The Crown and Anchor

It’s funny that they are so prevalent and present on the High Road and we hadn’t been there until early this week!
From what I have noticed, Crown and Anchor is one of the quieter pubs in Chiswick. Queer because they have such good seating and a fabulous bar.
I tried their Elderflower Fizz; muy bien!
Definitely worth a revisit. A lot more revisits actually.

Sunday roast was amazing. They were out of pork when we got there (I think they serve from 12 – 8?) and we got in at 7 but seriously good roast dinner!!!

My friends and I came here back in May for some much needed hangover food, after having just made it to the vintage wedding fair across the road. It was definitely one of those days (all the gin the night before kind of days) and having looked up a few spots on Unilocal this one was the perfect balance between a decent rating and a decent distance to us.
The staff were really friendly and helped us settle in easily — we shoved everything on a tab and sat on the sofa near the bar, since that was about what we could cope with. There’s actually a really good range of ales, craft beer, and assorted drinks but I could barely manage the half a lager I opted for so I can’t comment further!
Although it’s £18, the roast beef is huge. I mean, I can get a plate about the same size in Leeds for less, but I figured this was a good price given we were in London. (Or is it? I’m not au fait with London moneys.) Regardless, what you definitely do get for all that cash is a gargantuan plate of high quality, freshly made roast dinner. The roasties were fine (I am picky about those — who isn’t?!) and, sadly, my Yorkshire was a little over done. However, the rest of the crew’s were perfect, so that was just me! Beef was suitably pink and delicious. Plenty of good veg, including parsnips.
None of us could finish our plates, which may suggest in equal parts how large the portion was and how messy we felt at the time.
All in all, with the al fresco out the front facing the park, cool trad interior, lovely staff, and decent food, I’d definitely go back if I was near by.

Very good pub food. The quality has remained high since the pub was purchased a few months back. The Sunday roasts are usually excellent.

A very nice pub, bit pretencious on the food for what is a corner pub. Still décor is good, comfortable furniture, no tv but there is the piped music. As usual its bare wood as the main décor. Four real ales on tap decent quality and bot your usual national brands.

Stopped in for a pint on a cold and rainy Friday night. The décor is nice and the pub is much larger than it appears from outside. It seems to go on-​and-​on-​and-​on. My husband and I bellied up at the bar (yes, they have actual barstools at the bar!) and were promptly served. The clientele is mostly young professionals as stated in a prior review. The kitchen was closed due to it being after 11pm so no word on the food.
The only downside is that when the clock struck midnight, they promptly turned on the «ugly lights» in an effort to get everyone to finish up and be on their way.

This is probably the best place in Chiswick for having a drink in front of a live fire! Great for a cozy pub lunch at the weekend or somewhere to get out of the cold on a winters day. The layout of the pub itself is nothing special (somewhat spartan look with lost of wood furniture) but the staff is very friendly, they have a good selection of wine and beer, the service is good, and the food holds a very good standard.

I don’t think any area of London has such a vibrant restaurant/​café/​bar/​pub scene as Chiswick. W4 seems to be packed with places to eat and drink. And, whenever a place closes its doors it seems to be almost immediately replaced by another establishment of a similar nature. The people of Chiswick seem to love eating out!
Crown & Anchor is a typical Chiswick bar and restaurant. Located at the Chiswick Park end of Chiswick High Road, opposite Turnham Green and Chiswick Town Hall, it’s a stylish and atmospheric place at which to eat or drink. The seating area and the décor are very attractive; the range of drinks — including bottled beer and cider and draught beer — is extensive; the food (which I did not sample) looks good; and the staff are warm and friendly. Prices are reasonable. The clientele seems to consist primarily of young professionals (at least, that was how it seemed early on the Friday evening when I was recently there). I gather there are regular quiz and comedy nights (although nothing like that was programmed during my visit). One feature that I do not like is that the music emanating from the strategically placed speakers is sometimes far too loud for my liking. It’s intrusive and can hinder effective conversation. That drawback apart, Crown & Anchor is a good place at which to meet friends for a drink or a bite to eat.

