The Crown (Stoke By Nayland)

Oh Dear! Standards are dropping & 'The Crown', once the jewel of Stoke-By-Nayland is taking profit

Since I no longer live locally, I had not visited The Crown since very soon after the 'Chestnut Group' bought it from it's creators. Sadly there is now a great difference: First off, the car park had a large pile of beer kegs in it, plus four more blocking the route to the hotel. A car, (I assume a staff member), was parked against the hedge by the building, with a 'For Sale' notice on it! Next I noticed that the clever & subtle 'The Crown' logo on the front gable (& everywhere else), had been replaced with a brash 'Clown's hat' device; in the case of the front gable without removing evidence of the original, or filling the holes, or painting over. These were the warning signs! Inside was much as I remembered, but with some bad re-decorating. The main problem was, of course, the food: The Nuts, olives & bread 'nibbles' were OK, though the walnuts were burnt & the olives were cheap Spanish ones. Main courses: My 'Lamb Rump, pea & mint puree, confit new potatoes, Garlic & Shallot Mange Tout, & shallot sauce, (£18), Was a not very tender & rather fatty piece of lamb, in a basic lamb gravy, with three tiny 'squirts of pea puree, three tiny roasted (confit?) new potatoes, & a few mange tout, made up with small peas that were probably frozen. The 'Garlic & Shallot Mange Tout' was not present in any way in the flavour of the sauce which was VERY over salt, & in no way a separate sauce or flavour. In short it was presented 'On the Cheap', for £18! NOT IMPRESSED! I mentioned my concerns to the server, but nothing was done. Two of our party had the 'Smoked Paprika Chicken Burger', (£15.50). This was a half of a small breast of chicken, cut flatwards, so it was thin & dried out badly in the cooking. Barely edible at all. My partner took most home for the dog! The 'Gem lettuce' was dark, old, flat-leaf stuff, & I don't think the chips were made 'in house'. For the price, can you REALLY not afford a whole breast of chicken? The meat menu is very limited; if you don't want a steak (£25.50/£32.50), or offal, then just two choices! One of our party said they enjoyed the smoked fish, but the portion was TINY. Come on Crown, we all know too well what happens when a successful eatery is taken over by a greedy chain; it happened with the same owners previous creation, 'The Angel' in Stoke By Nayland; a raving success in the '80s & '90s, then almost run into the ground by stupid new chain owners. From what I see, you need to be aware of the approaching threat from a new, re-vamped 'Angel', If you charge too much & don't deliver on your menu, your future is very uncertain. I, for one, will not be happy to consider returning for some time, I fear. Such a great shame, you were handed the 'Golden Goose', but fail to see it.