The Crown in Central Bedfordshire

Over priced alcohol and if you don’t register your vehicle innocent mistake end up with a £100 ticket try the engineers down the road in Henlow cheaper and no parking ticket

Visited The Crown for Sunday lunch as although relatively local we had not been for several years and we were very impressed indeed. Nice setting, great service and great food and will definitely use again. A bit puzzled that another reviewer claims there were no signs regarding the parking arrangements as there were plenty, both outside and in and it was a simple case of entering reg number as you entered the pub.

Outrageous what pub has a 2 hour parking limit with NO obvious signs, no staff members advising you and giving you a xx £60 fine for eating in their establishment, what ever next. Don’t visit is all I say to anyone, just crazy. Never again and I will spread the word

Great food, friendly staff rooms, very clean and modern

Always like going to the crown nice seating area outside good service 👌

Awesome Sunday Roast pork with the best crackling and so much food I couldn't eat it all. I sat outside in the sunshine and really enjoyed it I would definitely recommend this place and give it 5* compliments to the chef 👨‍🍳

Had a lovely meal, excellent service and not a single complaint. Remember to put your number plate in the machine- I didn’t and received a fine. However I cannot fault the way in which the manager was honest and dealt with the situation. Professional throughout email correspondence and can see why the pub and restaurant is so well managed!

Food was very average pub grub, yet very expensive. The Hake was very salty and unimaginative with no greens. The rib-eye steak is £33.50 and then they want £3.25 for a sauce for your steak! Service was quite good, but no, we won’t be returning so sorry, no 5 stars from us. “Oh no… not one of those glib, stock responses about not hitting the mark and a plea to revisit to give 5 stars!” 🤩

My daughter and I popped in for a nice cool shandy as decided to hot for food although not a regular had a lovely welcome by lovely staff beautiful pub inside and the seating area we were in fab. I came for Sunday lunch a while back and the food was outstanding highly recommend this lovely pub n noticed accommodation outside separate to pub looked great now I live nearby from Cambridge will visit more Enjoy!

Review of the restaurant. Quite pricey, certainly not matching the quality. Burger of smth pulled was OK, but Thai-bowl was an incredible disappointment. I guess it's our own fault ordering such a dish.

Disappointing…. Been coming here for over a decade and always be really impressed with the quality of food and service, even when it’s very busy. Came for lunch on Father’s Day and the food was not up to the previous standard and definitely not worth the price tag. My roast chicken was cold, roast potatoes were mush and the peas, cabbage & one roast carrot were uninspiring. I didn’t feel it was worth the £19.95 I paid. My husband and children all agreed the food was ‘nothing special. Such a shame :(

Called in here for lunch on a Monday as I had seen the good reviews but generally we were disappointed. We ordered at the bar but when the food arrived, I asked for French mustard to go with the steak and waitress brought English mustard which I hate. when I mentioned this at the bar, they said "we dont have French mustard!" There was no cruet on the table so I had to jump up again to ask at the bar and they said they would bring one - this was silently delivered by same waitress and plonked on the table without a word of courtesy or friendliness. I would have given it three stars on account of the buttermilk chicken being very tasty, excellent in fact. However the flat iron steak was tough, tasteless and chewy - not good at all. When I mentioned it to the same waitress, she just said "I dont eat steak"!! totally inappropriate, irrelevant and pointless answer. The chap at the bar serving the drinks was the only friendly and polite member of staff we encountered. The waitress with thin face and long hair tied back needs to gain some personal skills. Shame as we would have come again as the chicken was delicious, but cant say much for the indifferent service.

Had Sunday lunch which was superb.

The old cold food and frozen butter demonstrates that the owners, managers and staff are there just to earn money and not there to serve customers as expected. Worst of all after being ripped off with the food their new parking system that I did not know about caused a £100 fine. Again the staff did not tell the customer about this, why not? Poor, shameful service only there to make any money in every way they can without considering customers.

Nice service and atmosphere. Food is bang average pub grub, overall just above 3 stars overall.

3/10 Would not return again. Came early in the evening to catch a bite, was left completely disappointed. Once seated we were delivered our starters, I had the “chili gambas” prawns which were over cooked and rubbery, 5 prawns for £11 , there was no chilli oil as described it was simply a bowl of rubbery prawns, a bunch of raw spring onion and some slices of chili covered in cheap olive oil. My patterns mackerel served on with cold untoasted bread was the saving grace of the meal, however the butter that came with the fish was solid and impossible to spread.. For mains my partner ordered the pork belly, once it arrived it had no jus, we had to send the plated back after the waitress looked puzzled by the question when asked why was there no sauce.. The skin on the pork belly was impossible to cut through as it was completely rubbery. We didn’t receive any kind of apology for this, just a condescending “is that enough gravy for you?” When she brought the sauce over.. The chips had a funky sweet taste to them as if seasoned with sugar instead of salt, these were left untouched. I had the hake with romesco which seemed as though it had just ha d a bunch of bruised watercress thrown on top? Once asked for the bill, we were still charged for everything & didn’t even have the service charge removed or to be compensated in anyway. Completely ruined our afternoon, wouldn’t recommend anyone to visit and would not return.

Absolutely lovely pub / restaurant I was there 24/5 for my nephews 40th birthday & the food was excellent not a long wait the staff were 100% friendly & it was very clean & parking is great..🙂

We stayed at The Crown, Henlow this weekend as we were attending our friend’s wedding. Everything was absolutely lovely! Our room was beautiful; beautifully decorated, thoughtfully arranged and so clean. We had a gorgeous dinner there on Friday evening and breakfast on both Saturday and Sunday was delicious too. All the staff were really helpful and friendly too. Thank you for a smashing stay.

Just passing by for the next day Shuttleworth Old Warden. Was looping for a warm meal Warm welcome and the whole team very polite and helpfull. And despite the lot of work they had to do, they keep smiling. Thank you, the meal wad delicious and the service perfect 👍👍👍

Food was great and the staff very helpful and friendly.

Always a nice place to come either for a meal or a catch up with friends. Staff always welcoming and a friendly atmosphere. You have to make sure you entre your car registration details on the iPad at the bar area otherwise you will be fined to park in the carpark now.

Very nice pub and good food. But please beware of the parking. Operated by a third party. Make sure you add your reg into the kiosk at the bar!

Stayed here at relatively late notice for a wedding and it was excellent. The staff were lovely, the room was nice (thoughtful little milk in the fridge etc) and the breakfast was stupendous. Extremely well priced too. All in all it was excellent.

Probably the worst roast dinner I have ever been served. Raw veg and stone cold food and plates. Sirloin of beef that you're given a steak knife for and do actually need, which should tell you all you need to know. Beef was bland. The saving grace was having 50% taken off the bill but they still had the cheek to try to pass off a service charge. No desserts or coffees offered.Having eaten here many times over the last 14 years, I am mighty disappointed

Haven’t eaten here in ages, used to be a very safe bet for good food. Both of us thought the food was excellent, the staff were warm and friendly. Would definitely recommend and will definitely be back.

Best breakfast I have had for a long time, evening meals also very good. Great service and really good bedrooms.

We haven't stayed at The Crown so have left that part of the rating empty. The pub is very pleasant, as is the restaurant, we had Sunday lunch and very nice it was too, I would recommend the crab on toast as a starter. We both had the roast beef and you get a really good plates worth of food, by the way, the yorkshires are enormous. If I had one tiny criticism it would be the gravy not being thick enough but I guess that's a personal preference. All the staff are very friendly and the service was very good. I will definitely visit again.

Lovely place to stay, nice clean rooms with a good selection of tea and coffee. Food very good, staff very helpful.

Always a nice cosy place to come.

Nice pub, good pint and the food is lovely, however we found it a bit on the expensive side. Two pints is £11 and the food is around £20 per head. It is a Gastro pub, so it will always be a little more expensive I suppose. They also have a few rooms for rent in the garden area.

Very comfortable cottage accommodation at the side of the pub restaurant. Friendly and attentive check in, warm room, really nice breakfast. Nothing not to like.

Excellent room and facilities! Coffee tea water and fresh milk daily was excellent service. Breakfast and dinner very good quality with local produce . Lovely bathroom and fresh towels. Highly recommend.

Booked a table for lunchtime service, had an amazing meal, the service was great the young man that attended to our table was polite and professional and funny. Thank you all for a fantastic experience.

Great service, good food. Cocktails slightly expensive side. Great for a night out with friends

Attended a 30th within the private room.. it was dark, dinghy and service seemed a bit grumpy. Food was average, yet pricey. But location great and close to local station.

The service was acceptable, but the food was disappointing. I probably won't rush back. There are other places to eat in the area.

Nice pub with a small but good beer selection (on tap). Had a burger for dinner which was very good

It was cold and dogs not allowed in, so sat outside in a pod. Which was fine but they were all dirty had rubbish in them and cobwebs.

Recently had dinner at the Crown. Wasn’t that hungry so had the mezze plate .. the houmous was awful 😞.. watery and tasteless. The tzatziki had so much garlic in I felt my mouth was burning .. came with a pot of olives and a sun dried tomato and some pitta bread. I won’t be returning for this.

The pub wasn’t busy and yet it was 30 minutes from ordering to the food being delivered. The Calamari was just about warm. They replaced it without any drama so that was good . The butter was rock hard and therefore not spreadable on the bread. The olives were ok, ,the children’s meals looked ok. Totally underwhelming experience.

Another fantastic meal at The Crown the roasts are the best. All the staff are fabulous and the wine was lovely. I am a vegetarian that doesn’t like nut roast and they always cater for me which is never a problem and I appreciate.this.

I have visited this restaurant a number of times in the past (going back around 10 years though) and I've always had a very good experience until recently.. We were a party of 8 people during a very busy Christmas time. I ordered a beef (Sunday Roast) and it was terrible! Fatty and overcooked. The trimmings very soggy and gravy very thin. This was a £20 meal and definitely not worth it. I would have expected something more.. The service was okay but not very attentive. I'm assuming because it was a very busy period. Then a 10% service charge that I should have asked to be taken off but I didn't.. Based on my recent experience, The Crown wouldn't be my first choice but as I have fond memories of this place, I would probably give it another go during a less busy period..

We went here on our company Christmas meal & drinks. The meals were very good served with a friendly & polite attitude. All around good atmosphere & pleasant staff.

Great food and service would recommend for bottomless brunch. Staff were very accommodating and definitely worth the price

We came up for a family funeral where the after service 'get together' was held. Due to the distance we travelled, we also decided to stay over in two of the rooms at The Crown. Staff were attentive and excellent in the service they provided - a credit to the place. Rooms were clean, warm and cosy with everything you would wish for and more. We thought the food & drinks were good value having eaten in the evening there and the included breakfast with the room rate was more than enough. All good quality and always served with a smile. Large car park and free WIFI - would recommended

We visited with a group of 10 friends for an evening meal, the staff were very pleasant but we had a mixed bag with the quality and quantity of the food. Firstly they had completely run out if one of the specials, easy to advise when you sit down at the table not when you have chosen your order ! Secondly the prices are reasonable but what was extremely disappointing was the high price tag for the calamari rings, when they arrived there were 3 rings, I don’t think calamari is an expensive seafood in the realms of scallops when 3 would be acceptable, needless to say this was returned. Lastly the main courses, some where good, some not, mainly due to over salting of the vegetables and seasoning on the linguine. Overall some simple changes would have made this a really good meal, we did pay for everything , aside from the returned calamari, and the service charge as none of the above was caused by the serving staff who were always pleasant.

