The Crown
Park Street
Stoke-by-Nayland
Colchester
Suffolk
Date of Last Visit: April 16th and 17th
The Victims: Dev, Connie, Mireia
The Damage: Included in our hotel bill!
The Background: We were out in Colchester for the opening of the Rose & Crown, our friend Ed's pub and my newest investment. Given the copious amounts of Penet Chardonnet we were sure to be drinking, Ed had recommended The Crown, a 10 minute taxi ride away, as a good place to stay. And boy was he right.
I stay in a lot of hotels. And this honestly has to be one of the nicest ones I've stayed in, particularly for the price The rooms were gorgeous. The staff were lovely. The bath products were nice. In short, I didn't want to leave.
And I especially didn't want to leave once I'd had the bubble & squeak for breakfast.
The mash was full of all sorts of good stuff…thick chunks of bacon and fresh bits of cabbage (which I'm not normally a fan of). Was there spinach in there too? Carrots? I'm really not sure. But it was fantastic. And that egg…you can't tell from this photo, but there were actually TWO of them. Two perfectly fried eggs, seasoned with sea salt and black pepper.
I couldn't fathom eating for about another eight hours after this. And in truth, I couldn't imagine eating anything as good as this. It was like I didn't want to wipe its taste from my memory. Because this was memorable. VERY memorable. I'm already imagining my top 10 for 2010 and unless everything else I eat in 2010 is outstandingly amazing, this bubble & squeak gets a spot!
The Verdict: If you're in the area–perhaps visiting the Rose & Crown (hopefully with me!)–definitely stay the night at The Crown and have their fantastic bubble & squeak for breakfast before you leave.
