The Pub Grub Hub

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Harper’s Steakhouse and Bar – Swanick

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The Pub Grub Hub

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Harper's Steakhouse and Bar beneath a cloudy sky. Flower baskets hang outside, it looks classy with white paint and blue wood pannelling.

Pub website:

https://harpers-southampton.co.uk/

Review at a glance:

Would we return: Yes, PGH recommended

Food:  Crispy, tender, hearty

Price: On the higher side

Ambience: Relaxing, quiet

Staff/Service: Friendly staff, good service

Anything else: Dog friendly

Choice of menu: Fussy eater approved, veggie options, vegan options, gluten-free options

Right beside Swanick Marina on the way into Southampton sits Harper’s Steakhouse and Bar. It’s a swish and sprawling restaurant attached to a hotel and if you’re ever going past with a growling belly then swing into the carpark and grab a table.

The dog-friendly bar is a comfy place to go and eat, if it’s not full of people it’s a little quiet, which makes it the perfect place to relax. And with a menu that’ll have you changing your mind every other minute, it’s the sort of place you just want to be.

Grub’s up – what we had:

The fussy eater ordered: Buttermilk chicken burger

A buttermilk chicken burger with lettuce chunky onion in a pretzel burger bun. A pot of spiced mayo on the side, beside skin-on fry chips.

Chipotle mayo, red onion and crisp lettuce

Where to start with this one, huh? Tender chicken: Check. Crispy coating: Check. Burger to topping portion hitting just right: Check. Pretzel bun packing the flavour: Check.

The skin-on fries came out with enough crispness and salted just enough to make them moreish, served with a spicy mayo that added a little bit of kick.

The veggie ordered: Cornish Orchards battered halloumi

Chunky chips with a large bit of golden-looking battered halloumi. A pot of peas and tartar sauce sit on the side.

Chunky chips, garden peas, tartar sauce

Going back to the very first stop on our pub grub crawl at The Village Inn, we said having a vegetarian meant there’d be a lot of halloumi and chips, so here’s us living up to that.

Lots of crispy batter, halloumi at that point of a little chewy and just about gooey that makes it such a favourite. The tartar sauce was fresher and zingier than the previous dish we had at The Village Inn, but the peas were just a pot of peas and not mushy.

To share: Onion rings

Large and small crispy beer-battered onion rings in a dish.

These are getting added straight to our special mentions board, not overly greasy and with a lot of crunch. The onion doesn’t do that annoying trick of coming out all at once and, well, if only all onion rings were like this.

Overall

Inside Harper's Steakhouse and Bar. The lighting sets an atmosphere over the bar, shelved bottles shining in the light.

The staff were really friendly, which we’re saying in every review so far but it’s true. At Harper’s they chatted a bit more with us at every point of interaction and helped create a great atmosphere at a place we would definitely go back to again.

So if you’re ever struggling for somewhere to eat, definitely head to Harper’s Steakhouse and Bar.

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