I've been to the Rose & Crown a few times, usually whilst undertaking the Circle Line pub crawl and as such I had never really tried their food, or anything but their cheapest half pint of lager... however it was all very near the start of the adventure so my memory was still functional when I got there.
Recently though I went after a giving concert at Cadogan Hall in Sloane Square. I went with the whole of the orchestra I was playing in, and somehow... somehow we managed to pack into this tiny pub with the rest of the regulars. It seemed like a squeeze, though there's definitely a lot more there on Circle Line day, and the landlord told us that there are even more packed in during the Chelsea Flower Show which is nearby. It was quite hard to imagine so many people just in one room, and the Rose & Crown is a small pub. Some of us moved outside to sit on their benches which was better for space, but not for our temperatures!
That soon changed with the arrival of our food. A lot of pubs seem to be cooking up and serving Thai food, but this is the first one I've been to where it tastes anywhere near as good as the Thai restaurants. I had a red curry, a few of my companions had green curries or noodles and we all agreed they were a good effort. The portions were a tad small, however a couple of my friends were full with food remaining and so those of us still hungry polished off theirs too. Lovely grub.
Alcohol-wise their selection isn't the biggest with just a couple of ales and lagers, but for a pub only a couple of minutes walk from Sloane Square, the prices are good. Sure, still more than I might pay in my local in Hammersmith but definitely less than the other pubs around this, dare I say, posh area.
A little pub with a bit of charm, and the lads behind the bar were a good laugh, as was the landlady who came out with our food and managed a bit of banter before realising we were nutters to sit out in the cold and moving back inside to keep herself warm. There were only the two behind the bar which did mean it took a while to get served, and the lack of space and tables led to a cold evening, but an enjoyable one at that. read more