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Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Crown, Cricklewood, NW2
NW2
NW2 3ED
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 4 of 10) see review guidelines
Tris C left this review about The Crown
Probably an old coaching inn, this terracotta-fronted pub was rebuilt in 1889 by Shoebridge & Rising for the Cannon Brewery, Grade II-listed and garnering a CAMRA heritage citation of **.
Situated on none-too-fashionable Cricklewood Broadway, you brave the inebriated loons and make your way across the ugly front car park, threading your way through the equally ugly cars to an entrance with a cracked front window. The pub’s narrative is a bit Borat, the place described as ‘Crown Pub’, the Eastern bloc vocabulary extending to describing opening times as ‘Hours of Operation’ and boasting a ‘Bonfire’(!!); Yes-a-much! Inside and what heritage value this place once had has clearly been molested, with a modern floor, graphite or white colour scheme, mixed modern furniture, trendy eclectic prints and horrible multicoloured flashing LED lighting strips; given the freezing cold interior, I’d have welcomed the advent of the promised ‘Bonfire’. This to the accompaniment of unwatched golf on the TV with soundtrack combined with tacky background music. Several tables were uncleared, with glasses and partially consumed meals; a huge greasy chip lurked beneath my table, waiting to pounce on the unwary drinker. There were just three visible customers at the time of my Thursday 9.30pm visit: scruffy builders in high vis, watching noisy YouTube videos on one of their phones.
There’s no cask here, with just a bare basics selection including the likes of Cobra and Yorkshire’s finest: Madrí, a half of Guinness costing me an extortionate £3.50, served by witless, incomprehensible, couldn’t-give-a-toss juvenile staff.
In a postcode with now just three original pubs, this is clearly the worst.
Rated: 2.5
On 25th November 2024
- rating: 3
[User has posted 2208 recommendations about 2165 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Crown
This bar is housed in a magnificent red brick building, set back from the main road with its own short driveway. It looks really impressive, and although as a hotel it might be OK, as a pub it doesn't really live up to the promise of the superb exterior. Furnishings are marble topped low tables, combined with armchairs and sofas. There were no normal tables and chairs, but on the plus side no tall tables/tall stools either. There was what seemed to be a dining area in a large room behind the main bar area and servery.
Newspapers in a rack on the wall is a nice touch, but it's what you might expect as this is really a hotel lounge, although open to the public of course. The beer is nothing to write home about either, with Doom Bar and London Pride (£1.85 a half) on, and with a third pump unused. I didn't see any food available in the bar, but I guess you could eat in the Asian restaurant which is part of the hotel. This is not the sort of place to which I would return.
On 31st August 2014
- rating: 4
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Strongers . left this review about The Crown
This is a soulless pub with the atmosphere of a hotel bar, which it really is. The staff were pleasant, but in a professional business like way rather than a relaxing pub manner.
There is a quiet lounge bar at the rear that had Landlord on three pumps and some jazz type music played at a very low level.
The front bar has a single Landlord pump and a selection of standard draught. There are also a couple plasma screens that I would imagine showing rolling news rather than any sport.
I doubt that I'll return to this pub.
On 1st September 2009
- rating: 5
[User has posted 5965 recommendations about 5931 pubs]