FOOD: Â
The food at this charismatic British pub was excellent. Â We thoroughly enjoyed the Plymouth platter (which came with cod, calamari, scallop, and prawns), the hot crab and shrimp melt, and the sticky toffee pudding. Â
SERVICE: Â
The service here was simply superb. Â Our waitress was very friendly and helpful. Â
PRICE: Â
Our bill averaged out to around $20 per person.
I had the "chicken pot pie," it was advertised as having breast meat. Nope, a bunch of dark meat. I'm sorry, but I'm not a fan of dark meat, had the menu indicated it, I would have tried something else. My girlfriend ordered one of the specials, a beef and pork lasagna, IT WAS OUTSTANDING!! We both agreed lasagna can be a hit or miss, this was a HIT. The meat was seasoned to perfection, just the right amount of sauce. This is not the place to go for a quiet evening, it's also a pub, so there is lots of pub noise (just be aware). Also, if it was a warm day in Monterey, this is not a place you want to be. It's located downstairs (really cool), but there is no AC, so it was uncomfortable. The outside patio looked fun and lively, but maybe not the ideal location for dinner. Good food, nice beer, just not comfortable on those rare warm days in Monetery.
Review Source:For what we ordered, they nailed it, great martinis and oysters. Â All the cool stuff they have here is what makes this place awesome, thousands of antiques from old sailing ships are everywhere and the bar has a great "coming in to port" tavern vibe working. Â Next time I will try more of the food.
Review Source:What friendly service! We were served by the wonderful Annie, who supplied us with jokes, quick service, culinary advice, alcohol recommendations, and even recommendations of enjoyable multi-player iPhone games. We enjoyed some good old British beer along with our sandwiches - corned beef for the hubby ("not dry! really well-cooked! juicy and salted just right, plus they had awesome horseradish mustard") and grilled cheese with ham and tomato for me. I was expecting cheddar cheese so I was admittedly quite disappointed when I bit in and it was American, as I'm not a big American cheese fan...but you know what? It was just right! and the ham in that sandwich wasn't some lame ass plastic bag ham. Hell no. This was legit, thick, cured ham. The combo of the hot tomato, the melty American cheese, the thick ham, and the buttery sourdough hit the spot. When I admitted to our waiter Annie that I was way, way too stuffed to eat dessert, she recommended a few different apertif/digestive liquers to help ease my tummy and make me feel comfortable and cool. She was so right about the effect the apertif would have and I felt awesome after that.
Overall, decent food, fun staff, good beers, and a great vibe. Yes, I am positive it was 75% patronized by tourists, being across the street from hotels and all, but we had a good time. I thought it might be kitschy but it was just the right amount of kitschy - not so much that it makes you roll your eyes, but enough that it makes you smile. And that grilled cheese hit the spot.
The food is excellent. A star off for the noise, the crowd last Saturday night, the tiny, never-refilled water glass I got, and the way the server kept ramming an empty chair into my leg. Our group of five trickled in between 7:45 & 8:00, and they asked if we had reservations. While the food is good enough to think reservations might be necessary, it's a freakin' pub, guys--who would think to make reservations? Anyway, they squeezed us in, and the food was good--very good. Three people ordered meat loaf, and while it was deemed good, the portions were a bit inconsistent. My halibut (one of the specials) was delicious, and gf's sand dabs were really good, too. I rarely order dessert when I eat out, but the whole damn dessert display tray was there at the table when I returned from a trip to the restroom, so how could I resist? Gf & I split  the famous sticky toffee pudding with both whipped cream AND ice cream--what a treat! I'm told by my friends that both the key lime pie and the carrot cake were also very good.
Review Source:I used to come here sometimes when I lived in Monterey. It's your classic pub. Loud, crowded, drinks are flowing. My old roomie and I would come here after long work days and drown our sorrows in cold beer and pub food. I'll have to hit this place up with the hubby next time I'm in town.
Review Source:Can't find the review I read recommending the Curry Fries, but whoever you are THANK YOU! Â I am a total foodie and this could easily make my top 5, maybe top 3. Â I'm inspired to learn how to make curry so I can duplicate.
Hubs had a 2 piece fish and chips which was alone enough for 2 people (and he is a big eater), fish filets (not chunks) friend deliciously, chips were nice and fluffy inside. Â Ok, the curry fries.....best curry every with a little parmesan, tomoato and chives. Â Just heaven, creamy and spicy (we got the extra hot - certainly spicy, but not the spiciest thing I've ever had by far).
The service was amazing, everyone always stopping to see how we are doing.
We will come back again and again, every time we are in town, that is!
Well....Maybe we missed something. Â This place was just OK. Â I guess we got what we paid for: me fish and chips, and he had calamari. Â Nothing really wrong with it, It was fine, 3 star fine. Â
Maybe we didn't order the right things. Â Maybe it was a weeknight and no one was there so it was missing the atmosphere. Â
The beer was good and the decor was interesting, but we could have skipped this and eaten and one of the other places I scoped out on yelp that we and we wouldn't have missed anything.
