Harvester, Great Barr

While most diners now choose to enjoy Thai, Balti, Chinese or Italian food, some still like to opt for a traditional dinner of meat and two veg.

To be fair, bosses at the chain have tried to make the menu appeal to a wider audience while still retaining the favourites such as an all-you-can-eat salad bar.

It has been a fair few years since I last visited a Harvester but I was eager to tuck into a traditional steak and chips again.

Following my 10 year break from the pub, I was pleasantly surprised at the menu which still offered a variety of grills.

But it was hard not be tempted by the fresh tuna or salmon as well as the sumptuous sounding vegetarian options.

In the end though, my partner and I decided to stick with what we had intended to eat.

We were also lucky enough to be handed the earlybird menu, which is basically the same but with around a third off all prices. The only noticeable difference was that the T-bone steak was not available.

We opted for starters of chicken satay, £2.63, and Greek lamb skewers, £2.63. Both were cooked well. The chicken was served with a delicious satay sauce, slightly different to the usual because it was much fruitier yet creamy at the same time.

The lamb was tasty but three skewers was far from enough.

For the main, I chose a medium steak Diane, £7.40, in a tasty rioja and pepper sauce. At first taste it was cooked to perfection but further inspection revealed it was not medium all over but rare. The sauce was well made but I could have done with more.

My partner had the medium sirloin steak, £7.97. Compared to mine, this was cooked perfectly with no complaints. Both dishes were served with chips and a fresh tomato.

The Harvester is a good place to start if you want a classic steak and chips but you may be surprised to find more on the menu that you bargained for with the salad cart proving as popular as ever.

by Lee Perry

Harvester, Birmingham Road, Great Barr

Tel: 0121 357 2567