Red Lion, Histonback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
One of the very best pubs in and around Cambridge. Good choice of changing ales and plenty of Belgian bottled beer. The quality and condition of the beer in this pub is as good as I have had anywhere.
Food is very good pub grub.
Always busy, but it's a good sized (but still cosy) building, so finding a spot is not too difficult.
Parking a bit tight around the back, so nearby street parking probably the best.
|
This is an excellent place. I'd been here before, but hadn't managed to say anything about it. In brief, the drink is a VERY wide and well-chosen selection of excellent beers and ciders (always at least one still draft cider, and perry too) and it's well-kept. This is one of the best places for miles around. 8.5/10
|
Spent an afternoon here with friends just after Christmas and was entirely satisfied. Two large rooms, the lounge heavily decorated with old local views, brewery parpahernalia, etc., as well as a real fire. Cosy. No children in evidence on my visit.
Half a dozen real ales on pump, including Bateman's XB and Adnam's Old Ale - both served in excellent condition. Bar service was prompt and attentive. A range of pub food staples (scampi and the like) is offered for circa �7/�8, which other members of the party said were good. I had the special for �9 and it was piping hot, quickly served, and very tasty.
All in all, a very good house, reflected by increasing patronage as the afternoon went on.
Bus no.8 stops almost outside, to and from the city centre and Cambridge railway station.
|
A place that is worthy of the top 100 (probably a lot higher considering some of the dross that is artificially in the top echelons here). A pub of two halves, the public seems a bit more raucous than the lounge. Nine ales in view in the lounge half, had a nice pint of Mighty Oak Oscar Wilde (Mild). Deserves it's accolades.
anonymous - 24 Dec 2011 23:34 |
Our penultimate pub of 10 for the day in Cambridgeshire and this one was the best. There are 2 bars. One is more of a public bar and has a large bottle selection, whilst the more comfortable lounge has the real ale selection on handpulls. Batemans XB, Oakham Bishops Farewell, Stonehenge Pigswill, Tring Blonde, Mighty Oak Oscar Wilde Mild, Humpty Dumpty Nord Atlantic & Theakston Old Peculier were the beers. Westons Country Perry and Pickled Pig New Season Porker were the real perry and cider. Assorted breweriana lines the walls of the lounge and there is a staggering array of pumpclips on the ceiling. Wasn't too taken with the rather rotund fellow sat at the corner of the bar, who was muttering away about us after the barman got our drinks order wrong. My European language skills may not be wonderful. But Rosso generally refers to a red drink and Bianco would generally refer to a white drink (it wasn't me on the Martini!), but this guy was not having any of it. In all fairness, the barman exchanged the drink without any complaint. Other customers seemed fine. A very good pub. But every pub always has one!
|
I dont normally get involved with these web sites but i just had to write a comment on this pub. On my visit the beer was in excellent condition and a wide variety was available. The food was superb and quite a large portion also. My only wish is that it wasnt 20 miles away from where i live. The people of Histon are very lucky to have this place on their doorstep. Cant recommend this place enough. Excellent all round. Oh and also a large collection of bottled belgian beers with several on draught.
|
An otherwise good pub let down by rude and arrogant bar staff.
|
Forgot to mention - a small but excellent representative sample of bottled beers, mostly Belgian, as well. Fruit beers, Lambics, Trappists, and some of those really dangerous ones best avoided if driving in the next 48 hours!
|
I must echo previous comments by others: an excellent visit this evening. Unfortunately I was driving my friend so we had only a pint of the superb Oakham Bishop's Farewell, but it's obviously popular as when it ran out halfway through pulling the second pint another barrel was swiftly connected. Just as good. Also available were Weston's Country Perry and a real cider (Pickled Pig's "Porker's Snout"), For us alemeisters there was also Theakston's OP, Nethergate's IPA, Everard's Tiger, Tring's Blonde, Mighty Oak's Oscar Wilde, and on a rare double-necked pump (one pipe with sparkler, one not - make your choice!) Bateman's session XB. A lovely pub - no children after 19:30 and friendly locals. Well worth the weather heating up and getting the bicycles out so we can enjoy more! Recommended.
|
As good as ever, and as good a beer pub as you'll find anywhere - even had a great Bass recently (not a joke).
|
A museum of brewerania with excellent beer. I won't go into detail as that has already been covered greatly. 7 Handpumps - mostly �2.80/�2.90 a pint.
For the real ale connoisseur this is a must. I have refrained from scoring this a 10, and am questioning myself as to why.
