Browns Milton Keynes, Milton Keynes

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Blackthorn _ left this review about Browns Bar & Brasserie

A modern bar in the centre of Milton Keynes, it has little in the way of any character but is nonetheless nicely furnished and is clean and up together. It is of course more of a restaurant than your traditional pub, but there is a bar counter and there’s no reason why you couldn’t just stop for a pint if you wanted. Although with a singular lack of any draught beer, whether you would actually want to or not is another matter.

It’s a good size pub, much larger than it first appears as it extends some way beyond the back of the bar counter. There is a small patio area out at the front with wicker seating, and there are also big windows all across the front to make the most of the views, such as they are, if you’re sat inside. Décor wise it has a slightly colonial feel to it, with a wood strip floor, several pot plants dotted around and even a baby grand piano. Seating is a mixture of table and chairs plus curved leather bench seating. The bar counter has a brass top and the paintwork is mostly a shade of khaki green. The left hand wall was mostly covered with various generic pictures.

The food menu was extensive and offered numerous “pub grub” options such as Fish & Chips, Fishcakes, Steak & Ale Pie, Burger, etc., as well as a few more adventurous dishes. Prices though were somewhat above your usual pub prices, with most of the main courses being in the £10 - £12 range. My Crab & King Prawn Linguine with a Lime, Chilli and Coriander Pesto was a decent enough dish and quite tasty, but a very small portion. Many of the main courses were available in small or large sizes, and I opted for the larger one at £12. I hate to think what the smaller portion would have been like. It seems as though I was not the only one who thought this, as I overheard another punter complaining about the size of the portion they had received.

Unfortunately there were no ales on tap, real or otherwise, unless you count the Czech Kozel. The solitary cider was Aspall’s Suffolk. All in all with the lack of any beer and the small portion sizes, I can find little to recommend this. This was surprising as I like their Bristol branch and have been in many times. I have never felt over-charged there, and they have a range of real ales on, so why this one should be so different I’m not sure.

On 8^th May 2013 - rating: 4
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