Steakhouse – Pub – Grill

  The Gatekeeper,

  London Road,

  Harlow CM17 9NG

  General Manager:  Nick Stockwell

  Tel: 01279 424495

  170 Seats

  No need to book 

The pub is open 11 to 11 everyday

Minimum restaurant hours are 12-3 and 6-10 Monday to Friday,

12-10 on Saturday and 11-9 on Sunday.

On entering the new Miller & Carter restaurant
at the Gatekeeper last week we were very pleasantly surprised at how warm and inviting
it was. 

We were welcomed at the door by a very friendly, smiling member of staff who took
our name and asked us if we would like to
get ourselves a drink at the bar first. 

The bar area is very impressive with the exposed brickwork and wood panelling on
the walls which gave the atmosphere a restrained elegance.  £300,000 has been
spent on totally refurbishing the restaurant
into this very stylish, upmarket restaurant
and bar area.

We felt relaxed as soon as we walked into the bar area by the soft lighting and candles on each of the tables.  There is a mix of seating in this area with upholstered sofas, chairs and stools. 

The bar was particularly well stocked and our party enjoyed trying the great selection of wines, continental draught lagers and the real ales.

The stylish decoration  and soft lighting carries through to the restaurant which consists of small intimate booths for 2-4 people and booths that can seat upto 8 people. 

When we were ready to eat a member of staff led us to our table chatting all the way making us feel very welcome, infact, all the staff we encountered smiled and welcomed us. 

Our waitress Jill introduced herself and told us a little about Miller & Carter and the menu explaining that the steaks were sourced from members of the international ‘Hereford Cattle Association’, and that all their steaks are 100% certifiable, naturally reared and grass fed, and matured for a minimum of 28 days.  Jill also told us what the fish of the day was and told us a bit about the other items on the menu. 

Although there are not a huge variety of items on the menu we found that there was plenty that we wanted to try.  Miller & Carter want to keep the menu a bit smaller then that way they can concentrate on the quality.

We visited the restaurant with my parents who ordered the lamb cutlets and particularly enjoyed the sticky mint sauce.  My husband and I had the Ribeye Steak which was served with parsley butter and a slice of onion loaf which was so different and very tasty.  The steaks also come served with a bowl of very fresh iceberg lettuce and a choice of dressing plus either fries or jacket potato.  The portions are large! And all the food was very fresh and served hot.

The steaks were cooked to perfection, which has not always been the case when we have ordered steaks in some other restaurants. They were succulent & flavoursome (exactly what it said in the menu) and we both said that they were the best steaks we have tasted in this country.  My mouth is watering as I’m writing!    

We were particularly impressed with the presentation of the food – we felt it was a bit different to other restaurants we have visited.

For dessert we all had apple pie and ice cream which again, we all agreed, it was the best apple pie we have eaten in a restaurant.  It tasted as a homemade apple pie should taste with nice chunky pieces of apple with just the right hint of sour.   It makes a change from other apple pies we have eaten in restaurants in the past which have had a very mushy, sweet, bland tasting filling.  The apple pie was served with ice cream which again tasted home made and a bit more special - it was delicious.

The prices are very reasonable with Starters ranging from £3.50 - £6.00.  The steaks from £7.50 - £15.00 for fillet and the other meals from £7.50 – £11.50.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was ‘buzzing’ everyone talking away and enjoying themselves.  The temperature was just right and the music level and choice of music was perfect so that you could enjoy it but still have a conversation.  Another thing we enjoyed about our visit was that we did not feel rushed.

Jill our waitress was outgoing and friendly.  She called back to the table to check we were happy with our food and was genuinely interested in our comments.  She was polite, helpful and not too intrusive. In fact all the staff were very friendly and professional with smiling faces and seemed comfortable dealing with customers and working well together as a team.

You don’t need to book a table at the restaurant you just turn up and if a table is not available immediately you can have a drink in the very comfortable bar area.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and can’t wait to go back again infact, we are planning to have dinner there today and as the restaurant is at the top of our road I can see us using the bar  as a local in the future.

If you have visited this restaurant perhaps you would like to write your comments below.