Verdict. In Michelin Star terms this pub has deux etoiles - " Very much worth a journey , and expect a totally superior beer/pub experience"
R43
|
beer drinkers paradise really - quality beers, loads of pump clips, cabinets full of interesting bottles and walls covered in breweriania. Burton Bridg Damson Porter in fine form. wish we'd had more time here!
|
JohnBonser and trainman have said it all - visit this pub!
|
JB's comment below just about covers all angles. This is an excellent village local with a friendly welcome. Loads of breweriana, I liked the Watneys Red Barrel and Double Diamond signs, both glowing red. Two rooms with all pumps in the main bar. The side room has a dartboard.
I'm sure I am yet to see so many beermats stuck to a ceiling as here, there are jugs and pots hanging too. A radiator is painted with a slogan in support of "The Mariners"...Grimsby Town I guess, and another area proclaims "My Other Team is Histon FC".
Six plus a cider yesterday lunch, White Horse Village Idiot, Oakham Bishops Farewell,Everards Tiger, Tring Blonde, Mighty Oak Oscar Wilde, Theakston OP.
Warm and comfortable, the fire was burning on what was a chilly damp day. Highly recommended.
|
Histon's main claim to fame, to most people I suspect, is that their non-league football team dumped the once mighty Leeds United out of the FA Cup last season ( a result which, as a Wednesday fan, caused me a certain amount of delight at the time ).
Following last Friday's lunchtime visit, I'm now able to report that, in my opinion, Histon is also home to one of the country's best real ale free houses.
Histon is a small rural village approx 5 miles north of Cambridge and, as you get off the bus, you approach what looks like the archetypal country village pub on a bend in the road on the main High Street. Tellingly, as I had got on the bus at Cambridge, the bus driver/conductor smiled ruefully at me - "You'll be wanting the Red Lion, s'pose" - as I tendered my fare.
It's a two bar pub. The lounge bar on the right has a lowish ceiling, comfy seats and carpets and a cosy rural traditional feel to it. What you immediately notice is the staggering collection of brewery memorabilia - Greenalls, Sheps, Watneys, Higsons, Cains etc - in fact you name the brewery and you've a good chance of finding something, whether it be a brewery poster, a jug or a pump clip on one of the wooden beams on the ceiling. Much of the memorabilia is from breweries long gone - in particular I noted a framed cased bottle of Dale's Coronation Ale, the brewery building of which I had earlier noticed in Cambridge's Gwydir Street. I also noted a signed autograph sheet of the England Cricket Team who toured South Africa in 95/96 ( Atherton, Stewart etc ).
In one corner of this bar is a series of photos and pictures of the pub in days long gone, including a photo of it as a Theakstons pub with the dray horses outside. It's also had spells as a Lacons of Yarmouth pub, also Whitbread.
The public bar on the left has bare boards, but is still pleasant and also has plenty of memorabilia. Unusually, there's no pumps on the bar here - beer is brought through from the other bar.
There were 7 real ales on on my visit - Theakstons Best, Everards Tiger, Oakham Ales Bishops Farewell, Might Oak Oscar Wilde and Tring Blonde being the 5 beers which are nearly always on, according to one of the friendly locals to whom I got chatting. The other two were Potbelly Brewery Inner Daze and York Brewery Ashes Ale. It was shortly after ordering a pint of the latter that I heard the Headingly Test score - England 50 - 4 wkts. Perhaps symbolically, the beer ran out shortly afterwards and was replaced by Pure Welsh Premium Ale from the Cwmbran Brewery.
All the beers sampled by me - York Ashes Ale,Tring Blonde and Oscar Wilde were spot on.
On my recent Friday lunchtime visit, the pub quickly filled up with people enjoying the fine range of beer and good honest unpretentious food. Curiously enough, there's 4-5 pubs on the High Street close to the village green and one of the locals confided in me that he thought the Red Lion did more trade than all the others put together.
The pub hosts special themed events and food evenings - eg Barn Dance on 2 September, curry nights and fish and chip nights. There's a beer festival planned for 7-11 September.
There's a largish car park and a pleasant garden at the back.
