Squinting Cat in Harrogate

great food , lots of options staff are lovely and the softplay is helpful

What a cracking greeting we got from Chris n team members, Outstanding service fast service very clean .and food was value for money.Cant thank the staff enough, Outstanding every time.alot of the reviews are old I went today 12.10.24.faultless again.Sam is a great dream team member. Get in for a great family experience we took our Akita today.

This place is now fantastic,new people fast service very clean Sam and Chris are a scream.Dog friendly got a wacky warehouse for kids.Very reasonable priced for meals.Please try and you won't be disappointed.im booking for Christmas

WeTook dad out for lunch , lots of tables we wanted to sit at were reserved although no one turned up on 4 people in the place when we left, ordered lasange there was none, ordered steak pie there was none, settled foe 3 main courses, the first meal arrived gammon should have come with tomatoes it didn't, the egg was crispy and yolk was hard, seccond meal arrived after a few more minutes hunters chicken, had obviously been sat a while as the sauce had dried up and it was very well done rubbery chicken, as my husband and dad tucked in I waited and waited, eventually mine arrived just as my husband was finishing his, the waitress was very apologetic it obviously wasn't her fault she seemed to be on her own, so disappointing, the place did start to pick up, but seems to have gone right back down hill again, hate wasting money

Awful service, one member of staff too concerned about telling customers tables already booked than serving!! Shame, lovely looking pub, lovely settIng. Would we go again, no!

Nobody in on a Friday night so atmosphere wasn't really a thing. Food was presented well. Staff were very good. All in all a successful visit.

Visited here twice in two days so that must speak for itself! So impressed on the first day we went back again! Lovely friendly pub. They do a Seniors special two courses for £.599 but anyone can have it and it is well worth it. Excellent value. The portion sizes were good and the food very tasty. The waitress was very friendly we had a nice chat and friendly banter with her she was lovely. On the second visit she wasn’t there but there was a very friendly bar man and he was also very friendly sorry if we were a bit “loud” for four old uns! lol but it is a lovely relaxing place to eat and we had a lovely time. Well worth a visit if you are in the area. We couldn’t fault the place. We would definitely go back again if we were in the area.

Popped in here today had the two course senior special for £5.99 excellent value. Lovely food good portion size for the price. The waitress was lovely very friendly couldn't fault the place would definitely go back when in the area. Would definitely recommend this place

We eat here regularly & always receive great service. The food is spot on, it's dog friendly too which is a bonus. The new management are lovely & we wish them all the best with it. Would highly recommend 😎👍🏼

brilliant staff and food hot good tasty food with lovely staff just called in on the off chance but will definitely be back

Visited on a quiet Wednesday. We were quickly served & the food on arrival was piping hot & very tasty. Excellent service from a great team.

We have today had our daughter’s birthday party at Wacky Warehouse and the whole thing was a brilliant success! I’m SO grateful to Melissa and Jaimee who were both just such brilliant hosts. They were so attentive, helpful, approachable and brilliant with the kids. It was honestly the easiest party we’ve ever done - all we brought were balloons and cake! We would definitely have another party there. Thank you also for easily accommodating the two dietaries in the party - DF and Vegan. They were very happy! Thank you very much Melissa and Jamiee ✨ xx

It was quality time with my grandparents, and a word of advice I can grant is to prebook in advance in case it gets busy, especially during school holidays and weekends. So go during a weekday in termtime

Nice place , food was better for some but not others , Staff pleasant, wanted to go in the Whaky warehouse but said it was closed in an hr so was a little disappointed

Nice venue, good soft play for the little ones, good menu options and friendly staff. Plenty of parking and nice spacious seating. Will be back!

Arrived to take advantage of the motor home stopover facility. Although the kitchen had just officially closed, Chris, in making us most welcome, arranged our chosen menu, which was cheerfully and swiftly delivered by Chris's cheerful young assistant. Both meals were excellent, tasty and very hot. The motorhome facility gave us a very quiet night's sleep. Meals were excellent value and the camping free with Britstop. A big thank you to Chris, his assistant and the chefs.

