The Crown at Bray — Restaurant in England

It was my partner's birthday this past weekend - glorious sunshine, a beautiful village setting ... what could go wrong at The Crown? I had booked a reservation some time ago in anticipation of an early birthday supper celebration. The pub garden and marquis were crowded and as we arrived very early, we sat in the garden to enjoy a few drinks beforehand. The wait staff were lovely, friendly but they weren't up to speed on their drinks' menu. Fair enough, most of them have probably just returned to work and are getting back into the swing of things. My boyfriend a true foodie, was really excited about the food and had studied the menu weeks before arrival. Once we were seated at our table, he promptly ordered the shrimp cocktail to start. When it arrived, the avocados weren't ripe. I mean, you could have chipped a tooth or perhaps lost a denture biting down. Unacceptable. Again, if this was a Weatherspoons, you may let a few things slide. But when you're paying top pub dollar for a starter - not so much. The starter was sent back and replaced by a salami and fennel dish. It was okay. We then moved on to our mains. Lamb for him was quite fatty and I could sense the Birthday Boy's disappointment. My fish and chips were good. But again, for those prices, you do expect a bit of a wow factor. On to the naughty truffle chips, ... again, another eagerly anticipated dish. What arrived? Chips buried, six feet under, a cloying mayo/ truffle concoction. Not enjoyable, very inedible to be honest. Such a shame, because when truffle chips are done right, they are actually quite sublime. However, it was not to be ... Finally, I did request multiple times (in advance) if the pub could do a little special birthday something. I then reminded the staff when I arrived and they assured me they were on it. You guessed it - zero, zilch, nada, forgotten. Fine. After waiting, without looking like I was waiting, I got the bill and that was that. In summary, if you're looking for a pub garden to while away the afternoon buying drinks, The Crown has a lot to offer. For a pub, offering very high priced food, I expected a lot more from my supper. Sometimes it's the little things, like remembering a birthday request, that can go a long way to smooth over what turned out to be a disappointing eating experience. C'est la vie, it...

May 2021: 4 Stars Not quite the great value and quality it used to be Whilst it no longer seems to be part of the Heston empire I've had a couple of really great meals here in the past and a return trip felt like a good idea. We went a couple of days before indoor dining was allowed but that wasn't an issue - the open sided "tent" in the garden was really nicely done and there were a few fan heaters around to keep it warm enough too. Probably one of the best examples I've seen of a restaurant/pub re-working their outdoor space due to Covid and turning it into something really nice. The kitchen and bar were along the wall in the tent too. I had the potted trout to start which was really nice. Followed by the burger for which I had very high expectations from previous memories. It was nice but not quite as good as I remember. I paid the extra £3 for the treacle cured bacon which was a good choice as it as a nice thick slab and was very tasty. It did take the cost of the dish up to £22 which is about as high as a burger ever gets. Beef patty was nicely cooked and tasty and I thought the raclette cheese went very well too. On ordering I did ask if the burger sauce could be kept off and was told this wasn't a problem as it was served in a pot on the side but it turned out it was spread on the bun as well so product knowledge wasn't great. Chips and fries were both excellent, especially the chunky ones that came with the fish, not advertised as triple cooked but did seem like it. I had sticky toffee pudding to finish which was fine but not overly memorable. Overall I think it has gone downhill a little and got a fair bit more expensive than it used to be but it was a solid lunch and I would go back.

From 2018: 5 Stars Great burger Given the background of this place you'd expect good things and it completely delivers. It's not the cheapest pub with food in the world but everything is done to a great standard.

I had the burger which was delicious, melt in the mouth and very tasty too, one of the best I've ever had. Chips...

Disappointing, lacks flair

The Crown at Bray is set in a very traditional village pub building purchased by Heston Blumenthal in 2010. The interior appears relatively untouched with low beams, dark tones and small tables. We went for lunch on a weekday, at arrival we were given the choice of a couple of tables (despite making a reservation, which is nice) and service throughout the meal was impeccable. The menu is "traditional pub food", we opted for bread, "King Prawn Cocktail" starters, a "Crown Burger" and Stone Bass. The bread was fantastic, great texture and crust but for £3 it wasn't great value (basically a slice cut into four pieces). The prawn cocktails were served in a tall glass, while fresh and tasty I would say their was too much dressing and the prawns certainly weren't "King". The main course took a good while longer to arrive, a pretty surprising 25 minutes after, with only maybe 5 tables seated.

The burger was, well, a burger. A well cooked, flavoursome burger but literally just that, criticism would be that as it's served "pink" the bun is soaked in juices and so the burger quickly becomes impossible to eat without a knife and fork. The Stone Bass was considerably better, firm tasty flesh with layers of different flavours, definitely one of the better menu choices. I should also note that the beer selection is very good, I opted to try the "Crown Ale" which was very satisfiying. We skipped desert as we were running out of time (having waited 25 minutes for the main course).

Overall I'd say I was disappointed. We went to the Crown expecting some of the trademark Heston flair, we expected each dish to have a little twist or even some experimental items on the menu, instead it's simply a very good if very expensive pub.

If you're a local then this isn't a local pub, prices are way too high for that. If you're a foodie and you've travelled to try out the Crown then you could probably get a very similar meal elsewhere for less. We're...