Long a default option for local rag-trade workers, this ‘refreshingly grounded’ Victorian dame has undergone some gentle cosmetic surgery. Natty leather upholstery, Edwardian dining sets,
postmodern chandeliers and framed vintage Radio Times covers (a nod to the nearby BBC) – coupled with much-improved food and drink – mean that the Crown is now well worth considering in this
part of town. Order draught London-brewed ales, Cornish Doom Bar, Warwickshire UBU Purity and Suffolk cider on tap – or mulled wine and hotshot bloody Marys to banish the winter blues. Affordable
fixed-price deals from the over-long, please-all menu might run from Caesar salad or chicken and chorizo skewers via fish pie, macaroni cheese or Gloucester Old Spot sausages and mash to sorbets or
salted caramel chocolate tart with clotted cream to finish. Saturday brunch, Sunday roasts and sarnies are also available.