3rd visit in the last couple of months. The food and service has improved massively recently. Everytime we have been our food has been well cooked and presented. Both food and drink are great value. Try and beat 2 cocktails for £6.99 on a weekend! We will be back ( regularly)

Awesome food lovely pub and friendly staff and cheap enough very enjoyable food was wonderful

Wonderful Sunday Roast. The traditional turkey roast was delicious! Beautifully prepared and presented.

We have come here as a family for a couple of weeks since it has changed hands. The staff are so friendly and absolutely love our dog (Italian greyhound) Muffin so much. Well done and keep up the good work Emma, Tom, Felix & Muffin.

Popped in for lunchtime food yesterday with my brother. Ended up picking the the bbq meat sharing plater. One of the best things I have eaten this week. Meat was falling off the bone and filling too. Will definitely be back for more. Friendly waiting staff on hand to. Guy behind the bar was funny, with a bit of banter thrown in for good measure.

Popped in with the family today for the first time, what can I say. Brilliant place, Chris is fantastic. Very accommodating and nothing was too much. There was 8 of us, we were made to feel welcome and offered us more space. He has a great sense of humour, all the staff were friendly and helpful. The food was great and plentiful, and very well presented and perfectly cooked. We will definitely be back.

Quite on arrival but soon others arrived. Was greeted by lovely friendly staff. Food and drink ordered. Arrived promptly Was very good indeed . Well presented. Tasty and lovely and hot..had chat with staff .very polite and friendly and attentive. Valuefor money ??? Absolutely .will return with family and grandchildren to give the play area ago .Hazel & Ron

My wife and I have been visiting this pub/restaurant for several months up to twice a week. It meets our needs totally - good food, relaxing and enjoyable. Chris the manager is a typical host circulating among the customers and chatting. We originally found the Squinting Cat for a family meal of up to 20 people in a party atmosphere. This went extremely well as we were allocated a self contained area. We have kept with them for our private meals since. The pub itself is on the edge of town and needs a car for access but has a large car park. The food is their own version of a typical family menu. The ratings are given recognising the type of establishment it is - perfect for its purpose.

Chris was very welcoming, and the food was fantastic. We will definitely be back.

First time visit for me. My sister has been before. We decided on the Flamin' BBQ Meat Platter. Beautiful the meat just fell of the bone. Perfect sharer for two. We finished it off with deserts. Plus it's available on the AA app, for discount codes. Allowed us to use Two. For the seperate purchases. The gentleman behind the bar was very welcoming, loved the little bit of banter while serving. Look forward to a second visit....highly recommended!!

Great meal Very quaint place but very busy. Staff are welcoming to a point but could be a northern thing. Either way! Fab time and fab food

What a let down, I'm here on holiday, ordered drinks and food and admission to the play area, nearly 100 total, 40 minutes later, they come tell us the food we've ordered and paid for isn't available, so now at 7.15 we're having to find somewhere else, baring in mind my dad's diabetic, wouldn't refund the drinks that we wouldn't have bought in the 1st place and tried fobbing us off with vouchers for the wacky warehouse until I insisted on a refund, just from start to finish a real let down, not something you need with a diabetic parent and a hungry 8 year old, one things for sure, I'll never enter a greene king or any of it's associated pubs/restaurants again,

Very nice place, with a large indoor play area for children. We stayed overnight in our motorhome, the staff were very helpful. Although we didn't eat, the food we saw being served looked delicious. We will come back.

Not as Good As Previous Visit and Meal The last time we came here, albeit 3 or more years ago, we had a really good dining experience, but this time I was disappointed with the quality of my meal, the mini mixed grill, it was not very hot, the small gammon steak was well done on one side and only just done on the other (had it been pre-grilled I wonder) and the amount of rind fat was enormous, the chicken breast was nice but again it was very dry, the only items which I believed to be freshly cooked were the fried egg, grilled tomato and grilled pineapple. So yes, I was not as pleased as I thought I was going to be based on previous experiences, is this anything to do with the fact that the chain was bought by the Greene King group, I would rather pay a little bit more and get freshly cooked and piping hot food on my plate when I go out for lunch. The pub and decor remains the same, it has a nice atmosphere and there is plenty of outdoor space and a small children's play area. Read less

I’ve eaten here before, food is nice and service was good. Just a little disappointed that they wasn’t serving food in the children’s play area the other day, Had driven 25 minutes hoping the children could have a play whilst waiting for the food, but they wasn’t allowing food to be eaten in the children area, which isn’t ideal during the summer holidays.

