Originally scheduled to launch in the autumn, The Crown will join the group’s other London-based pubs The Hero of Maida, Three Cranes and The Coach when it opens on Chiswick High Road in January 2019.
Harcourt Inns, which is run by former Racine chef-patron Henry Harris together with business partner James McCulloch, last night (3 December) picked up the Food-led Pub Company of the Year at Restaurant magazine’s annual R200 Awards.
The Crown will occupy a seventeenth century building that was a former police station and stables. Set over two floors, it will have a bar, a dining room, an internal courtyard, and two PDRs, with a total capacity of 120 covers. There will also be a visible wine cellar, occupying the former jail cells.
The pub was initially thought to be called The Harlot but Harris says The Crown was chosen in reference to the building’s previous incarnation.
“We had been trying to find for some time a name that was relevant to the actual building, and couldn’t find one that was quite right,” says Harris. “That was until someone pointed out that police are crown servants and as the site was a former jail, it was a natural fit to call it The Crown.”
The food will have a Mediterranean leaning, with Sicilian-born Zaffora creating a daily-changing menu from breakfast through to dinner.
Front of House will be overseen by Ruth Leigh, who makes the move from The Hero of Maida.