please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
The food is nearly always of a good standard although the time getting it to the table can vary greatly biggest problem is the availability of the food and beer which you would think is quite essential to running a good pub ! on a sunday night out a table of four plus a couple next us both left because of the poor choice of what was left on the menu with no guiness no stella artois a real ale pump offline this turned out to be a pub with little food and less beer how they make money who can tell prices are slightly dear but you get what you pay for when they have a full menu the food is nearly always good
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Nice pub, good beer.
Unfortunately a very strong smell of cats pee around the bar area.
been like this for many weeks
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Had a good meal there on a recent Friday evening. The courses were well-spaced and the young male and female serving staff provided a perfectly-balanced attentive service (although the female waitress was dressed a little scruffily but otherwise faultless).
The landlady was not around and it's true that she can come across as rather hassled and disorganised.
The food was good as always and I had a particularly good mushroom and butternut squash tart with celeriac slaw.. In fact, I've always found the quiche / tart option to be very good. My husband had fish which, again is always perfectly-cooked with tasty unusual sauces.
We regularly take advantage of their take-away fish and chips and always ask for chunky chips as they are perfect every time.
Just need some attention to detail now. Warmer lighting in the rather coldly-decorated dining room. And to paint over bare patches on walls. If you sit facing away from the bar in the dining room it does feel like you're staring at a vast coldly-painted wall. Looked better when the red Xmas decorations warmed the atmosphere.
Recommended pub and restaurant. Just needs the interior to be a little more attended to. and would love it if they re-introduced live music. So many locals miss the chance to see a band and catch up with neighbours. If the live music legislation is relaxed, hopefully it'll happen and make this pub more popular again.
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Popped in to check this pub out today but won't be going again. A joyless experience. Even though the pub was nearly empty , it took nearly half an hour for the kitchen to rustle up an overpriced sandwich which was nothing special when it finally arrived. This entire time was spent listening to a horrible woman dominating the bar by bellowing drunkenly into her mobile phone about how "you should have ****in' glassed them" and "f this" "f that" etc etc etc while her partner glared at anyone who dared to look over. Clearly the staff didn't think there was anything wrong with this. An affluent area, but it seems money can't buy you class. Avoid at all costs.
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The decor is looking good - it took a while to mature but it's a handsome and welcoming place now. There's an array of chilled lagers and things but, since the cellar is air conditioned, even the West Berkshire beers are served cold anyway. Food is okay, if like the drinks on the higher price scale for what it is, but someone's had a word and she does smile now and then. It makes a difference.
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Two good chefs and imaginative and varied menu. Everything cooked from fresh with top quality ingredients ensures excellence. I am sure that management is working on service efficiency but as a local I am thankful that we have a great local watering hole which offers reliable gastro dining at realistic prices.
I think that The Red Lion deserves local support despite occasional difficulties, or we will find ourselves left with a 'spud pub'.
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feel a bit sorry for Tim. great pub location and food pretty good but the landlady lacks very few people skills. sad as it's the only village pub unless we strike lucky with the Beehive.
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As this is now the only pub for miles around, for us it was "any port in a storm". Don't order a meal if you want to get home any time soon as we were the first order of the evening and waited almost an hour.
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This pub is well worth a visit unless the landlady is there - excellent food, pleasant staff and good refurb.
The landlady needs to work on her non existant social skills, not see customers as an inconvenience and make them uncomfortable, or she will see her trade, to quote Lewis Carroll ' softly and suddenly vanish away'.
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Sad really. Order a pint and she demands to know if you will be buying a meal. When you count your change you may suspect that you've paid for one. She doesn't have to smile, and I don't have to go back.
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When a land lady uses the slops from the lager tray to make beer batter , it makes you wonder what else is going into the food
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Foody pub, a bit posh and seems to have had a make over. I thought this pub was quite lovely. They had 4 real ales on, the 2 I had were in excellent condition. Flowers, Brakspear's Bitter, Otter and Good Old Boy (West Berks).
