To be clear this should have easily been a 4+ star review but owing to some spectacularly bad behaviour from a gent who appears to be the manager/owner of the Red Lion restaurant on the 1st floor, this review drops down significantly.For background we were a party of 9 members of local Londoners and visiting Indian family and friends including mostly older aunties and uncles looking forward to a first time in London.Once seated the gentleman running the restaurant told my sister (who just picked up a call from our dad) that she wasn’t to use her phone. Confused she said she didn’t understand why or see a sign to which he replied ‘I am the sign. I am telling you that you can’t’. Deliver rationales on restaurant policy like you are a pound shop Clint Eastwood. Check.Apparently the reasoning was something about not wanting journalists/politicians (we were neither) taking calls in the pub and making people feel uncomfortable. Regardless from there our man went from strength to strength.- When my mum said she had an egg allergy he refused to take the order until we had manually gone through the Red Lion online menu to confirm to him we were ok with the allergen risks. No suggestions of what might be good egg free options. It’s one thing to make sure you are compliant with health and safety requirements and another to make your customers feel like they work for you.- We ordered two different burgers. When one of the arrived and I asked the waitress (a lovely lady called Mary who was very helpful during our meal) if it was mine, he intervened unexpectedly and made a show of reprimanding the waitress who was serving us saying that she was giving me the wrong burger. She hadn’t had time to respond to my query nor was there anything in her approach that merited that approach.- The gent in question then proceeded to miss two drinks which he had taken the orders on and only got them one at a time after being prompted. At this stage he seemed to clocking on to the fact that some of us were getting annoyed and gave us a small serving of some ‘Real English Ale’ for us to try as a peace offering. This was a single finger measure of what tasted like lukewarm John Smiths as far as we could tell. Great bait and switch for the tourists sir.- As a finale, a request to split the bill between two of the customers seemed to annoy him unduly leaving in a huff to ‘reset the machine’.The sad part is the food was quite good, the location and pub setting was very nice and the rest of the staff were very friendly. Thanks to a marvellous solo performance by this gent all of us local Londoners agreed that this was the least friendly pub experience we had ever had. Sincerely hope that the gentleman in question reads this.You have a great setting, lovely staff and great food. Please stop squandering a winning hand and treat your customers and employees like you actually want them around.Sincerely, the disappointed party of 9.
Yuri Madorski
The dining area is a very nice place to spend some time with friends. Food is great and prices are lower than what one might expect from a place 2 minutes away from Westminster.
Tor Inge Skaar
A delightful little pub near Parliament, serving a wonderful meat pie with a refreshing ale.
Ben Hegan
I went here for lunch yesterday with two friends as it was near the Churchill War Rooms that we were visiting. I am glad that we booked. You could have got served ok without booking downstairs but it was a bit chaotic. If you book you get a table upstairs and it's much quieter. The staff were very helpful and friendly. The menu is varied and can be seen on their website. A little pricey but very good food. I had the fish finger sandwich and really loved it. My friends had the steak and ale pie and the whitebait fish. Wasn't expecting the 12.5% service charge but it was ok. I really really enjoyed going here for lunch. Would definitely go back and would book again then. Highly recommended!
ROLF 73
Pub in perfect English style. Very good typical English dishes, excellent beer, friendly and efficient staff. good value for money.
Will Forster
Nice space, a little sticky
Morgane Whittle
The place is beautiful and the food is really good. The fish and chips and the sticky toffee pudding were amazing, you must try ! Wonderful experience !
Daphne Whitmer
Jay is the best bartender! He treated us like family and we had the best time. We’ll be back for the good vibes, good service, and good friends. Ask for Jay!
