I live in a terrible place for a food blogger. My nearest large conurbation is Richmond, and apart from a handful of reasonable chain restaurants, and of course Mignonette, it is pretty devoid of anywhere decent to eat. No 1 Duke Street has pretty good food (but appalling and appallingly priced drinks), and the Britannia just can’t help being a pub, no matter how hard it tries. Yes, you can go to Petersham Nurseries, but only if a rich uncle recently died.

Even closer to home, in the “village” of St Margarets, things are no better. We used to have the most amazing French restaurant back in the day (Brula), which started in a basement I tried to set alight one time (a small table, a paper serviette, a candle and some wine were all to blame somehow to various degrees). It ate one of its larger competitors when it emerged from the basement, but sadly we lost it a number of years ago, and its replacement (Salon Privé) provided me with one of the most meagre set menus in history, and I am not going back. There are a smattering of others, but none are really the sort of small, neighbourhood place you fancy slipping out to for a mid-week meal.

We also have a dearth of pubs. For somewhere which is basically all riverside, there are approximately zero pubs overlooking the water, and very few with any sort of meaningful garden even. So when you do find a half-decent place, it’s worth frequenting.

The Crown is a pleasant old pub, near to Marble Hill Park, and if you are driving (which I hope many of you aren’t), there is a reasonably sized car park. The garden is not huge, but works surprisingly well, with different areas set out for general drinking (and smoking) and also for dining (and definitely not smoking). You can even book a table outside using the Young’s app, which is very handy, as many pubs do not offer this, and you have to hope on the day.

I’m a big fan of Young’s, owners of my favourite food pub the Hand in Hand, and the food at the Crown is generally pretty good, and sometimes excellent. When it’s cold, you can eat in the body of the pub, which I would not recommend, or in the rather large and spacious room at the back which, under a former regime, was a dance studio. It does a much better job as a restaurant, but then I do have two left feet, so what do I know?

A few days with extended family had driven us to the Crown on Saturday night for a drink. The Order at Table works really well on the Young’s app, and overcomes my usual appalling bar presence, so I’m always happy to pay 10% extra in tips to have someone bring my drink to me. On the way out, youngest daughter and her cousin happened to walk past a table of people eating fish and chips, and remarked how lovely it smelled. The scene was set for our next visit…

Roll on Monday evening. As said cousin was still with us, we decided to have a meal out, and the Crown was uppermost in everyone’s mind, in the light of the fish and chips experience (and, from the bill payer’s perspective, it’s not bad value…).

A few things to note.

First, there is a set menu. It’s not a bad price (the gnocchi is £15 on the main menu), but I have to say, I didn’t fancy much of it, and adding a supplement to one of only three mains seems to miss the point of a set menu completely.

Second, service is a little haphazard. We arrived, and literally as we were being seated we were asked for our drinks order. I am not knocking this, as I do like to get my first beverage in early. 30 seconds later, someone else came and asked us the same question. Again, not totally averse to this. But then we were forgotten. And when we were found again, it took 20 minutes to actually get the drinks (and we timed it), by which time we had eaten all of our olives. Of course, when we ordered a second drink much too early to compensate for this, it arrived almost as soon as the waitress had put her pen away.

They do fish very well here, and often have it on as a special. Because I failed miserably to take any food pictures at all on this visit, you are just going to have to make do with some from the archive.

That poached fish was amazing…

This time, no surprise, we all had battered fish and chips. Well almost. My peanut allergy gives me all sorts of grief, but rarely because of the actual peanuts. Food allergies are at best unpleasant and at their worst, life-threatening, and I am delighted that the food industry in the UK now takes it so seriously. Natasha’s Law now requires full labeling of pre-packed foods, and I can claim credit for the word “peanut” appearing on the front of most Eat Natural bars after discovering (the hard way) that their “Brazils, sultanas, almonds and hazelnuts” bar was actually 15% peanut (Peanuts are cheap…)

It’s great that most restaurants now ask about allergies, but very few seem to know how to react to the answer. Peanuts, for example, are not a nut, but a legume, so I can eat any sort of actual nut. And I am good with “traces of nuts”, which I always make clear. So how on earth did I end up with the gluten-free “batter” (quotes for trade description reasons) on my fish? Without having been asked. If I had known, I would have made my wish to have the full-fat batter known (or strongly questioned how peanuts feature in fish batter). I am sure many of you are thinking I should be grateful that they were looking out for me and should go and shove my EpiPen up my bum (not, I should point out, the recommended administration method), but as I do actually enjoy my food, so I don’t want to be given a lesser alternative just because it’s easier for the kitchen.

Anyhow, my fish coating was not that bad once soaked in vinegar, and the fish itself and the chips were excellent. I am reliably informed that the “real” batter was very crispy and flavoursome.

Drinks-wise we had some cocktails and a glass of wine. The wine by the glass is always good (and 175ml!), and no-one spat their cocktails out. However, I would have spat out my double gin and tonic had I known how much it was going to cost, a mistake I will not be making again.

This is a great local. It gets too crowded to drink in comfortably in the winter, but in the summer, the garden is a fantastic place to sit and eat and drink. The garden is not in a pretty location, but they have done a great job making it feel intimate (much in contrast to my most local pub the Ailsa Tavern whose garden always makes me worry I am going to get mugged). Inside, the dining room is light and airy, and apart from the occasional service fail (my particular favourite is their tendency to serve bottles of white wine warm, such that I often bring a pre-chilled wine sleeve with me), it really works well.

Conclusion

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

• Food: 4.5/5
• Service: 4/5
• Ambiance: 4/5
• Drinks: 4/5
• Value for Money: 4.5/5
• Would we go back: Yes

The Crown, Twickenham: https://www.crowntwickenham.co.uk/