Harvester Talbot Epping in Epping Forest

With the traffic being busy we thought we might as well stop for some dinner, no reservation but didn't have a problem getting us seated. Kids ordered off the kids menu (main and desert) whilst I thought I would try one of the festive offerings (which only came as 2 or 3 course) and the wife ordered off main menu. As with all harvesters, you get a salad bar bowl - the salad bar area wasn't particularly big, and the rolls (which can be quite nice if fresh) were not great... when food came everyone was fairly happy - I got a bit of food envy from my wife's hot honey ribs, the festive chicken crunch burger thing was fine, but I have had a lot better Christmas style burgers! Kids demolished their food... which was good to see. Deserts time, and I wasn't expecting the big portions that came out. One of the kids had a build your own sundae. He was very happy - loads of toppings to throw on! I'm glad I asked for an extra spoon with mine as I went for the caramel profiterole sundae, and there were loads there, too! Service at the harvester was very good, from asking if they had any space right through to leaving the restaurant it was all very good. Daniella who served us made sure we was OK, and kept us up to date etc all the way through! A nice, unintended visit that was 100% kid friendly!

Went for lunch on a Sunday, seated upstairs and were well looked after by Andrew. Table of 12 and food all came out together, hot and in good time. Salad bar was well stocked (I don't recall any options being low or empty), plenty of various sauces and dressings. Staff all friendly and helpful. All-in-all a decent experience

We went to the Harvester tonight for a meal for a birthday. Firstly and most importantly the staff were incredibly friendly and facilitating in bringing our cake with candles lit to the table. Very refreshed for ALL staff in a restaurant to be so approachable and helpful! The food was amazing, juicy chicken, perfectly cooked steak to order. We very much enjoyed it. Thank you to Sofia our waitress, 100% 5 star service. We look forward to heading back again!

The young lady in charge was so nice. She called me straight back about our bringing a cake. Bartender was v friendly and our waiter Ashton was lovely too. Super staff. Steak was excellent.

Amazing service from Jennifer and Reece, lovely food and great atmosphere

Had dinner here for the first time and we got burgers which was not what we ordered. Only one person got what they ordered. The staff apologized and we had the burgers instead. They offered to fix it but we didnt want to wait longer. After apologies and an offer of free dessert as an apology, they put the ice cream on the bill. Just leaving this review so it doesn't hopefully happen to anyone else. The staff was overall friendly and polite. They seemed genuinely sorry for the mistake but I wish they'd be more careful with orders and the bill in the end if something is offered for free. Everything else was great. :)

Lovely food and Sofia our server was great!

Great service from Jennifer, thank you

Lovely server Andrew, came for a birthday meal and he went above and beyond. Good food and lovely atmosphere.

Salad bar fresh, although unimaginative. Cooked food good. Service friendly and efficient. Price very reasonable. My third visit, a few years apart, but still good all round and I would happily return again.

I went to this Harvester today with my Son and the staff were so friendly and attentive, a clear step up from some of the service we have received here over the last couple of years, the food was good and we were checked on several times. The staff were really kind and friendly to my little boy too, thankyou!

My family and I went to the harvester for my brother’s birthday and had a great experience. We were greeted with smiles and swiftly sat at our tables even through it was a busy night. Our food came out quickly and steaming hot. I can only give my biggest thanks to the kitchen team and km for delivering such amazing dishes. We will be coming back again soon. Thank you🤟 One Love

Had lovely meal food was hot and staff very attentive nothing was too much trouble Particularly enjoyed the salad cart was plentiful and place looked clean, table cleared quickly Will def be visiting again

We had lovely food today, so much to the point where I complemented the two chefs to our waiter

Amazing food and our waitress Jennifer was really awesome thank you.

Thank you Demi, Andrew and Ryan. Brilliant with my autistic twins, perfect food perfect service.

Had better service before than this time. Had to ask for menu's. Apparently they didn't have a drinks menu. We asked which worked out expensive for us, by having to choose a bottle of wine just by name, no prices of the bottles available. We also had to ask where our drinks were, and to order our food. The restaurant wasn't busy. But the food was good.