Guillermo Sanchez
Excellent place to eat, and obviously to enjoy a good variety of beers, not to be missed if you visit
Camil
We were rather put off by the staff, who did not seem to really care about anything. When we had to talk to them I had to turn around while talking because they wouldn’t make the effort to stand next to the table. One of our orders was not available anymore so we had to change, no sign that the waitress was sorry. The portions were quite small so we asked for an extra side of chips to go; we still had to go to the theatre. After a while the waitress came back and said they didn’t have anything to put it in. When we asked to deduct it from the bill we were told that wasn’t possible as they were fried already.While the food itself was good, it was also overpriced, we spent 70€ for two people on only main, side of fries, and a soft drink.
Great notable pub in a terrific area. The history of this place was great to learn about as well. The staff were polite, attentive, and got us seated quickly. The organic Honeydew beer was flavorful, crisp, and fresh. Perfect way to wash down some quality fish & chips!
Luis Quesada
Terribly slow. 45 minutes from ordering I asked when the food would come and they said in 2 minutes. Ten minutes later I asked again and they said again 2 minutes. They claimed they were having "technical issues" and that none of the dishes ordered were ready, so they couldn't bring anything at all.Food was ultimately ok, but really slow
Steve Morris
Wouldn't go back, didn't feel welcome at all.
Dave Wordsworth
So I attended and I was served by Catalina, what a joke she is! Hear is a tip, if you do not want to work in customer service and thus behind a bar, get a different job. Me and my friends arrived and her first greeting was "10mins" as in you have 10mins to order, pay, drink and leave. I tried to break the ice a little bit but her and an equally weird oriental guy were just staring at each other and saying not long until they finish. At 11pm she walked around and requested all customers put there drinks in plastic cups and she emptied the bar and locked it by 11:10pm. Guys lets be real we all have hard and stressful lives, we attend a bar to chill and relax and PAY a HIGH AMOUNT of money, so what is it with the terrible attitude and service? I am been serious Catalina and the oriental guy why have YOU CHOSEN to work with the public and busy bar if you clearly do not want to be there? I would advice others, DO NOT attend. Manners cost you nothing in this life and can get you very far....I suspect in 20 years these 2 will still be SERVING others with a grumpy face....
Mitratorn Vongphakdi
Lovely place for a catchup with friends, the staff were friendly, and the atmosphere very british.
To be clear this should have easily been a 4+ star review but owing to some spectacularly bad behaviour from a gent who appears to be the manager/owner of the Red Lion restaurant on the 1st floor, this review drops down significantly.For background we were a party of 9 members of local Londoners and visiting Indian family and friends including mostly older aunties and uncles looking forward to a first time in London.Once seated the gentleman running the restaurant told my sister (who just picked up a call from our dad) that she wasn’t to use her phone. Confused she said she didn’t understand why or see a sign to which he replied ‘I am the sign. I am telling you that you can’t’. Deliver rationales on restaurant policy like you are a pound shop Clint Eastwood. Check.Apparently the reasoning was something about not wanting journalists/politicians (we were neither) taking calls in the pub and making people feel uncomfortable. Regardless from there our man went from strength to strength.- When my mum said she had an egg allergy he refused to take the order until we had manually gone through the Red Lion online menu to confirm to him we were ok with the allergen risks. No suggestions of what might be good egg free options. It’s one thing to make sure you are compliant with health and safety requirements and another to make your customers feel like they work for you.- We ordered two different burgers. When one of the arrived and I asked the waitress (a lovely lady called Mary who was very helpful during our meal) if it was mine, he intervened unexpectedly and made a show of reprimanding the waitress who was serving us saying that she was giving me the wrong burger. She hadn’t had time to respond to my query nor was there anything in her approach that merited that approach.- The gent in question then proceeded to miss two drinks which he had taken the orders on and only got them one at a time after being prompted. At this stage he seemed to clocking on to the fact that some of us were getting annoyed and gave us a small serving of some ‘Real English Ale’ for us to try as a peace offering. This was a single finger measure of what tasted like lukewarm John Smiths as far as we could tell. Great bait and switch for the tourists sir.- As a finale, a request to split the bill between two of the customers seemed to annoy him unduly leaving in a huff to ‘reset the machine’.The sad part is the food was quite good, the location and pub setting was very nice and the rest of the staff were very friendly. Thanks to a marvellous solo performance by this gent all of us local Londoners agreed that this was the least friendly pub experience we had ever had. Sincerely hope that the gentleman in question reads this.You have a great setting, lovely staff and great food. Please stop squandering a winning hand and treat your customers and employees like you actually want them around.Sincerely, the disappointed party of 9.
