The Fat Badger

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#63 of 277 Restaurants in Harrogate££ - £££, Bar, British, Vegetarian friendly

+44 1423 505681+ Add website

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Hours

Sun

11:00 - 23:00

Mon

11:00 - 0:00

Tue

11:00 - 0:00

Wed

11:00 - 0:00

Thu

11:00 - 0:00

Fri

11:00 - 0:00

Sat

11:00 - 0:00

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What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.0

1,460 reviews

#63 of 277 Restaurants in Harrogate

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Food and ambience

Local cuisine, Gastropub, Bar, British, Pub, Vegetarian friendly

“Delicious Sunday roast”

“Which turned into us ordering food - pizza and the special pasta.We shared both.”

Special Occasion Dining, Romantic, Groups, Bar Scene, Business meetings

“This is a lovely restaurant for a special occasion.”

“Celebration of life”

Location and contact

Cold Bath Rd, Harrogate HG2 0NF England

+44 1423 505681

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Is this restaurant good for breakfast?

Yes

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Details

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About

The Fat Badger is a traditional English pub, as well as a newly refurbed restaurant, situated in the heart of Harrogate's Montpellier Quarter, close to the many attractions in town and just around the corner from the Valley Gardens and famous Royal Pump Rooms. Head Chef Richard Ferebee serves up traditional pub grub with his own twist on a number of dishes offering a high-level dining experience in the sociable surroundings of a traditional English pub. *Due to the new government guidelines, our opening times have changed. Please be aware that if you book in for the restaurant, you will be inside, bookings for bar & outside area are seperate.*

PRICE RANGE

£10.00 – £26.00

CUISINES

Bar, British, Pub, Gastropub

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, After-hours, Drinks

FEATURES

Outdoor Seating, Private Dining, Seating, Parking Available, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Gift Cards Available

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4.0

1,460 reviews

Excellent

745

Very good

409

Average

147

Poor

Terrible

Léonloves

Aberdeen70 contributions

Lovely drinks and atmosphere, disappointing food.

Aug 2020 • family

Two couples visited on a Monday night. The bar and restaurant is very tastefully decorated and had a nice buzz about it. The waitor that served us was polite and attentive. The drinks were very nice particularly the slingsby gooseberry gin with apple juice and tonic! However, at one point we did wait a awful long time for a second round of drinks and had to prompt the waiter twice before this was rectified. However, this seemed to be the fault of the bar and after we mentioned it, any extra drinks were promptly served. The food left much to be desired. The prawn cocktail was quite pricey for the presentation and what was actually served. The mushroom risotto was also quite watery and soup-like. For the mains we orderes two burgers, that were fine. I ordered the seabass that was a tad overcooked and the risotto that accompanied it required quite a bit of seasoning. My mum had the prawn and chorizo linguine, which she found to lack flavour and also the pasta was overcooked. By no means was the meal inedible. We personally thought there may be a bit more style over substance at this venue. The food isn't up to scratch for the prices and we are not fussy eaters!

Written 25 August 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Catherine

Sheffield323 contributions

One of the best

Mar 2020 • none

We never fail to eat here when we go to Harrogate, it must be the best restaurant here. At lunch time they have a special lunch time menu of two courses for £11 well worth its money. We had chicken pate and a mushrooms on toast with garlic and cashews very different but scrumptious . Second course we both had fish, chips and mushy peas with tartar sauce. Not a massive big plate full but enough for us. There is a three course as well but we wouldn't have been able to eat it all. Value for money in select surrounds. We decided to go again the next day for Sunday lunch, if you've never had Sunday lunch here then you don't know what you're missing.

Written 8 March 2020

WHRDM

Thank you for your positive feedback. Your kinds words are appreciated by all the staff. We do hope to see you very soon. Thank you.

Written 7 May 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Joseph H

Ossett643 contributions

A very impressive takeaway treat

May 2020 • couples

Decided to give here a try when visiting Harrogate on Wednesday and was very impressed. A decent wide range of options on the takeaway menu that had quite a few vegetarian choices, all of which were at affordable prices. Polite and friendly service when ordering, and there was no issue at all when I called back twice to change my collection time. The food was ready for the time that I ordered it for and we ate it on the benches in the park in front. Excellent food with an amazing 'cheesy garlic bread' together with a 'Mac 'n' Cheese' that contained blue cheese, mushrooms and spinach. I would highly recommend to others and wish this venue all the best in the current climate with its takeaway service.