Went there again today service was rubbish and the bar lady needs to change her attitude

I think this Harvester just needs to disappear now. As a company they seem completely rudderless with a forever changing menu and prices creeping up and up. My family and I probably visit twice a year maybe three times and it just never improves. The App always tells you they are fully booked and you walk in and the place is empty. Turned up 25min early for booking this time and of course there was a half full restaurant. Had the unfortunate table next to the staff station on the dining floor and after previous complaints it hasn't improved. Manager swigging out of a 2L bottle of Fanta in front of customers, had to listen to the staff speak about their payslips and their breaks, then had to listen to an inappropriate exchange between himself and the waitress about her name badge and touching her. I'm sitting with a 7yr and 9yr old. And then get a review of the staffs plans for the weekend and their Christmas Party. Salad bar empty as per usual; no sauces, limited choice of half empty pots. Food was standard and ultimately flavourless. Then we are handed a social media review slip with the bill. No problem.

Thank you for such a wonderful experience! Our dinner party of four had unique needs, and Daniella went above and beyond to make us feel comfortable and accommodated. We truly appreciate the extra care and attention to detail, which made all the difference. Looking forward to our next visit!

Perfect new menu, very good value for money.

Was lovely! Staff were friendly service was efficient and food was delicious

Don’t recommend - food wasn’t great and service was slow. First time I got the chicken skewers and they came out way over cooked!! My red pepper was black and my chicken was rock hard…could not believe that they had served it so burnt! Second time all 5 portions of chips were undercooked and cold, we sent them back and new chips were brought out which were better.

Got served by Andrew today and what a brilliant member of staff. He was polite, friendly and very helpful. Such a credit to the company!

Salad part was empty steak were all fat

Having eaten here before and leaving a glowing review we decided to go again, This time we was seated in a few minutes at our booked time, we had to wait 20 25 minutes for our order to be taken, we ordered our food and waited for salad bowls drink came some 10 minutes later and we asked for our salad bowls to be told "you have to order food first" we explained we ordered food already and was still waiting for salad bowls, eventually salad bowls were brought to us and they were hot not warm hot! We immediately went to salad bar i asked for some 1000 island dress as it was empty waited over 10 minutes gave up and used mayonnaise instead returning to our table our main course was brought to us I told the server we've only just got our salad bowls he didn't even respond and walked off. The camembert tart with cherry tomatoes ( 1 tomato) looked like it had been microwaved uncooked soggy and only tasted of cheese the jacket potato was burnt on the outside the inside was brown and the rainbow slaw was missing. I orderd 4hr cooked pork belly with corn and black bean dressing and chips the pork was tough tasteless and no way cooked for an hour let alone 4 hours to make it tender.

food speaks for itself, amazing service was lacking and could easily waited for hours without paying

Hard burger very dry and not appealing

Friendly atmosphere, friendly staff, food was good a lovely afternoon

Popped in for a lunch with the family on a weekday a few weeks ago and had a great time. Food was great for the price, and the salad options always plentiful. Reece and his colleagues were friendly and attentive, and made our meal a pleasant experience.

Thanks Ashton for caring about your customers, I give you 5 stars for the service.

Good service and decent food, although prices got expensive now

The food was delicious and beautifully cooked and presented. Well done to all the staff.

The food is very tasty, the service was amazing, and the atmosphere is very friendly. Our waiter, Ashton, was fantastic, helpful and polite. Top lad

First time in .... my son lives now locally, I loved it . So many options, food really good .

Busy but very attentive staff. Called in for a break on way to Chelmsford and decided to have food. The salad bar was great, totally fresh, and despite being busy, the foid arrived pretty quickly.

Dinner was Terrible? The Talbot harvester is getting worse. Won't be going back again, half the food was missing on the dishes and you are still paying full price (no corn on the cob no onion rings no coleslaw no egg ) The harvester. Restaurant? Need to get the act together Call that a ultimate grill.We've half the plate missing food

Nice pleasant visit. Food and drinks were good, and our server Jasmine very efficient and attentive. Will definitely visit again.

4 of us went for dinner on a Sunday friendly helpful staff especially jasmine that took care of us the food was a vast improvement on the previous 2 visits from a year or so ago highly recommend it the steak I had was lovely

Our server (Alistair) was the politest most attentive server ever!! I think it was his last day but what an absolute star he was! Food was delicious too.

