‘Lacks polish’: South Brisbane newcomer’s take on tradition

An old building with a fresh start offers London pub ambience and a traditional English menu

The Rose and Crown

When you think of a London pub you are probably not envisaging it being at South Bank not far from the basting swimmers at Streets Beach and the gravy-brown Brisbane River surging with storm run-off.

But The Rose & Crown, “a taste of London” according to its website, has opened on Grey St in a heritage-listed building sandwiched between the Emporium Hotel and a soaring tower. The attractive, white-painted brick establishment with iron lace-adorned verandas was built in 1889 and survived the Expo 88 demolitions to become, among other things, a spaghetti house, a police station and most recently the Little Big House eatery, initially owned by Matt Moran.

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Now, new owners with years of experience operating gastropubs in the UK have spruced it up, opening a few weeks ago with the British focus obvious in both the drinks and the menu that includes roasts with Yorkshire puddings on Sundays.

The Rose and Crown at South Brisbane

It’s a busy locale with the South Bank railway station at the back and a swag of shops including a McDonald’s on the lower-ground level. Head up the staircase though and you’ll find two levels of indoor and breezy outdoors areas overlooking Grey St where patrons can settle in for a drink, order bar snacks (pork scratchings, scotch eggs, or a ploughman’s lunch among them) or from the establishment’s main menu.

We’re seated in a windowless indoor dining room that has table service, a soundtrack of British hits and an English pub vibe courtesy of a fireplace, wooden tables and chairs and walls replete with plates and prints.

The Rose and Crown’s dining room

We  pass up chicken liver pate, haloumi with honey and walnuts, and tomato and burrata panzanella for potted crab ($20) and grilled sardine and tomato tart ($19). The crab is muted in flavour and arrives with a lid of butter and two triangles of brioche toast that would have been more appealing if they were warm.

The tart is better, the pastry golden and adorned with a dollop of creme fraiche to enhance the fish and tomatoes.

Fish and chips at The Rose and Crown

Mains include traditional options such as steak and Guinness pie with mash and roast veg ($30) and battered fish with mushy peas ($28) but we decide to see what they do with a bavette (flank) steak ($40) and the kingfish fillet ($42).

We’re told the steak is cooked medium rare unless otherwise requested and it arrives in broad, pink slices drizzled with chimichurri sauce and a thatch of watercress, the lot sitting on a bed of chips that are turning soggy as a consequence.

The kingfish fillet is not overly large but has nice crisp skin and is lolling on what is described as cider, mussel and potato chowder – a mound of diced veg spiked with rosemary sprigs as well as a couple of mussels, which is fine but not the creamy chowder of my imagination.

Dining options at The Rose and Crown

Through all of this, the service is friendly enough if basic, with, for example, the staff not taking empty glasses when delivering food and after clearing the entrees, more cutlery and paper napkins for both of us are placed in a pile near my elbow.

As you might expect in a pub, the drinks list has been given plenty of attention but it offers something different with a traditional real ale hand pulled from the cask, as well as tap beers including Guinness and Brewdog and bottled drops such as Bacchus Ulster Stout. Cocktails run to an elderflower spritz, a gimlet, and Pimms, and the wine list has several dozen global wines from Burgundy to Argentinian Malbec to a Chianti. No and low-alcohol options are also plentiful.

We finish with a decent sticky toffee pudding ($16), a square of which arrives amid a moat of butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice-cream.

It’s a pleasant venue for drinks and snacks but at this early stage the dining experience
lacks polish.

Steak and Guinness pie and The Rose and Crown

The Rose and Crown

275 Grey St, South Brisbane

roseandcrownpub.com.au

Verdict

Food

2.5 stars

Service

2.5 stars

Ambience

3 stars

Value

2.5 stars

Overall

2.5/5 stars

An outdoor area at The Rose and Crown

delicious.com.au/eatout