Restaurant review: The Crown Inn, High Street, Biggar

The menu at The Crown Inn is extremely varied and includes a Sunday carvery among its extensive offering.

Location

Set in the centre of the former burgh and historic town in South Lanarkshire, The Crown Inn was established in 1650.

First Impressions

It looks and feels like a traditional Scottish pub, and we mean that in a positive way. There are exposed stone walls, dark wood furniture, tartan rugs, and a very well stocked bar.

Menu

Best grab a drink at the bar before settling down to make your way through the huge choice on offer – from tapas to steaks to pizzas to an extensive vegan list. The mains menu has traditional pub fare like fish and chips and macaroni cheese, but also shows flair with duck yakisobi and featherblade of beef.

Taste

Such was the popularity of the place when we turned up on a Sunday evening, we had to wait an hour for a table, so by the time it came to eat we were famished and took full advantage of the extensive menu.

To start, we shared four of the small plates – the crispy jackfruit wingz, sweet potato falafel, spinach gyoza and garlic bread. Each plate was a wee winner, and beautifully presented. The jackfruit wingz – in a panko crumb and served on a sugarcane “bone” with sweet chilli sauce and vegan lemon mayo – was particularly tasty.

For the mains, we opted for the hearty vegetarian haggis, neeps and tatties, and the vegan katsu curry, a crunchy chickless fillet that came with rice and poppadums. We could – and should – have left it there, but we couldn’t resist a sticky toffee pudding to share.

Ambience

Homely, warm and friendly, and best of all, dogs are allowed.

Price

The small plates are £25 for four. Overall, our bill with drinks was £78. Good value for the amount we ate.