The Harbour Restaurant in Christchurch sits inside the excellent Harbour Hotel on the edge of the water. The hotel is a lovely place to stay and the restaurant is a lovely place to dine.
The dining room is dominated by a fantastic view of the sea. Large windows overlook a garden area that opens out right onto the English Channel. It’s a great view and lets in a lot of high quality light. When it’s warm enough, dinner can be served on the terrace, which only adds to the occasion.
The menu is English, with a smattering of seafood dishes spread throughout. It’s a traditional array, with old favourites like prawn cocktail and pork chops still present.
We began with seared tiger prawns and tomato and basil soup. The tiger prawns were served with a sauce vierge and rocket salad. Everything was fresh and tasty and got our taste buds working right away.
The tomato and basil soup was served with a tomato salsa and olive oil, giving a Mediterranean feel to the dish. Like the prawns, everything was fresh and tasty, this time the sweetness of the tomato gave a lovely overtone to the dish.
“The Harbour Restaurant is dominated by a fantastic view of the sea.”
Our main course was Solent crab and fish cakes with a side of chipped potatoes. The crab cakes were pretty good, with the lovely flavour of the seafood shining through the potato and herbs. They were served with a soft poached egg, peas, spinach and a white sauce.
The chipped potatoes were indeed chipped, in a factory somewhere, before being frozen and later fried for our pleasure. Not what you would expect for the price the restaurant charges for them, or indeed describes them on the menu. A slight disappointment in an otherwise nice meal.
Dessert was sticky toffee pudding and apple and pear crumble. The sticky toffee pudding was rich, decadent and very sweet. It was served with a butterscotch sauce and was excellent. The apple and pear crumble was also a sweet delight. It was served with vanilla custard, which gave it an air of school dinner done well.
Our meal at The Harbour Restaurant was overall very good. The service was prompt, the outlook fantastic and the experience a positive one.