Can pub grub please food snob?

IT would not be too much of an exaggeration to say that I have gained somewhat of a reputation as a food snob among my Adver peers in recent months.

Of course, I would argue that this description is entirely unwarranted. But they have found my distaste for watery calzones, leathery steaks and any presence of iceberg lettuce in a side salad to be a little unreasonable.

You see many of the eating establishments we visit around Swindon solely exist for the purpose of providing enjoyable food. They are, in a sense, ‘dining destinations’. Surely then it is not unreasonable to expect them to live up to the name?

But what about when the trusty taste-test trio of which I am a member chooses to visit a good old-fashioned pub – a place where the dining experience is merely an added extra alongside the offering from behind the bar.

Would my hard-to-meet standards still be justified or could the charms of a suitably comfortable chair and a pint leave me suitably satisfied.

Our trip to The Crown Inn at Stratton gave us a chance to find out.

On a cold, bleak, midweek evening, it was with some relief that we walked into the pub’s wood panelled interior to a warm welcome – both in the sense that the bar staff had big smiles on their faces and that the heating was doing its job.

We chose to visit on a week night soon after the New Year and there were plenty of tables to choose from. We opted for a secluded corner of the sizeable main room.

The menu on offer was reasonably varied with seven starter options, a burger and grill range, a fish choice and even some ‘posh nosh’ - but more on that later.

I opted for a starter of breaded mozzarella sticks (£4.95), Stephen followed the breaded theme with a selection of mushrooms (£4.95) and young Thomas opted for the soup of the day, a leek and potato creation (£3.95).

We settled down to wait for our food and enjoy our post-holiday catch up - at least that was the plan.

As eagle-eyed reporters we should really have noticed the long continuous run of tables that had been set up just behind our own perch of choice.

Within minutes of ordering our meals, we were engulfed by around half a dozen families complete with their many children.

The quiet setting was soon filled with a cacophony of noise complete with squeals from children still high on selection box sugar and the loud ranting of adults longing for the school term to begin again.

Thankfully our starters arrived in good time. The breaded mozzarella was a pleasant surprise, the crumb coating well-seasoned and the cheese flavoursome and cooked to allow for just the right softness.

Stephen’s mushrooms were equally acceptable but nothing to write home about. Thomas described his soup as “pleasant enough” and “suitably comforting” on what was a bitterly cold night.

Having ordered our main courses at the bar along with our starters – no table service here – we expected that they would follow without much of a delay.

But it appears the arrival of our noisy neighbours had thrown a spanner in the works, as a new flood of orders reached the kitchen we realised we would be in for quite a lengthy wait.

I would estimate that around 45 minutes passed between our starters being cleared and our main courses arriving – a little too long for my liking but the fact I cannot remember precisely suggests it was not troubling enough for us to start watching the clock.

So soon after the Christmas break, where I had enjoyed my fair share of roast dinners and fancy food – I opted for simplicity and a pub staple with the sausage and egg grill (£7.95).

Sadly simplicity crossed over rather too much into cheap when it came to the choice of sausages. They were the grey, supermarket shelf variety rather than what one might reasonably expect to pay for when eating out.

The eggs too were a disappointment. Overdone and with very limited dripping potential, they made for a slightly dull addition to the plate.

Thomas’ BBQ cheeseburger (£10.95) appeared to suffer from the same lack of attention to detail being on the dry side and, he said, "lacking in flavour”.

He suggested the evening rush was to blame but perhaps we only had ourselves to blame. After all neither of us had been tempted by the ‘posh nosh’ section of the menu, with its limited offering of three dishes, and so maybe basic was what we should have expected.

Stephen, ever the extravagant one among us, did decide to test out one of the luxury choices in the form of a filled chicken breast (£10.95) promising a cream cheese, chorizo and spinach centre.

The combination of flavours made for a delightful dish, and the sweet potato fries complemented the creation well.

But at the risk of him verging on the picky side, he said it felt ever so slightly overdone, which made the filling a little drier than he had been expecting.

I don’t want it to seem like the less fancy food was inedible, far from it, but as pub grub goes these days two of the dishes were distinctly underwhelming.

It just isn’t possible to mask cheap ingredients and a lack of attention to detail when similar venues do those simple things with such ease.

The Crown would best be described as a local pub for local people and on that score it hits all the right notes. It boasts friendly staff, a comfortable setting and, judging by the presence of our unexpected dining partners and the many others who arrived during the evening, a loyal community customer base.

But in the end this a food review.

So is it worth a long drive and a detour for the culinary offerings alone? Probably not. But it’s warm, and it’s welcoming – even if the culinary offering lacks a bit of the wow factor we, or at least I, have come to expect.

Address: 71-73 Ermin St, Swindon SN3 4NL

Telephone number: 01793 827530

www.thecrownatstratton.co.uk

Parking: Free customer car park

Disabled access: yes

Our ratings

Food: 7/10

Choice: 8/10

Decor: 8/10

Customer service: 7/10

TripAdvisor rating: 3.5