Written 21 May 2020

Jan W

Harrogate36 contributions

Worst Delivery I've ever Had go elsewhere !

Mar 2020 • none

So today in these horrible circumstances I ordered a delivery from here. Never eaten here at all but always fancied going, so I thought try a light lunch with the option of a further delivery later (5 family members some hungry some not). I was actually shocked by the delivery, firstly the containers had all melted together to impossible to pull them apart, but i managed. For starters the 2 baby ribs were dry and tiny, definitely not a starter portion. My sons burger looked like someone had sat on it the container was not squashed but the burger was. But the most simple dish of 2 portions of chips were so over cooked they boarded on burnt. All they tasted of was fat and my coleslaw was mostly onion!,,,Let's just say the whole lot went in the bin costing over £50!,,,,I know this is a very difficult time however there's no excuse to serve that kind of food totally disgusting. There are far far better places to get takeaways from in Harrogate so we're going elsewhere tonight. Will never order from here again or visit.

Written 28 March 2020

Anna

1 contribution

Awful experience

Jul 2020 • couples

I Visited the Fat Badger for Dinner with my partner which was an awful experience from start to finish! My partner ordered some cold meats with olives and cheese which were warm like they’d been sat on the side for a long time. I ordered buttermilk chicken which was very overcooked and the coleslaw was just raw veg with no dressing or flavor and looked a week old. My partners beef was fatty and his veg overcooked. I informed the staff that the food was not satisfactory and all they offered was a free desert which I declined due to the poor quality of the food. They did not even offer to reduce the bill price. Overall a poor experience and a waste of money, would not recommend to anyone.

Written 12 July 2020

W6090DTlisat

Firstly, thank you for your review. We do take this feedback seriously. After speaking with the manager on duty that evening, he assures me a check back was completed whilst you were dining with us, we do check backs to give the opportunity for feedback about the dishes. It is unfortunate you did not mention your issue with the dishes at time, when we would have been able to happily correct this for you. We offered you a dessert as a gesture of kindness, due to the fact you had finished your main courses. I am sorry to hear you were unwilling to accept our gesture. Once again, thank you for your feedback.

Written 31 July 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Julie481

Blyton21 contributions

Nice food, but not much heed paid to social distancing

Sept 2020 • couples

We visited for Sunday lunch and the table we were shown to (table 59) was only just far enough away from the one nearest to us. The person behind me and I had to pass each other too closely to sit at the table. Also there was a queue to get into the restaurant which meant that on leaving we had to walk too closely to the staff and other people waiting to get in. There was no one easy system. The ladies toilets had a notice on the door saying only 2 people should be in there at once but there were 4 plus a lady cleaning when I came out. No one seemed to be monitoring this. The food was very nice. We had the linguine which was a very large portion. Also the trifle was delicious. We found the decor a bit gloomy. I was overcharged on my visa debit card by £20 which I did not notice until the next day. I rang the manager who looked into it and rang me back to apologise and refund me the money. I am sure this was accidental. The food as previously mentioned was very good but I did not feel particularly safe with regard to covid measures

Written 8 September 2020

W6090DTlisat

We are very sorry to hear that you didn't feel safe in our venue, as a company we do adhere to the covid 19 safety guidelines at all times but understandably as with any business/restaurant these rules are sometimes compromised. we are glad to hear that you enjoyed your food and we hope to see you again in better circumstances. Fat Badger Team.

Written 9 September 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Amanda H

2 contributions

Total disaster!

