One of the most disappointing experiences I've ever had. It's a real shame, too; I love Adnams and what they stand for, but The Crown really lets them down.
We'd booked for a special treat on the Saturday night of our visit. Our numbers dropped one, so my mum and I went in at lunchtime to let them know, so we weren't taking up too much room - they said that was fine and thanks for letting them know.
When we arrived later on, my boyfriend and I before my parents, I gave our name and they didn't have any record of our booking. I'm sorry, what? We just came in at lunch - and my dad booked it over a month ago. Was it under any other name, they asked - well, no, unless you're the ones who have taken it down incorrectly! We were assured (no apology given) that we would be able to have a table within half an hour. So, we went and sat down in the back bar area for some drinks. Cue a 40 minute wait, after which my dad had to get up and ask if our table was anywhere near ready. Yes, they are just paying up - an excuse we'd heard before on a past shaky experience.
We were seated 10 minutes later in the dining room and handed our menus. The offerings at The Crown are something a bit different compared to the rest of Southwold; paired with The Swan down the road, this is one of Southwold's finer eateries. Noone offered any help with the menu or explaining starters/specials until I asked. I opted for the gnocchi starter and duck main. Both were quite tasty, though the gnocchi was fairly flavourless - the addition of courgette didn't help! My mum's lamb main came grey, not pink, and with no potato or vegetable addition - quite odd. Noone knew who was eating what, suprising for somewhere supposedly priding itself on silver service.
I requested a wine menu part way through the meal and it came quickly, though noone offered to take my order, despite the main meals coming and me obviously sitting with it in my hands. We weren't asked once during our meal how we were or if we were enjoying our food. Maybe they knew the answer.
At the end of the meal - coming to around £150 for this experience - our receipt was just plonked on the table, folded up numerous times. You get a silver tray with mints in your local Indian!
This was the straw that 'broke the camel's back' and my mum decided to speak to the manager. He didn't pull himself away from putting the money away in the till and blamed the missing booking on the fact the bookings come through The Swan - even though my dad spoke directly to them. And we saw another table having the same experience. He focused completely on the missing booking rather than the poor service and we all left feeling angry and disappointed.
Hopefully, The Crown will pull its socks up. Until then, we wont be back. read more