This could have been very good. The pub is semi-rural, with a large car park, in an affluent part of Harrogate. However, the menu is more inner-city flat-roof pub, the service indifferent and the tables sticky. Despite there being plenty of room, we were seated next to the toilets. My husband’s steak was well-done (he’d asked for medium-rare) and my scampi seemed of the chopped and shaped type. A pub in this location could do so much better.

Nice setting. Lovely outdoor area.. big car park..dissapointing food. Cold. Not cooked right. Rude very young staff.. 1 girl behind the bar didnt want to serve when asked by a coleague to take our order. No appology made to us..over all, glad we went. Showed us where to NEVER go again. Lessons in customer service necessary for all staff.

Our very first visit and won't be our last. Had the Flamin bbq sharer and it was brilliant, everything was cooked well came piping hot and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. Staff made sure tables were cleaned and always polite. No mixed grill which was dissaponting but thankfully the sharing platter made up for it.

Called in for some lunch today and was greeted by a very nice young lady behind the bar. We chose 2 from the $12.49 for 2 menu and 2 pints. The food was obviously freshly cooked and with care, arrived hot and sizzling. The quality was above what we were expecting and the service was excellent. Next time we are in the Harrogate area we will definitely return.

Came to celebrate my pops birthday, came with the kids too. Food was great as always, great customer service from Chris and the team. Always look forward to coming back

Great spot but more so Chris and James are like morecambe and wise sketch! Highly recommend!!! All staff very helpful especially Max. Again cannot recommend enough. Will be back soon.

Absolutely disgusting. Just arrived stated that food stops at 1930. It’s 1800. Pub was empty! Stated we couldn’t have a table. Family pub but against families using it. As you can see in the carpark. Absolutely empty! We have used this place many of times with no problems.

Good place to have a drink , unfortunately not close to Harrogate. Beautiful view.

Couldn't rate anything as pub was closed for essential maintenance.

Great place to meet up with family. Food was great too!

If you want to wait over and hour and a half for food then definitely go here. We were told 20 minutes when we arrived to order food, then told 30mins for the food to come out, after 40 minutes I kindly asked how long to then be told another 30 minutes wait. Spoke to the manager who was lovely that it would be about 10 minutes to then wait another 20 minutes for 2 out of 4 plates to arrive , the other 2 plates arrived 10 minutes later. The food ok, but some items where just out of the fridge cold. I know the England match was on but we arrived at 5pm and the pub was quiet. If we had been informed that the food was going to over an hour we would have gone else where. As we left I asked if they had loo roll to be told they had run out..... take what you want from this but we won't be returning.

Great couple of hours regularly spent with granddaughter

We visited the Squinting Cat for lunch after a ramble around the surrounding countryside. The staff were friendly and accommodating and the food was really good. The rib of beef fell off the bone and the steak was cooked just right. I would highly recommend if you are in the area The new team have certainly made a difference.

The staff was very rude but the food was excellent

Booked 6 weeks ago for father's day and they've just rang 2hrs before going to cancel our table. Absolutely furious. Edit- I asked at the time if we could be accommodated elsewhere in the pub and was told no fully booked

Went in on Father’s Day booked a table & as expected it was very busy. Regardless the staff were very accommodating and the food was spot on ! Big shout to Chris for going above and beyond for tailoring our needs and making the day amazing ! Even though they were short staffed every staff member there was polite and helpful even under the circumstances well done team. Highly recommended and will be recommending & returning again !!!

Thank you for such a good service. The chap who waited on us was so lovely with our kids and very helpful. Great food and clean. We loved the sign detailing the history of where the name Squinting Cat came from. My daughter is currently studying the history of witches at school, so that has come in handy! Thank you :)

Walked in and was greeted by friendly, smiley staff members. The food was grate, definitely the best we have had from there! Will definitely be back again. 👍

We love the squinting cat! The food is always delicious! Only lost a star for service and atmosphere because the girl working behind the bar and serving food seemed a bit grumpy like she did not want to be there.

