Old Crown Public House, The

Amidst the incessant noise and bustle of London's West End it comes as a refreshing surprise to find this oasis of calm and quality. This is a very personal place in that the team here own, designed, built and live in it. This almost medieval concept of creation works brilliantly.

Amidst such elegantly traditional surroundings the customary extensive range of libations, including excellent beers like Bombardier and Spitfire seem thoroughly at home, and Continental bottled beers also get a look in. A wine list of distinction is quite sufficient to ensure that return to your place of work after lunch can only be in some doubt.

Talking of lunch a great array of tapas awaits, or there is a more conventional menu from which to select such dishes as pumpkin soup, char grilled mixed vegetables and buffalo mozzarella, or an Argentinean rib-eye 8oz steak, with fries and sage butter. Thai cod fishcakes or crispy prawn toast with avocado, lime and coriander salsa make thoroughly tasty one course lunches.

The three course menu could start with carrot and coriander soup, through marinated lamb cutlets or a char grilled rump steak on wilted spinach, to sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce, or Eton Mess.

The Old Crown is the sort of place to which it could be very easy to become addicted.