The Crown Hotel Llandegla

We called in the Crown Hotel on the way back from a weekend away in Aberystwyth. It was a red hot Sunday afternoon so we were keen to find somewhere where we could enjoy a Sunday roast in the sunshine so a beer garden was a must!

We came across the crown which is a 400 year old traditional Welsh country inn it is situated at the traffic lights on the A529 Wrexham/Ruthin and the A5105 Chester/Corwen close to

Llandegla. The Crown hotel is a gateway to the magnificent Clwyd valley and its spectacular countryside.

The pub is steeped in history it was one of 16 inns at Llandegla which once catered for the drovers who stopped the night here while driving livestock from Wales to England. Droving had died out by about 1870, replaced by railways. Now only two of the old inns are still in use as pubs, and this is one of them. The pub certainly has the wow factor with low wood beams to the traditional stone walls but with the quirky touches the current owners have made it feels like an enchanted garden with the abundance of twinkling fairy lights and candles on the tables it really is a beautiful pub not at all what we expected from the outside.

We were immediately made to feel like family friends and

assured that dogs were more than welcome which was nice. We asked to be seated in the beer garden as it was such a beautiful day and we were shown to a courtyard at the rear which was an absolute sun trap.

Our waitress soon returned with menus and refreshments for our dog, they brought out ice cold water and a bowl of dog biscuits much to her satisfaction.

We were pleased to see that the Sunday lunch menu with not

just traditional roast dinners but also favourites like fish and chips, Cajun chicken and Curry and rice  and at £13.95 for three courses it was good value.

We both decided on Tempura Prawns for our starters these came presented on a bed of crisp salad with a drizzle of sweet chilli sauce the prawns were coated in a delicious crispy Tempura batter. The dish was light, fresh and simple but delicious.

For our main course we both decided on a traditional Sunday lunch Reg opted for Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding and I decided on Roast Lamb and Yorkshire pudding. Both of the lunches looked amazing when they arrived they were presented really well  the first thing we noticed was  the huge homemade Yorkshire puddings, mounds of creamy mash ,crispy roast potatoes and  chunky cut meat, no wafer thin pre cut catering meat in sight! They then topped it off by bringing out a platter of perfectly cooked fresh vegetables with the addition of the most tasty sauted red cabbage I had ever tasted and delicious creamy cauliflower cheese which was smothered in a rich tasty wholegrain mustard cheese sauce. We were really impressed with everything we had tasted the quality of the ingredients and the expertise of the chef had made a first class Sunday lunch, it was an added bonus that the service was excellent and the chef actually took the time to come outside and ask us if we had enjoyed our meals.

Unfortunately I think the heat and the portion size got the better of us, we couldn’t manage a dessert, although we both agreed it gives us a reason to go back and sit inside amongst the twinkling fairy lights and enjoy more wonderful home cooked food in a real gem of a country pub.