Terrible place avoid at all costs

We requested a quiet table and to our surprise this had been taken into consideration. We were met by Maddie (Madelaine) our waitress who was lovely, helpful and very friendly. The salad bar was fresh and very tasty. Our courses were brought to us in good times and Maddie constantly checked that we were ok and if we needed anything. The food was tasty, hot and well presented.

Clean restaurant good food staff are very welcoming and friendly

Had a lovely meal with my family. Reece was really friendly and went out of his way for us. Would recommend.

Busy, busy, as kids holidays but still got seated. The fish and chips was nice but had a lot better, not too greasey. My ham, egg & pineapple was nice but again, I've had better, the egg was a bit under-cooked and running on top, as you can see from the picture, I personally wouldn't have served it like that; as in I would have said something about it still being clear on top, nice salad bar, shame the bread rolls were cold, not quite cooked right, left mine, which I don't normally do. Staff was warm and welcoming, plenty of parking, not a bad little visit for average food, for an OK price.

Food was awful, staff not any better and shouting at staff from the kitchen was appalling

Thanks Andrew lovely experience

Took my 8 year old daughter out for a special lunch this week, she has a dairy allergy. As soon as I told Kerry, our server, she triple checked everything we had ordered. As it was quiet at the time we got talking and my daughter mentioned how she very rarely got to have ice cream when we were out for dinner because not many places catered for her allergy with kids desserts. The food was lovely, the service was fantastic! But the icing on the cake was how Kerry made my daughter smile bringing out her vegan ice cream, she was so excited and Kerry made her feel so special and remembered her earlier conversation with my daughter about not being able to have ice cream in restaurants often. Thank you for a wonderful lunch, my daughter is already asking to take her older brother there!

Went for dinner yesterday service was perfect Reece and Andrew were amazing. And the food was to die for brilliant all round

Birthday Family Meal. Looked after by Andrew, who was attentive, helpful, and engaging, especially with our 7 month old granddaughter. Food hot & plenty. Drinks ordered & arrived promptly. Good atmosphere. Sorry about the floor mess, Andrew. Would definitely return & recommend.

Ryan was a super star and was very attentive and funny, food was well priced with the offers on the app, will be coming back

Delicious, on the expensive side but that's because it's a high end restaurant, service there is absolutely remarkable, if you are a returning customer (like myself) you start to actually get to know the waiter/ress. Food is very nice, unlimited salad bar and I recommend the Pepsi refills, where you can use a machine at any time, as much as you like, and select what drink you want, such as tango, Pepsi, or r whites lemonade, with a variety of flavourings to go with. Overall if you are looking for a delightful dine out, go to harvester.

Fantastic Staff here, Alistair our server was attentive and nothing was to much trouble, all of the staff are great to be fair every time we have been this harvester the staff have gone above and beyond. 10/10 #RewardAlistair

Fantastic harvester, looks run down from the carpark, and in the middle of nowhere. BUT I stopped here on the way back from a long journey and needed food and a break, and boy was I happy with the choice. The service was amazing despite them being short staffed, and I expected generic tasteless food. But I was wrong. The chef on duty at the time clearly knew his stuff and took pride in his cooking. The wings were crispy on the outside, and moist on the inside absolute perfection. The 1/4 chicken was moist perfectly cooked and seasoned to perfection. The ribs were cooked beautifully. An absolutely unexpectedly fabulous food experience all round.

Wow this place has gone downhill. My first visit in a few years. Food very poor. Chicken was dry and tasteless, salad bar very little selection. Rolls were very stale. Friendly staff though. Won't go back as the food is well below par.

We were a party of five. Two of us were served our food together and then another 2 about 5 mins later but my friend didn't get his until well after we had all finished ours. This was a Sunday afternoon and the place was almost empty.

Popped in on the way back home from Dover to the Midlands and hadn't booked a table but we were easily fit in with a table and good food

Great food. Nice and friendly staff.

