The Crown Inn, Bath

A large and imposing pub with a splendid Georgian, even slightly Gothic exterior, one imagines that the inside must be similarly blessed with plentiful character and charm. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case. It’s clearly been renovated at some point and is now a bland, unremarkable pub with something of a hotel bar feel to it, even down to the chain grill that had been pulled down over one of the bar counters that was not in use. The right hand lounge bar was the one that was out of use on our visit, with the room being in darkness. The public bar on the left is an oblong room with a blue/green carpet, gold flock wallpaper with cream wood panelling down below, some red bench seating, a large wooden pew at one end and some chunky tables. A plasma was up in one corner showing the football, although fortunately the volume was off and there was background music playing. A darts board was at one end, as well as a fruit machine and a quiz machine. There are a few tables outside, but there is little in the way of an outlook as the pub is located on a busy junction. Beers on tap were Doom Bar and the seasonal Rucking Rudolph. Ciders were Thatcher’s Gold and Bee Sting Pear cider. Overall, this was a fairly average pub. There was nothing wrong with it, and the landlord was friendly enough, but after the impressive exterior I imagine most people will be fairly disappointed when they get inside.