The Three Crowns

Don’t you love it when you find a gem by accident. On our way to a fellow Unilocaler’s wedding, the 3 of us were on the lookout for somewhere to have a small lunch. The girlfriend spotted the Three Crowns in the centre of Billingshurst as we drove through. A quick U-​turn and we were soon parked up
As it turned out, we had forgotten that it was Father’s Day and the tables inside were fully booked but the cheerful staff offered us a table in their rear garden. Well, another win purely by coincidence. On that sunny day, the huge garden was THE place to sit. There were even some chickens in their run at the back of the garden for the kids (and me) to visit and play with
A couple of sharing boards seemed a reasonable choice for the 3 of us just to hold out til the wedding dinner. Well, we had forgotten that in the West Sussex countryside, portions are a tad more generous than in London and the 2 boards came laden and groaning with food. I especially loved the seafood board with fresh large prawns, smoked salmon, poached fish and seafood salad. A spritz of lemon and you could imagine being a few miles down the road at the sea. The charcuterie board was similarly replete with fine cuts of meat. All accompanied by herculean sized pieces of bread, so much so that we didn’t even finish one portion of bread between us
It was a great start to the day and highly recommended if you’re in the area

We stopped into the Three Crowns on the way to a fellow Unilocaler’s wedding. We weren’t sure when food would be served at the wedding, so figured it was a wise move to line the stomach, so to speak, and stopped by this welcoming looking pub.
The interior of the pub is cosy and full of character — a good place to catch up with a couple of friends over a pint or some food but very much designed to quiet and calm rather than the rowdiness you get in London pubs. That being said, it’s the massive beer garden out back that really sells this place. It’s absolutely beautiful with a large grassy area and a number of tables sprinkled around. There are even some chickens fenced in towards the back — so you know the eggs are pretty fresh!
Food wise, we thought we were being reasonable and opted for a seafood sharing platter and a charcuterie board. Little did we realise that these boards were twice as big as any board you’ll see in London and absolutely jammed with food. One board would have left us content, two almost put us into a happy food coma. Plus let’s not forget the hefty chunks of olive bread we were given to go with the boards — none of the miserly portions of crackers we’re used to in the city.
The two sharing boards plus three drinks came in below £40 which was pretty reasonable. Given the quality (and quantity) of food, I’d be happy to come back any time. If this is standard for pubs in the country, I think I can definitely see my way to living away from the city. Plus then we’d have plenty of place for a dog. Oh yeah, the pub is definitely animal friendly!

Wonderful menu and presentation to compliment all of the chef’s creations. The venison and Christmas Porter pie was quite tasty.