Oh my word, where to start? Filthy seating area, filthy toilet (the one out of three that was actually in use), appallingly dry and inedible food. Staff incapable of turning the alarm off after somebody kicked the fire door open. Utter shambles.

Great food great service Great Beer more can be said for a pub definitely worth a visit by anybody in the area

The Squinting Cat has been our local for many, many years and has changed a lot over the years. Happy to report the new management seems to be a breath of fresh air. We visited this evening for the first time in a while for our daughter’s birthday. The staff were very welcoming, helpful, and lovely with our daughter. The food is great value and we were very impressed with the friendly service. Still needs refining around the edges but a very welcome change. Hope it can be a success for the friendly new team.

great place to visit. Loads of parking. The new management are brilliant. 100% better than the shambles it was with the old manager. People don’t like change even when it’s for the better. Recommend the cask ales.

First time I'd been in this pub. Only stayed for a couple of drinks but the food looked lovely. If I go to this pub again I will definitely have a meal there.

I have been many times to the Squinting Cat and took some friends there a few days ago. I couldn't believe the difference. The place looked unkempt and as though it needed a deep clean. The staff didn't seem to know what they were doing and appeared very untidy in what they were wearing.Two 'chefs' could be seen, walking around the pub, also looking very untidy. I went to order our food and a lady in front of me was getting a full refund. This should have raised a concern that something wasnt quite right. I ordered the chicken skillet and was told that they couldn't do the skillet, as there were no onions and therefore it would have to be chicken and chips on a plate. There was also no Jamaican stew and even no peas for another order. The food arrived and the chicken was inedible. The burger that was ordered, was also below standard. When the young lady came to collect our plates, we voiced how we felt. She apologised and told us that the staff were under new management and it would take time for them to get to a higher standard. Also, there would be onions and peas for the next day and the new supplier would be delivering a higher quality of chicken. Really. Come on Squinting Cat. Get your act together and get the place and food back to how it used to be. You're going to customers. Ideally, the place should have been closed in between old and new management's and reopened when everything was back to the standard it was.

Great value for money a little disappointed that the sizzling meal didn't come on a sizzling rack, apparently they had no onions ?. But it was served on a plate perfectly cooked generous size gammon very enjoyable. It has recently installed a new manager and staff and as a regular visitor here i must say a very much improved atmosphere. Met the assistant manager Chris (Sir) great guy very welcoming. I recommend this place for the good atmosphere, good food and good deals.

Staying here overnight in our Motorhome in btm car park , lovely pub had a meal and a few drinks all good at a reasonable price. Very quiet overnight , woke up to see squirrels climbing trees next to us. Definitely would recommend just booked through Greene booking system & asked to stay via the add on messaging. Staff all good and friendly, pub is dog friendly too with large screens with Sky Sports.

We regularly eat at least once a week here and never had any complaints until today. We waited over an hour for our meal which was a hunters chicken the portion of chicken was a lot smaller than usual hardly any onions and the chips were cold the meal on the whole was lukewarm and the family on the next table also had complaints so you've lost customers as I doubt very much if we will be returning. New management you need to get your act together.

Cant even get through to the phone to make an Inquiry. Ridiculous

Visited the soft play to entertain the kids and also ate in the main pub area, we found the soft play absolutely disgusting. The toilets were rancid with faeces on the toilet seat. This remained there for our entire visit, the facilities clearly weren't cleaned properly (or at all). The seats and tables in the children's area were so grubby and stained, the menus were filthy. Our kids came out of the soft play with completely black dirty socks. If they are charging £5 per kid, they should at least keep it clean. We ate in the main pub area, the food was cheap but also very poor quality. I had the mixed grill which contained some sort of chicken, which tasted like rubber. I left most of it. Even the chips were unsatisfactory, hard and not cooked properly. Every table we sat at wobbled and was unstable.

Staff are friendly and no issues here at all. Sadly the food was really poor, both me and my partner had burgers. The burgers were very over done and dry. The bread bun was possibly part toasted but just made it seem stale.

This place is under new management and has a great menu, well worth the drive to get a decent meal

Gone massively downhill since it’s changed hands

Dont have the steak. Was full of gristle and fat.very unedible . No cream with the sweets. 1 hp brown sauce for the whole of pub. Had to share it between the tables.

