I’ve just come back from a girl’s lunch at the Rose & Crown in Guildford. I was quite keen to try the food there as the last time I went there it was just for drinks with burger boy in the very cool underground bar.
I had checked out the trusty Urbanspoon very quickly for the address as I hit the roads, I didn’t read the reviews but saw that it had an 82% rating so I had a expected a nice but pricey lunch.
When I first walked into the Rose & Crown I saw aeroguard on our table. It was a Sunday afternoon so I thought it was rather strange…apparently ants were biting the girls underneath the table. Not a fantastic first impression.
I was tired from a busy weekend of drinking and felt like ‘comfort’ food, so I ordered the Sunday Roast which was pork with crackle and roasted vegetables (broccoli, potato, pumpkin) with gravy & apple sauce $28. It was beautifully presented and I was so excited to dig into it. That is until I took a bite and found that the roast pork was cold and a little dry. My roasted veggies were hot and cooked perfectly. I didn’t bother sending my roast back to the kitchen to be nuked in the microwave but I was disappointed as it looked so good. The $15 roast & grill meals you can buy at any shopping centre food hall taste better than what I had today.
The other girls enjoyed their meals though - maybe I was just unlucky. The gnocchi entrée (sweet potato, duck, cream sauce, pecorino) $21 looked amazing and my friend that had it loved it. The duck (slow cooked leg, braised red cabbage, lyonnaise potatoes, hazelnuts, watercress salad) $33 was also a winner - most of the girls thought that was nice too.
An amazing dessert after an average meal often turns my average foodie experience around but I couldn’t find anything on the dessert menu I liked…so I ordered the Ice Coffee which I thought was a safe option. To my dismay it was served with part of it spilt down the glass and onto the napkin, I had asked for plenty of ice-cream as I don’t like cream but it appeared to have melted on the way over from the kitchen (it was a hot day so I’ll give them that but I couldn’t even taste the ice-cream). I felt like I was drinking a room temperature watered-down latte. A couple of girls were also served wine with lipstick stained on the glass – not a great look.
It was a nice outing with the girls on a relaxing Sunday afternoon. I enjoyed the ambience and rustic feel of the Rose & Crown and the tasting platter was ok as it had chorizo and fetta which I love. All the little things that weren’t up to scratch weren’t major issues and can be easily fixed by the Rose & Crown… but I can’t say I’ll be rushing back for lunch based on my experience today. Maybe a drink later down the track…
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