The Crown and Shuttle — Restaurant in London

Describing itself as where 'louche lives on', it used to be a 'sordid, sleazy, shabby, strip club' languishing between Liverpool Street and its trendier sister, Shoreditch. As to be expected midweek on one of the hottest days so far, both bar areas and the garden were buzzing with a mix of cities and creatives but it didn't take us long to get served.

Inside, it's all brick walls and warped wood tables. Mismatched chairs and splashes of red lend a touch of former decadence and the high ceilings and stripped wood bars give it a bit of a scrubbed up spit-and-sawdust appeal. Service is brisk with a decent wine list and quite an extensive beer menu, featuring some very local brews.

Outside, you're met with a unexpectedly large garden. Brightly painted tables, chairs, destination-less doors are scattered throughout and there's a real welcoming feel here. We perched on some steps (no chance of getting a seat!) and people-watched, eyeing up the towering enamel bowls that came out of the onsite kitchen cart.

Food's ordered at the bar and there's a great mix of smalls and larges - spicy wild white prawns with garlic caught my eye, as well as the greek salad (both £4.60). Others around us were opting for the chicken wings with mango chilli salad and BBQ spiced pork ribs, but we opted for a bowl of stringfries each - that come with a seasoning of your choice. A huge portion for £3, they definitely hit the post-work spot.

Despite having lived East for almost 6 years, I'd never stumbled into this place before but it's definitely somewhere to come back to. We stayed comfortably until the garden closed and we'd had our fair share of Estrella, leaving with the reluctance of those out on a 'school night'. The Crown and Shuttle gets four and a half out of five, because I was so impressed - hopefully the half point will be awarded once I go back and...

Despite its large beer garden and good location, the Crown and Shuttle was a huge disappointment. It was not yet 6PM and it was completely packed, making it very hard to move around and get drinks. The tables in the beer garden were all booked but empty (whaaat?!) leaving no place to sit for the rest. Also, there is a food kiosk outside which makes it all a lot more cluttered.

The beer selection is fair, not too big, all craft. Quite pricey I might add! There is a cocktail bar upstairs, tiny though...

I guess in fairness for me the worse was the crowd it attracts. In the photos it looks like a laid back garden bar but it's very far from it. The high price of the beer attracts suits: 90% or more of the clientele are in suits! This plus the over-crowded situation and the fact you can't sit without a booking makes it totally impossible to relax and just be!

I guess it was not for me and I don't think I will be...

The place has a good vibe so we went and sat at a table. After some time we just visited a bar to get few drinks and came back to our table. We stood up for about 5 mins around the table and the staff took our chairs saying we aren't using it. We tried to explain them that we just stood up for some time and can we get our chairs back please? But for some reason the whole staff was extremely unprofessional and shouting at us explaining that as we were not sitting for few minutes they were taken away. We requested them the next time you take the chairs could you please ask us? On that sentence they used more abusive words and asked us to keep our mouths shut! All I wanted was a good service and some amazing time with my friends! And did not expect the staff to be this rude! I won't recommend this place! :) If you want to have a peaceful weekend please...