The Angel & Crown, West End

The Angel & Crown
58 St Martins Lane
London
WC2N 4EA

http://www.theangelandcrown.com/


First things first. I had been in this pub before, to see Germany thrash England 4-1 in the World Cup. Thankfully, the pub has been taken over, or at least the decor and layout have been improved massively, but the Angel and Crown looks a lot nicer on the eye now.

Secondly, if 118 118 don't actually know your pub exists, in the heart of 'Theatre Land', then you might want to do a bit more marketing. Alternatively, as they thought there were only two pubs in London with the word 'Angel' in the name, the fault is probably with those moustached muppets.

Right, on to the pub. Initial signs were good: as I said, the decor is know a lot classier - dark blues, heavy woods, with a good finish, and the barman wore an apron to give the air of quality. The barman recommended the guest ale and it was a good recommendation. However, things went downhill when we were informed that the upstairs dining room was not yet open, despite it being half 1, and the pub's website says lunch is served from 12pm-3pm. We asked if they could recommend somewhere else, or if another ETM pub was serving food. That appeared to kick them up the rear and we were told food would be available in half an hour.

After that minor shambles, we went upstairs. The dining room is on the small side but as no one else was there we were served promptly. Water, wine, and bread were brought to the table while we settled on our choices.

Rob and I plumped for the Kiln roast salmon, beetroot, caper, horseradish crème fraîche and an Essex ham hock and cornichon terrine. The food was very well prepared and very tasty. For main, Rob plumped for the Yorkshire venison and bone marrow pie with creamed mashed potato. The only issue was that a large residual of liquid collected at the bottom of the bowl the pie came in, which was a little disconcerting. Rob was also disappointed that the pastry only covered the top of the pie, rather than encompassing all of the venison.

I selected the chargrilled Middlewhite pork T-bone, Savoy cabbage and turnips with scrumpy sauce, and it was two big thumbs up for me. The mains were sizeable, and we settled down to a fine lunch. Rob was stuffed/had to go to another dinner, so I was the only one to plump for a dessert - banoffe pie. It was a nice end to the meal although not the best banoffee I have ever had.

My rating: 7.5
Mills:

Overall rating: