The Crown Inn in Test Valley

Looks and feels like a pub, with comfy seating and fireplace, but the food was amazing and the staff were very welcoming and friendly. Had a great meal here.

We had a fabulous day at The Crown today. After hearing via friends that there was an event on today, we headed over to see what was going on. The staff were all so welcoming and the locals greeted us warmly which was nice. There was a number of different singers performing and a funky BBQ. Kids enjoyed their burger and pulled pork baps, while I had the best veggie food I remember having… it was a sublime bean burger with halloumi top. The icing on the cake was a games room. We loved the pool table. First visit and it won’t be the last. Worth making the trip for and I will be monitoring their Instagram now for more summer events hopefully.

Had not been here for a while. Service was nice and un-hurride. We got there 6.15 and shown to are table. We chose the chicken and deep fried chickenburger both lovely. As was the trout and the chicken burger.

We went to the crown for our wedding anniversary and it definitely didn’t disappoint. The warm welcome, the friendly staff, the excellent food and nice surroundings. We enjoyed our time here from start to finish and both commented that it was very good value. Will definitely be returning.

Rating this as a 2, it would be a 5 for the food and flavour, but totally ripped off with the wine, we chose a £35 bottle of whine wine, but was out of stock and then offered another option but wasn’t told it was five times the price (£125 per bottle). Not a nice experience and will not be recommending them in future.

Wonder evening, delicious local food. Super friendly and helpful team. Beautiful location. Plus a surprisingly good value price tag. I can’t recommend this enough.

The Overall Dining experience A nostalgic combination of a relaxed traditional pub with its large open hearth, friendly welcome and a games room and an offering of delicious, locally sourced food, mixing high quality familiar ingredients into succulently tantalising, sometimes unexpected, combinations. Beautiful food and easily up there in the top 5 meals I’ve had. The Place On the occasions when I’ve been to pubs that have been adapted into restaurants, either through necessity or desire, is that the once shiny wooden bars, friendly land lady and low beams get lost in the modern transformation. I remember smoke filled bars, laughs around a pool table, a little banter with the landlord and the long chat as we walk home on an ice cold winter day. It is often sad to see local community pubs turned cold from austere surroundings where all that remain are the pin holes in the wall where the dart board used to be. The balance of retaining the character of the place and offering a unique or interesting dining experience is difficult to attain. I am very pleased that the Crown straddled both these worlds. The Crown Inn finds the balance really well. An old, heavy door opens to a smile and warm welcome from the behind the bar. How many times have you walked into a pub and felt out of place, uncertain where to go or the subject of enquiring looks. The original exposed brick, tiled floor and low beamed charms have been maintained in the bar area. After a round of drinks, we sat on a large wooden table next to the warm log burner. The main eating area is through to an extended section with plenty of light and well spaced tables but we were placed in the bar section in what I think was the original part of the pub which offered a more cosy, warm and informal setting but both I think would be equally as nice. Around the exposed brick are 2 large studded leather sofas with a coffee table for relaxing and chatting. The parking is ample at the rear and a small gate leads to a small outside area with pods, each with its own log burner and glowing with warm light. These would be great for a more private or intimate meal. Then there is the games room, reminding me of the games at the local with 50p’s lined up ready to challenge the winner who stays on, although this one was free to play. Although modest in size, this small games room was really nice to see with its beige baize table, a dartboard and bar stools around the outside. A place to wind down after or before your meal, or even just to pop in for a drink, who’d have thought it in a pub these days! The menu offered a really appetising selection with a nod towards traditional combinations but oh my, what a gorgeous taste. There is an a la carte and a set menu. We ordered three different starters and mains from the a la carte menu and we each tried each others, so we all got a good sample and each dish was superb. The charcuterie with, I believe, fennel seed running through some of the sausages, was tantalising, the cheese soufflé with a sweet pineapple chutney worked wonderfully together and the pressed ham hock combined with the pickled red cabbage. A great start. We often have a little competition on who orders the tastiest dish but with the mains we were all struggling to find a winner, each with a selection of fine ingredients, beautifully presented and each ingredient working fantastically together, and good sized portions too. I had the succulent pan fried halibut with a variety of cauliflower ‘variations’ and a rich butter and lime sauce. I also had a few mouthfuls of my eating partners food of lamb loin, potato dauphinoise and broccoli variations with a beautiful chimichirri dressing. The other, most surprising flavour combination was the pork fillet, which was not only the most succulent piece of pork I’ve tasted (sourced from the local Highclere estate) but the sweet curry puree and black sticky rice was gorgeous. We ordered some extra sides of hand cut fries and braised savoy and chorizo. The desserts were also superb, with the recommended chocolate cremeux not too rich and delicate in flavour. The sample I had of the baked vanilla cream took the edge as the winning dessert. A lovely touch at the end of the meal of a birthday plate for our daughter with 3 interesting flavoured confections. Despite being a little quiet as it was a midweek meal, the three of us had a lovely meal, felt totally relaxed and attended to and most certainly will return.

