please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
This building is your quintessential English pub. Whenever I go in it always has a fair few regulars. The beer garden is spacious for the warmer weather and the food served is decent pub food. The Staff are friendly which adds to a good relaxed pub atmosphere. The ale selection was limited so I opted for the Amber Leaf from the Wimbledon brewery which was well kept and very palatable. Recommend if you are ever in Cheam village
scarr - 17 Mar 2022 17:46 |
good looking pub,had 4 beers on but didn't fancy them.2 beers coming soon adnams ghost ship and st austells proper job,shame my timings out.had bottle of meantime London pale ale.great service.
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This could be an excellent pub, but sadly the Management leaves a lot to be desired, as the service is poor, with too few bar staff normally available!!
In addition, one particular tall male Barman seems to take great delight in consistently serving short measure pints!!
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I've been using this pub for many years, very disappointed to go in with my kids straight from work to be told that the new owners no longer allow kids in unless they are eating. As it was 6.30pm and new rules now state kids have to leave by 7pm not 9pm we were told we couldn't even order food as it would not be ready by 7pm. 4 very upset kids after being promised they could play in the pub garden sand pit and have ice cream. My 3 year cried all the way home.
The Railway however is kid friendly as is the Prince of Wales so I know where I will be spending my money.
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Been here a few times over the last couple of years and it doesn't disappoint.
Very much a locals pub with tolerance for families including dogs.
Various ales on though Youngs ordinary is a staple.
A great old fashioned locals boozer.
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A bit of a tardis of a pub, bigger on the inside than the outside. The bar is in the centre of the pub and the lounge circles it 360 degrees. They had a fair range of real ales. My first pint, Brakespear Bitter was the end of the barrel and a bit sour but they changed it without a quibble for another Brakespear beer - Oxford Gold which was fine. My next beer was Dorking Late Red which could have been colder but it was the first out. It must be in the same menu as The Brewery in Ashtead even down to the prices. It has a large patio out the back.
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Decent pub with some good choice of ales.
Only minus it does get full of noisy families sometimes.
Best actually to go early on a Saturday morning.
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Was in here yesterday, nice pub, friendly staff, good beer.
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Much improved range and quality of beers (Marston range)
popped in on 3 cosecutive days over the Christmas holiday and enjoyed my visits.
The only gripe I have is that on all 3 days the peace was ruined by crying/screaming babies.
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walked in here last night with 3 mates.having not been in here for 15 years,was pleasantly surprised as they had a mini beer festival with 6 beers on,.we had the banks"s sunbeam which was in very good nick.will be using this place a lot more now.
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not enough choice of lager but good enough food, friendly staff and great outdoor area!
amous - 19 Mar 2012 12:20 |
apparently a new manager now, so can't comment on what it was like before.
Went there on a Friday night...it was raucous in the main bar with workers having a few bevvies, but round the back where there's seating, it was surprisingly quiet...could hardly hear the boozy crowd. Beer was Youngs Ordinary(session beer) with a couple of others (cant remember). The beer was well kept and reasonably priced. The food menu was typical pub grub at very reasonable prices...looked good too, though I didn't sample any. Back in on the Saturday, where the 6 nations rugby was being shown....kids allowed in the side of the pub away from the bar...
I would describe this as a locals pub...lively and family oriented, though a bit on the coarse side...fine by me, but maybe not for others..
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I was back in the Red Lion over Christmas and everything was fine. Beer is well kept and well priced, food was good, inexpensive, plentiful and timely. No problem bringing my 14yo son in this time either.
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Strange that Chrysanthemum and MattUK have decided to comment now. You only have to look at all the negative comments over the last few years to see that their view is not representative. As to a man helping himself, I don't know anything about that and certainly wouldn't condone it but as the service is so bad, I can't say I'm surprised.
webby - 17 Aug 2010 15:03 |
chrysandthemum- im sure i was in the right pub, yes the man should not be helping himself. I also feel that the manager could of dealt with the situation without making everybody in the pub feel uncomfortable, and yes he did return my money also with a kind message from one of the staff telling me to 'f:{ck off, you dont need to drink in here anyway'. I have never been spoken to like that in any pub from any of their staff. think its terrible and wont be sspending my money in there! the place should be closed down!
