210 Chiswick High Road
W4 1PD
020 3330 7131
For the first review of the revived blog we decided to visit Chiswick's hottest opening of the year, The Crown at 210 Chiswick High Road. For 10 years the site was the home of Carvosso's, and keener followers will recall Mrs W's review from three years ago. (For less keen followers, i.e. most of you, here's a reminder).
I'm not sure quite how Carvosso's lasted so long, I don't know anyone who went more than once, so The Crown already has the edge. We've been twice, almost like proper restaurant reviewers.
The stucco-fronted former police station (until 1970) is the new venture of local chef Henry Harris, who made his name at Racine in Chelsea. It's the fourth site of Harcourt Inns. They had hoped to call it The Harlot (apparently inspired by Hogarth's 18th century series of prints The Harlot's Progress) but some pious locals objected, so the The Crown it is.
According to ChiswickW4 the pub's local suppliers include Natoora, HG Walter in Barons Court and the Baker family, who have the greengrocers next to the pub. I have to take out a small mortgage if I want anything from Natoora, so I'm assuming most of the fruit and veg comes from the greengrocers next door, or profits will be waning.
We first visited during the soft launch in January with friends who know Henry. This connection proved useful when after a long wait for our drinks HH went to get them himself. (The wait was just as long the second time. Unfortunately Henry was sat with friends at another table so we just had to wait our turn though they do need to work on that before the courtyard starts filling up in the summer.)
Our second visit was with friends from south of the river. Word of the blog has spread from W4 to SW13, and they left behind the Barnes delights of Riva and Sonny's to join us, promising not to fall off their chairs.
This time I started with the cannellini and broad bean minestrone. There were enough cannellini beans to stand a spoon up in, but their broader cousins were more scarce, and the broth was much too salty. Our guests both had the caponata and mozzarella on toast, which I'd had on our first visit, and was a much better choice. Mrs W had the chickpea tortelli (because we don't get enough chickpeas at home) and liked the taste but found the tortelli hard. Is that a thing? Hard tortelli? We weren't sure.
You may have to wait ages for drinks, but we'd barely had time to finish our starters when the main courses arrived. I had the classic Dordogne duck dish: confit with celeriac remoulade and Sarladaise potatoes, which rather boringly I'd also had on our first visit. The duck was perfectly cooked, and the potatoes wonderfully crunchy, but the remoulade felt like an after-thought and could have done with being a bit sharper (it's much better at Le Vacherin). Mrs W (and one of our guests) had the salmon with chargrilled onions, Marinda tomatoes and borage puree, which she really enjoyed. Our other guest had the whole roast coquelet with artichokes and turnip tops, which looked like a feast, though he thought his greens looked "a bit shagged out".
The wine list is genuinely interesting, apparently sourced by Mrs Harris. Lots of classics but some intriguing new finds too, from which we chose the Gaba do Xil Mencia on our first visit, a delicious Spanish red that the Harrises apparently drink at home.
All in all The Crown is a great addition to the Chiswick eating out scene. It is very much a gastro-pub, but clearly plenty of people just go in for a drink and the outside courtyard will come into its own when (and if) the sun starts shining.
Food (for 2): £53.63
Drink: £24.85
Total: £88.29
W4 1PD
020 3330 7131
For the first review of the revived blog we decided to visit Chiswick's hottest opening of the year, The Crown at 210 Chiswick High Road. For 10 years the site was the home of Carvosso's, and keener followers will recall Mrs W's review from three years ago. (For less keen followers, i.e. most of you, here's a reminder).
I'm not sure quite how Carvosso's lasted so long, I don't know anyone who went more than once, so The Crown already has the edge. We've been twice, almost like proper restaurant reviewers.
The stucco-fronted former police station (until 1970) is the new venture of local chef Henry Harris, who made his name at Racine in Chelsea. It's the fourth site of Harcourt Inns. They had hoped to call it The Harlot (apparently inspired by Hogarth's 18th century series of prints The Harlot's Progress) but some pious locals objected, so the The Crown it is.
According to ChiswickW4 the pub's local suppliers include Natoora, HG Walter in Barons Court and the Baker family, who have the greengrocers next to the pub. I have to take out a small mortgage if I want anything from Natoora, so I'm assuming most of the fruit and veg comes from the greengrocers next door, or profits will be waning.
We first visited during the soft launch in January with friends who know Henry. This connection proved useful when after a long wait for our drinks HH went to get them himself. (The wait was just as long the second time. Unfortunately Henry was sat with friends at another table so we just had to wait our turn though they do need to work on that before the courtyard starts filling up in the summer.)
This time I started with the cannellini and broad bean minestrone. There were enough cannellini beans to stand a spoon up in, but their broader cousins were more scarce, and the broth was much too salty. Our guests both had the caponata and mozzarella on toast, which I'd had on our first visit, and was a much better choice. Mrs W had the chickpea tortelli (because we don't get enough chickpeas at home) and liked the taste but found the tortelli hard. Is that a thing? Hard tortelli? We weren't sure.
You may have to wait ages for drinks, but we'd barely had time to finish our starters when the main courses arrived. I had the classic Dordogne duck dish: confit with celeriac remoulade and Sarladaise potatoes, which rather boringly I'd also had on our first visit. The duck was perfectly cooked, and the potatoes wonderfully crunchy, but the remoulade felt like an after-thought and could have done with being a bit sharper (it's much better at Le Vacherin). Mrs W (and one of our guests) had the salmon with chargrilled onions, Marinda tomatoes and borage puree, which she really enjoyed. Our other guest had the whole roast coquelet with artichokes and turnip tops, which looked like a feast, though he thought his greens looked "a bit shagged out".
The wine list is genuinely interesting, apparently sourced by Mrs Harris. Lots of classics but some intriguing new finds too, from which we chose the Gaba do Xil Mencia on our first visit, a delicious Spanish red that the Harrises apparently drink at home.
All in all The Crown is a great addition to the Chiswick eating out scene. It is very much a gastro-pub, but clearly plenty of people just go in for a drink and the outside courtyard will come into its own when (and if) the sun starts shining.
Food (for 2): £53.63
Drink: £24.85
Total: £88.29
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