Three Crowns — Restaurant in London

Having recently visited for Sunday dinner with friends for a long awaited meet up, it was a surprise, and disappointment to discover that this company refuses to accept cash (legal tender) as payment for items sold in the pub...

I asked the server why this restrictive and divisive policy was in place and he said it was because "it's because the pub didn't want to pay bank costs to pay physical money in."

Which seems odd because it costs money to accept card payments and you don't receive the full value of card payments due to the variety of 3rd party costs connected to digital payments, when with cash, the only thing it really "costs" to deposit takings into a bank is someone's time... and they'd be on a salary from the pub, so not sure this can be factually true...

Secondly, unfortunately it was with dismay that we discovered our meals were more expensive than we'd budgeted for. The website states one price for Sunday lunch and the reality is a different menu, different price. This is not acceptable.

When we came to pay we then had unknown additional charges including extra for gravy and service to add insult to injury to an already more pricey lunch.

None of these hidden costs were explained to us at the time of ordering our food and all three of us said upon leaving, that we wouldn't have stayed had we known any of this in advance.

As cash is legal tender, all retailers should still have provisions in place for customers. I do not use cards aside from one emergency credit card, so as your team and company refuses to accept cash - even exact amounts, and for fear of further embarrassment, I had to use my emergency card which has a limit I cannot afford to go over.

A huge campaign has been going on nationally to ensure cash continues to be protected to allow everyone, not just corporate and wealthy individuals the opportunity to spend their own money without fear of discrimination from businesses.

I'm surprised that the pub is as shortsighted as to ban cash and not have any backup should their digital systems go down.

With times increasingly harder than ever before, and particularly for hospitality businesses and pubs particularly, I would have thought the pub would be actively trying to ensure ALL people are catered for, and encourage the continued running of the venue, rather than adding barriers and obstacles to business.

Covid was partly used as an excuse by many because people wrongly believed it could be transmitted on cash. This has long been proven incorrect and an unsubstantiated fear. Covid was also used as a catalyst for bringing upon a digitalised system to an unaware public, however many businesses, particularly independents (which I would prefer to support) reverted to accepting cash again now that the pandemic is over.

Refusing to accept cash is especially frustrating when you are on a budget, and perhaps are at the limit on cards so literally cannot afford to go into overdraft. It is extremely blinkered to rely wholly on internet/ digital services which can and do often fail, leaving you without service and losing money.

Removing cash as a form of payment is discriminatory and embarrassing, especially for more vulnerable members of society who rely on its use, and likely would have been customers of theirs who view going to the pub as their community lifeline outside their home.

The hospitality industry was hardly supported at all, in fact it was heavily discriminated AGAINST by the UK government during 2020-2022, and I cannot understand why they are effectively doing the same to a public wishing to support them.

Whilst the food was tasty, the overall hassle we had regarding their anti cash stance, and unforeseen additional costs has left all 3 of us with a nasty taste in our mouth and would rather go elsewhere than return. I wonder how many others are also experiencing this from the pub but haven't the...

I booked a table for dinner at 8:30pm. Around 7:30pm, I get a missed call from the pub with a voicemail asking that I call them back; nothing further. I try to call 3 times, but was unable to get through. So, I left a message explaining I'd received a missed call and asking them to call back. I assumed that if it was something important, they would've said something in the message.

Fast forward 1-hour, I arrive at the pub and one of the bar tenders is packing up the outdoor seating area. I ask her where the entrance is and she tells me that they are closed. Somewhat confused, I tell her that I have an 8:30 booking. She says, "my manager called you". So I ask to speak to her manager. A guy called Matt comes out to speak with me and the bar tender returns inside. I say "I returned the call three times but couldn't get through, why didn't you say the pub was closed in the voicemail?". He says, "Oh did you? We didn't get anything our end". To which I say "I don't understand, did I book at a time you guys were closed or are you just closing early?". He apathetically says "we're closing early today". I clarify, "so, you've decided to close early, even though there was an outstanding reservation, and you left a message without saying you were closing early, thinking that would do the job?". He responds, "yes". In disbelief, I retort "right... That's a really big f**k up Matt". He says, "yes". I leave.

Not once in the exchange did the manager Matt say sorry for the miscommunication. I felt the need to report on my experience, not because it's a bad pub; in fact, it looks decent, which is why I chose it in the first place. But, because I think the staff working on Monday night 08.12.2020 were unbelievably unprofessional and represented the pub atrociously; I won't be going again. I hope that whoever sits above Matt has a review of the working guidelines for their staff so that someone else doesn't have a similar experience...

From the outside it's just a small pub on a street corner adjacent to the bustling City Road / Old Street roundabout. It's covered with green tiles, and people sit outside drinking in the sunshine, as they do outside so many pubs on pleasant evenings. Inside it's a different story. The 3 Crowns is a gastropub, and as well as a decent selection of beers it has a small menu which changes daily. I'd walked by many times before on previous visits to London and failed to spot the tiny piece of paper taped in the window advertising the menu for the day, but earlier this week it caught my eye. With such a menu there are bound to be times when there is nothing you fancy - a few evenings ago I noticed one of the few dishes on the short list was eel, and I felt myself gag - but last night I spotted chicken and wild garlic pie with Jersey potatoes and my evening meal choice was made there and then.

The pub is busy, and you can choose to eat in the restaurant area (the rear of the pub) or in the bar. If you eat in the restaurant you are served by a waiter, but if you eat in the bar (the food is the same) you place your order at the bar and your food is brought to you. A short while after I'd ordered the pie arrived and it was huge! For a moment I wondered if it was actually intended as a sharing dish, but on breaking through the thin and deliciously light crust I found that the interior wasn't overwhelming or stodgy, just beautifully cooked chicken in a thick stock with peppercorns and wild garlic, a small bowl of Jersey potatoes served as a side dish. I devoured the lot and felt that it was the best £16 I'd spent on a meal in London for a long time. I'll definitely return to The 3 Crowns, at least so long as the menu doesn't feature eel when I go.

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