Urban Brasserie — Restaurant in London

So this is the hotel restaurant at the Crowne Plaza Heathrow Terminal 4.

It always feels like perpetual night in this hotel, because of the way it is built. Lots of liminal space…

Anyhow. Last time I stayed here it was the tail end of Covid and the terminal was closed – they had the restaurant shut then and were just doing a bar food service – so this was my first meal here.

I don’t usually do hotel restaurants as they tend to be pretty average and there is generally better nearby. This hotel being at an airport, there is no better nearby. I wondered if that made a difference to the usual rule and, do you know what? It does.

Whilst the surroundings have all the charm of a waiting room ,the food here was actually very good – the restaurant obviously serves a lot more meals than competitors in a city centre would and they have clearly put more effort in as a result. The menu is a mix of Indian and western cuisine – the curries looked delicious.

I had the fish and chips on this occasion – I wouldn’t normally have it but I saw someone else with it and it looked delicious. Looks did not deceive. Lovely, flaky fish with a good portion of chips, tartare sauce and crushed, minted peas on the side. Really good, fresh food. Even more excellent for the fact it was the end of the service period.

For dessert there was brownie – this was actually five small brownies of the type you’d get a conference buffet – ok, but nothing to write home about.

The beer was Cobra, served in an unmarked glass. An undercover snake, as it were. There was also Staropramen, which I used to love, but find it gives me a headache these days.

An unusual mix, in the traditional way of airport hotels – lots of solo diners watching things on iPads or playing with phones. The murgh makhani was popular.

I’d eat here again if staying over...

Well. One of the most disappointing meals in quite some time, sorry to say. I (very) regularly stay at IHG hotels and never ever had to eat something so mediocre. Prawn Laksa. 1,2,3,4…. 4 prawns, instant noodles (???!!!). The small handful of veg was ok, and the broth decent. The worse part of this meal? £28.12 for the privilege. I was so gobsmacked I couldn’t formulate a concise complaint and just bitterly went back to my room. Yes I knew when I ordered it was 25 quid to begin with, but I wouldn’t pay 10 for it after eating it. I feel ripped off. I would have been happy with the price for a quality meal, but what I was presented with had much to desire. Service was adequate, waiters a little too enthusiastic about taking plates away when I was clearly eating a plate still half full. I’m gonna be honest, lack of restaurants in this area means there’s little choice for dinner here, I am certainly going to avoid coming to these two...

End of April 2025 while staying at the Crowne Plaza hotel, I tried the Urban Brasserie for dinner. To my surprise I had read online some good recommendations about this English Brasserie’s Nasi Goreng, which is one of my favorite Indonesian dishes. The restaurant was packed and I was lucky to get a table at 7pm. The service was quick and friendly. Unfortunate the food was not what I had expected. For the first time ever, I was served a Nasi Goreng without peanut butter (satay) sauce. Instead s sweet spicy sauce was given. I asked the waitress if I could get a satay sauce, but that was not possible. The taste was not what I had hoped for and the price was also quite expensive. £ 20 for a nasi goreng + £ 6 add chicken. Total a shocking £ 26. Maybe other dishes in the Urban Brasserie are better. I would definitely not recommend the Nasi Goreng. Optional 12.5% service charge gets added...