Amazing match to marry food science and old English pub atmosphere. I felt some lovely smoke from the fire place, stroked all the local cockapoo pups while Eating Hestons "fat duck" with red cabbage and blackberry. My new favourite place!
The place where pub and Michelin star food meets. Great friendly staff, totally recommend - already have been 3 times, planning now the next visit �
awesome bar experience me and my friends had... it was one of my best day of my life.... so good experience ... the vibe,feeling,atmosphere ... everything was well planned and awesome beer...
A restaurant by Heston Blumenthal, of course the food was going to be great. The third of his restaurants in Bray, this is more the ‘casual pub’ vibe. We managed to walk in without a reservation on a weekday but it did get busy later in the evening. Steak and bone marrow for main, every bit rich and tender you could want. For dessert we couldn’t decide, so in order of Best first; bread and butter pudding - something so simple executed so so well the caramelisation on top finished it off perfectly. Chocolate Cranachan - based on the Scottish dessert this was all bits delicious, creamy, and rich. Rhubarb cheesecake - again very well executed, something simple done well. Make sure you don’t skip dessert when you go here !
Decided to drop in for a meal with an old friend at this famed establishment by Heston Blumenthal. Looks like a really old place with lots of wood, low ceilings and felt very warm and cozy. Had to wait for our table as we were early and had some beers at the bar. A very small menu of about a dozen items and just a couple of options for vegetarians. We stuck to multiple appetizers and they were simply superb. However what we didn't quite enjoy was the pushy service trying to get you to order lots, order fast and get out of there - inspite of the place being half empty when we exited. I guess the Heston name allows them to treat their patrons any which way they like.
Ok. It isn't The Fat Duck, but is owned by Heston and I was expecting to be blown away. The location is lovely and is a centuries old coaching inn and I recall it from my days of living in Bray in the early 1970's.
4 of us are a good pub meal ( the Prawn Cocktail and chilled cucumber and pea soup were very, very good) but the Sirloin steaks weren't notable apart from a beautiful Marrowbone sauce. And at £29 not a cheap steak. An enjoyable evening but in someway I felt it should have been more, given the ownership.
When it was announced that Heston would be taking over the Crown, it was met with some degree of resistance by the local community as this was he last remaining standalone boozer in the village. The fear was that the boozer would be converted to yet another gastropub serving food which would be unrecognisable to the locals. Furthermore, Heston already owns a gastropub some 50 yards down the road (the Hind’s Head) serving his modern reinterpretation of classic English dishes.
Very Good!. We were staying in Bray and visited The Crown several times for drinks and dinner.Great food, good service and a nice outdoor dining area.
Heston + Bray = Delicious food, yet still at very reasonable prices. We visited the Crown at Bray at 18.30 on a Saturday, on the off-chance of getting a table (they keep a few back every day), and struck lucky.
We were absolutely delighted with the quality of the food - the Hereford Steak with Bearnaise sauce was faultless, and the fries, well, they really *are* perfect, as Heston set out to prove.The Loch Duart salmon with spicy tomato and pepper (and fennel?) sauce was also excellent, and the child's fish and chips had the best batter we've ever tasted (we all had some!).
If you need smaller portions for children, just ask.The staff were very accommodating.
The ice cream with peanut brittle and a little pot of hot salty caramel were delicious.
The prices were comparable with other gastropubs (around £90 for a family of 4 having two courses with wine). Certainly no evidence of any "Heston tax" - but plenty of evidence of his influence in the quality of the food.
We'll be back.
...I simply couldn’t help but peruse the menu as I walked past, a string of four words beckoning like beacons to a seat at The Crown. Ever the tight space with history seemingly well preserved despite controversy amongst locals who continually lament the loss of a patina of smoke and the cheap drinks of days past it was once again to warm pleasantries that I breached room’s cusp and with
But in terms of general enjoyment of the food, I’m a simple girl at heart and love a good pub meal.
Beautiful pub with huge garden and nice courtyard. Amazingly friendly service. Brown bread with crispy, seeded crust (and foamed butter) was fabulous. Nice marmite butter. Fabulously crispy fish & chips with fab chips. Rest of food and drink nice but not quite as fab - but all in all a lovely meal in beautiful Bray
Nice pub in Bray. Have an outside beer garden at the back through a courtyard type thing. Recommend going outside when weather is nice. Food was good too... had snacks... Black pudding Scotch egg was delightful
Interesting old pub dating back to 1380, making it the oldest building in the village. Nice selection of beers with plenty of seating inside and outside in the large garden. Good food selection and friendly staff. Expanded by incorporating old buildings on either side.
The Australian in-laws loved the experience. The photos and decor is great, love the exposed beams.
Food is good but it is getting expensive for a "normal pub". (I know it's a Heston pub :))
We were a group of 10. A very old and charming place. The service was quite nice and in a perfect speed. Never had to look for waiters, they appeared frequently and were very nice and helpful. I had the beef tartar as Appetizer which was hand cut, fresh and overall nice and recommendable. Not on the top range but good handwork. The burgers I found quite normal and not exciting. The buns seemed to be home made, but I had a quit dry one. The meat was not that good to be honest. Cooked medium but tasted not as expected. I would not order again. As dessert, we got the Creme Brûlée. Well made and delicious.
Fantastic garden, very helpful and welcoming staff, food was lovely but the main was very small. Four of us ordered the same meal as it looked delicious, unfortunately mine was but portion was tiny and I left hungry even after cheese and crackers, although the others were a fair size.
Next time I'll try something different as what I had tasted so good.
Jenny Racławicki (jennyfromtheblock)
+4
We were looking for a nice pub to have dinner and we found this as we were nearby. Classic, nice ambience and traditional except the Fish & Chips. I always order fish n chips when I am in an English pub as I know I won’t get disappointed… unfortunately I was. Although we love Heston Blumenthal but the fish n chips was just not for me. They made it too gourmet that I didn’t enjoyed it much coz the portion was a bit small for me, along side was the peas and tartar sauce served in a tiny bowl 😩- the portion of the fish was just not what I called traditional. Overall, everything else was awesome including the Bavette Steak which the kids indulged as well as my hubby enjoying his Crown burger. The staff, bartender were nice and friendly!
Very tasty, good beer, veg portions are good. The lamb was divine, felt that the starters should have been better for the price. Or a bit cheaper Had the prawn cocktail and the eel with bacon jam. Staff were excellent and friendly. Obviously not the cheapest place but we had a great evening.
Our party of 7 chose various meals although not all of them are listed on this page. All meals were very tasty, piping hot and beautifully presented.
The restaurant was busy but fairly quiet as it was a Tuesday.
The garden area was was lovely with conformable seating for many. Unfortunately we couldn't make use of it after our meal as it was raining when we finished our meal.
Definitely a place to go back to. Great for families and they cater for dogs too, proving a number of water bowls and fresh supply of water.
Fantastic little find this was, a real old traditional style pub with extremely low ceilings, a truly fabulous atmosphere, we enjoyed a three course lunch, the Irish lady who looked after us was really good, fully explained the menu and recommended dishes for us.
Very enjoyable, we will return.
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