Food OK nothing to write home about.And then they add a 10% service charge. Madness you’re not a top restaurant.

The fixed price menu is outstanding value. The food is the high quality food you expect from The Crown and 3 courses for less than £20 (even cheaper with a loyalty card) is quite amazing considering the ever rising costs in the hospitality trade. And of course it goes without saying that the service was, as usual, first class.

Enjoyed a lovely birthday meal here with my family. Food was amazing. I particularly enjoyed the sharing roast dinner which had such generous portions I couldn’t finish! All served with the best pork crackling I’d ever tasted!! Service was brilliant, didn’t have to wait too long to order or for our drinks. Waiting staff returned to the table numerous times to check everything was ok or if there was anything else we needed. Atmosphere was lovely. A very happy family who went away extremely impressed and who will definitely be returning!! Thank you all so much! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Really lovely fixed price menu. Great choice, delicious food, generous portions, excellent staff and very good value for money (especially with the loyalty card)

Stayed over at one of The Crowns cottages. We were celebrating a special occasion and had booked an evening meal (the stay over) and breakfast the next morning. Great warm welcome our room was amazing as per usual scrupulously clean with added character. Our meals...

Stayed for 2 nights rooms are good comfortable beds. Evening meal was lovely although pricey. The only thing that let it down was the breakfast. Avocado needed to be mixed with lemon and black pepper. Bread / toast very hard. Small breakfast disappointing in taste.

The food was lovely, plenty of choice if your looking for good pub food. The service was fab as well.

Three of us got the vegan burgers, and unfortunately they were burnt which made them dry, as was the bun, and there was very minimal sauce on the bun. Beyond burgers are the juiciest vegan burger, and they are hard to burn! So we were...

En route to our holiday lodge we decided to stop for lunch to save cooking later, had a couple of meals here in the end, full menu available all day plus snacks, very good food, tasty and well presented

Really great food. Imaginative menu - a cut above pub grub. Excellent service, reasonably priced. Highly recommended.

The Crown gave us the very best beginning to our vacation! Flying into Heathrow from America and then driving to Henlow meant that we checked in late, but they still welcomed us warmly, showed us to our lodgings and found us a table in the...

Excellent gastro pub style sandwich, very large (couldn't finish it) but so tasty, they did offer to wrap but didn't think it would be very nice cold

Though the staff were very pleasant and helpful the food left a lot to be desired. Out of the 4 meals ordered my wife’s sea bass was the only one to come anywhere near the minimum standard you would expect. 2 of us ordered the...

Visited for the first time and the food was okay. Had a steak sandwich which was nice but some bits of the bread were burnt. My friend had a bacon sandwich and it was hard for her to cut into. The food and decor were...

We were down visiting family and had booked this to stop overnight. The room itself was lovely, decorated really well, nice touches like a bag with a pair of straighteners and a coffee machine rather then sachets, a fridge and fresh Milne provided. The rooms...

Stopped off for lunch the pub is lovely but the food was overpriced and overcooked. I had king prawn and crab linguine and I couldn’t peel the king prawns as the were so over cooked. Bar staff were very attentive shame about the food.

Very disappointing, ordered chicken flatbread and a side of calamari. Food was barely warm, calamari was like elastic bands, and my chicken sandwich had the skin left on which almost made me vomit when I bit into it yes I took it to bits and...

My husband and I thought we would just get an over night stay somewhere nearby but where they also did food. What a great find! The pub was really friendly with a real log fire and the drinks were equally lovely! Especially the cocktails. We...

Visited on a Sunday afternoon for lunch. Service was incredibly slow, everyone in the area around us came in got served ate and finished before we got our mains. We had 6 mains on the table. Another couple complained about their food in the same...

