Harvester The Oakmere House, Potters Bar

“Have you been to a Harvester before sir” Yes unfortunately I have which is why I am now a very infrequent visitor to this fine Grade II listed building. Oakmere House was built in 1840 on the site of small encroachments into the former Chase allotted to James Cecil, earl of Salisbury. The house is in the Italianate style and retains the external alterations made by Horatio Kemble in the 1860s. Since 1937 it has been used for many purposes, initially education offices, then a Citizens' Advice Bureau, and then in the last 15 odd years a pub / restaurant. It used to be a great location for a beer by the lake many years back, but various PubCo’s have struggled to realise its true potential and it went through several guises including being a Beefeater and finally it was turned into a Harvester in 2007. This basically now means it’s a family restaurant and the last time I went here , the better than average decor was sadly nowhere near matched by the service or quality of food.

Bar area recently reduced, dining area enlarged, basicly now a restaurant, very little real ale.

This is a Harvester and unsurprisingly last Sunday afternoon it was packed with screaming kids and large groups standing at the bar. The one good thing is that most people in here had young children so everyone was in the same boat. Old Speckled Hen is available on draught along with a large selection of standard lagers and San Miguel. I didn't stay long as my brain started to hurt, but it is good to know that there is somewhere to take the kids in a couple of years and I won't be expected to keep my eye on them.