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Beer of the Week (w/e 13th July 2025) with Bucking Fastard
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Crown Inn, Leamington Spa
Harbury
Postal town: Leamington Spa
CV33 9HE
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5 of 10) see review guidelines
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Crown Inn
Having visited the other 3 pubs in Harbury back in 2016, I returned this week to visit the Crown which has managed to get into the Good Beer Guide. It's listed as The Crown Inn Cafe & Public House, but in fairness I saw no sign of a cafe.
This is a stone building. The bar is to the front left and has exposed beams and parquet flooring. The bar itself can be found here. It is painted a shade of green. There are various fish pictures and ornaments and I noted some board games near the entrance to the rear games room.
Off to the front right is a dining room. Perhaps this is the so called cafe. A couple of groups were in occupying two tables late on a Wednesday lunchtime. Sunday lunch is advertised with bookings recommended.
The room to the rear spreads itself behind the other two. It has a dartboard and a TV and rather unusually, there is also an LP player at the left-hand end. The right-hand end is more of a conservatory area but with less seating. To the rear is a car park with room for 3 cars and an adjacent undercover seating area with ratan furniture. There are also some picnic benches and the smallest of children's play areas.
Music was playing throughout my visit and a wifi code is provided. Dogs are welcome, with treats behind the bar. On the bar there are 4 handpulls. Just 2 were clipped with Purity Pure Gold & Sharp's Doom Bar. Sharp's Atlantic was on keg and the cider was Inch's.
There is a bar snack menu on each table in the bar, offering olives, Marmite wheels, crisps, bread & olive oil, sausage rolls, Scotch Eggs and moving up to prawns, hummous, fish finger sandwiches, fondue and chips.
I couldn't see anything that made this pub stand out from the other pubs in the village (of which only one other remains), but they must be doing something right to ensure they survive and to get into the Good Beer Guide.
On 13th June 2025
- rating: 5
[User has posted 3168 recommendations about 3166 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about The Crown Inn
I have a walking book that suggests Harbury was the village with the highest amount of pubs - it once had 5 and down to three. I was here a month ago and Google Reviews suggested to avoid the Crown - so I went to the shakespeare.
To my surprise, I subsequently determined that this was actually in the Good Beer Guide. Should have completed better research.
A chalk notice board proclaimed a grand re-opening just three days before - as a cafe/bar.
Omninuous.
I entered to an unmanned bar and waited for at least 10 minutes. After 5, a harassed man came and said he would be with me in a minute. A sandwich emergency.
He then came back and still wasnt in a position to serve me.
By this point, the locals (two at the bar, one in the corner) had told me it was carnival day and unless I wanted to get trapped, I should move my car.
I took their advice and didnt stop.
For what it is worth - its a solid stone built pub, where the restaurant is now a cafe - leaving a small, flagged bar with three hand pulls on. I remember Butcombe.
However, its not going to work as an enterprise unless they employ more staff.
May have been teething issues but a disappointing visit.
On 13th June 2023
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 1636 recommendations about 1613 pubs]