Having been a regular when I worked locally during the 90s I was surprised recently to see this had turned into what’s probably known as a Gastro Pub the service was good, we had a private event and the food was catered and we were in the back section of the pub which was marked reserved the service all afternoon and evening was good but I couldn’t help feeling that £18 for 3 glasses of house wine was rather ridiculous.
The food was mostly ok sandwiches were freshly made, the chicken wings were done just right but the sausage rolls were mostly burnt on the bottom, which you just don’t expect in a pub when you’re paying for it (yeah, we probably do it often if making at home). The ladies toilets did not smell very pleasant at all and this was at lunchtime and the hand towel dispenser was empty for most of the day. Bar staff were found to be pleasant and good at serving drinks but absolutely awful at clearing glasses off tables and replenishing supplies in the toilets.

Wanted to visit this newly refurbished pub for a while as I go past it quite often. It comes across as a new trendy gastro-​pub and I was quite excited to go here.
Unfortunately, when ordering there wasn’t much on the menu, so we thought, well lets do the fajitas, one beef and one chicken (it was two of us)… ordering at the bar (now, that is a pub, not a gastro pub experience), and was told there was no beef available (uhu, that takes away a few other things from the menu??) and the there was no draft beers available (uhu times 2 — a pub with no draft beers??) even though they have the beer taps at the bar… once the food arrived it was not seasoned at all… hugely disappointing…
Wont be rushing back for the food, perhaps for a pint once they get the drafts back, but though… the ambiance at the pub across the street is far greater, and at least there you don’t get disappointed, both beer and food-​wise…

Nice friendly pub /​café bar for lunch. Bit noisier in the evenings. Food is upmarket pub grub. Chicken and chips etc. Good coffees. Also good brunch type food.

I wont deny it, it was definitely the Wednesday Night special that enticed me and my partner into the Crown & Anchor ‘2 portions of British mussels for £10′ and not to mention the 2 4 1 on Cocktails from 5pm 7pm!
The mussels came with a choice of three sauces: the traditional Mariniere of white wine, cream and shallots, a Thai style of coconut and chilli and a Mediterranean one of tomatoes, olives and red wine. I opted for a bit of spice and my better half played safe and chose the Mariniere.
Being ‘specials’ connoisseurs, we were both expecting an average, if not a little on the small side, bowl of moules with a paltry slice of bread. When our order arrived, we thought they had got them mixed up! The bowels were more like large cooking pots, beautifully presented on a rustic slap of wood with a large chuck of what almost looked liked homemade bread. Both hungry we mopped up the last of the sauce, ate the last mussel and slurped on a wonderfully made Mojito. Both satisfied we sank into the comfy leather settees and began to plan our next visit.

We went here for a cocktail after walking past it many many times. The only reason we were enticed was the sandwich board outside proclaiming «2 for 1 cocktails».
When we went in it was quiet and I felt uncomfortable in the atmosphere, I can’t put my finger on what was wrong, maybe I just felt that it should have been busier on a Thursday at nearly 7pm. We were standing at the bar for about 5 minutes with a member of staff pottering around behind the bar and in the kitchen before she finally deigned to serve us. We ordered 2 mojitos and were told to go and find a seat. As the place was pretty empty, this wasn’t a problem. We then waited about 15 minutes for the drinks, while the barmaid did other things, served other people and chatted with other members of staff.
While we were waiting it was so quiet that we both felt uncomfortable having a conversation so we moved into a corner, where it turned out that my boyfriend was sitting in front of a door that was obviously the staff entrance, however from the bar side it just looked like a painted wooden panel, so we got a massive shock when this «panel» was suddenly yanked open and someone barged past him, without so much as an excuse me!
And then, after all that wait, the drinks weren’t even that great… So we finished as soon as we could, sat in silence, and left.

really lovely design old and new so well balanced only had a coffee but the food looked great would love to go back

Another pub/​restaurant. I have not eaten here, but was very glad to make the most of the free wifi whilst having a couple of beers.
Great selection of lagers
NO real ale at all — wtf?
I may come back to try the food, but probably not

If you are not very fond of children, stop reading and move on to my next review. The newly refurbished Crown and Anchor is a yummy mummy’s magnet (I was there…) It becomes a bit of a nuisance to listen to all the ladies lunching and their screaming children. Especially when you are trying to write and take advantage of their free wi-​fi service.
Nonetheless, the actual menu and food (at least what I have sampled) tastes o.k. The salmon gnocchi (£6.95) was quite creamy and with a tad of white wine it gave it a nice touch. As a starter I had the stilton salad (£3.95) which was quite small but with the main I was totally full.
I felt my food choices were limited, and nothing really appealed all my senses. Although they always have some sort of special offer, or event happening it seems half way, nothing really excels.
For instance, they have ladies night. Two for one cocktails, but the majority are not common ones and they have no explanation as to what they contain.
Their set menu at £9.95 sounds promising, but I can’t vouch for it. Finally, the servers seem ‘to cool to serve’, I have been at the other side of the bar and even a bit of a smile goes a long way.

