Ye Olde Rose & Crown, Walthamstow, E17

Ye Olde Rose and Crown is a nice looking Victorian pub that is situated in the middle of Walthamstow. Once inside there is a large L shaped room with the bar facing,there is a large raised area to the front right,the seating is a mix of normal tables and chairs and a few pew type seats. There was a very good choice of real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Trumans Best Bitter which went down well,the other brewery beers i noted were from Flipside and Crouch Vale,there were many more beers on the bar. This was a really nice pub to end my Walthamtsow crawl in. Pub visited 21/3/2015

First time to visit this impressive, large Victorian pub and theatre in the heart of Walthamstow and very difficult to improve on some of the excellent descriptions already provided. It wasn’t so busy for my early Saturday afternoon visit and the raised area to the right of the entrance was actually being used for a clothes sale. Not the type of thing that attracts me to a pub but it was pulling a few non drinking vistors in and any misconceptions I may have had over this evaporated as I approached the bar. It looks like they are continuing to add to the impressive pump clip collection with a good range of changing ales and for my visit all six pumps were in operation dispensing Deverels Tall Hot Blond, Cottage Brewery Cyclops, Cornwall Coastal Brewery Golden Hind, Bowman Moo Moo, Eland Brewery Old School and a craft lager in the form of the Viennese from Wharf Bank, and the couple I tried were in top form. Didn’t really have high hopes of this one but well exceeded expectations and was a good venue to kick off a crawl from Walthamstow Central station.

This is an impressive, large Victorian pub and theatre in the heart of Walthamstow. The place has obviously undergone a lot of alterations over the years, but there are still a few interesting old features that make it well worth a look. The front part of the pub has a raised seating area under the windows, offering lots of standard tables and chairs and there is a similarly furnished space to the right in a cosy looking corner with a small stove in a fireplace on the end wall. A long servery runs along the back wall before turning 90 degrees and running further to the right rear. Here you can see evidence of previous layouts, as a large section of dividing wall remains here, creating a very narrow, squeezed space next to the bar with some nice stained glass set in a panel above. On the other side of this wall, there is a remarkable porch-like space with a Rose and Crown mosaic floor and bright glazed tile walls. Beyond is a split level rear seating area with lots more standard seating, a few old pews and a battered sofa in a part carpeted, part vinyl floored room. A sprawling collection of pump clips run from the bar on to the back of the room, passing some bookshelves and a bucket full of kid's toys on the way before finally reaching what appears to be a stage of sorts, ideal for the live music that the pub hosts. Pop music played fairly loudly on my Friday evening visit but there was a large crowd in who created a good atmosphere on their own. The pub puts on a good range of ales and the choice on this visit was from Elgoods Light Bees, Robinsons Citra, Sharps Doom Bar and York Terrier with at least two more pumps unused. A couple of boxes of cider could be seen sat on the bar back as well. I tried the Citra which was in pretty good shape and served to me by one of the efficient barmaids. I thought this was a lively and enjoyable pub which feels like it's still drink led, despite offering food and a wide range of other forms of entertainment. I liked the unusual features that still remain and would suggest it's probably the best 'traditional' pub in Walthamstow.

It's clear that they offer quite a bit of entertainment here - one of the seating area's raised and already had a large pair of speakers out at lunchtime. Maybe they just leave them in place? Another curiosity was a pile of kids board games, as well as a wall pretty much covered in old pump clips - they're covering quite a few bases in here. Six pumps at the bar, although only 4 were clipped this time. The sole barman dealt with our large party's disorganised beer ordering in good humour. That may be because there wasn't much else for him to be doing - the pub was pretty quiet, which is a shame as it's worth a visit.

I dropped in here yesterday for day 1 of their beer festival. The only other time I had been here was when it was a keg only Truman's pub. The festival beers were served straight from the cask from somewhere round the back of the pub, so this may not have been the best test for the beer quality, but luckily it was a cold day and the pint of Dark Star Winter Meltdown was well kept. I thought it had a slightly sour note but discovered from the web site that it has spices in the recipe which would account for it. I would liked to have stopped for a second but was put off by the price. £3.30 is steep when you're used to Spoons prices. It has been said that this is the best pub in Walthamstow, and it probably is, but at the moment there isn't much competition. The Nag's Head is not that far away but the Coppermill is a mile or so away. This may change when the Bell just up the road re-opens, but I'm not expecting it to be at all cheap. It is advertised as a Theatre pub, which hopefully attracts extra custom but holds no appeal for me.

Mr Fastard nails the details below. It's a very large boozer this and it feels it although not in a negative sense. The welcome was warm and the clientele is mixed with a generally friendly and chatty atmosphere. Beers on four handpumps were Hoggleys Resevoir Hogs, Old Mill Winter Warmer, Triple fff Pressed Rat and Warthog and Windsor and Eton Windsor Knot. The Winter Warmer was in good nick but as all four were rotating guests it's a lottery as to what you'll find. I wouldn't necessarily make a big detour to return but it'd be my first stop if in Walthamstow.