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I have been drinking in the red lion for many years and never had a problem with either the management, staff, food or service. The night that has been mentioned in the last few comments was a complete one off. The manager had everyright to apprehend the customer in question who felt it was 'ok' to walk behind the bar and help himself to a drink? This wouldn't happen in weatherspoons!? Everybody received money back if they wanted for a food order mishap which could not have been helped due to a technical fault. All in all this pub is a lovely local place to visit for a quiet drink 99 out of 100 times!
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Not sure Nanny Services and Webby were in the right pub were they? I've been a regular at this pub for years and I've never had a problem with staff, food, or anything. I go there with my family and we always enjoy the atmosphere and service. If these people are talking about the night I think they are refering to, the Manager was quite within his rights as the customer really shouldn't have helped himself, I've seen this person before and have noticed that they are not the most patient of people and many of the regulars agreed that the Manager handled the situation well. I'm sure you won't be missed at our dear Red Lion and I hope you continue to enjoy the Harrow....!
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This pub has seen a sad decline over the past few years. The management don't seem interested and the staff are poorly trained. Scruffy and in need of a refurb, best avoided.
webby - 22 Jul 2010 12:48 |
I visited this pub for the 2nd time yesterday and had the most dreadful experience. My friends and I ordered a bottle of wine and some food. We waited over an hour for our food and noticed that alot of customers were asking for their money back, so we did the same, only to be sworn at by the manager.
Customers were waiting so long to be served that they actually were helping themselves. The manager was then screaming, swearing and shouting and stomping around the bar. We then left and had a lovely experience in the harrow. I will never drink in the red lion again due to bad management and terrible service!
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The beer is well kept but the place is let down by some indifferent staff, overall this pub used to be a lot better but is looking run down and unloved. on the good side prices are some of the best in Cheam.
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Visited Ye Olde Red Lion in Cheam today. Ordered our food at 12.45 which finally arrived at 2.35. The food was very good but there was no excuse for almost 2 hours waiting. Several other customers had similar delays.
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Went back this summer but could not be served, even in the garden, because I had brought my 12yo son and it was after 8pm. What a crime! I have previously had this problem with The Prince of Wales locally but other Cheam pubs were not so pedantic and got my business instead
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I visited this establishment two years ago There was a fight ,ive not been back since. In the fifties this was on of the best pubs iCheam,but then Cheam was a nice place,
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A regular visitor and I love it down here. Beer is invariably in good order, and although sometimes service is a tad slow, the staff are always cheerful.
Beer garden is an asset too....
Definitely worth more than a 5/10
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Not as popular a pub as it used to be years ago but not bad. Nice building, and I really appreciate the good quality inexpensive Youngs and London Pride on offer. Staff are OK
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She's (Northern) Irish, not Scottish. It takes a Ulster Fry or two to get those bingo wings. Bar that, all the below is painfully true. It's quite clear she'd prefer people to stop annoying her by a) coming in and then b) having the nerve to order a drink. Fair play to the other girls behind the bar though who make an effort despite the presence of the Wicked Witch of the North.
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Great potential in this pub however the current owners are not doing the place justice. There is probably the rudist bar maid there I have ever come across; she's middle aged, scottish and will barely make eye contact, but in a strange way I find her amusing (you can say anything to her and she wont take offense!!)Very cheap, decent beer. Be very careful if you are over 6foot, you will bang your head!!!
dm221 - 30 Apr 2008 12:57 |
I had lived in cheam for 35 yrs having now moved away.On a visit at christmas i found the scotish manageress to be the surliest person i have come across working behind a bar.The service was slow and she is abnoxious.Once again i visited last week and against my better judgement entered her lair .She had her back to us and glanced at us briefly and turned away,then a few moments later turned round and greeted us with (Well want do you want ime not a mind reader)i can only assume the good reviews are from people who have not been served by her.I will never set foot in there again.
reedy - 26 Mar 2008 10:48 |
What are they playing at with this pub, I have lived in Cheam for 43 years and seen a lot of manager's come and go over the years, some good some bad, but this bunch of muppits take the biscuit.
