There's a lot more to the Crown and Anchor than its listed exterior

"It doesn't look much from the outside does it?" It was more of a statement than a question from Crown and Anchor's manager Roger.

I disagreed. "It looks like a pub to me, it's only when you come inside it looks different from your run of the mill pub," I said.

I remember the Crown and Anchor in it's former days rather fondly - yes really! - as 'an old man's pub' that served great artery clogging plates of pie and chips we washed down with pints (just a half for me though I was the lightweight in the group).

It then became Shackology, a venue so oddly eclectic no one could quite decipher what it was, where it was going or indeed very much at all about it.

Of course it’s impossible to be everything to everyone which is why the Crown and Anchor’s decision to go back to its origins was so refreshing. That’s not to say that they’ve re-laid the old sticky carpets and brought back the snooker table but they do appear to have got the balance between a pub for drinking and a pleasant place to dine just right.

"It's a proper pub that does food" says Roger who is adamant that it is not anything else other than a pub that does what a pub should do and does it well.

Although the makeover left more than a nod to the former Shack style, it was toned down significantly leaving an interior that’s relaxing and an exterior that advertises precisely what the Crown and Anchor is - a pub.

Finding it fruitless to argue about the pub's listed exterior we moved on. "You get what you expect only better," says Roger. "You get a friendly landlord [Roger] who knows his customers, you get homemade food cooked on wood burning stove - none of your fancy schmancy food with fancy prices - and no TV screens."

It's Roger's fearlessness to against the grain that I like about him - it was the Crown and Anchor who ran football free zones during the world cup - and his refreshing attitude to Chiswick's children / dogs debate which is quite simply "not seen, not heard, not a problem."

Roger's 'Rhythm of the Week' offers something for everyone:

"Monday Night is £5 for our gorgeous home made burger. Tuesdays is the quiz. Along with the limerick competition. Where will the young man come from this week? We had a young man from Namibia recently and everybody caught something similar that rhymed with the man from Namibia…… Wednesday we are doing a fabulous fish and chip meal deal two for a tenner (ask nicely you can get one for a fiver.) This is of course with our twice fried hand cut chips and whisked to order beer batter."

Ok so maybe they do go quite a way to offering something for everyone but somehow they make it work. Their menu is what you'd expect from a pub menu with one or two treats snuck in - I particularly like the pork crackling with hot apple sauce well worth a try.

For the full menu and more information about what's on when at Crown and Anchor go along and see for yourself or take a look at http://www.crownandanchorchiswick.com.

Emma Brophy

December 30, 2010