Disappointed questionable food quality spoilt a family birthday meal. Sunday roast beef compromised due to running out despite the preorder requirement? Veg hard soup only warm,

Fantastic Sunday Roast Amazing atmosphere and beautiful country pub The food is great Credit to the chef and thank you to our waitresses super Sunday service

We had a large table last weekend, the food was excellent and staff really great. Would highly recommend.

Had a lovely lunchtime meal, delicious food and very attentive and friendly staff. Many thanks especially to the pleasant young lady who took out order.

We visited today with family we all had the roast which was the best roast ever I have tried alit of roast places and this was by far the best- the food and staff were exceptional we will back off

Lovely food, great menu choices and service was great (thanks to the lovely Ruby!!) great time had by all

Popped into the crown for dinner as a couple with a young child. Service was extremely slow and staff explained it wasn’t their fault as they only had 2 covering both the busy bar and the restaurant. Starter of Nachos was over cooked and very...

Visited for an impromptu Sunday lunch. The food was prompt and perfect. Delicious flavours, fabulous vegetables cooked with a lovely crunch and roast potatoes seasoned wonderfully. An absolute treat and with fabulous service to top it off. I highly recommend the Crown. It’s a lovely...

Visited the pub restaurant last night with friends we hadn’t seen for a long time. My husband and I ordered one of the specials the, keralan king prawn curry. The dish was a huge disappointment as it contained only three king prawns. The dish was...

Family birthday meal, including 2 children aged 3,5. Amazing service, friendly and attentive. The Sunday roast dinners were yummy, very impressive Yorkshire puddings. Will definitely be going back.

We had cocktails and nibbles. These were amazing. The pornstar martinis came with a fresh passion fruit each time and we had a few! We always visit this pub when we come to Champneys.

Visit for lunch, quite a small menu but fine for us. Service was good, food arrived promptly and hot and was really yummy. Nice selection of drinks. All round a pretty good visit. (Noticed a lot of tables that hadn’t been cleared after people had...

Used The Crown three times while staying nearby. Welcoming and friendly. Loved the outdoor space for eating. Good choice of lighter meals especially the ‘bowls’. Chose the curry, Caesar salad, Poke bowl and Greek salad and thought they were reasonably priced. Nice atmosphere and easy...

Such a shame. Used to rely on a good meal here but I’d give it one star now. Food poorly cooked. Greasy. Staff very pleasant and helpful. Will give it a miss now snd we used to come regularly. Has it changed hands ?

Had lovely evening with friends served by the lovely Chelsea. Very friendly, knowledgeable, she deserves a pay rise

We had a super meal with Chelsea as our waitress , the meal was amazing , the service was very good. We had the meze and cheese board.

Hi thanks to Chelsea for such fabulous and personal service at Henlow Crown! Strongly recommend a visit

I was nervous about this booking based on the reviews being very 50/50 and unfortunately I fall on the disappointed side of the reviews. The food is very overpriced for what you get. The bowl food was very heavy on the oil and the chicken...

I visited with a large group (29). We pre-ordered using the full, and very extensive menu. The manager had arranged sole use of a private area for us. From our arrival, he was very attentive and concerned that every detail of our visit was correct....

We stopped here for lunch last Saturday after looking at the menu online. I ordered the Massaman Curry which with extremely oily, so much so I felt unwell for the rest of the day. My husband did not enjoy his meal either and he only...

My husband and I took my parents out for dinner. The welcome was lovely and sincere. Summer was our waitress, she was attentive & friendly. The food was delicious and well presented. My husband really enjoyed the seafood specials. A lovely evening in relaxing surroundings…....

As soon as we walked in the stench of urine hit our noses and as we moved closer to the bar it was even stronger. I would be concerned to order food here as the pub smelt like a toilet and the staff seemed oblivious...

Wonderful country pub, went for sunday lunch with the in-laws and pubs made it a very pleasant experience. Beautifully cooked steak and burgers and nice puddings. The monster in law had been before and said the eton messes were bigger and better previously but we...

