitude was we could not get someone else is OK. Letting down children who bring the smiles and happiness at this time off the year is OK. With all the advertising and promises this company shouts about. Absolutely disgraceful. Yet honestly believe, they do not care.

Clean great view of the harbour good food

I had dinner here recently and they have really up'd their game! The quality of the food was much better. My ribeye steak was was very good and my girlfriends ribs were very tender. The service was much better than before too. Good Job.

Every time I come there you guys are excellent and always on time with the food

Visited here recently as it is my local Harvester, the meal was ok but NO CORN ON THE COBS anymore!!!! So I get corn bread instead which is nowhere near as nice! What a disappointment plus the prices have risen. So no cobs no return!!

Lovely food. My server kane brought to my table the most tastiest rotisserie chicken I've ever had 5/5 will be back again for a bucket bargain 😀

Awful! Service - waitress asked on the way past if meal was ok, I shook my head no, and she continued walking! Roast potatoes were frozen variety and hard! They almost went of the plate when I tried to cut them. Meal overcooked and cold! Waited an hour almost for desserts. Only scored 2 because the free salad was good, and the desserts … when they finally arrived! Back to service - blue light discount refused, then was made to feel like a liar when I spoke to the manager about my experience! He went and spoke to the waitress who denied it! £70 for two people is not cheap! Suffice to say we’ll not be returning! AVOID!!

Popped in for breakfast, Emma was very attentive in serving us.

Welcome was great, easy to order. Our host Kane was great‼️‼️

Everything changed, the online menu is not the same as the paper menu

Good selection of restaurants and a nice walk around the harbour after, UPDATE AS OF 15/11/2024 menu changed since our last visit to harvester and the food was really good, we was given a couple of vouchers which we had some trouble scanning but the manager soon sorted that out for us. Staff were really helpful and even though it was busy there wasn't a long wait.

We had a lovely family breakfast Sunday morning. Our waitress& food were spot on . Thank you

Waitress didn't put our order through waited 1hour for food , manager took price of our meals off and apologised, we were then sitting waiting to pay the bill , we did ask to pay but still had to wait a while restaurant wasn't busy , food was delicious when it came but had to rush eat to go pick up kids .

Half term... mayhem with children. [Forgot that bit 😳] But staff were amazing. Even though it was extra busy, the quality and standards did not drop. Well done 👏

Had day out in Eastbourne .dropped into sovereign harbour for lunch. Stopped at harvester service good food good 🍺 OK but my wife and I were seated near the entrance door. People were constantly leaving the door open witch left us sitting in cold 🥶 draft .my wife had to put her coat back on I got up from my dinner at least three times to shut the door 🚪 😒. You need automatic closing doors

It's a Harvester. Much more expensive these days but, isn't everything. No complaints.

Good food, great prices and friendly staff. Best salads ever!

We had a great experience here, the food was good, and I always love the salad bar. Sam was amazing and attentive. She was very helpful, thank you so much for serving us. We will be back!

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.

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

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 !!

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.

Lovely food and friendly staff as always

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

Food was cold, late and items missing which meant there wasn’t enough food for us.

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

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.

Went with family for lunch what a lovely place

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.

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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