If you had to find the perfect example of the conversion from sad corner pub to gastro drinkerie, this would come pretty damn close. Still pub-like in appearance – a prominent pentagonal bar counter is the focus of a large saloon space beneath a high, brown stucco ceiling – the cannily run Crown & Sceptre offers choice in serious measure.
Beer taps include Blue Moon, Brooklyn, Kirin, Paulaner, Kozel, Purity UBU, New World Brown Ale, Sambrook’s Wandle, Sharp’s Doom Bar, Thornbridge Ashford, Bateman’s Victory and Estrella. Boards list some 30 wines, all by the glass and bottle, from Casa Juanita Malbec Mendoza to Spy Valley Riesling.
Food, best enjoyed in the homely adjoining dining corner or at tables outside, is equally well-sourced, the daily-changing menu perhaps featuring the likes of Cotswold lamb steak with red lentils, chilli and peppers, or salmon and smoked trout fishcakes.