The Red Lion Hotel

I took my sister-in-law out to The Red Lion for lunch as a treat for her birthday. I had other places under consideration but chose this one because the pictures of the food looked good. When we walked in there was a youngish man doing something to one of the tables and being the polite person I am I said hello and that I hoped we weren't too early (it was just past 12noon but others were sat outside in the sun waiting to go in). I asked where it was ok to sit and he just waved dismissively as if to say "anywhere". Not a good start/ The young blonde who then appeared behind the bar was, however, very pleasant, friendly and attentive. We ordered and the food came out fairly quickly, delivered by the not so friendly man. It looked ok and the taste was ok but there was absolutely no sauce and very little beef mince (it was a lasagne) so essentially it was tomato, melted cheese and layers of pasta. I wanted to say something but because it was a birthday "treat" my sister-in -law didn't want to make a fuss. We tried, ate the bit of salad and half the garlic bread but left the stodge. I went to pay and the young lady asked if everything was alright so I told her how dry it was. Now, I am a firm believer that if there is a problem with the food it should be flagged up for the attention of the staff before finishing so I didn't expect anything to be done, rather I wanted them to know for future. I paid and the young lady said she had taken 5% off in recognition of this. So, plus points for the small monetary acknowledgement but sadly this really spoilt what was meant to be an enjoyable experience. I will vote with my feet and not go back, nor would I recommend - well not the lasagne anyway. I appreciate that views and reviews are very subjective but this was not the case here - no one wants to eat a lasagne lacking in the basics. We didn't stay for coffee, especially as we were sat right by the coffee machine and watched the man make a "cappuccino" requested by a customer. The all-singing- all-dancing coffee machine had lovely coffee beans on display yet he got a teaspoon and took a teaspoon of coffee powder from a plastic tub that said Nescafe, put it in a cup, added a little boiling water, stirred it, then added hot milk from the coffee machine, no froth in evidence but he did add sprinkles of chocolate. Such a shame. Oh, and while I'm at it, the decor could do with updating/renewing too. The chairs at our table were very worn and stained.

Attended a funeral reception of a family member on 6 March. No one greeted the family on arrival. The place smelled as soon as we walked through the door, it hit us. The ladies powder room smelled damp and dirty. Everyone ordered hot drinks when we arrived as we were all cold. A friend ordered theirs and asked us what we would like. So the order ended up as three pots of tea and one coffee. When the waitress brought the tray, there were three cups and saucers, milk and two small, teapots. I told the waitress that we had ordered three teas and a coffee. She actually said "there's enough there for three cups"! I repeated that we had ordered and paid for three and she said we could have another if "we wanted". Well obviously, because that's what we ordered and paid for! Eventually the third pot arrived along with the coffee. The side room we were to use looked OK but once we entered, the tables were sticky, dirty and had crumbs on them. There was a bench seat at the far end of the room, no one sat there because it was absolutely filthy! The buffet which had been ordered for 1pm was what I can only describe as ridiculous. The order was for 18 people and what was served, in my opinion, was a shoddy example of a buffet. I know for a fact that the cost was £10.95 per person. The sandwiches were very basic, ham and mustard (very little ham too much mustard), turkey and cranberry and meat paste! The vegetarian option was beyond comprehension, coleslaw with a tiny piece of lettuce. They were supposed to be cheese and coleslaw apparently but there was no cheese to be seen. Also the vegetarian options were mixed on the same plates as the other sandwiches! There were supposed to be tuna ones too but I didn't see those. There was one small dish of pasta, one small bowl of coleslaw. sausage roll and pork pie. There was no mixed salad. There were a few fish goujons. Catering for 18 people - sorry, more like 10 people. The "desert platter" was beyond a joke! Two small oblong plates with a few one inch square chocolate brownie type of cakes and two slices (on each plate) of something I can't describe, and that was supposed to for for 18 people! The person serving at the bar where we ordered hot drinks never smiled and wasn't welcoming at all. Someone else came round to clear the tables, she was miserable too. Such a shame that this happened. The owners and staff should be ashamed. The telephone is never answered, you can leave a message, but even if you do this, no one calls back. Also, it was stated in an email from the Red Lion, that we were to leave by 2.45pm. What on earth were they hosting, a children's party! RED LION, you will probably ignore this but, if you want to stay in business, I suggest you up your game AND give all staff some training in hospitality! Future customers, beware!

