Miller & Carter, Southampton

Previously a Harvester, this grand building with plenty of potential continues to be wasted, although it’s wasted more expensively now. There is a large private car park with its own one-way system, and there is a tidy outside seating area that just falls short of being a garden. The setting is nice, though there is too much traffic noise for it to be restful outside. Inside feels surreal, like Disney had decided to to design a palace for a low-budget American princess. Lots of scarlet soft furnishings. The staff were quite pleasant, the majority of the clients were well dressed and well-behaved, the air was heavily scented, the food looked artificially plump and there was no real ale – regardless of the the staff’s protestations Guinness, Estrella and Peroni just don’t fall into that category, and in any case we got the feeling that casual drinkers were not welcome. We decided not to mill around and carted ourselves to a proper pub, unlikely to return in the near future.

What can you say, its a 'Harvester' in a mock Tudor building. Mon - Sun 11am -11pm. Bank Holidays 12pm - 11pm (10.30pm Good Friday ONLY). Christmas Day 11am -2pm. Food is Served: Mon - Sat 12pm - 10pm (9.30pm Good Friday, 6.30pm Christmas Day, 9pm Boxing Day). Sunday 11am -10pm. The service is variable and you should go on various web sites to see how it's going this month. I've always had a reasonable meal at a cheap price and what more can you expect. Not the place to go for a nights drinking but if your on a budget and need a bite then swing off the M27 at junction 8 and it's better than the non-existent Motor-way services. To try and make this review more interesting may I suggest visIting the Windmill in Windmill Lane which is the only working one in Hampshire and dates from 1814.