The Crown

This is a handy pub by Victoria Park, although personally it does bother me a little when a pub is set up more for eating than it is for drinking.
The staff couldn’t have been friendlier though and the ‘help yourself’ bottles of tap water were greatly appreciated after a boozy picnic in the park, but we had a couple of pints of beer too obviously! We took our water and our pints of the rather good Chelsea, from London Beer Co, to the small but pleasant upstairs area.
It is a pub I will always look to in the area, but it is unlikely it will ever be my favourite.

The crown had changed so many times in the years, with new owners bringing a splash of life to the place each time! I think because of this the quality of the food & drink has changed drastically and has only got better over time!
It’s a great relaxing place to go for a quick drink as much as a place to stay for the whole evening!
Really like the burgers and presentation when served. The décor looks lovely and really enjoy being outside in the sun. The view of the park is wonderful!
Private rooms above make it to be a great place for private events etc!

In the past I haven’t particularly been a fan of this pub. Others in the area were cheaper so I ventured a little further away from home to keep my purse happy. Now that prices have increased seemingly everywhere except here and pubs are starting, for some inexplicable reason, to serve their ales in dimple mugs, I’ve given up hope of finding a better pub than The Crown, at least in its immediate vicinity.
So what if it’s not independently owned, you’d never be able to tell. It’s now no more expensive than anything else in the area. The seats are comfy, the atmosphere is casual, the staff are helpful and best of all, dogs are allowed! Dooooogs allowed!!! Which means you can enjoy your polished gastropub meal and your dog can be by your side to make you feel at home by standing around crying and begging for food. (Oh, your dog doesn’t do that? How lovely for you!)
Busy on Fridays and Saturdays and increasingly so at dinnertime during the week and lunchtime on Sunday, the pub also operates a restaurant upstairs and serves a bar and gastropub menu downstairs. Although come to think of it, I don’t actually remember if the menu upstairs is different from the one downstairs.
Food here is DELISH. It’s less try-​hard than many other gastropubs serving scotch eggs and other weird stuff that’s now considered to be somehow posh. Simple dishes like fish & chips and burgers are staples I stick with, although I have gone crazy and shelled out for a steak (to die for/​by.) OK so yes, they do serve scotch egg. It costs £3.50 and it’s delicious and I hate myself for admitting to it but what’s even more delicious is their brunch menu. Yay BRUNCH!
The brunch here is obviously made infinitely better by the full bar so can you say bloody mary & eggs benedict? That’ll set you back £4.85 and £7.95 respectively if you please.
Remember a time when you wanted to go out to brunch with your friends and they told you that you were being too American? HAH! Joke’s on them! Brunch at the local pub! Full English and a pint please!
Don’t forget, you can bring the dog. (I suppose you can bring your children too… if you must.)

Been wanting to check this place out for a while now, but trying to go there during Christmas on a sunday without a reservation didnt work for me, who knew :)
However finally got around to going to the Crown. We had already eaten so just popped in for some pudding and maybe a cheeky beverage. I really like the traditional and cosy atmosphere here, which really add to the experience of a classic British pub.
I’m trying to learn more and drink wine more often, so generally ask the barman for advice, which often doesn’t work well for me as they don’t usually know anything and I end up picking something with a funny sounding name. However the barman here was very knowledgeable and extremely friendly, which really added to the vibe of the whole establishment.
Ended up with a really nice bottle of red for around £20 or so which Isn’t too bad. This went down amazingly with the orange bread and butter pudding + popcorn ice cream that we had. I don’t often order this kind of pudding but the popcorn ice cream was too tempting to miss out. Id usually go for a nice big choccie cake or cheesecake, but like I said I’m trying to expand my drinking palette, so might as well try to expand my waist too with extra pudding.
I will be back soon to try the meals and hopefully some wines too. I might even book for the christmas season in advance this time to avoid disappointment.

I am so glad this is my neighborhood bar and only just around the corner from me. It’s in an old building and has been redone so well. It has a really nice homey yet really classy feel. The drinks are really reasonably priced for how lovely it is, the food is a bit on the pricey side but it is delicious! Try the salmon and champagne scotch egg with mango coleslaw. Sounds weird, but the more you have of it the more you want.
There are a mix of locals and trendy hipsters, so some of the outfits you see are interesting. They are also dog friendly (even have water bowls at the ready) so you sometimes see them wandering around the bar with their owners. I’m a dog lover so I love this. I guess it could be more of a gastropub than a local traditional pub? I dodn’t even know it was owned by a larger company until I searched for its website.
The service is fantastic, everyone who works there is really nice and very attentive. And when you order drinks at the bar they’re really good about serving you quickly or at least acknowledging you (are next) so you don’t need to feel the need to try to get someone’s eye.
The fact that it is just off the park corner and so close just makes it even better. If you are in the area definitely come by and check it out!

