THE ROSE & CROWN: WARWICK

15/08/17

By Beth

WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT:

For the central Warwick location
To soak in a lovely freestanding bath
Experience friendly and attentive service
Taste the Queen's butchers sausages at breakfast!

DESTINATION:

Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire and is of course famous for its castle. Staying at the Rose & Crown, which is right in the middle of Market Place, we were only a short walk to the famous attraction and also the shops, cafes and bars of Warwick. The Rose & Crown is a pub with rooms and we were staying in their separate building, around the corner from the main pub, and you would never have known it was there, with rooms hidden behind a residential door. My Mum and I were also there to indulge in some food and drink - it was only fair we sampled everything it had to offer wasn't it?!

DECOR:

We had to collect the keys to our room from the main pub and straight away I liked the cosy atmosphere with comfy chairs and sofas, stunning photography (yes, I was 100% jealous of their David Bailey photography collection) and cool lighting. We were only planning on dropping our bags off but our room was ready much earlier than the check-in time which was a great start.

We were staying in room 11 and the lady who showed us to our room told us it was her personal favourite. Entering through a blue door with gold numbers, the room featured a long corridor with the bathroom off to the left before we entered the main room with a sofa, chair, dressing table and two single beds and bedside tables with matching lamps. I liked the grey tones of the room and the feature wall of paisley wallpaper above the bed and the whole room had a vintage country cottage feel to it.

The bathroom definitely had a wow factor with freestanding bath, walk-in shower and double sink with matching ornate mirrors. The vintage feel of the bathroom was modernised with grey metro tiles and cool wooden ladder towel storage.

DINING:

First of all, we decided to sample the bar. It was a lovely sunny day and it seemed rude not to partake in a cold, crisp glass of dry white wine.

After getting ready for dinner, we were seated in the restaurant area (right by the David Bailey prints taunting me that I needed them in my life!) and we ordered a G&T and a glass of prosecco whilst we perused the menu. The Rose & Crown have a great selection of gins and tonics and I chose Williams Chase Pink Grapefruit and Fentimans Pink Grapefruit Tonic, which was delicious!

DINNER:

For dinner, we finally decided to order:

Starters: Sesame-crusted Halloumi, Green Beans, Broccoli, Cashew, Miso & Tahini Dressing (£6.75) and Free-range Mojo Chicken, Edamame Bean & Brown Rice Salad (£7.75). Plus some Mini Bloomer and Garlic Butter (£3)

Mains: Jerk Beef Dandy Ribs, Sweet Potato Wedges, Cornbread, Pineapple & Chilli Slaw (£16.75) and Cornish Rack of Lamb, Potatoe Terrine, Cavolo Nero, Warm Tomato & Basil Dressing (£21). Plus a side of Buttered Courgettes Peas & Beans (£3.75)

We shared the salads between us and they were both full of flavour and really fresh tasting and the chicken had a good kick to it. The warm bread with garlicky butter was delicious.

The mains however were rather disappointing. I'd asked for my lamb to be served medium but it was very rare and actually raw in the middle and I largely couldn't eat it. The beef short ribs were quite charred on the edges and tasted overdone and the sweet potato accompaniment consisted of two wedges that were soft and undercooked. The side of vegetables we ordered to share were also undercooked and the courgette was especially crunchy.

The potato terrine were the saving grace of the main course and they were creamy and exactly how they should be and to be honest, I could have easily eaten a big dish of them for dinner! We also chose a bottle of Pecorino wine, which we'd not tried before, and it was a really good white.

We of course informed our waiter at the time about the issues with our main courses and after taking our plates away, he came back shortly after with a board of desserts for us to try and to make up for the poor mains. The dessert board was presented well and it was a nice touch but I'm sorry to say the desserts were just okay and nothing particularly stood out apart from a refreshing mango sorbet.

BREAKFAST:

We hoped breakfast would be a more enjoyable affair and it fortunately was with some of the best sausages I've ever eaten! Our waitress told us that they were from Aubrey Alan, which is actually the butcher of The Queen, and they were full of flavour and really tasty. I ordered poached eggs, mushrooms and sourdough toast alongside my sausages and accompanied the food with some fresh orange juice and a perfectly made Cappucino. There was a lovely relaxed atmosphere at breakfast with a cosy cafe feel.

DEBRIEF:

We had a good night's sleep at the Rose & Crown and the room was spacious with a great sized bathroom. The dinner we experienced definitely let the place down on the food side for us but it's a good choice for an overnight stay with breakfast. Definitely try the sausages!