Oct 2020 • none

We had a booking for Sunday evening, the restaurant had been very busy all day (start of half term) and we had seen the food which looked fabulous, as we were sat outside for a drink and were really looking forward to eating there later. We arrived for our meal, 8pm, party of four and were told there were no Sunday lunches available, several starters not available as they had been extremely busy all day!!! The remaining menu was very limited so we asked if we could swap dishes with the set menu but despite the waitress speaking to the manager he would not allow this and would not come over to speak to us. I was recommended a starter, which when it arrived wasn’t as described, the fish cakes (note plural) were actually a single fish cake and were very disappointing. The seafood linguini was actually prawns only as they had run out of mussels and came 5 minutes after everyone else received their meals as they had forgotten it, when it did come out it had obviously been microwaved as both the dish and pasta were scalding hot! Our waiter Luke was lovely and trying his best but it was chaos, they were obviously short staffed, had vastly underestimated how many people would be visiting. This weekend away was A belated 50th Birthday present and this meal really put a dampener on the start of the weekend. After the food fiasco, repeatedly asking for drinks and water (which eventually arrived lukewarm) we were very annoyed. The male restaurant manager was no where to be seen, the lady left dealing with the chaos was extremely embarrassed and was close to tears. The staff were trying their best but were not being supported by the management which is not acceptable. This is one restaurant I will never recommend.

Written 27 October 2020

W6090DTlisat

We are very sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy your evening with us in the restaurant. On this particular day, we had been very busy throughout from opening well into the evening with our Sunday roast option, as we are one of the only places in Harrogate town centre to offer this. In regards to the service it was not up to our usual standard and therefore we apologise. As an apology on the evening the female supervisor offered you a free bottle of wine which you accepted and some free beers to either be drank in our bar or taken up to your rooms as you we were reaching the 10pm closing time. The female supervisor also took all of the food off your bill as well which you have failed to add to your review, which is a shame, as we tried everything within our power to make up for the errors which occurred. Again we apologise and hope we see you in the near future under better circumstances. Many Thanks, The Fat Badger Team.

Written 2 December 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

ninadaniels951

Bolton2 contributions

Disappointing

Sept 2020 • none

We really enjoyed a drink in the bar of the Fat Badger last night so visited the restaurant this evening, looking forward to our meal as, according to their website, 'Meals are created from fresh, local ingredients and accurately cooked in our Two AA Rosette Kitchen to ensure flavour quality'. When we looked at the menu, however, we were surprised to see that the simple bar menu was the one on offer in the restaurant too but assumed this was potentially a change because of Covid19 although the tables in the restaurant were still very close together. Although the menu was uninspiring, we expected the quality to still be good and both ordered the Brochette of Lamb which tuned out to be very chewy, gristly lamb cooked with peppers (not shown on the menu) and served with an iceberg lettuce Greek salad with green olives and soggy, bitter potatoes. When the waitress asked if our food was ok, we let her know it was poor with gristly lamb and she did offer to get another meal cooked for us but we couldn't see that a third and fourth dish could be any better than the first two as the ingredients would be the same. She did also offer us free deserts but, again, we weren't wanting any more of their food at this point however we did agree to her offer of bringing the manager over to talk to us before letting us pay the bill in full. Unfortunately this is where a poor meal became a deeply unsatisfying evening. After a rather long wait, the young duty manager came over and, when we said we had had a poor meal and explained our expectations given the website says the kitchen has 2 AA rosettes (although looking on the AA website it has only been awarded one!) and thinking it was maybe down to Covid restrictions, he simply told us they have two rosettes because they produce good food and that was it, were we going to pay now. As no other senior staff were available in the hotel, we did pay our bill but felt extr.emely disillusioned that the experience was not what we would expect from an AA recommended restaurant, especially given previous extremely enjoyable meals at other nearby establishments. We also noticed that there was no one way travel through the restaurant, the urinals weren't socially distanced and the paper menus were taken from us and appeared to be reused without sanitising.

Written 16 September 2020

W6090DTlisat

Firstly thank you for your compliments regarding our bar. Unfortunately this is not a true depiction of what occurred in our restaurant on the evening. We offer a replacement dish as we want all of our guests to leave happy. As you declined this we offered you an alternative which you also declined. We therefore found it difficult to find a solution as you had eaten the majority of the dish by the time you mention you were dis-satisfied. The lamb brochette is our most popular main course dish & our kitchen sources all our meats from a reliable trusted local supplier. After you questioned our supervisor regarding our rosettes, you demanded to see the manager on duty who tried once again to resolve your dissatisfaction. After you used cursive language towards him (which you failed to mention in your review), he was unwilling to offer you any more solutions. After you left the restaurant you approached our receptionist to continue your cursive language & threaten to use social media to slander us. You have kept to your word, unfortunately it is a huge down play of your attitude towards our team & I hope our lovely tripadvisor community will see this review for what it is, an attack on a restaurant team who were trying their utmost to assure you enjoyed your evening.

