After several years of patronizing the Rose & Crown Pub, I’ve finally made it to the Rose & Crown Dining Room! I’ve always looked in while escaping the heat, but always ended up dining elsewhere in the park or nearby resorts. It was finally the time to change that!
Feels like Liberty Tree Tavern…
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It had been many years since Matt’s visit to the restaurant, so it was very much a new experience to him as well. There were several items on the menu that stood out to us. Matt was torn between the Farmhouse Ploughman’s Lunch and the Cottage Pie, and after some more information from the cast member (both are more traditional dishes, but the Farmhouse Lunch is served cold while the Pie is hot), Matt decided on the Cottage Pie ($16.99).
The Cottage Pie is made up of ground beef, onions, carrots, and mushrooms and topped with creamy mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese. Since Matt doesn’t like mushrooms, he asked the CM about their presence in the dish. She told him that they were whole button mushrooms which could easily be spotted and picked out, and there were only 4 or 5 within the dish so he wouldn’t be spending his time digging around searching.
The dish was very hearty and Matt enjoyed it. I tasted it as well and thought it was pretty good, and suggested making it at home sometime. Matt happily picked out the mushrooms for me, too.
I too was torn on what to order. I thought about ordering the United Kingdom Pub Burger simply because it had house-made HP sauce, but I chose the more traditional Bangers and Mash ($14.99) instead.
The dish is comprised of traditional English sausages topped with braised cabbage and bacon and served atop mashed potatoes and shallot gravy. The cabbage retained a bit of crunch, and while there was a slight smoky bacon flavor, there were very few actual bits on the dish. There also appeared to be some shallots underneath the cabbage as well, but the gravy itself was very thin and smooth.
The bangers were the same ones used for the English Bulldog, except this time they packed a saltiness I don’t recall them having before. Perhaps the other elements combined with the banger helped to mellow them out. I did find myself have to pick up several elements of the dish in each bite to help counteract the saltiness. The gravy was a tad salty as well, but worked well with the mashed potatoes.
When I had tasted the Cottage Pie at first, it was after taking a bite of my own dish. When I saw Matt adding salt to it, my jaw dropped. I mentioned that the food was very salty, but he didn’t notice it in his dish. After I cleansed my palate, I tried his dish again and found it fine. I had Matt try some more of my dish and he acknowledged that was where I was tasting the salt.
Overall, we both enjoyed our meals and look forward to going back again. There are still other items we’d like to try, although I think I’ll stick to the English Bulldog out in the pub if I’m in the mood for the combination bangers and mashed potatoes.
Here’s a look at the Rose & Crown Pub Menus. You can order any of these drinks in the Dining Room, as well as anything else you might enjoy from their full liquor bar.
If you don’t have time for a full meal in the Dining Room, here is the selection of what you can enjoy. The House-made Potato Crisps are quite good, too!
Do you have a favorite dish at the Rose & Crown Dining Room, or do you find yourself spending your UK time in the Pub?
Sometimes I find it uncanny how similar Matt’s tastes are to my own (save my penchant for sweet, fruity “girl” drinks). I think the Cottage Pie sans mushrooms would be my choice as well. I guess I’ll find out soon; we have a reservation for Rose & Crown on our next visit. Prior to this we’ve only ever stopped at the Pub for draft Boddington’s and single malt flights (and the occasional Irish creme for me).
I’ve sat in their patio for beers and have had the food they serve from the window… but have never ordered from their menu in their dining room… I really want to try the Cottage Pie, it looks really good!!
Melissa – I know Matt wants to try the flights sometime. We’ve been enjoying Harp a lot from the pub this summer! I tend to drink Boddingtons from there more in the cooler weather. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the Cottage Pie if you order it – at least the mushrooms are easy to pick out!
Ricardo – I too have enjoyed the Fish & Chips from the Yorkshire County Fishy Shop. If you’re in the mood for Fish & Chips, I would definitely recommend ordering from the window or the pub menu as it’s almost half the price than in the dining room. I think the only difference is that the dining room serves one large piece of fish while the others server two smaller pieces.