The manageress only comes into the bar area to take a bottle of wine out of the fridge, and she doen't even make eye contact with any of the waiting punters, I have never seen her work a shift yet.
They have a middle aged scotish woman working there who really does not like anyone or any work(busy doing nothing springs to mind)huffing and puffing at ever opportunity.
This pub could be an gold mine with the right people behind it, what a shame.
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Every pub has a quiet day and it's a shame a comment is made with just one visit...As for the pub going downhill... i think the comment was from being made to wait rather than a fair description!.. The atmosphere over christmas was brilliant and the staff and owners make you very welcome.. I eat at the pub regulary and can say that the presentation and quality of food is brilliant. I cannot find fault in food or service in any way. I have never felt unwelcome or been left unserved. It is a real family pub with a friendly atmosphere. It is excellent value for money and the beer garden is lovely.
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First visit to this pub for around twenty years. It's been ruined! It was a genuine old pub with wooden beams and nooks and crannies - that's all been ripped out and replaced with fake 'olde' furnishings. It's all wood-panelled like some sort of Boardroom, and if you don't like brown I wouldn't go here - everything's brown! Fairly empty, no atmosphere, a poor excuse for a pun!
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Country pub!????
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have been drinking here for about 18 months to 2 years and have always found it lively and reasonably friendly despite being quite busy especially fri and sat nights. however, since the scottish landlady (poss. Tracy) left a few months ago the pub has gone rapidly downhill, to a point where on 2 seperate occasions 2 mates have walked out and gone elsewhere despite arranging to meet up there. i will no longer go there until i hear better reports. the staff are nowhere near as efficient as last landlady's staff and even the new landlady and her partner will stand around even at the busiest times and watch their staff struggling. last fri night a patron who moaned about slow service was told by barmaid " why dont you go to the harrow then!" the opinion has been raised as to wether the owners are deliberately running the pub into the ground for ulterior motives?! a great shame as what used to be a great pub has nosedived severely.
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A beautifull setting for this country pub. Is impresive both in and outside, menu is good value for money and well presented (tastes good too), friendly staff and welcoming atmosphere. A real must to visit if passing through Cheam.
anonymous - 3 May 2007 20:36 |
Building is really special, but can be difficult to move around (to the toilets, just getting in can be a problem sometimes). Can get very smokey, low ceilings. Staff, freindly, reasonably efficient, although some of the customers can make the service slow. Beers fine. Eat there a couple of months ago, was good, but they seem to have changed the menu. Food still looks good, but I haven't tried this menu.
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great pub, nice staff, best pint of real ale in cheam by far.
anonymous - 13 Jun 2006 17:00 |
Flufy Rona has clearly got the wrong pub! Ye Olde Red Lion is a beautifull, well kept, traditional pub. Its clientele a mix of locals and lunch time office crowd. Supping not bacardi breezers, but wine, larger or one of the 4 real ales on offer. The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed. Its good to see this pub back on the level it was a few years ago.
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Used to be very special - now it only gets 1 for its building. The rest of it is overrun with the chavs who have obviously thought it's time to "trade up" in Cheam - if drinking alongside Bacardi Breezer loving, Burberry wearing louts is your idea of a good time, then you'll love it, if not, avoid like the plague. A huge shame.
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What has happened, this place has gone completely down hill. It is a beautifuly set pub and the interior is superb , however it is now totally let down by customers who all appear to have been barred from pubs in Sutton town centre . I doubt very much if most of these morons actually live in Cheam Village . Walked in the other day and it was full of spotty teenagers having finished their first job on leaving school ( Yes you've guessed it , their builders ) standing around in the bar without shirts on. The manageress has lost control . If you cant hack it you shouldnt do the job. Someone please take over this beautiful place and give it back to the locals !!!!!!
anonymous - 27 Jun 2005 21:39 |
Grade II listed, extended in the c20th, still retaining its interior layout with separate rooms. Beers an ok small range of real ales, and food reasonable.
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The best pub in cheam village by far. Friendly, nice real ales and fireplace. Its old fashioned and a locals pub but i'm not local and get a great welcome.
Carl - 22 Apr 2005 02:12 |