We are regular customers at The Talbot Harvester and we feel really valued by the staff there, particularly Ryan who is very often on front of house and serving. We enjoy the food, the service and the atmosphere very much, which is why we keep coming back! We both have a couple of dishes we tend to stick to, for me it's a steak, rotisserie chicken or chicken and waffles, for my other half he enjoys the Beyond (vegan) dirty burger, the scampi, and actually both of us has been known to enjoy the beer battered halloumi. The food is consistent as is the good service, if ever there's an issue the staff are quick to help. Keep up the great service Ryan and team!

Stopped coming here while ago due to poor experience and bad food. Out the blue decided to give it another try glad we did much improved. Very enjoyable customer service

Wouldn't come back again. Salad cart is pointless, empty and messy. Bread rolls still cold from the freezer. Gammon cooked on a dirty grill and tastes of burnt meat. Everything else below standard.

Had a lovely evening celebrating nephews birthday big table of 17 service from Ryan and young lady on the bar was exceptional

Great evening by celebrating my cousins 21st, my pasta was lush, thanks for the service Ryan

Excellent service tonight in the talbot big booking celebrating my grandsons birthday, accommodated us downstairs which made it suitable for my disabled wife, lovely fish and chips big portion topped of with apple pie and a pint of IPA thank you Ryan for your service well done

Dire, dismall, inedible. This experience has determined that I will never take my family to a harvester again as long as I live. The childrens meal was a joke that should have stayed suppressed in the tin that it came out of. Hallumi was like leather and the drinks poor quality. Staff were friendly however screwed up a basic order which left the food becoming worse, dry and embarrassing. They used to be cheap and cheerful now it is over priced and arrogant for what they serve.

** Update ...*** This matter was never resolved spoke to the restaurant several times.. awaited a call back or even an email.... nothing.. False promises and complete dissregard for customers. Not a good experience at all. Food was not up to standard. Most of it was cold and overcooked or soggy

Great service. The girl serving us was so nice, hospitable, and welcoming. Great food!!!

Nice food and pleasant place to visit. I had half a rotisserie chicken whuch was tasty. Will be back.

I haven't visited this Harvester for some time and was nice to come back. The salad bar was well stocked and the food we ordered was nice although my fish was a bit over cooked. I would recommend coming here however as I feel I was just unlucky on this occasion.

Alistair the waiter at Harvester (The Talbot) near Ongar was great, friendly and patient to me and my family celebrating my birthday

The seating area was dirty with food and rubbish on the floor. Plates piled up on the table and were never taken away The staff were friendly. Food portions were small and prices high

Andrew was welcoming, bubbly and attentive. Burgers are lovely and desserts so tasty and good portions.

Nice venue. My father received a singular dodgy piece of rubbery chicken in his burger, which was immediately rectified. The salad counter was refilled extremely slowly. Staff are very friendly but our waiter had a dose of forgetfulness.

Sunday lunch booked for 4, food and service were amazing. Clean inside with a nice old country feel.

Food was absolutely disgusting. The meat was full of fat and just inedible. Service was good but the food was very very poor. Desserts weren't too bad. Even the salad bar wasn't great.

Had a really warm welcome, Louise was especially very efficient.. pouring drinks, taking orders and delivering them to the tables as well as clearing them. Lovely place to eat and very clean. We Would highly recommend 😊...

We were greeted & served by Alistair today. He was so lovely and really helped my friend chose a gluten free meal. Our steak was a tad under cooked for us and he suggested sending it back, & we got it back with more chips! Well done Alistair, thank you for helping us today 👍🏻👍🏻

The air condition was truly great. The food and services are very good too

I took my friend for a birthday treat. We were served by Andrew. He was very nice and pleasant throughout our meal. We both enjoyed our meal and will be back again.

Awful experience. So me and my partner came here last night at 7pm to have dinner. When we arrived the place was dead so we thought ok fast service tonight. Our starters and drinks arrived promptly. But it all went down hill when our main meal arrived. Both me and my partner ordered medium rare steak. Well mine came out rare (which I don't mind but when I ask for medium rare I WANT medium rare) my partners came out well done and so chewy he could barely eat it. We also had to deal with about 8 to 10 flies buzzy around us and landing in our food and drinks. When I complained the young female assistant manager apologised to us and ended up not charging us for our steaks so we only ended up paying for drinks and starters. Hygiene here seems to be a huge problem though, sticky tables, food stuck to backs of menus, food left on the floor, flies buzzy around, dust and muck on the over head lights that could land in food and drink, salad bar half the food was rotten and mushy, and water damp damage were we sat. Unfortunately me and my partner WONT be coming back here. This place needs to be closed down for health and safety reasons.