Brilliant food my family love it here and amazing customer service!!

Stayed yesterday in our campervan. Food and staff superb. Will be visiting again soon.

Under new management now.. This place is getting better every day now with a new menu on 9th April as well !!♥️♥️♥️

The service was brilliant but sadly the food was very poor. Not sure how you can get a peri peri chicken wrap so wrong, it was a sloppy mess, onions were very over powering. Burgers were over cooked and very tough. The fish and chips were slightly undercooked and soggy. And to top it off the soft play was closed. A disappointing experience.

Very good price and for what you get I thought it was excellent. Can't comment on the alcohol as didn't drink but would certainly come back again. Chicken strips were wonderful.

Poor quality food, slow service with items forgotten, refunded upon complaint. Wouldn’t go back.

Just had two fantastic stakes and Sweet's served with a smile and freindly staff definitely be going back well done 👍✅, this place is a little hidden gem, also has a soft play area if you have children with you

We had a lovely time . Food was lovely, fresh and piping hot. All the staff were very welcoming and friendly, great service. We will definitely be back.

We called in at the squinting cat for a quick meal before visiting Harrogate ,The pub was clean and staff friendly ,The food was okay, similar to Wetherspoons , and reasonably priced ,it has a nice outside area which would be good in summer, we would come again for a cheap quick meal.

3 of us and the dog Returned today , warm and welcoming, the meals were amazing hot and tasty great sized portions and amazing prices 2 meals for £11.99, excellent service, such friendly staff, thankyou Debbie for been so lovley, will definitely return,

I have been visiting the Squinting Cat or as our family call it, Squinters, for over 20 years. Mainly the Wacky Warehouse with Grandchildren for tea and play. Tonight was great, more staff on, Squinters is back. Looking very clean, warm and tidy and open tonight for Wacky until 6.p.m. We love Squinters and it was sad to see how it was recently. Very pleased to see the improvements tonight and next time the older people will eat too. Keep it up this place has so much potential under the right management.

I booked the wacky warehouse for my son’s birthday party with 19 children. The website said there would be dedicated staff for the party from start to finish. There was one person in and out, and could not be found when we had no drinks. There was no soap in the toilets, so children were using the loo and going back out to play without washing hands. There was water spilled on the floor by some of the tables so children’s socks got wet. The booking was for 90mins. Almost 60 mins in I was told that the food was running 10 minutes behind. 30 mins later we still had no food and parents were showing up to collect their children. I had to leave the party to go into the pub to find the manager more than once. When the food finally arrived, it was cold and the food I had ordered for adults I was told would be another 45 minutes, so we had to cancel that food. I made a big cake to serve to our guests and they only cut a small portion of it into tiny pieces, with no plates or forks. When I asked the manager to have more cake cut, he shrugged his shoulders at me and said, “that’s just how we do it here.” Our “dedicated staff” finally agreed to let me have a knife so I could cut cake for our guests and we got our own plates. They did at least allow us some forks, so we wouldn’t have to eat cake with our hands. The manager had said we would sort it all afterwards, but I never saw him again. The party went more than an hour over because of waiting for our food and the cake issue. Thankfully, the children still had a good time as they were unaware of the issues, but several parents witnessed the horrible service we were given. Between the terrible treatment of our party and the unsanitary conditions, I cannot recommend anyone use wacky warehouse at the Squinting Cat in Harrogate for your children’s party. They honestly should not be permitted to have the play area open or serve food there until there is soap readily available in the toilets.

Five of us ordered food off the menu. They didn’t have any of the items we ordered all out of stock. So we had t reorder the food that came was virtually inedible. Overcooked chicken and lattice fries. It was such a shame as this was a family get together and we had all travelled a couple of hours journey to meet up here

Not worth going food gone down hill so much

Tried to go to wacky warehouse - website said open at 9. On arrival we were told it wasn’t open yet (10) but would be at 11. Went back and told that now it would open at 12. Told they don’t update the website (what’s the point in having it?) but there’s a sign on the door which is useless when you’re already there. Staff not interested or apologetic for having told us the wrong information and leaving us standing outside in freezing rain. Went to little bees in Harrogate instead which was ace. Tldr phone ahead to check openings and don’t bank on it

Our main purpose of the visit was to go in to the wacky wharehouse with our 13mth old granddaughter then maybe stay for lunch. The children’s play area was APPALLING! Dirty, freezing cold, zero soft play shapes in the toddler area. Unstaffed, which wasn’t actually a problem as there was no one else in the place. What a shocking play facility, I can’t believe they are still up and running. I only rate a 1 as 0 wasn’t an option.

