The Crown — Restaurant in London

Lovely looking pub, very clean & well presented however we arrived as a party of 8 (pre booked for a birthday) was not greeted or shown to our table, we had to find our own way there. Sat for 15 minutes before one of our party went to the bar to find out if it’s table service or you have to go to the bar as no one had been over, after further 5 minutes Someone can over to take our drinks order or be told there was no gin for one of the drinks we’d ordered so needed to make an alternative, this “empty glass theme” was common for the entire evening.

Children weren’t acknowledged at all and we were asked our order before any children had even been given a menu.

Proceeded to order our mains, mainly being childrens & adults beef and chicken roasts. Dinners served missing an adult chicken roast being told there had been a “miss count”. The beef dinner consisted of more fat than edible meat and vegetables were sparse disappointing for a £20 roast.

Childrens roast was good value for money, however the childrens “chicken strips” were cremated batter at best.

Then had to ask for menus for deserts including childrens menu again. Deserts arrived missing the birthday girls desert of Eton mess and one of the childrens chocolate ice cream. When notified staff they then brought a chocolate ice cream with strawberries mixed through it which then had to be changed for the chocolate ice cream originally requested.

Proceeded to sit with empty glasses again so asked for the bill, shocked to see a service charge had been added considering the lack of service we had received. We asked for this to be removed to the disgust of the staff who unsuccessfully attempted to mouth to each other we were rude (seen by us). The staff then proceeded to gang together at the bar and stare and speak about us.

What a shame as the pub was lovely and has great potential, plenty of staff so no real excuse for the poor service we received.

Staff spent more time congregating at the end of the bar chatting and watching the football.

We have NEVER left a negative review for anywhere we have ever been before but really felt this...

Edit August 2022 - five stars.

I have visited the pub 6 times and have found the service and food pretty consistent, from the first day of opening to some of their most busiest times in the evenings and sunny days. They do roast dinners very well, the condiments are as good as the food and I suspect they are freshly made on site - horseradish had enough burn, mint sauce tastes fresh etc.

There is a good selection of draught, as well as soft drinks. The luscombe brand is well worth trying as a non-alcoholic drink. Soda water is also available by the pint which is good to see.

As a vegetarian option (can't remember if they are vegan), the allotment salad is tasty and available as main or small plate. I have had it twice and the leaves have always been fresh. If you don't like much dressing I'd recommend asking for it on the side, however it is the right amount for me. I did prefer the salad to the veggie haggis pie as I felt the flavours didn't blend as well with the rest of the filling.

If you enjoy meat options, I would definitely recommend the chicken pie as a hearty option. A nice salad option would be the sticky beef salad, although I would recommend taking it as a smaller portion than the large main. The steak frites was delicious, very well cooked, a tasty steak and you definitely can taste is a higher quality cut. If it is a Sunday, definitely try out the roast dinners, you won't be disappointed.

I have tried two of the desserts, a morello cherry sundae (with popping candy) and the dairy free Belgium waffle dessert. I think that both were equally good. The cocktails are great, I also enjoy the hot drinks too.

If you are looking to visit in busier times, I would definitely recommend booking.

The managers and staff are friendly and hardworking, this pub is definitely a welcome treat for the local area. I'd say, to get this review to 5 stars, it will just come with time as we know the hospitality industry in under pressure and novice staff are undergoing training, which can be more complex...

I want to start by saying I really like the pub and the staff have been great every time we’ve visited and the service is good too.

So go to the pub and support a local business that isn’t (to my knowledge) tied into any chains etc. If you don’t use these places they’ll disappear and that would be awful.

BUT .. do not order the pizza from the special pop up set up in the beer garden for the summer.

It’s okay but it’s also very ‘meh’ and nowhere near justifies the price. We ordered two pizzas and the uniformity of the dough on both suggests that it’s not hand shaped and is probably bought in (apologies if that’s not the case but … I love good pizza dough and this definitely isn’t good pizza dough). And it definitely didn’t have the flavour or texture of dough made in house which, for the price, is awful if I’m being honest.

Some of the toppings felt like they’d been put on after the pizza had come out of the oven. I’d expect that for rocket or basil leaves but the red peppers (I’m guessing pre roasted from a jar or tin) were cold compared to the rest of the pizza and clearly added afterwards.

They both tasted okay. I’ve had much worse pizza but they were incredibly mediocre and we wouldn’t have bothered finishing them if they hadn’t cost £15 and £17 respectively which for the quality of pizza delivered is double what they were worth.

So … go to the pub - it’s lovely and the staff are great but DO NOT order the pizza!

BTW other food on offer has in our experience been good. Hence it being a 4 star review despite me being critical...