We chanced on The Crown as it was roughly equidistant between us and our friends. It looked a bit expensive, but boy was it worth it. We had a superb lunch, everything on the plates was thought through and tasty. The puddings were superb. Friendly staff too. A wonderful find.

Delicious food, really top level, and with a friendly team who are clearly passionate about what they do.

Met with friend for a catch up over dinner. The Crown Inn is a jewel in the village of Upton. It wasn't cheap, but my goodness the food and service was top class!! No surprise when I say I would highly recommend The Crown.

Met for lunch with friends. The starters of Tunworth cheese souffle and chicken liver pate were simply delicious, this was followed by Venison which was sublime and finally a chocolate cremeux that was rich and silky smooth.Albarino for the starters and a Bordeaux to accompany the main. Superb lunch, will be hard to beat and we will definitely return when in the area.

We were both really looking forward to our Valentines dinner having heard great things about the Chef and the food. However, upon arrival before even getting our coats off the waitress asked if we wanted waters, once seated water came out along with a bread box then we were asked if we wanted anything else, my partner said a drink for us might be nice. A few minutes after that the same waitress took our order, my partner ordered a Charcuterie starter and steak main course and I ordered lemon sole main. Several minutes later the same waitress told us the steak was no longer available or the gnocci. My partner was understandably very disappointed there was no steak so had to choose something else from a very limited menu, he chose the cheeseburger. We then waited over an hour before I asked the lady that seemed to be in charge if my partners starter was anywhere in sight, she was very apologetic and the starter was brought out about 15 minutes later. I have eaten at many high end restaurants and have never before had to wait so long for a meal. The lady in charge was very apologetic about our experience and reduced the bill, but to top it off when we got home and I looked at the bill we had been charged £3.20 for a ginger beer which we never ordered or had. The receipt also showed our table was for 4 covers when in fact there was only 2 covers. We will not be going back and can j suggest that some of the staff need some extra training as my partner wasn't even asked how he wanted his steak and I wasn't asked what size glass of wine I wanted when I ordered my drink with dinner. The lady jn charge was very apologetic and helpful and to her I would say thank you. If you ever need someone to train your young waitresses in Customer service then let me know, because after all you never get a second chance yo make a first impression. I hope you take this review constructively from 2 very disappointed diners who had their Valentines dinner ruined.

First class cooking, relaxed pub, great welcome and staff. The turbot was off the scale in terms of chefs expertise - simply brilliant! Crab tagliatelle starter sensational too ….. will be back ALOT!

At first, we were sceptical because we wouldn't usually go somewhere on the pricier end of the scale just for dinner, but I'm so thankfully we did. We came in for dinner based on a recommendation of a close friend who clearly knew what they were on about. I had probably the most beautiful sirloin I've ever tasted with a side of hand cut chips while my wife had a pan-fried fish she said was equally as good. Along with 2 delicious yet light puddings and a glass each of a fantastic white. Staff were all very friendly and personable without being overbearing, absolutely faultless, see you soon!

Visited today with my wife, the food was 5 star and the staff were extremely friendly. We will defiantly be coming back, thanks guys!

Ate here for Sunday lunch, for a family celebration.The dinners were served warm at that, and were cold by the time all the dinners had arrived.The gravy was cold, and the apple sauce was missing from the pork dinners( was on the menu)So asked a waitress for the missing apple sauce and she returned 5 minutes later with a blob on a little plate. Not enough for 1 let alone for the 6 of us who had the pork dinner, very odd.Also found the quantity of the dinner small . Considering the price we paid, if they are aiming for quality rather then quantity they are failing here too.Extremely disappointing and we will not be returning.