Went to the French House the other day for the first time in over 29 years and it was rammed on a Monday evening. There's no real ale and the witlessness of serving only halves is pretentious.
I looked at the Harwood Arms website and it appears not that welcoming for drinkers-only, being a major food pub and WhatPub seems to agree - the website's homepage displays what looks like a burnt pear in a Yorkshire pudding. I might give it a go as it's not too far from me and hasn't received a proper review, but if there are no seats I probably wouldn't stay.