My wife and I have just been here for lunch. Monday to Friday offer of 2 mains for £11.99. Good choice of dishes which are all very large. Well presented and tasty food, delivered very speedily. Offers of some sort on most days. Lots of parking and tables. Excellent friendly service too. Will return soon.

We left a bad review, and were told to get in touch on the green king email, which I did, twice and no reply either time, so why ask to get in touch, not a good service when trying to sort the matter out

As always great friendly service and food

Food was disappointing and the service poor I will not be returning. I called in for lunch today not again!

What a shame, the staff did the best they could but not enough of them, the burgers were dry and cold, burger buns were so dry they crumbled, no salad available, then went to order coffee and couldn't have them as they had no milk, not a good experience

Stayed on our MH. Not too busy which was nice. Food ordered was not what we got but didn’t want to wait for the right food. The waiter blamed the lad who took the order. Tables left uncleared for hours even though there was ample staff there. Planned a 2 night stay but only stayed the 1 night.

Staff were lovely bar team Freddie and Luke were fabulous, food was amazing my steak was cooked to perfection and was presented very well.

Despite having booked a table and a place in the Wacky Warehouse I was told, on arrival, there were no tables available. I then asked if I could sit at one in the bar area but that would mean my 4 year old was unable to go in the soft play. Luckily a table became available so we could then go in. I spent 5 minutes waiting to order food from the Wacky Warehouse area before going into the bar area to do so. The lady who was in the Wacky Warehouse part was helpful, when she was available, but she was clearly run off her feet as she was responsible for the whole area. The food was fine, no complaints at all, and the staff were friendly and happy to help. The toilets were unclean and there was no hand soap available in any of them, both adult toilets and children’s toilets. Only one toilet roll available in the adult toilet which was wet. It says on the wall the toilets are checked regularly but that clearly isn’t true. When leaving, at around 5pm, there were no lights in the car park so you couldn’t actually see where you were going. Not great when you have a young child and a mum with a walking stick. All in all, despite the pleasant staff, it felt run down and as though money was trying to be saved wherever possible. A shame as it’s a lovely building, in a nice setting. It could be so much better.

Had festive meal , but had steak very dissapointing, service was bad 2hrs 30 mins from start to finish, must have been an off day as usually it’s very good food and service ,

Travelled from Bradford to meet daughter and grandsons to use wacky warehouse. Got there to find children's play area closed. This was not shown on the website. Several others with children came in and left. Food was mediocre to say the least. A very disappointing first impression.

Great place if you are looking for affordable food. Has a good pub vibe and is family friendly.

We had a voucher to spend. It was perfectly adequate. Not bad, but not great.

Not to be recommended at all. Went with a social group so to complain about cold and overcooked food is difficult without embarrassing the organisers. While the desserts were nice and well presented the main course was worse than canteen food and the service was appallingly slow. When one of our number asked why cranberry sauce hadn’t been provided with the Turkey, to be tartly reminded that they could have asked for it sums the occasion up nicely. Oh and by the way the male toilets stank of stale urine.

Lovely pub with fast service. Enjoyed it

Excellent food and really reasonably priced. Great service from the lads behind the bar who were efficient and friendly.

Had a great time, food was good and staff at the bar were very polite.

everything was amazing staff and food are amazing to and so friendly and the kids loved playing in the play area

This is a great spot for fabulous food and some great drinks with friends and family. They have lots of variety and a great menu.

Went out tonight to the squinting cat and despite having been there before I was pleasantly surprised! It’s a beautiful site with lots of nooks and crannies and the food for the price is spot on. Even my fella enjoyed it and he’s a very hard man to impress! We will be returning and if he won’t I’ll bring someone else.look forwards to seeing you soon