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A return visit in what proves to be almost two years since the last and no complaints at all from we I stand. Yes, the interior is somewhat French farmhouse and the bar is unusually low and open, but the solitary young barman was polite and efficient. The food we had was excellent - a vegetarian risotto greatly impressed the wife who doesn't normally like risotto and my smoked fish platter was very good indeed. Prices weren't bargain-basement, but neither were they wildly pricey. Very good range of well-kept local ales. It was a quiet early Saturday evening when we visited, so no sign of the harassed rudeness mentioned elsewhere.
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The refurb - awful in the interim - is settling in and is agreeable. The Good Old Boy is okay if you leave it to warm for a couple of minutes, and the antipodean chef is producing excellent food at less unreasonable prices (home-made faggots and mash, hand battered haddock and chips, etc). The proprietoress needs to recognise that affability hasn't damaged her staff so she might get away with cracking a smile now and then - bustling about with lighted candles might have been a reputation winner in Scutari but an affable gaffer makes a good pub.
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Being a resident of Upper Basildon, and having lost the Beehive during the last year, I fully understand that I should be supporting the Red Lion. However since the refurbishment I have been disappointed- Not by the updated decor, which I believe is refreshing, but by two other elements that make a good village Pub- the friendliness of the staff and the price of the food.
The new owner always seems too hassled to be friendly and is not welcoming, unlike the previous owner Geoff who always had a welcome for you even if he himself was not in the best of health. The second is the over-priced and overly complicated food which is not aimed at the locals. Whist Tim is an excellent chef and the food produced is usually of a good quality, the choice is often more akin to a Gastro-Pub, rather than traditional fare. Portion size is also on the small side with some of the side vegetables such as Chips at �2.50 for no more than a couple of potatoes.
I feel that the pub needs to be aware that the regulars are the life blood of this particular village pub and they would eat more frequently if the prices were fair, traditional pub fare added to the menu, portion sizes reasonable and it had a more welcoming atmosphere.
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I have been a customer of the red lion for 30 years, I have seen many changes , some good, some bad.
The pub has recently been refurbished to a good standard and now looks clean, tidy and welcoming.
When the previous landlord (geoff) died unexpectedly, his wife (Macko) took over the running of the pub.
She was the most obnoxious and rude person you could ever meet and quickly lost about 75% of the regular customers including myself through her really bad attitude.
The new owner (Alison) in the few months she has been there has completely turned the business around and in my opinion needs congratulating on her efforts, it is now a welcoming village pub.
The food has greatly improved along with the presentation (try the sunday lunch - best beef from Vicars Game) the staff are friendly (although sometimes under stress at busy times).
With four excellently kept real ales on tap I recommend that you give the new Red Lion a visit.
I am sure you will not be dissapointed and by the way the new wood burning stove is always lit and
gives a warm welcome.
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Like the previous person posting - I am a long standing customer of the pub. But although it is our local, the recent attitude of the staff is so offputting, I am not sure we will be going again. The food is good - but the refurb makes the pub cold (removed the real fire - and dont seem to bother light the woodburner). The money spent on putting in a wood floor might have been better spent on providing some cushions for the hard wooden benches - it just isn't very comfortable any more - and that is an important part of a night out in a pub. And the staff are openly rude - I am not used to having people more interested in texting on their mobile than taking my food order. So while we loved the previous landlord and his staff were awlays friendly and helpful, not happy with the atmosphere created by the new one.
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Unfortunately the charm of the staff experienced by the previous customer would appear to be a thing of the past in our experience!
An awful evening - food passable but overpriced and small portions since the refurb, and poor service but the main reason we won't be going back (after several years as customers) is the appalling attitudeof the new owner when we complained, about a member of staff who was rude to us. If she's training the staff I can see where they get it from!
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I feared the slippery slope and it has come to pass: a well-meaning refurb and another excellent pub has been wrecked. Charming staff and good beer don't obscure the trendy timber floor and the sweetshop counter masquerading as a bar; then lesser niggles become more important: the beer is chilled like lager and the food is overpriced. Twelve quid for chicken and chips? Sad.