Andrew our waiter was first class and very polite

Very good food and superb service from a very friendly waiter. Good value for money.

Lovely meal as always, polite and friendly staff. Wasn't particularly busy, yet seemed to be waiting longer than usual for service, and bill - so deducted one star. Still a pleasant meal out, though, celebrating.

Lovely evening meal with the family, food was great and the staff were fantastic, we will certainly be returning.

Lovely evening, everyone was very accommodating, perfect dinner

We was told they was busy and we could sit upstairs. One of us had mobility issues and had a stick with him. So I asked if they was anywhere else 🤔 the manager said we could sit in the bar area but would have to order our food at the bar. The service was not good at all our order got lost in order of service and people coming in got there meals before us. The mains came up before the starters and even though it was plain to see the table full of dirty plates ect they didn't take them. So I clear them from out table to the bar ! We complained to manager who said unfortunately the order got lost due to us ordering separately. I asked for a good will and got teas which the barman called me over to collect myself! Won't be back 😌

Reece the manager really could not enough for customers, very very polite, excellent service even when rushed off his feet and asked all customers about any food allergies. Food hit all the right spots as well

Terrible service, walked in to be told they were not accepting walk ins so went outside and booked a table for 5 mins later. Went back in and was met by the same waitress that had turned us away, told her we had booked online she glared at us, rolled her eyes and rudely told us to expect a long wait as they were short of staff. She gave us a menu and walked off. When it came to ordering was then told they had no chicken! Left without eating and won't be back.

Food really was not pleasant. Bare salad bar and the main course we both ordered (chicken skewers) was terrible. We were able to recieve a full refund for both. The manager was very lovely and apologised - which was appreciated. I unfortunately will not be returning and certainly wouldn't recommend.

Mitchell was lovely and helpful and helped us change our dish to a different one when we were made to believe it was not available Thank you Mitchell

We were served by a waitress who was unfriendly and progressively became very rude to us towards the end of the meal. She made us feel very uncomfortable, even though we were pleasant throughout. She became irritated when we weren’t ready to order drinks (she asked us as we sat down and got handed our menus so she didn’t even give us time to look at them). She then became irritated when we weren’t ready with an alternative drink when we were told a wine of our choice was sold out. She also then “ordered” us to give our drinks order first even though i was ready to order the kids meal - this lack of flexibility really caught us by surprise as she made it seem we were doing something wrong. She then snapped at us when we checked on our missing breakfast tea. The tea was delivered late well after everyone had finished their dessert. We initially checked with someone else who pleasantly apologised and told us it was on the way. When it still didn’t arrive, we checked with our waitress who snapped at us saying “you’ve already asked someone else didn’t you?!”. Well the reason why we’re checking again was because it still hadn’t arrived… When paying the bill my husband tapped his card on the reading machine. He then waited for the waitress to print the receipt but was told to “step back, you’re in my personal space”. He wasn’t, he was standing where he was after tapping his card… he had a word with the manager and encouraged him to check the cctv as he was nowhere near her personal space. This made him feel uncomfortable and angry at being accused of this. Overall a terrible experience. Food was lovely, service was terrible and in hindsight we should’ve asked for another waitress as the rest of the staff were lovely.

Had a lovely meal here as always, Aiden was great at looking after us and such a friendly guy.

Was nice and quiet which was a surprise as the weather was lovely

Very nice salad and food at reasonable price. Staff friendly

Lovely meal at lunchtime. Staff were absolutely lovely, professional and friendly.

Great choice in salad bar, very quick service for mains and attentive staff.

Only had a beer...service was good.

Food a let down, portion sizes are not what they used to be....no pasta in the salad cart anymore, and limited options on it. Harvester used to be a good value meal, but sadly no more. Went on a Saturday evening, the waitress was excellent though!!

Not enough staff.. incomplete starter, mains tough gammon cold chips hard onion rings ..table not cleared at anytime not a good experience at all

Excellent table service from Andrew, good food and great value