The Crown at Bray
Bray, Berkshire
CONTINUE READING
Already a member? Log in here
Subscribe to our newsletter to gain access to limited free articles, reviews, news and our weekly newsletter.
The Good Food Guide Membership: Save £100s at Britain's best restaurants - try for free for 30 days
Originally part of Heston Blumenthal's mini empire in Bray, this decidedly quaint 16th-century pub is now in the hands of his one-time associate James Lee. Locals and visitors flock here when they’re jaded with the fripperies of fine dining – or perhaps when they want change from £100 a head for a meal. You can still visit for a pint of Rebellion ale (brewed in Marlow) and cosiness is kept to the max – thanks to log fires, low ceilings, plentiful black beams and wooden benches. The food follows suit with a menu of modern pub classics: prawn cocktail (abundant iceberg, tautly textured prawns, copious marie rose sauce) could precede succulent poached chicken with ratte potato and smoked onion purée, for example. Occasional modish tweaks aren't always an improvement: skate wing might have been better accompanied by capers and brown butter sauce rather than an underpowered bouillabaisse velouté, though the side dish of 'frickles' (deep-fried gherkins) made amends. An indulgently dense Earl Grey ganache with milk ice cream ended proceedings sweetly at inspection. Slips can occur on a busy Saturday night (where was the confit garlic with the chicken?); nevertheless, waiting staff are swift and willing to trot off to the kitchen for information. Drinks are a cut above the pubby norm, with house cocktails, magnums and Coravin fine wines supplementing a wide-ranging list that offers plenty by the glass or carafe.
