please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Very smartly refurbished pub on the old A1 adjacent to Sherrardspark Wood. Nice big garden, although the still of the evening was spoiled by the roar of traffic from the AI(M) over the fence at the back. A couple of real ales were on tap; I had the Butcombe Rare Breed. Unfortunately it was a trifle warm and had an unpleasant metallic aftertaste. A shame that an otherwise favourable impression was spoiled by a failure to clean the pipes. Also a tad expensive with a bitter and a Peroni coming in at just under £8.
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Just had a meal here today and very impressed!
The food was amazing with a sort of Mediterranean style. The lamb cofter starter was perfect. The other food I saw around our table looked great too and got excellent comments. The bar had breakspear gold and doom bar. I had the doom bar and this seemed very good. The staff were attentive and friendly.
Overall a very positive experience and hard to pick out any faults. I will definitely return soon!!
9/10
NeilA - 24 Dec 2011 15:18 |
Usual gastro pub interior design set up of wooden and stone floors throughout, large central exposed brick fireplace accessible from both sides, plain walls in pastel colours, designer spot lighting, sofas in the bar area and wicker furniture in the restaurant. The restaurant room is wood cladded and painted white and presumably to try and give it a bit of character, there is a dead animal theme going on with Stags antlers on the fireplace and assorted animal skins on the floor and on the long seats. Seemed a bit naff to me, but then I am no expert to what passes as creative interior design nowadays.
We didn�t eat here, but one look at the menu was enough to confirm the usual pretentious gastro nonsense, where chips are referred to as frites, and a classic burger will set you back the wrong side of �11.00. Apparently you can get a jus served with your gammon.
At least they should be praised for keeping a lounge bar area separate from the restaurant. And there were three ales on. These were Doombar, London Pride and Brakspears Gold and the Doombar and Gold we tried were well kept pints. But wet sales are clearly secondary to the food here and despite several branded staff in black pub polo�s, only one was working the bar area, so expect to wait if you get stuck behind a big group like I did.
So will concur, definately more of a restaurant than a pub. Is OK for a beer on a good day when you can use the garden, otherwise go elsewhere for that traditional pub experience.
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My wife and I have visited this place many times in the past and really loved the food.. sadly we went a couple of weeks ago and the menu had completely changed - much more pizza / burger / chips type food. Went ahead and ordered and food was bland and seemed reheated. Plus the chips were oven chips. Also, tho not busy the service was slow and we waited 10 min for the bill. A real shame...
Another thing - on way out we were handed an offical online survey offer - where you fill in a survey and can win a case of champagne. Fine. But stapled to this was a printed out slip offering a furher meal at Red Lion is you select "Strongly Agree" in the survey answers about how good the pub is! Very dodgy.
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Dropped in for lunch to find that the place was really busy. Food was good and not too badly priced. There were two real ales on hand pumps and quite a wide selection of other beers/lagers in bottles or on tap. A couple of open fires added warmth and atmosphere.
Overall I would say that this is more of a restaurant than a pub, but if you are looking for somewhere to eat that serves real beer, this should be on your list.
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Went out with a large group-14 of us to be exact.All of us loved it just what welwyn needed,The refurbed pub is amazing.Great Staff,Great food waiter told me the Menu changes every 4 months and that they have a steak night every tuesday my kind of place T-bone steaks is exactly what i crave.Good beers Amstel, Peroni, Pilsner, Becks Vier, Estrella,Guinness and 2 Aspalls Cyders then some real ales including London Pride And Doom Bar.
Heard they have a new chef too it helps getting some fresh faces in the kitchen keeps the same menu fresh and improves what you can expect..Fresh food cooked real well.
Thanks For A welcome Improvement to Welwyn...
Rihan - 18 Nov 2010 19:59 |
Very friendly staff. Good, No not good - GREAT FOOD!
Prices may be higher than some grotty back street boozer filled with perma-doled league of gentlemen rejects but that suits me sir!
Give it a go.
I recently rediscovered this place and it's great. I'll be keeping a close eye on the quality of the food though. As is often the case the brewery gets trade up by employing quality kitchen staff then moving them on once the turnover hits a trigger point.
Don't let it happen as without the food you'll struggle!
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Was a bit disappointed to find it had changed. It's lost it's old style country feel. Too many bright halogen lights for my liking. Some of the staff very (over?) friendly and some not so friendly. Prices are high for what you get.
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I've been to the Red Lion a couple of times now since the refurbishment, and can confirm the prices have gone up quite dramatically e.g. �10+ for burger and chips, that said the quality is good and the staff are friendly, it�s less family orientated but feels more gastro. The only issue I have is the draught beer range is too limited to niche premium imported lagers, Peroni is ok but to have along side it 2 Grolsch variants, Budvar, Pilsner Urquell. As the brands are so similar it�s unlikely they all have enough demand to keep the quality good. Previously they sold just sold Staropramen and Stella which were much better.
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Just moved to the area and popped in. The only thing more pretentious than the promotional material with pictures of the team (it truly has to be seen to be believed) on was the prices...wouldnt mind if the food was good. A real disapointment. Decoration was clean and tidy though.
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This pub just reopened on 5th Dec 2009 and has changed considerably for the better. Although it's still part of a (small) chain, the staff are warm, friendly and enthusiatic and can't do enough for you.The food is very good, a little more expensive than before but very much worth it. There's a definite Italian slant to the menu now, with lots of garlic, pasta and pizza, but all with a lovely unusual twist. For those who prefer the meat and veg approach, there are plenty of other options too. The popular Sunday Roasts are still available, in more variety and super presentation. We enjoyed a lovely lunch there with delicious desserts too. Recommended!
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Please note that the Red Lion is undergoing major refurbishment at present. I am not sure when it is due to reopen.
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Good food and friendly service
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Completely agree with the comment below. Such a shame about these 2 once great pubs. Just unfortunate pubs are struggling to survive with the low priced supermarket drinks and therefore turning into restaurants.
scarn - 29 Apr 2008 16:54 |
Formerly a pub of great character, now a chain food pub with all the charm knocked out of it as per Crooked Chimney.
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The pub is not smokey and there are no yobs. The service is as expected for a 'managed' pub - listless and inattentive. The food is corporate, edible and not expensive. Bloody cold because one of the staff had to keep nipping out for a fag and leaving the door open. The waitresses were young and very attractive but ill-mannered. You do get served eventually, and the real ale is actually excellent. I give it 6 out of 10.
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Not exactly a 'local', I like this pub because I can get a very decent evening meal and a pint for �10, and nobody minds that I'm on my own with a book or a paper. Friendly and efficient staff.
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