64 - 66 All Saints Street, Hastings, TN34 3BN
Harden's survey result
Summary
This “great pub in the Old Town”, “just off the seafront”, offers an “unusual but delicious choice of dishes” using “simple ingredients treated with respect”, along with “a good range of wines by the glass and keg beers”. Led by Tess & Andrew Swan, who recently celebrated 10 years at what was once a derelict old boozer, “staff are friendly, informative and hard working”.
Summary
“A tasty range of dishes” made from “simple ingredients treated with respect and creativity” is the recipe for happy dining at this “busy” and well commented-on pub in Hastings Old Town. Tess & Andrew Swan celebrate 10 years as owners this year, having created “a very pleasant environment” – they’re “really trying to push things, and succeeding”.
Summary
“Popular pub in the old town of Hastings”, very close to the beach. The menu mixes some gentle invention into a fairly classical gastropub selection of dishes and reports praise “great food and vibe”.
Summary
Good, if limited, feedback on this contemporary-style gastroboozer near the beach, serving an affordable menu of dependable quality fare.
For 34 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at The Crown Hastings?
Owner's description
The Crown is an independent, family run freehouse, situated in the heart of Hastings Old Town at the foot of the clifftop country park, and a stone's throw away from the beach. Reopened by Tess and Andrew Swan in July 2014, The Crown is a welcoming hub for the community and visitors, dogs and kids, open seven days a week.
In 2017 The Crown won The Observer’s Best Place to Drink in the UK, followed by Parliamentary pub of the year in 2018. We are proud to have featured in many publications including Time Out, GQ, The Times, The Guardian and The Telegraph. This year we continue to be listed in Harden’s, The Good Food Guide, CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide & Sawdays Good Pub Guide.
Our menu is focused on British provenance. Sourcing ingredients from our local fishing fleet, farms and producers, we are proud to champion the best produce Sussex and Kent has to offer. Our menu includes favourites such as our beer-battered fish finger sandwich in homemade ciabatta, and seasonal meat, fish and vegan/vegetarian dishes that change throughout the year. We serve our full menu all week from 12 till 4, 5 till 9. (Please note we do not serve a Sunday Roast).
We are proud of our drinks selection. We work with many of the fantastic craft breweries in the area, even co-producing our own beers from time to time. We have carefully curated a list of fine European and English wine with our local vintners, and a specialist gin and whisky selection. Our soft drinks include local sparkling juices, kombucha and cloudy apple juice.
We open at 11am every day. No need to book for the mornings - just turn up and enjoy the calm space. Join us for a cup of coffee from Hastings based Roar Gill roastery or a loose leaf tea from Proper Tea Co down the coast in Pett. We have wifi and plenty of space to work, meet with friends, or just relax. Well-behaved dogs are welcome (paws on the floor please!) and we have colouring sheets and a cupboard of activities in the snug for children.
For busier times, you can book a table through our website. You will find two options when you book; ‘hightops’ which are bar stools at a higher up table around the front, or normal tables. The outside picnic benches on the picturesque All Saints Street and our cosy snug are kept for walk-ins and are not bookable.
The Crown is in the perfect position for Hastings events such as Jack in the Green, Hastings Fat Tuesday, Crown Lane Bike Race and Bonfire Night Parades. In the mornings we host meetings, workshops and groups in our event space. Our space is also used by the community for events such as live jazz music mornings, baker and florist pop ups on select weekends and folk music gatherings. Our walls are host to an ever-changing exhibition of art and photography.
We look forward to welcoming you to The Crown
Andrew & Tess Swan
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £30.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £3.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £4.50 |
| Service | 10.00% |
Restaurant details
The chef
James Favell
Progressing through 20 years of formal and on-the-job training in various Sussex hospitality establishments including those with two AA rosettes, James is a real asset to our team and has been our Head Chef for 10 years. He leads the team of experienced and young chefs, including mentoring those on placements and internships. He brings knowledge of whole animal butchery, fine dining, banqueting experience and a vast technical knowledge of ingredient led cuisine.
Andrew Swan
Trained as a Engineer, Andrew became a chef 10 years ago when opening The Crown Hastings with his wife, Tess. He has a strong passion for delicious, homecooked food, cooking with the seasons and local produce, and brings this interest into the kitchen at The Crown in an executive chef role. Historically he completed a stagiaire at St John's restaurant in London and has worked at the Bivouac restaurant - part of the Swinton Park Hotel in North Yorkshire.
Andrew's role includes meeting new suppliers and developing the menu, using the best of local produce from the finest butchers, grocers and growers.
Lead by Andrew and James, a team of 11 kitchen staff create a seasonal menu, all cooked from scratch and in-house. The kitchen team use seasonal ingredients only and for the food menu they maintain a self-imposed ban on exotic produce from abroad – no chocolate, no coffee, no bananas, no lemons, etc. We serve produce that can be grown/reared/farmed in Sussex and Kent so that people get a true showcase of the region, we work directly with local producers to provide a true ‘farm to fork’ ethos. (Note: coffee etc still served at the bar!)
By restricting the ingredients we have available to us, we have to work seasonally, changing the menu gradually throughout the year. Limiting the chefs to the availability of ingredients forces us to be more creative, and delicious.
The Crown Hastings Restaurant Diner Reviews
"Excellent staff and the food is simply delicious. Highly recommended"
"Absolute favourite pub. The staff are so charming, the food is always local and seasonal. The Crown is a true asset to the area and a community hub"
"A short walk from the Hastings Contemporary gallery a good destination for some edible culture after feasting the eyes! A simple lunch menu offering enough choices for small or big food. Aubergine curry with spicy garnishes was flavourful. The ciabatta fish goujon sandwich with wedge chips is rather too generous, next time skip some of the ciabatta! Service efficient and friendly. Love the local featured artists who have their gallery on the pub walls. "
"Excellently run pub"
64 - 66 All Saints Street, Hastings, TN34 3BN
Opening hours
| Monday | 11 am‑11 pm |
| Tuesday | 11 am‑11 pm |
| Wednesday | 11 am‑11 pm |
| Thursday | 11 am‑11 pm |
| Friday | 11 am‑11 pm |
| Saturday | 11 am‑11 pm |
| Sunday | 11 am‑10:30 pm |
