Harden's survey result
Summary
In a Georgian building on the high street of this famous seaside town – where the brewery of this tavern’s owners Adnams is a key landmark – this well-known destination is “kept alive by the many tourists visiting the area” and has yet to regain its mojo of a couple of decades ago when the likes of Fay Maschler would declare it an out-of-town favourite. Nowadays, its dining room “is pleasant, but still needs to up their game in a number of areas”. Fans, though, do say “it’s on the up again, if for no better reason than the fact that it’s benefitting from the disastrous refurbishment of its sibling, the Swan!”
Summary
This attractive Georgian high street inn, long of note among London daytrippers, is part of the Adnams stable, so “exemplary beer” is a given. While it’s “had its wobbles over the years” (decades, really) and there was the odd “average” report again this year, a number of reports claim it’s “finally improving again” and its biggest fans say it’s “everything that you’d want a seaside hotel restaurant to be”.
Summary
Back in the day, this characterful, Adnams-owned Georgian tavern in the heart of the town was an easy entry in London-based journos’ round-ups of day-escapes from the capital. For many years now, however, it’s been a less commented-on and less reliable attraction: for the majority, “still a favourite in Southwold after forty-something years” and some would say “back on form”; but there is still the odd disastrous trip reported here.
Summary
This “homely” Georgian hotel restaurant “with great ambience” “continues to be the heart of Southwold” and “has usually been a reliably safe bet for an interesting menu and sound cooking”. But eating here has been a losing bet too often in recent times – “making the right choice from the menu is essential, as not all dishes are good”. “One change post-Brexit and Covid is that staff are mostly local, taking it back to what it was 30 years ago – which is fitting for such a retro location.”
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?
90 High St, Southwold, IP18 6DP
Restaurant details
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £30.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £3.50 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £0.00 |
| Service | 10.00% |
90 High St, Southwold, IP18 6DP
Opening hours
| Monday | 10 am‑3 pm, 6 pm‑9 pm |
| Tuesday | 10 am‑3 pm, 6 pm‑9 pm |
| Wednesday | 10 am‑3 pm, 6 pm‑9 pm |
| Thursday | 10 am‑3 pm, 6 pm‑9 pm |
| Friday | 10 am‑3 pm, 6 pm‑9 pm |
| Saturday | 10 am‑3 pm, 6 pm‑9 pm |
| Sunday | 10 am‑8 pm |
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