As a bar this place would be great — open, airy, comfortable seating, good choice of wine and beer — if they could get some music and people into it.
The problem with the place is it’s not just a bar, it is attempting to be several things, and unfortunately failing on all fronts. Jack of all trades, master of none. As a drinking spot, it’s not friendly or atmospheric, more reminiscent of a quiet Sunday pint in the most pretentious of village halls. As a restaurant, it’s the height of all that is wrong with the gastropub — it’s food I could do better at home in measly portions at inflated prices. Apparently torturing steak and pasta takes a special, costly chef to perfect.
The staff are nice enough and the interior passable, but with so much potential left begging, it’s somewhere in Chiswick I only go when I’m bored of everything else. Must try harder.

I visited this bar (not really a pub) after re-​birth following it’s limited days as the (questionably named/​themed) Shackology. It has definately been given the Ikea ‘treatment’ which makes it look a bit cheap/​muddled and not really sure of itself.
They have a couple of half decent beers and some OK (but too expensive) wines which are, if you are lucky, dished out by staff who are seemingly ‘too cool to serve’. The food seemed to come in small portions for larger prices.
This place feels like they are trying too hard to be ‘with it’ but are far, far from the mark.
I for one will be giving this place a very wide birth until it looses the attitude.

I used to frequent the Crown and Anchor, it was our favourite pub, and by that I mean a REAL pub! It felt cosy and the staff were friendly and welcoming, and more importantly IT HAD A POOL TABLEthere was a nice mix of classics on the juke box and pickled eggs behind the bar.
Sadly it was turned into Shackology, which unintentially (I think) turned into a yummy mummy haven, full of screaming little darlings and ladies that lunch. This without a doubt put me off, and saddened me to the core, as one of the last remaining pubby pubs got the dreaded gastro makeover.
So then when I found out that the Crown and Anchor had returned to it’s former glory, we popped in for a visit.
I can’t help but feel that the new Crown and Anchor is lacking in an atmosphere. It feels confused, like it’s in between a relaxed coffee shop (with IKEA bookcase full of books, sofas and rugs) and an upbeat funky cocktail bar (ladies night, ambient dance music). It just doesn’t work.
The food menu looked pleasant enough, but we had just eaten, so didn’t indulge.
I think in my dream state, I would imagine big church candles on the tables and some fairy lights, along with some funky chilled out tunes (no dance music). Comfy sofas (already there) board games that you can borrow from the bar, an open fire, organic wines and beers, plus the fullers beers. Maybe some cool snacks, thai chilli crackers, pick n mix sweets, olives just more cosy and chilled out. It could be so easy to do without too much effortoh and one thing that is seriously lacking in Chiswick. a decent roast dinner on a sundayand a nice brunchy breakfast! (Check out the defectors weld in Shepherd’s Bush. they do roast and records on a sunday with a DJ. it’s very cool)
If only they could bring back the pool table there are no pool tables left in Chiswick and it’s a crying shame! Maybe even a dart board, support the dying traditions of the old pubs!
Alsoon the cocktails. I’d never heard of most of the cocktails on the list and there wasn’t a description of what was in itso you don’t know what you are ordering without asking first
What Chiswick needs is an answer to the likes of the Defectors Weld in Shepherds Busha cool funky place to relax and eat, where you can even bring your own music. I just hope that the Crown and Anchor can listen to what’s missing and try and rectify it! Fingers crossed!

This was called Shackology for a time, but now back to the original Crown and Anchor.
It’s certainly a lot better than the original Old Man’s pub that was here, but a tad on the pricey side. Food is good, although selection is a bit poor — it’s either large lunch or tiny lunch options in here.
Atmosphere is OK, popular spot for the Chiswick Mums though — so be warned if you’re not a fan of children.