Written 18 September 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Victoria H

2 contributions

Tuesday Night Dinner

Sept 2020 • none

We decided to have dinner at The Fat Badger in the restaurant. We had eaten there previously on the Eat out to Help out scheme and found it to be pleasant but average so thought we'd give it a second chance, despite our initial visit not being great. On that occasion my husband had ordered a rib-eye steak which had to be sent back as it was inedible. On arrival a friendly young man showed us to our table and gave us the menus to peruse. We ordered a bottle of wine and then our food order was taken. When it arrived it was served by a young, blonde haired waitress who proceeded to lean right into the table with her hair wafting all over the place. It should have been tied back. I had the soup and had to send it back as it was lukewarm. She wasn't happy I had asked for it to be changed. The second bowl came out and was hot. My husband had the cod loin for his main course and I had the sea bass. The cod was quite average but the sea bass was very good. Eventually our plates were taken away but no offer of a sweet menu was given. We sat and drank our wine and still no offer of a sweet menu was forthcoming. In fact we were left pretty much adrift. Eventually I asked a waiter who was passing the table at the time if I could have the bill. We paid and left. As previously mentioned, this was our second visit to the restaurant but it will, in all likelihood, be the last. The service was poor and the food was average despite what we had been led to believe. The waitress was informed of our dissatisfaction and proffered a trite apology which lacked any form of sincerity and made no effort to offer any kind of recompense.

Written 9 September 2020

W6090DTlisat

We are very sorry to hear that you didnt enjoy your last visit with us. When serving food we try our best to keep a distance from our guests but as you can understand this is not always possible when putting food onto the table. All of our staff have their hair tied back when serving food as this is a policy we have in place in the restaurant. We hope that you return for another meal and your experience is better than your previous visits. Thank you for your review we hope to see you soon. The Fat Badger team.

Written 16 September 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Stickermansister

Derbyshire202 contributions

Great lunch choice in the bar

Feb 2020 • none

We enjoyed a great lunch here. We did not book but were accommodated The menu was quite interesting with a meal deal menu offered with smaller portions ( although not that small!) where you could order 2 or 3 courses for a very reasonable price. The hotel was undergoing some redecoration whilst we visited and whilst there were many workmen around and the furniture was in the corridors this did not detract from the overall experience too much.

Written 22 February 2020

WHRDM

Thank you for a lovely review! It is great to hear that you enjoyed your time with us and we hope to see you soon.

Written 7 May 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

robsonben

York245 contributions

We bought a takeaway for collection.

Nov 2020 • couples

We bought a takeaway for collection. We used their 20% off collection code. (This doesn’t seem to have worked) We ordered... Cauliflower Cheese £3.50 2 x Roast Rump Cap of Beef & Yorkshire Pudding £29.90 Salt & Pepper King Prawns £8.50 BBQ Sticky Back Pork Ribs £7.90 Sub total £49.80 Service charge £0.50 Total £50.30 The roast potatoes had a bit of an odd taste. The beef was dry and quite tough. Was it worth £50.30 (for a takeaway) probably not.

Written 15 November 2020

Lisa T

Thank you for your review, we are sorry to hear that you did not think the food delivered was up to the price that you paid! We hope you join us in the venue in the near future for a better Fat Badger dining experience. Many Thanks The Fat Badger Team

Written 8 December 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

R J

2 contributions

Terrible service

Apr 2021 • friends

Visited with my friend on my birthday which was specified in the booking. We arrived and had to get someone’s attention to show us to our table as no one was there to greet us. We then ordered our food and drink at the same time/together. My friends meal came out within 5 minutes and I had to wait a further 35 minutes for my meal - I hadn’t even received cutlery yet and after waiting 10 minutes since they went to get it when I received my meal I had to get up and ask for it again and by that time my steak was clap cold and was incredibly fatty - not worth the £25 at all. Not only that but the drinks also took 25 minutes to arrive the first time - the second time they took over 30 minutes. We didn’t receive an apology at all for the delays in food or drink. I sent an email to them explaining my disappointment and it has been nearly 3 weeks since the email was going to be “passed onto the f and b manager” and I haven’t heard anything back. I was really looking forward to it as they had received amazing reviews and praise when they had been able to open but was incredibly disappointed.