It’s OK.
I feel bad for giving it two stars, but really — ‘Meh. I’ve experienced better’ really sums it all up.
Aside from the ultra friendly barmaid– who was lovely– the whole place was just generic and dull. There’s a little big of outside terrace seating, but staring at a roudabout is not amazingly relaxing.
Drinks, expensive and the selection behind the bar was naff.
It’s ok, good location next to the park. It was nice to use the loo…

If I can sum it up in a word, it is dull. Generic, characterless decoration coupled with high prices make this a tricky one. Perhaps they’ve tried too hard, but the pub as an entity has little soul. Maybe in 5 years time when the corners are a little scuffed and it feels more lived in, then it will be worth walking to. Until then the beer remains decent, and the food rather expensive — don’t ask about the uncovered sausage rolls at the bar unless you’ve got more than a couple of spare pound coins!

My high opinion of this pub is influenced by the fact I now live 5 minutes down the road and I once saw a bulldog nodding exactly in time to the music inside.
However, I’d definitely recommend The Crown to anyone in the Victoria Park area. It’s a great spot for Sunday lunch or drinks in the evening and the upstairs room’s ideal for a private party too.
As with all the Geronimo pubs they have tried hard with the décor, but it works to create a cosy environment to drink in.
The food’s nice, nothing memorable but you won’t be disappointed either. Make sure you book a table at weekends.
Overall a lovely pub in a great location on the corner of the park.

My initial reaction to this pub was horror as we walked in and all we could see was a sea of children on low tables, basically like a giant fancy crèche. A woman in the middle of the main route through to the bar doing something with a child completely ignored the fact we were waiting to get through which meant I had more time to check out all the yuppie families, dogs and breast feeding that was going on. A disturbing glimpse of the possible future.
Anyway, we arrived unscathed at the bar and took up residence on the world’s most comfortable bar stools which were basically massive bits of cow. I then saw they had mulled cider which, although expensive (two ciders and a packet of crisps cost £10.3) was exactly what I needed after a weekend in bed with a heavy cold. Well, maybe what I needed was orange juice but what I WANTED was mulled cider.
Despite a lengthy chat about what to order next, a barman standing about a foot away from us completely refused to catch our eye and was actually basically just incredibly rude. Another colleague was perfectly pleasant though and in general it seems like a friendly place.
It is hilariously gentrified/​yuppie, down to the ceramic farmhouse sinks in the toilets, tasteful grey paint and giant wooden tables. It is very nicely done though and an excellent place to stop off after a walk in Victoria Park, I’m sure I shall return.

Excellent pub… great pub food… high quality… excellent service…
Loved it :-)

Visiting from the States, I stumbled upon this place in search of not another greasy ‘fast-​food joint’. Basically, I didn’t want to have to dress up, but I didn’t want a meal that was prepared while you stood in line.
The menu is simple, but creative and fresh. I had the baked trout in butterbeans and parsley broth. It was lovely and baked to perfection. The service was superb. The setting is casual/​rustic elegance, and so is the atmosphere.
I see now that there are multiple locations, but I am glad now to know there is one relatively close to where I am staying (Tower Hamlets /​East End — Queen Mary University).
Cheers!

After a long work week and in desperate need of a cold pint, we ambled over to the Crown. Peering inside, there were plenty of seats and it seemed quite empty for a Friday night.
Now we know why.
The small bar area was being covered by two people. I have no idea what they were doing, but they weren’t serving anyone at the bar. We waited patiently for 10 minutes, but when my boyfriend went to order, the suited city type next to us barged in front and aggressively accused us of queue jumping. He then proceeded to argue with us. The barmaid was completely useless and just served someone else.
We left, wondering if all our local pubs in Bow have gone down the toilet with bad service and even worse clientele. Please do what we did and walk across the park to the Royal Inn where the night was redeemed.

I’ve been to the pub a couple of times and eaten in their restaurant once, last night and it is good but a little short of being great. Curiously there weren’t that many people there on Friday night unlike the Morgan Arms we had visited earlier which was packed and raucous as usual!
The restaurant is upstairs and was quite quiet with just 3 tables with people, however this probably contributed to the unhurried feel of the evening. The welcome was friendly and the service good, unpretentious and friendly.
The house wine was good and the menu simple and compact. The food was fine, tasty and good combinations of flavours but let down a little by attention to detail. For example — my starter of pea and ham soup was tasty with a lovely texture but the bread had obviously been cut and put out a long time before it was served as the outside had gone dry, the steak which was really flavoursome was way too thin, one of our party had smoked haddock which was flavoursome but overcooked, the pecan pie was awesome but was served cold, the cheeses on the cheeseboard were really really good but served straight from the fridge toooo cold to be fully outstanding.
So, frustratingly, it is a few steps from greatness and if it tightens up on the details I am sure it will thrive and booking will become essential!