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Upmarket foody pub which nonetheless serves an impressive selection of ale (Brakspear, London Pride, West Berks GOB plus one other) in good condition. They also open early for coffee some mornings too. Prices aren't the cheapest but I've eaten here a couple of times and not had a problem. I think the place is best sampled outside peak times when it's less of a restaurant and more a local pub atmosphere.
I heard that the previous owner passed away a few months back so am hoping his previous high standards can be maintained. Worth a trip, especially if you're heading up from Reading to the Bell at Aldworth.
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Something's gone wrong. I hear it's up for sale - certainly the kitchen seems unco-operative and the food overpriced for what it is. Beer's still okay and the bar staff too, but locals are muttering. Surely not the slippery slope for what was an excellent pub?
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We were left disappointed by this pub. The location is fine and there is a large park at the rear. Unfortunately it was the service that let it down. We arrived just before 2:30 and were told we had 3 minutes to order food. Another couple arriving 6-7 minutes later were turned away. The chef was also anxious to get away and a starter and main courses were all delivered at the same time. When we complained that a burger was under-cooked, it was too late - the chef had already departed! Other customers arriving just after 3pm were also given a hard time. Although they were reluctantly served. Beers available were Brakspear, Ringwood Best, Fullers London Pride and West Berkshire Good Old Boy. Other than the undercooked burger, the food itself was quite good.
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Continues to satisfy and gratify but one small comment: a traditional pub of this excellence, with its wide, varied and accomplished menu, should serve a pie. Steak (better still, s&k) or somesuch, but a pie. Please.
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Yep... good pub. Haven't been here for many years, but joined the remnants of a Friday wedding party and spent a very pleasant, long, Saturday lunchtime here. Driving meant being very sparing with the 'Good Old Boy', but it was good. Didn't eat, but most did and were pleased with what they had. I liked the comfortable ambience of the traditional interior and the pleasant staff approach. I'll be making the trip another time (45 mins away) and pop into the Beehive as well.
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A genuine pub without pretentions; excellent beers, friendly staff, good, unpretentious food, an amiable dog and a log fire. I could live here.
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Visited on a Sunday luchtime to find the place rammed full, albeit it is quite a small bar area, but with a dining room attached to one side...excellent beer from West Berks, friendly, if slightly harassed staff.
On first visits to both, would have to say we preferred this pub to the Beehive around the corner, although both are worth a trip out.
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Glad I live 2 drive hours away from here - otherwise I would spend EVERY Sunday here!
Great local ale - superb roast pork lunch last Sunday and friendly people.
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This has to be the best pub in Berkshire (that I can find).
Has great beer (good Old Boy)and excellent food and suprisingly not over priced (to the guy that says �6 for a burger is too much he should try one and he'll never eat a big Mac again). the atmosphere is brilliant with live music on most Thursday nights.
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Over six quid for a hamburger ! I think I'll go home and pop into Burger King on the way back. Might not be as good but NO burger can be worth that kind of money ! RIDICULOUS !!!!
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Its a shame they don't do brunch on a Sunday !!!
the entire village - 28 Sep 2004 00:44 |
I work in the kitchen of the Red Lion and i think its the best pub in the area, top quality food and staff!!
Matt - 27 Sep 2004 16:01 |
Top notch food with fine real ales including Good old Boy from the local west Berkshire Brewery! Complete with a great atmosphere created by the landlord. A must if your in the area!
anonymous - 28 Jul 2004 15:21 |
Sells Brakespear, London Pride and West Berkshire Good Old Boy. Beer always in very good condition. Also sells Murphys. Food is good too !
Pauline Metcalf - 28 Jun 2004 12:21 |
lovely food, the shropshire blue cheeseburger (home made) at �6.00 a pop is the best value in the area. Knocks the Pangbourne pubs for six! highly recommended.
sarah - 29 Jan 2004 22:47 |
Located on the Aldworth Rd. Wonderful high quality freshly cooked food. Beautiful restaurant and friendly atmosphere. Live entertainment.
ceri rushent - 29 Dec 2003 15:30 |
