Crown, Saltfordback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
The recent review is pretty much what I found the other day. The Crown seems to have a real public bar mentality to it - nothing wrong with that in principle, but what you have here isn't particularly inviting. Some very loud-mouthed (and foul-mouthed) conversations going on with the bar staff fully involved - so involved that they weren't especially interested in breaking off to serve other people. Very much a select group of regulars dominating the show and non-regulars don't get much of a welcome. Not much evidence of anyone eating when I was there, which I can easily understand. The beer was fine in fairness but I don't see myself going here again - not an enjoyable experience at all.
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A prominent pub on the main road in the centre of Saltford. Unusually the pub sign is a two dimensional model of a gold crown, rather than the usual oblong board with a picture on it. There�s a good sized beer garden out the back in addition to a small patio area. Inside, it all seems to be a bit of a mismatch of different styles.
The main bar area has limited seating and looks a little shabby, with some old parquet wooden flooring around the bar counter and carpet elsewhere. The walls are mostly finished in a rough, painted plaster and the wood panelled bar has also been painted, a long time ago. You get the feeling that maybe at one time this was a decent place with exposed stonework and natural wood, but sadly no more.
To the left is a room dominated by a pool table, although oddly the few tables that were in here were laid up for food which seems an strange mix. At the other end of the pub is a large, attractive stone built fireplace and flagstone hearth, which is probably the pub�s best feature. There are a couple of old leather sofa�s just in front of it which is a pleasant enough spot. The plasma screen tacked on to the edge of the fireplace ruins the look somewhat though.
At the back is a large conservatory/restaurant area overlooking the garden. The menu appears to be of the usual mass-produced �pub grub� type, with various dishes such as chilli, lasagne, ham, egg & chips, etc, all offered at around the �6/�7 mark, although many were also available as a �2 for �10� deal. Other sections on the menu included baguettes, burgers, salads, jackets, grills, etc.
It was fairly quiet on a recent mid-week lunch-time, possibly on account of the prices being charged. �2.55 for an Orange Juice and Lemonade seems excessive. I paid over a pound less just a mile away in The Riverside Inn last week, which is in a prime location next to the river. A couple of the punters that were at the bar were using some rather course language, and the odd barman and heavily tattooed chef seemed happy to join in an animated discussion about hard-on�s.
Beers on tap were Gem and Courage Best. Ciders were Blackthorn and Thatcher�s Gold. Overall, I can see little reason why anyone would stop here unless you�re just passing through and don�t know any better. The three pubs down by the river are all far better establishments in much nicer locations.
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Visited The Crown again yesterday! The place was not as busy as it has been in the past, but although the big screen was on at the Resturant end it wasn't too loud. My friend and I sat and talked, and enjoyed excellent food back to it's normal high quality (the best gammon i've had for ages). Bath Ales Gem was on offer and very quaffable.
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MarinerBill, is Sussex too far to travel from to go here? Usually have an evening here for just the reasons given - it's not too busy, rugby is often on the big screen, the well kept real ales and the food is generally good. On a recent visit the food was not as good as normal and we got 50% back, no questions asked, without even complaining.
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As Blackthorn says, I think the earlier comment wasn't intended for this pub. The Crown Saltford is a bit of a strange hybrid which tries to be part restaurant and part sports bar. Customers wanting to eat in the restaurant area have to walk through the other part with its pool table, big-screen TV etc. which doesn't seem a good way to entice people in. Trade seems patchy and some evenings it's really dead despite the sports coverage. The landlord has been there a long while and seems a friendly guy and they have two or three real ales, one of which is a guest beer and can be a bit out of the ordinary. As a straightforward pub it's OK but I can't imagine you'd want to travel a long way to visit it.
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I'm not sure spidermonkey168 has got the right pub.
His review sounds exactly like The Crown (The Harvester) in Bath Road in 'Longwell Green' (BS30 9DE) and not necessarily The Crown in Bath Road, 'Saltford' (BS31 3HJ).
Please correct me if I am wrong.
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This pub has gradually deteriorated and unfortunately become a grotty, dirty, slovenly kept pub that calls itself a restaurant.
Bizarrely the car park is always full of overweight people queueing up to eat the low grade food served within.
The toilets are dirty, hand dryers never work, hand towels never provided.
The bar area smells of stale beer, the soft furnishings are ripped and tables are left uncleared whilst the staff stand at the bar texting their friends.
Once I ordered a pot of tea. I was handed a teapot with no lid, not given a spoon, and when I requested some milk, the plastic milk carton was shoved in front of me!
If you want to have a good meal around the Longwell Green area, I would thoroughly recommend the Lock Keeper in Keynsham.
Go here if you have no taste, too much money and can't see the grime.
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This pub seriously needs some life breathed into it. With a few pounds spent on it and some energetic and more friendly staff this place could be really good, but as it stands the food is below average, takes hours to arrive (wouldn't be so bad if it was worth the wait but its not) the bouncy castle in the garden has been left deflated on the ground outside for over a year and kids don't understand why they could not use it. It is such a shame as this place could be good.
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