When Hackney gentrifies, it does so quickly. Sloaney pub chain Geronimo takes a dicey neighbourhood boozer, though admittedly one in a beautiful old Victorian building, across the road from the tower block guarding the entrance to Victoria Park and turns it into somewhere you’d expect in the monied parts of South West London. This also put us into the deepest depths of Hackney, an area I’m not familiar with, even after more than ten years in the capital. Call me biased and parochial, but I can get my squalor closer to home and it’s rather too close to the asymmetric haircuts of Hoxton’s bars and cafes. We all have areas we love, and I’ve never had a Hackney state of mind.
Unusually, I’d be channelling the burger in a place like this, and certainly as a precursor to a night of fairly heavy drinking, however it had only been 24 hours since my last one and not even I can justify that. I’d also had a fairly awful fish and chip lunch quite recently at their West end outpost The Adam And Eve and didn’t want to have another pub standard massacred by mediocrity.
As such, I turned to a Butternut Squash and Red Onion pancake with goats cheese. More pedestrian than a German rambler and aggressively priced at a tenner considering the costs of the ingredients (a perennial whinge with vegetarian dishes — How CAN it cost more than a burger or a fish fillet to buy?). It’s a great concept for a dish, wholewheat pancake filled with a roasted, slow cooked mix of squash and onion and wrapped like a parcel. The goats cheese then sits on top before it’s thrown under the grill and served with a balsamic dressing and rocket. It just didn’t deliver. Pleasant enough, all of the elements needed to be turned up by 30% (with the exception of the rocket, at the hight of its peppery heat).

Favourite pub/​dinner spot in the area.
The food was delicious. The house white wine that the waitress recommended went great with our meal. The décor was by far Superior to anything in the area.
Came here for dinner and didn’t want to leave. Although the service was slow, I blame it on the private function was upstairs. I didn’t encounter the smell problem in the lower level as other guests before me. Might have been lucky to go during cleaner day?
Anyhow the food was delicious. Tried the asparagus salad, the royal greens, the trout, and the bangers and mash. Split with a friend of course ;)
Everything came out looking like it was ready for Food Network presentation. (US. TV reference). But seriously the flavors were well-​balanced and seemed to have been thought out and well executed. Wouldn’t change a thing and the only bad part was that I didn’t find it sooner…

Harmless gastro pub smack bang next to Victoria Park so it’s always a nice place to sit outside and have a posh fruity beer in the summer.
Inside is cosy and inoffensive with plenty of sofas and big tables to nestle in in the day if you’re looking to steal their wireless internet.
Also though a little pricey the food is well worth it. Again, nothing mind blowing but usual gastro pub comfort food ie. slab of nice meat, chunky chips, posh sauce. I ain’t complaining.

The Crown is lovely, especially upstairs.
Had dinner at this place last Friday night with two friends. The waiter, Sam, was super friendly and gave honest opinions on the menu. I have high expectations when it comes to London meals, and The Crown did not let me down. Their portions are average-​sized and the lighting is just right.
The only tough spot for me was the AWFUL… and I mean AWFUL smell downstairs in the hallway leading to the toilets. Seriously… WHAT is the story with that awful smell?!

The Crown is my new local, and it compares well to local pubs such as The Royal Inn on the Park on the opposite side of the pub. Its a quieter version, the décor may not be to your taste but the food, service, selection of beers and music are great. Its a nice place to sit and work in the day (free wifi) and good for a pint in the evening. It’s one of the best pubs that isn’t only for a younger crowd.

My housemate has been cherping about this pub for a little while. We neither of us have the pennies to rub together at the moment but like many of our friends we are indulging ourselves more than ever in an attempt to keep our spirits up. Which means expensive long relaxed pub lunches with plenty booze to lubricate our gossiping. The Crown is stuck out on the corner of a roundabout over looking Victoria Park in Bethnal Green and is yet another addition to the Geronimo Inns empire. The environment is cozy but spacious with a random but restrained diary theme. Even if you have gone in far from hungry the delicious smells coming from the kitchen rapidly seduce you into spending your hard earned cash. But the food is well worth it. We just had a Sunday Roast. There were two options of beef or pork belly. The pork belly was delicious and despite our friend having little sense of taste, she reported the beef to be good too. And it’s rare to come across staff who are sincerely and reassuringly friendly and relaxed. So go indulge.

A friend of mine works in The Crown so I’ve been to this excellent little establishment on more than one occasion. This bar is a perfect example of the continuing gentrification of this area with its plush interior, increasingly trendy clientele, and slightly expensive drink and food menus. The place is divided into a relaxing lounge-​style bar on the ground floor and the dining area upstairs.
On firday and saturday nights things can become a little crowded so if you’re after somewhere for a nice chat it’s better to come earlier on in the week. There’s usually some pretty decent music on and the comfortable chairs and soothing lighting are very realxing.
The bar offers a good range of drinks including Aspall cider, a favourite of mine, as well as lagers, ales and an extensive wine list. I’ve yet to try the food in here but my friend assures me of its excellence.