Written 5 May 2021

Daz

Manchester6 contributions

Very busy bank holiday weekend

May 2021 • none

Had been recommended the Fat Badger as a quality restaurant from some friends who had visited a few years ago. Over the May bank holiday we visited the pub for lunch and the restaurant for dinner. At lunch time the place was very busy so it was lucky we had reserved a table. However it was too busy for the staff to keep up. Service was very slow and you could tell some of the staff were at breaking point. Once we got the attention of one of the waiters, who was very friendly, we had lunch which was very tasty and highly recommended. At dinner the service was very slow again and half way through dinner our waitress was never to be seen again. I did feel sorry for her as the lady at the table next to us was very rude to her. The service we got was very friendly. However the food was not very nice. We ate off the fixed menu and the Sunday roast was tasteless and the roast potatoes very old and dry. The quality of food was far more superior in the sister restaurant The Pickled Sprout at The Yorkshire hotel.

Written 6 June 2021

Lisa

Firstly, Thank you for your review. As I am sure you are aware, there is currently a national shortage of hospitality staff & we are doing everything within our power to expand our team, whilst also looking after our current team as best we can. Thank you for your understanding when it came to the slightly slower service than what we usually provide. We have taken measures now to reduce our bookings to assure we can give our guests the amazing service standards in which we are capable of. I have passed your feedback on to our kitchen, but I would like to reassure you our food is prepared fresh. I would like to thank you once again for being understanding of the current circumstances. We hope to see you again in the future!

Written 7 June 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

YorksWill

Tadcaster29 contributions

Disappointing meal

May 2021 • friends

We had booked a table and arrived at the 1pm time, we ordered sandwiches and fries which took over an hour to arrive, the time delay is unacceptable as the venue was not busy. My hot pork and apple sandwich was very disappointing, more bread than filling and certainly not value for money. Other members of our group were also very disappointed. This was my first visit to the Fat Badger and sadly my last.

Written 1 July 2021

Natalie B

London7 contributions

Very mixed

Apr 2021 • none

Very mixed. Person serving us looked like she wanted to be anywhere but at work. Had to work our way through the list of wines to find a bottle they had available (think we got our 5th choice). Wine then came already opened - never been to a restaurant that has done this - it’s not exactly professional. ‘House ‘slaw’ wasn’t homemade as stated and the ‘stuffed pork’ wasn’t stuffed either; do they know what’s on their menu? The food looked NOTHING like it does on their Instagram - clearly the dishes in the pics weren’t actually put together by the FB. Bizarre. Then having not seen the waitress for about 40 mins she appeared with the bill in hand saying we needed to pay and leave as the table was needed, no warning given. When we said we’d like an espresso and could pay that in cash if easier she told us no because she didn’t know how long it would take the come. Not the best end to the night. On the up side, the food came quite promptly. Needless to say we won’t be returning.

Written 21 April 2021

Lisa T

Thank you for your review. I am sorry to hear you were not happy with your service. I must disagree with your view of our waiting team, as all of them have wonderful personalities, have hard working attitudes and thrive in making everyone’s experience as memorable as possible. With regards to our wine list we currently have 3 wines out of stock out of our extensive wine list due to high volume of demand on this evening which has now been rectified and is not our usual standard, so my apologies for this. As a standard, our wines are opened and brought to the table in our bar area including our beer garden. This is not the case for our restaurant when open, but we are happy to accommodate this when requested ofcourse. I assure you all our dishes are freshly prepared in house including our coleslaw & our pork is stuffed with Gorgonzola as stated on the menu, our kitchen provided the whole team with an in-depth cook off before opening, with this in mind, we do know what’s on our menu. When seated you were advised we only allow 2 hours per booking unless specified otherwise. After speaking to the host on duty this was relayed to you when seated. Thank you once again for your feedback as we take all forms of feedback seriously. We hope to see you again in the future,

Written 21 April 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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