The Crown at Boston Spa Review | A country pub with a modern twist

Nestled in a quaint village just a 30 minute drive from Leeds, you’ll find The Crown at Boston Spa, which was renovated and reopened under new ownership in May after closing its doors back in 2012. The new-look restaurant boasts a menu of pub classics, as well as some more unexpected dishes. With 50% off mains Monday to Thursday and two cocktails for £12 cocktails on all day every day throughout January, now is the time to give The Crown a try.

What to expect from your visit to The Crown at Boston Spa

The team behind The Crown at Boston Spa are the same people heading up the much loved The Beck & Call sister pub in Meanwood, north Leeds. With a family-friendly vibe, it retains the relaxed feel and a consistent quality you’d expect from the group. That’s not to say you won’t find a mix of people inside; from families to couples, groups of friends catching up over drinks to lunching mums with prams in tow.

Before the current residents took over, the Grade II listed building stood empty for 9 years, but life has well and truly been breathed back into the space. Walking into the venue feels a little like the Matrix. One direction leads you into a cosy, dimly-lit space buzzing with conversation, kitted out with a log burner and a country-pub feel.

The other leads into a more contemporary space, flooded with natural light, and home to a collection of trendy marble, velvet and leather interiors. We go with the latter, but you can just tell the former is just waiting for you to grab an armchair after a long walk and settle in, ready for a roast and a glass or two of red by the fire.

Something to drink?

We are led to our table and left to peruse the drinks menu. There’s a two for £12 cocktail offer on all day every day [in January], which is plenty enough reason to indulge, so it’s an Aperol Spritz for me. Not a particularly complex drink but served with a perfect balance between bitter and sweet.

My dining partner plumps for a drink from the jovially named mocktail selection… a ‘Nun Punch’ which, if you haven’t guessed, is a booze-free take on a Rum Punch. For the more traditional drinkers, there’s a wide selection of draught, cask and local beers on offer, along with an extensive wine list.

What’s on the menu at The Crown Boston Spa?

My lunch date just so happens to be a regular at The Crown at Boston Spa and, as such, makes the perfect menu tour guide. With a tough choice between the delicious dishes on offer, from elevated pub plates to pizzas and salads, we decide to split the dishes. The menu is made up of produce sourced from all over Yorkshire, with a balance of meat, fish and vegan dishes to choose from.

There is a selection of homemade breads and olives on offer in the nibbles section, but keen to get stuck in, we go straight to the starters. The beef carpaccio calls my name, and we land on the mussels in white wine sauce, another classic, shortly after. The starters quickly arrive at the table and we dive in. The carpaccio is simply dressed, as it should be, with salsa verde, rocket and parmesan shavings. Not quite an ‘all singing, all dancing’ dish but enjoyable all the same.

The star of the The Crown at Boston Spa starters is certainly the mussels, swimming in a thick, creamy sauce. With a squeeze of lemon to cut through the richness, that right there is my idea of a perfect dish. The flavours are comforting, but at the same time, they grab your attention in the best possible way. If they’d served me the sauce as a soup, I wouldn’t complain one bit. The mussels were plump and juicy. A few shells are empty but the missing mussels are discovered at the end of the course, swimming in the generous portion of sauce.

The bread is lightly toasted and the only thing I would change about this dish would be to have more of it. Serve it to me as a main with plenty more hunks of bread to mop up that glorious sauce and I’d be happy as a clam… or perhaps a mussel.

Elevated pub classics are the main event

Onto the mains. The Thai style crispy beef salad comes stacked high, the spicy salad based topped with a generous serving of beef and crushed peanuts. Fresh and flavourful, it’s very much enjoyed by my dining partner.

Speaking of which, her recommendation for the half-crown of roast chicken really pays off. It’s everything you want from a chicken dish; crispy skin, succulent meat, and thick, glossy sauce. It’s an unassuming plate to look at, but absolutely packed with flavour. The wild mushroom sauce is the goldilocks of consistency and flavour; just right. It’s not particularly mushroom heavy in terms of taste, but reminiscent of the fantastic chicken schmaltz from the sister restaurant of The Crown Boston Spa, Ox Club. And we can’t gloss over the roast garlic mash, which delivers exactly what it says on the tin!

With 50% off mains Monday – Thursday through January, it’s as good an excuse as any to make plans and start working your way through the menu.

The Crown at Boston Spa review overall thoughts

With a new chef joining the team before Christmas, The Crown really has hit its stride, with a menu packed with favourites and a stunning venue to serve them in. Closing out the meal with an espresso of better quality than the usual restaurant fare, we leave feeling incredibly satisfied and with a booking for Sunday lunch on the cards.

The Crown Boston Spa hosts a range of regular events, including quizzes, creative craft sessions, and most recently a range of dried flower workshops in partnership with slow-living lifestyle brand The Quietly Wild, with more to follow in 2022.

January 2022 offers to enjoy at The Crown Boston Spa

• 50% off mains Monday – Thursday
• Two cocktails for £12 cocktails on all day every day

28 High Street, Boston Spa, Wetherby, Leeds, LS23 6AL – https://thecrownbostonspa.com/

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