Harvester Warwick, Warwick

Barn-like 'family dining' All-Inns pub, thankfully with a partially-screened area for over-18s only at one end. Plenty of outdoor seating available too. Just one of three handpumps in operation, dispensing Greene King IPA until it ran out part-way through the pour, so opted for a Guinness (£1.90, half) instead. No character whatsoever, but it serves its purpose well enough I suppose...

The Porridge Pot is located just off the M40 and is preferable to the many service stations that litter the motorway. There is an entry gate system, but if your visit is less than four hours you can get your ticket validated at the bar. It takes fifteen minutes for the ticket to register with the gate so best to validate it when ordering food/drink rather than when leaving. The building itself looks like a barn conversion with a high vaulted ceiling and open plan layout, although some attempt has been made to split the interior into three sections. By the entrance to the right of the building are some high tables and chairs, a plasma screen and beyond on the rear wall is a carvery. In the centre of the pub is the bar that faces the main body of seating which was all set for dining at 18:00 on Saturday. In the left hand side of the building is some standard and sofa seating and a couple of plasma screens that were showing muted golf via Sky Sports. There is also a fruit machine and this section feels like the pubbiest part of the Porridge Pot. The bar is stocked with standard draught and one of the three hand pumps was unused leaving Greene King’s IPA and Creaky’s Choice as the cask options. There are a few A-boards at the front of the building that advertise meal deals and the mains are mostly priced under £10. I found the quality of the food to be average and I was amazed at how quickly it arrived. There are lots of picnic tables outside the front of the pub, but they face the car park and the motorway can be heard in the background so I didn’t think it to be the greatest spot. When we arrived there was some concern shown by the waitress that we hadn’t reserved a table, but after some conversation we were permitted to sit in the left hand bar area described earlier. Maybe too much of a deal was made about this, but the service we received from then on was excellent. The location and atmosphere dictates that I wouldn’t consider just going here for a beer, but as an alternative to the motorway services it is ideal.

Closed at present. Licensee in hospital ! Admin note:- Marked as closed (24/09/09)

If traveling along the M40 in the vicinity of Warwick this makes a more pleasant stop off than a motorway services. It is very popular with BMW and Mondeo Man who hold impromptue meetings and trail the cables for their laptops over the floor of the lounge area. The larger part of the big barn like building is given over to a carvery / restaurant in which the food is very good.I have had both Everards Tiger and Black sheep Bitters here, the former being the better drink. The car park is big and disabled access good, a Holiday Inn Express shares the site. 27/9/2009 The car park now has a barrier entry system. Remember to have you parking ticket validated at the bar so you can exit the car park. No charge for a reasonable time visit.