#BeerGardenLeicester: The Crown Inn, Anstey

The hunt for the best beer garden in Leicester continues with one for people looking to get out of the city. The Crown Inn in Anstey has changed hands a few times in recent years and the decor and standards have risen and fallen accordingly. It has always had a lovely beer garden though, and so we went and sat in it to check it out.

Size and exclusivity
This is a really good sized garden, with both grassed areas and a patio, and a two level effect with a little path running down the middle (a path, a path!). There is lots of furniture so plenty of room for everyone. It does get busy on a sunny day and is a very family friendly pub so there tends to be lots of kiddywinks running about making merry.

Early Doors
You get full sun at lunchtime and early afternoon, but it heads behind the trees by ‘end of work’ time, so you have to pick your table very carefully to be able to catch that elusive early evening sun.

Smarts
It’s got a nice, homely feel, but is starting to look a little tired. It needs a post-winter smarten up – the paint on the furniture is cracked and peeling, the grass needs cutting and there was quite a bit of litter around the place when we visited. All of the planters with the spring bulbs were lovely though and all the little extra decorations were very sweet. So it’s nice, but could just be tweaked a little to make it really lovely.

Wifi
The free wifi is The Cloud so it’s really easy to access. The wifi signal just reaches in to the garden and just about reaches everywhere. So it’s weak, but it’s there.

British-Summer-Proof
It’s pretty rainproof to be fair. There is a small permanent shelter on the side of the building, currently a small marquee/tent shelter on the grass and also umbrellas for the tables, so you are good against a sudden downpour. No heaters or blankets for those of you who feel the cold though.

Furniture
All the wooden tables, chairs and benches are in relatively good nick, but starting to show their age a little bit. For some reason the chairs on the patio are the heaviest in the world, so be prepared to heave slightly to get yourself seated.

Miscellaneous
There are speakers for music to be played in the garden, but these weren’t operational during our visit. They also have a serious looking gas BBQ out there which I presume means potential meat grillage on a nice day.

Pub Dogs
No dogs – sad times.