The Crown Tavern

Great Saturday Lunch in a relaxed atmosphere

I wish this was my local!!
As it is, I came here on Saturday for some relaxed birthday drinks before moving on to a nearby play.
How refreshing to find a part of London that is not heaving with people on a Saturday. We started off on one of the tables overlooking the green (and our car - the parking meters had scoffed all our change but not spat out the promised tickets ...) and later moved indoors for lunch. This actually felt more like being in a French village than so close to the City of London.
The menu includes a good selection of comfort food you would expect from a pub nowadays. It's all extremely well cooked, nicely presented and delicious.
We sampled a good selection of their beers and wines - how refreshing to find a place where you don't have to choose by matters of elimination but actually leave with a few options still unsampled.
Good selection of staff as well who ranged from Russel Brand's younger brother to a tattoed matron trying to stop us from leaving by telling us the play would be rubbish ...

A really great pub - I have travelled all the way across town to enjoy a drink there. Its cosy inside and has a great bit towards the back you can book tables for special events. In the summer, you can enjoy the outside space on Clerkenwell Green where the pub put out some tables. Very friendly service and cool clientelle.

This pub has many things going for it, including its location on “the green”, a large pedestrian only, pavement area, where it opens up with plenty of space for drinking during the summer. Unfortunately it sometimes gets too popular during summer and fetching drinks can be quite a chore.

It’s nice and cosy inside with comfy chairs and stools for a small number of groups although this plays against it in winter when it’s so busy that what space there is fills up quite quickly.

They serve food here as well, and the grub is pretty good for a pub with all the classics including bangers and mash, burgers, and various roasts.

Ive been here a couple of times for drinks after work and there is always a great atmosphere in the place. The bartenders there are always (well when ive been there) in a good mood. Whilst it isn’t the biggest of bars, this helps because the cosy atmosphere adds to the place.

Last weekend my friend hired out the upstairs room for his birthday. It was a great little space, reminded me almost of a living room with a large fireplace and a few sofas. The food we ordered came quickly and tasted good. Although this was only a few platters im sure the rest of the menu would follow at the same level. This place is always full of the creative sorts that migrate and work in the Clerkenwell area.

This is a cool pub. Lots of god yummy things to drink (think Leffe, great spirits) and it has a pretty god vibe.

There’s something about pubs with board games that feel cosy. It’s fun to have a few beers in the afternoon and play about. I only came here for a quick drink before going into town and I wished I’d had more time here.

I’ll be coming back as it’s close enough to the tube to make life easy, but off the beaten track enough to not be too packed. What is it about Farringdon that makes it so damn good at pubs?

Another note, it’s open at the weekends too. That seems a strange thing to mention if you don’t know the area, but a lot of pubs shut around here over the weekend. This one gets extra points for that.

This has the makings of an excellent pub. There is a good selection of wine, a decent selection of real ales, and a superb selection of bottled beers and ciders from around the world (I favour the Liberty Ale). The lunchtime burgers and chips are excellent (I’ve also had the club sandwich which was good, though not as noteworthy as the burgers), and the prices reasonable for the area (though the beer is a little steep). They have a promotion on - on Mondays, most wine is £10 a bottle.

What lets this pub down is the service. Whilst it’s largely friendly (with one exception), it is cripplingly slow. I have waited 6 or 7 minutes just for my change, whilst the ever changing bar staff attempt to fathom out the till. If this were the exception, you’d smile and shrug it off, but it happens every time I go.

This is a shame, as this pub would get a solid four stars from me otherwise - the mix of drinks, seating styles (from high stools to cosy chairs; from window-airy to niche dark and cosy) suit a wide range of clientèle. I have gone in with folk my own age (40ish) and much younger (20ish) and all have found something to amuse (including a selection of board games). They just need to sort their service out.

A top pub. I worked around the corner from this place for the last few months and was a regular. Loved it. A great selection of beers, excellent pub grub (the burgers are a must-try) and insanely comfortable seats and couches.

The staff are generally very friendly, and even when it’s jammers busy (which is frequently is on a Friday night) they keep their cool and their smiles.

When it’s warm enough, there are seats outside and they’ll even come out to take orders if they know you. Very handy!

All in all, it’s far too easy to spend the evening here :-)