It was a cold Saturday in February and our day started with hanging some light pendants in the kitchen. This turned out to be a messy, dusty job with plaster dust falling over me from the drill right from the get-go. A few arguments ensued and at 12.15, once the job had successfully been finished, I suggested we go out for a break and a spot of lunch. Mrs Wanderer browsed her phone and after a few false starts came up with the Red Lion at Redbourne, a short ten minute drive from us. A quick call confirmed that there was space for lunch. Redbourne is a lovely Lincolnshire village and the pub stands proudly on the village green. It has its own ‘Fire Station’ museum attached to it. There is a large carpark opposite which had plenty of cars in it – a good sign for the food on offer. Previous visits have been spoiled by the loudspeakers playing music on the front of the pub which used to rattle the peace-and-quiet of the village. It became evident on entry that the pub is under ‘newer’ hands and the speakers have now gone. The pub is clean and modern inside and there are plenty of tables to choose from in the bar area as well as a restaurant towards the back. There are plenty of choices of ales and lagers as well as craft beer such as one of my favourites, ‘Neck Oil, a lovely citrusy summer-style beer. The waiting and serving staff are pleasant with a smile on their faces which makes for an enjoyable experience. We were shown to our table in the far corner underneath a large TV but thankfully the sound was off. The specials on the menu looked lovely, especially the risotto and, if I had the appetite, the ‘Little Baby Cheesus’ which comprised of a number of beef patties in a blue cheese sauce wrapped inside a brioche bun would have hit the spot. Anyhow, we went for the Lite Bites menu instead. Mrs Wanderer chose the fish goujons with chips, mushy peas and tartare sauce. A mini fish and chips by all accounts. I, in turn, opted for the Southern Fried chicken *****s with chips, salad and coleslaw. A glass of Theakston’s Best and a large Shiraz also ordered (we felt we deserved it after the morning’s work). On arrival we both went “Wow!”. Lite Bites are one thing but this was a substantial meal in its own right. We tucked in. Mrs W said the batter on the fish was exceptionally crispy and not at all soggy as is often the case. My three large chicken *****s had a lovely spicy coating and the chips were crispy with no trace of excess oil. The salad was nicely dressed with a French dressing and the chips were superb. At the end we came away from the meal feeling pleasantly stuffed but not overly so. We have both said that the Red Lion is our ‘go to’ pub now when we need a quick hop out for lunch. Well worth a visit! Read my other reviews at willoughtonwanderer.blog

Went to the Red Lion last Monday for food, 40% - off wow! However… There was a till malfunction, for some reason the 40% off didn’t register. I hadn’t realised until I went home. We went back to the pub a couple of days later to claim our £29 back. The poor girl who served us that evening was told by the owner she had to pay this out of her own pocket - even though this was a till malfunction. The owner ‘Kyle’, was extremely rude. The £29 extra we paid that evening went into HIS pocket. Yet he expects his poor staff to pay that out of their wages! I have never known such poor staff trea**ent, and really feel for the girls who have been working there for years… what was once such a lovely place ran by Connor is now such a negative environment. We have been customers at The Red Lion for years, 3 generations of family having worked there. And now barred because we disagree with the trea**ent of staff…. Shocking! Please don’t support this man and his business - such a shame. We did let him know that we would be leaving a review, to which he was not happy. I can only imagine it’s because he knows he is in the wrong, taking money from his own staff to profit himself.

I didn't know what to expect, having read a couple of negative reviews but I was very pleasantly surprised. Four friends went for lunch and the food was very good. When we arrived a really pleasant lady showed us to our table. We found it to be a little too near to the fire and asked if we could move to a different one and we did this without any problem. One of our party had king prawn and mussel linguine which when it arrived caused caused food envy in all of us! I had the special fillet steak which was delicious. The other two had Hunters chicken and gammon which they really enjoyed and there were 4 clean plates after. We did wait a while before the food arrived but I prefer this to getting food quickly after being warmed up in a microwave and it gave us all a chance to have a chat while we waited. The service was very friendly and we all felt welcome and at ease. I would highly recommend

Came this evening with My mum and dad. It was freezing cold when we walked in we should have walked straight back out but decided to give them a chance becaude we were hungry they had the signature bacon cheese burger. Nothing signature about it. Burgers were dry. All of the food was cold. They got the 20% off and rightly so because they aren't worth a fiver let alone 16 quid! No sauce in the burgers and the fries had no potato content in them. No Coleslaw with the meals either. I had fish and chips with hardly any chips and was all cold. I've got home with a bad belly! Staff were unfriendly didn't even ask us how our meals are! Everything was over priced including the drinks! AVOID!

We had booked the Chris**as menu, sent our pre-order and was looking forward to a nice meal with our family members. It was somewhere we hadn't been before and although it was further than we normally travel, we wanted to try somewhere different. Despite having our pre-order, we waited 45 minutes for our starter to come out. We had asked the waitress where it was and she told us it was being plated up. 15 minutes later someone else told us it wouldnt be long. I had ordered the pate. I had one tiny piece of bread for the pate. The turkey main meal was supposed to come with parsnips, sprouts, carrot and swede puree and braised red cabbage, all of which were missing. We got a couple of pieces of carrot and a bit of green cabbage. The roast potatoes tasted like precooked frozen ones. My brother in law had a completely different beef meal than he had pre-ordered. If they had run out of things, then this was not explained to us or apologised for. When the desserts came we wete one short despite having a copy of our preorder with us. I have never known such unfriendly staff. One of the members of staff was rude and never cracked a smile. She made us feel very unwelcome. However, the table behind us, who she obviously knew was treated totally different. Certainly no Chris**as spirit was forthcoming with our table. Will not be coming again and will not recommend to anyone. I work in hospitality and would never dream of treating customers like this.

Thank you for a lovely evening we live in Redbourne and were really looking forward to trying the local which is under new management, we were not disappointed ! The service was superb and the food was beyond excellent! The creamy garlic mushroom starter was brilliant but the chicken *****s that my son had were so delicious I will be ordering them next time. I had the haddock, chips and mushy peas for my main, the fish was the freshest and tastiest I have ever had and the batter was gorgeous. My family had the pork and apple burger and the beef and bacon burger, both said it was amazing. Anna and her team were so cheerful and thoughtful and the new bar tender lady is top notch! Highly recommend!

Booked online for lunch after failing to get anywhere by phone ("voice box full"). Got swift confirmation for a noon lunch booking. However, in red print "Please vacate your table by 13:45". We and our friends like a long leisurely lunch to catch up on each other's news so we decided to cancel. Phone line still had same message and the website number was "unobtainable". Cancelled using website facility but was unable to explain the reason. We have rebooked at the Hope Tavern where we know we will not be turfed out before we have finished our get together.