The Crown is tied for my favorite bar in town besides Segovia's. The food, drinks and service are great. The atmosphere is very comfortable too. The staff are some of the friendliest people I've met at any bar. I highly recommend it to any local or tourist looking for good food and drink and to have a good time.
Review Source:2 Stars perfectly describes this place. Â A british pub that sits in a basement (though gets quite a bit of sunlight from the windows at street level..) this place doesn't offer that much. Â They have some beers, but nothing extraordinary for this day and age, and the appetizers that we had were less than ideal. Â At least it was happy hour.
The clientele here seemed to be in an older bracket, not that there's anything wrong with that. Â But apparently I didn't fit in with the crowd so good being on break in Monterey.
There's better places to spend your money, but if you are really hankering a Black and Tan, go for it.
Came here on the random with some girls while we were on a  quick gettaway trip to Big Sur/Monterey. I had never been to Monterey before and i absolutely loved it .. we had been hiking all day so we were a little tired and we had been sipping wine all afternoon but somehow made our way here..
The inside is adorable.. reminds me of an old school pub with its timeless decor and various nic-nacks.. it was pretty crowded inside but we were able to find some seats near the bar.. I had a few glasses of red wine, delicious .. after about an hour or so we got hungry .. So we opted for their app menu..
I had the Curry Mussels that were delicious ! so flavorful!!! I was ging to get the regular ones with butter, garlic, and parsely but I figured I would switch it up a little bit.... my friend got the buffalo wings and a salad.. very tasty
The ambiance here is lively, the food is great, and the drinks are good. I had no clue Monterey had a night life, but it sure does !
And the award for Mia's favorite bar goes to Crown and Anchor! I love it here. I've met a lot of diverse people here had a lot of funny experiences. Thank you Kstar for yelling at the mayors daughter for taking to long in bathroom bumping that snow, for bringing Anthony the most delicious Aussie I've  met. Thank you Crown and Anchor for the cold beer, chicken wings and  Aussie dreams, for half and half and whiskey shots and my favorite staff Art my heart,  Annie boo, Dave the pretty one, Mike the door man that even though your gone I still get a text from checking on my life.
Review Source:Ate dinner here for our first night in town. We had seen this place on our last visit, but just never had a chance to go. This time, I wanted to make sure we did. Glad we ate here, because the food was very flavorful and well seasoned. This place is what I'd imagine a British pub to look like. I've never been to the UK, so I have no frame of reference. My husband has been and he recalled eating similar dishes that were on the menu when he was in the UK, so that was a good sign.
We ordered the Cottage Pie (shepherd's pie) and a mushroom/steak pie (pastry topped). The items we got were very tasty. The mashed potato topping on the Cottage Pie was twice baked, so it was a little crispy. Each of our dishes came with steamed veggies (to make it healthy). For dessert, we shared the sticky toffee pudding. Very sweet and rich. Reminded me a brown bread cake that was soaked in a toffee sauce. It was served with real heavy whipped cream.
The great thing about this place is the number of UK beers on tap and spirits. A number of beers to choose from. Tried some beers I'd never had and really liked. Some were on nitrogen tap so it gave a nice creamy head. I'll be coming back here again.
Crown and Anchor was right across the street from our hotel, so my boyfriend and I decided to check it out. Â We arrived around 7 p.m. for dinner. Â The place was pretty crowded both in the dining room and in the bar. Â Luckily, we spotted a small table in the bar and sat down right away. Â Within a minute, the waiter came by to give us menus. Â The menu has pretty standard British pub foods and we were able to pick out what we wanted, right away. Â Here's what we ordered:
-Black and tan ($6)
-Shandy ($6)
-Fish sandwich with french fries ($9.50): the fish fried just perfectly. Â The batter was crisp and nicely browned, while the inside was soft and moist. Â The tartar sauce was good too. Â The serving of fries was plenty for us to share.
-Banger on a roll with corned beef and cabbage soup ($7.25): The banger was really tasty and all of the caramelized onions just made this sandwich perfect. Â I really like corned beef so I thought the soup was great, as well.
-Sticky toffee pudding a la mode ($7.50): the sticky toffee pudding is a must-order. Â They give you a generous amount of whipped cream and a scoop of vanilla ice cream too. Â One order was perfect for us to share, though I probably could finish one on my own because it was that good.
The service was really quick and pretty helpful, especially for a bar. Â I would recommend the Crown and Anchor.
Notes:
-The bathroom is pretty small, but it was surprisingly clean.
-The staff's matching ties were cute.
This is the closest I've seen in California to an actual British pub. Â The food is average, but the atmosphere makes up for it. Â Everything from the goofy servers/bartenders (who are also quite nice and helpful) to the ridiculous decor make me want to return here every time I come to Monterey. Â
They also have all the basics you're looking for - reasonably priced drinks, Â several different seating areas (from the more quiet tables to the lively bar to the routy outside patio), and a number of TVs that make it perfect for watching sports.
This place is great.
