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You are here: Home / Restaurant / The Crown Tavern – a Jewel Sparkling in Lee

The Crown Tavern – a Jewel Sparkling in Lee

December 27, 2015 by Sarah James 2 Comments

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A Pub for All Men (and Women) – The Crown Tavern, Lee:

Young’s Brewery have reinvested the money from the sale of the Wandsworth brewery site into their pubs, with The Crown in the south London leafy suburb of Lee benefiting from a stylish refurbishment.

The Crown - exterior

It’s a large pub, with gardens to the front and rear, a restaurant to the rear, a separate bar and function room on the 1st floor, and a large bar to the front of the ground floor.

The Crown - garden The Crown - interior The Crown - dining room The Crown - upstairs function room

Many of the popular pub’s original fixtures have been kept whilst the new interior gives a nod to the pub’s historical links to the original railway line in Lee that ran behind the Tavern, without over-doing the theme.  Design features include booths styled like train carriages with antique lighting and luggage racks, travel-stamp print upholstery and vintage railway signage and maps.

The Crown - nook

It’s come a long way from the nicotine stained pubs of yesteryear.   Whilst we were there, there were a group of locals at the bar who had been drinking there for years. Initially cynical about the re-design, they now love it, and also bring their wives and girlfriends as it’s lost that macho pub feel and is a much more welcoming place to have a drink or a meal.

I always think that you can tell a lot about a place by the standard of the toilets, and these were lovely I thought!

The Crown - toilets

Head chef Tristan Downes was attending his fiancées’ graduation the day we visited, but his kitchen staff did him proud. We chose to eat in the bar area as it felt cosier on a damp late autumn day.   My partner started with smoked gin cured salmon with pickled beets, radish, watercress and chervil crème fraÎche, whilst I tucked into mackerel pate with sourdough toast – one of those retro dishes that may not be fashionable but is still very tasty!

The Crown - Smoked Salmon starter The Crown - smoked mackeral pate starter

For our main courses my partner chose Wild boar sausages, served with white truffle mash, crispy apple and shallot gravy. These were declared delicious and a great match for his Young’s pint! I opted for sea bass, which was pan-fried to perfection.

The Crown - sea bass The Crown - boar sausages

I was really too full to have pudding, but in the interests of the review, forced myself!   Sticky toffee pudding seems like the ultimate comfort food and given the grim weather that day I justified it to myself. My partner opted for the Banoffee pie, which seemed to disappear in seconds.

The Crown - banoffee The Crown - dessert

Throughout this, we observed the staff warmly welcoming both regulars and new customers and engaging in conversation across the bar. It’s really lovely to find a pub where this still happens, so many bars have become very chic but lost that personal touch in the process. The Crown Tavern has managed to get this just right. If this was nearer to where I live, I’m certain that I would become a bit of a fixture!

 

Disclaimer: We were guests of The Crown Tavern

The Crown Tavern
117 Burnt Ash Hill
Lee, London SE12 0AJ

www.thecrownlee.co.uk

T: 020 8857 6607

Filed Under: Restaurant, South London

About Sarah James

Sarah works full time in the NHS as a serious education and organisation development director. When she lets her hair down it’s to indie bands, preferably live, as she seeks to retain her rock chic status. Sarah makes a mean cocktail and loves trying out new food and drink recipes. Out and about she’s often found sipping champagne, fuelling her curry addiction, and enjoying fine dining. Sarah loves exploring both in the UK and abroad, especially places that are off the beaten track, and/or offer fantastic local food and drink.

Comments

  1. Jenny Maloney says

    March 6, 2016 at 4:40 pm

    Just had an amazing Mother’s Day roast , best pub roast ever, staff were friendly and attentive , very good experience , THANK YOU ALL

    Reply
  2. Stevie Wilson says

    January 3, 2016 at 3:32 am

    What a fun place to visit. I think it”s an amazing facelift and rehab on the building…. and it should be very popular. The food looks delish!

    Reply

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