Overpriced food that was inconsistent. Best thing about our food was the spicy chicken wings starters. Over £8 but good. My T Bone steak was £40 and just tasted of smoke from the”Jospeh Grill” and not of the meat itself. All the steaks were the...

Visited for lunch, food average and very overpriced for what it was. £5.95 for a bottle of water is outrageous, the waiter was very clever in the way water was offered before everyone was fully seated. Ham and cheese toastie for £7.95 was not very...

A few of us had the sharing roast - beef and pork - it was plentiful and beautifully cooked. Lots of meat, crispy roast potatoes and a variety of veg. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. Great service particularly from Evie. We will be back!

My first and second choice on the menu was sold out, both fish dishes. Not a lot of choice and very expensive for what it was. Service was good and the pub is beautiful. But I would not eat there again. Nearly £20 for a...

Just been to the crown for our first Sunday Lunch with them. Eaten before but oddly never Sunday ? The Sunday Lunch is epic, we were 2 adults and 1 child (who only ate some chips as not hungry!!) We both had the beef, and...

Visited on Mother’s Day for lunch, despite being very busy service was excellent. Both the soup and terrine starters were very tasty and a well proportioned plateful. The main of beef was excellent with thick slices of beef, large Yorkshire, assorted veg and probably the...

Used to frequent the restaurant frequently pre-lockdowns and always had lovely food, ok expensive for what it was but worth it. Called in for a drink in the garden after a walk on a sunny eve this week and decided to treat ourselves to a...

We stayed one evening here and visited the restaurant for breakfast. We stayed in number 3 and it was so nice. The decor, the comfy bed, the lovely shower - we would 100% recommend. Breakfast was extremely tasty too with great service.

It’s a shame We have eaten here a number of times but the service this time was poor.Sunday menu was slightly lacking.The food was good and to be fair I can’t knock the meal as this was nice….But the service was slow and staff offered on arrival to order drinks but that was the only time. Trying to get the staffs attention to order a further drink was almost impossible.We also asked for some condiments but these were forgotten and not delivered. I then asked a separate member of staff for the same condiments and again these never appeared.When we ordered a shared starters (Camembert) served on a piece of slate…… but no plates to use ?????We always tip on a meal but noticed on the bill that the Crown include a service charge (not sure if this is a new thing). I prefer to tip an amount based on the service I receive not be dictated too.✅ food 4 out 5 service 2 out of 5

What a place this is! Excellent for any occasion or just to pop in for a pint. Extremely knowledgeable staff who are friendly and attentive. A total pleasure each time I visit. Can’t even think of a ‘little niggle’ to give constructive feedback coz it really is that good. Please keep doing what you are doing because I love everything you do. Shame I can only give 5 stars/circles as it really deserves more!!!

Booked a table for a meal which was amazing. Enjoyed the ambiance so much decided to book a room. Being in the film industry I have stayed in hotels all over the world and I must say that The Crown is up there with the best. I swear to God it was banging 11/10.

The Crown is clearly geared towards food and based on it's prices pitches at the mid-range market. It is well located within Bedfordshire close to the A1 so is good for business meetups / meals and similar. The staff were great and very attentive to our group right from the moment we arrived. Some of our party had queries about the way things were cooked and they were answered quickly and fully. The menu has some interesting options on but there isn't a huge number of dishes to choose from and most main courses are in the £15 range. Based on the prices I would have expected decent portions but unfortunately the dishes some of our party had were quite small - for example the fish and chips had a small number of chips and mushy peas served in a container similar in size to a large thimble! For a dish costing nearly £15 I would have expected more. Other dishes, such as the sea bass and risotto were well presented and well received though. Unfortunately the range of real ales were uninspiring and not particularly well kept. The desserts were good though. Overall this is a smart gastropub which is clearly focused on serving fairly expensive food to a certain class of customer. It is by no means bad, but I would probably not choose to return here.