This pub ticks all the boxes as far as I'm concerned and I've no hesitation in strongly recommending it to anyone. Jump on the Number 7 bus - it takes about 20 minutes - and go see for yourself.
|
Theakston Best, Oakham Bishops Farewell, Everards Tiger, Tring Blonde, Mighty Oak Oscar Wilde, Oakleaf Blake�s Gosport Bitter, Adnams Extra, Westons Country Perry. All in fine form and with/without sparkler according to region. I should have noted the lagers, as the choice intentionally omits the Fosters-Stella style brands. Enter right to main bar, upholstered banquette seating below windows to main street, traditional wood tables & chairs. Ceiling beams opposite bar crowded with old pumpclips and, to the right, hung with decorative jugs. This area to the right is crammed with breweriana, pot flagons crowd the window sills, and interesting old photos adorn the wall. Note the shot of the end of the pub displaying the large mural declaring �Larcon�s Yarmouth Ales� � the friendly guv (of 15yrs) Mark took me outside to proudly show me how he has had the feature restored in the same style! Old tin adverts decorate the lower bar and this style continues if you head left from entrance to the large side room � serviced from same bar, but no pumps at this side. Wood floor, plenty of seating, dartboard, masses more breweriana, plaques, mirrors, bottles around high shelf, beyond this to nice hedged & lawned beer garden with slide & swings, but no kids on our visit. Hold your nerve on #7 bus from Cambridge as it seems to turn back away from Histon from station rd, but then doubles back to drop you virtually outside � worth the 15/20min journey.
|
This pub was closed on my 'visit' prior to the Histon v Leeds FAC match.
The landlord however was present and he apologised for the fact he wasn't open and seemed a nice chap.
He showed me inside the pub and was clearly proud of both the premises themselves as well as his large range of real ales.
If ever I find myself in Histon again, I will make the effort and visit to sample some of those beers.
|
Am I mistaken in thinking I telephoned in advance to establish that this place has all day opening? Well, having spent time & money to get out here, only to find the place locked at 15:10, I was lividly determined to assign a rating commensurate with those of UK eurovision contestants; that was last Thurs &, in deference to Rob (now of Elm Tree) advising that the guv is a good bloke, I'll withhold a rating until I return, if ever, to Histon - it won't be between 3&5pm in the week!
|
A true classic pub. Really friendly, great atmosphere, comfortable surroundings oh and the beer is great too! Wish i lived here but unfortunately don't so make a pilgrimage every now and then. Have never been disappointed and can't wait to go again (which ahppend to be this weekend - Hurrah!
|
I attended the Easter Aperitif beer festival last weekend, despite the snow! Always welcoming and friendly, this pub put on a wonderful show of Real Ales from local and not-so local brewers.
Just what a pub should be.
|
The Red Lion in Histon is one of the best pubs around the northern fringe of Cambridge - well worth a trip out from the city. A great variety of extremely well kept real ale is always available. Regular beers include Elgood's "Black Dog", and there's usually stuff from Oakham as well - "Bishop's Farewell" being frequently available.
Food is not generally available in the evening, although there are frequent special curry nights etc. where the food is usually very good.
edric - 22 Jun 2007 08:56 |
Histon is a reasonably sized village with a picturesque green complete with hungry ducks and, more importantly, 5 pubs within a few hundred yards. The Red Lion appears to be the pick of the bunch. There are 2 separate bars leading from a small lobby � the Lounge Bar has several tables, real fire, old wooden pillars and several old advertisements and signs. The ceiling is covered with beer pump clasp labels from the hundreds of guest beers that have passed through. There are usually 6 Real Ales, 3 Belgian beers and a Perry alongside the usual array of lager and ciders. The quieter saloon bar had bare floors, sturdy furniture, an unobtrusive dartboard, 2 widescreen TV�s, fruit machine and a juke box. There is also a vast collection of bottles, ashtrays and pub memorabilia including the old pub sign plus more old signs and advertisements. There is a small patio outside and I understand there is a beer garden but did not see it. There is a basic food menu but this appeared quite pricey in comparison to the drink prices. Despite the mobile phone warnings, I did witness one person taking a call without receiving any hostility (landlord obviously wasn't in). It has pretty much everything you can require of a pub and a universal appeal. Well worth a visit.
|
Great Pub. I was there in early September, unfortunately a day to early for the beer festival. Will manage another visit later this month.
|
Marvellous pub, been my local for 10+ years, but always something new and fresh on offer, at least beer-wise! Comfy, old fashioned lounge, good wood panelled public bar; and the beer is the best in the Cambridge area (and one of the cheapest too). Just don't ask the landlord if it's easy...... Apparently considering a no-smoking policy, comments?
Jamie - 12 Oct 2004 00:01 |
Supurb pub, with great food and an even better range of ales. The late summer beer festival is always worth a visit too.
Paul Reynolds - 9 Mar 2004 23:21 |
Good pub with a lively landlord in this busy village just 4 miles north of Cambridge. Always worth a visit and the late opening shop opposite is great for any food or drink essentials after a weekend away. WARNING - the one thing the landlord does NOT like is mobile phones - a sign is posted outside front door too - be prepared to be embarrased if you insist on using your phone in his pub!
Nigel Smith - 12 Sep 2003 18:08 |
|