The food here is terrible. And I say this realizing that, when ordering food at a pub, it's important to calibrate one's expectations accordingly. Perhaps a mind-blowing experience is not in the offing, but it's reasonable to anticipate a competently prepared meal, right? Not at The Crown and Anchor.
The turkey melt I ordered came on (untoasted) sourdough bread. It was already soggy and falling apart from the first bite, and not due to some succulent juices from the meat. To the contrary: the turkey was so overcooked and dry as to be nearly inedible. My girlfriend ordered the fish tacos, and her meat was similarly dessicated.
Service was uneven, as our waiter alternated moments of friendliness with brusque awkwardness. Call it a wash.
Perhaps the cooks were having an off night, or maybe The Crown and Anchor tries its very best, as a British pub, to emulate the atrocious culinary stylings of the Motherland. In either case, I can't recommend it.
I always go here every time I'm in Monterey, which equates to a dozen times a year. Despite the 10ft. distance between the dining area & the bar, you manage to experience the best of both worlds. Quiet dinner? Go to the dining area. Lively, friendly environment? Go to the bar area. Best part is, the crowd is not obnoxious like the one at the Mucky Duck, also a bar/restaurant located down the street.
Service & food have been consistently GREAT! In fact, I'm in love with their Nelson's Cottage Pie & their Sticky Toffee Pudding.
TIP: Don't sit anywhere near the bathrooms because you can smell what's occurring behind those doors.
Busy pub on a Saturday Night in Monterey. It seems to be one of the popular places to go. They have an outdoor patio that was visible from our hotel room patio, so we decided to come over for a drink.
I ordered the Bourbon Apple Cinnamon cocktail which was good, served in a large pint glass. I thought it might even be better if it was a martini or hot drink, you lose a little of the bourbon taste in the large glass with lots of ice.
I ordered the Rum Flower for my guy. Partly because I love Flor De Cana Nicaraguan Rum and always trying to get him to try it in different drinks. This was pretty good with the elderflower liquor to balance the rum.
The bar was just okay, after one each we were ready to go and head on our way to the next spot. Cheers!
Came here for a late dinner after a long drive up the coast. Â We stayed overnight in Monterery, and thought this place looked cute. Â Plus there were few places open for dinner at 9:00pm.
The waitress was a little weird, but she was nice regardless. Â The decor is outrageous in this place. Â Its worth it to come in just a drink to check out everything they have. Â It must have taken them years to collect all the nautical items to make this place look this way. Â Crazy!
My fiance ordered the fish and chips, which tasted a lot better than it looked. Â I figured since this is a British styled pub that I should order something savory, so I went with the chicken pot pie, but it wasn't what I was expecting. Â
The crust on top was just this weird crusty biscuit thing that was floating on what looked like some chunky chicken soup. Â The gravy was watery and didn't add much flavor to the dish. Â The crust tasted stale and the veggies weren't fully cooked. Â It was actually really gross and had to eat what I could because I was starving.
Really NOT a good dish and would be hesitant to order any of the savory pies on the menu. Â Go for the fish and chips, a much more solid selection.
Jalapeno-bacon wrapped shrimp. "It's the only way bacon could be made any better than it already is: make it spicy!"
Split a bunch of things with the table. Corned beef and cabbage was good. Two orders of prime rib were amazing. They roast all prime rib special to rare & then put it back in the oven to order. When we asked for it rare, they just dipped it in hot au jus to warm it back up. So juicy. Then they let us put in orders of yorkshire pudding. However, the oysters on a half-shelf could have been better.
Annie was an amazing waitress, accommodating our requests & telling us of her prime rib experiences with "tequila walks"
We love this place and have been dining here once or twice a month for years so I figure it is time for a review. The food, service and atmosphere all blend to make this pub one of the best values around and a great place to bring friends, since you know they will have a good meal and a good time. Yes, it can be crowded and a bit noisy (though much less loud than the Britannia Arms) but if the place was empty, there would be a reason. Fact is this place is good and folks frequent here.
The menu is quite varied so you will find something for everyone although our favorites include their burger (best in Monterey and ask for it with onion rings--best in the world)
Their crab cakes can be a meal and the clam chowder is better than any on the Wharf.
The only meal I'd avoid is their NY steak but hey...this is not a steak house.
The beer and liquor selections are top notch...the wine, not so much. Save room for the sticky toffee pudding and if prime rib is on the specials menu, that is what you want to have.
I stopped off in Monterey on my way back from Big Sur to San Jose because I remembered that Monterey had had three British pubs downtown. One is under new ownership and is no longer a British pub, the other is a sports bar, and this one seemed more traditional, so I decided on this one, the Crown and Anchor.
The decor was great, although the selection of beers was somewhat limited. The food was good, the decor was excellent (a near a coronation mug of King George V and Queen Mary!), but I was very disappointed in the service.
The server was curt and dismissive. I asked what was on draft, and he pointed to the menu and said, "Well, it's right there." I was never offered to see the dessert menu or dessert tray. He simply brought the bill without asking whether I might want anything else.
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