The dining area is a very nice place to spend some time with friends. Food is great and prices are lower than what one might expect from a place 2 minutes away from Westminster.
A delightful little pub near Parliament, serving a wonderful meat pie with a refreshing ale.
I went here for lunch yesterday with two friends as it was near the Churchill War Rooms that we were visiting. I am glad that we booked. You could have got served ok without booking downstairs but it was a bit chaotic. If you book you get a table upstairs and it's much quieter. The staff were very helpful and friendly. The menu is varied and can be seen on their website. A little pricey but very good food. I had the fish finger sandwich and really loved it. My friends had the steak and ale pie and the whitebait fish. Wasn't expecting the 12.5% service charge but it was ok. I really really enjoyed going here for lunch. Would definitely go back and would book again then. Highly recommended!
Pub in perfect English style. Very good typical English dishes, excellent beer, friendly and efficient staff. good value for money.
Nice space, a little sticky
The place is beautiful and the food is really good. The fish and chips and the sticky toffee pudding were amazing, you must try ! Wonderful experience !
Jay is the best bartender! He treated us like family and we had the best time. We’ll be back for the good vibes, good service, and good friends. Ask for Jay!
Excellent place to eat, and obviously to enjoy a good variety of beers, not to be missed if you visit
We were rather put off by the staff, who did not seem to really care about anything. When we had to talk to them I had to turn around while talking because they wouldn’t make the effort to stand next to the table. One of our orders was not available anymore so we had to change, no sign that the waitress was sorry. The portions were quite small so we asked for an extra side of chips to go; we still had to go to the theatre. After a while the waitress came back and said they didn’t have anything to put it in. When we asked to deduct it from the bill we were told that wasn’t possible as they were fried already.While the food itself was good, it was also overpriced, we spent 70€ for two people on only main, side of fries, and a soft drink.
Restaurantji Recommends
Great notable pub in a terrific area. The history of this place was great to learn about as well. The staff were polite, attentive, and got us seated quickly. The organic Honeydew beer was flavorful, crisp, and fresh. Perfect way to wash down some quality fish & chips!
Terribly slow. 45 minutes from ordering I asked when the food would come and they said in 2 minutes. Ten minutes later I asked again and they said again 2 minutes. They claimed they were having "technical issues" and that none of the dishes ordered were ready, so they couldn't bring anything at all.Food was ultimately ok, but really slow
Wouldn't go back, didn't feel welcome at all.
So I attended and I was served by Catalina, what a joke she is! Hear is a tip, if you do not want to work in customer service and thus behind a bar, get a different job. Me and my friends arrived and her first greeting was "10mins" as in you have 10mins to order, pay, drink and leave. I tried to break the ice a little bit but her and an equally weird oriental guy were just staring at each other and saying not long until they finish. At 11pm she walked around and requested all customers put there drinks in plastic cups and she emptied the bar and locked it by 11:10pm. Guys lets be real we all have hard and stressful lives, we attend a bar to chill and relax and PAY a HIGH AMOUNT of money, so what is it with the terrible attitude and service? I am been serious Catalina and the oriental guy why have YOU CHOSEN to work with the public and busy bar if you clearly do not want to be there? I would advice others, DO NOT attend. Manners cost you nothing in this life and can get you very far....I suspect in 20 years these 2 will still be SERVING others with a grumpy face....
Lovely place for a catchup with friends, the staff were friendly, and the atmosphere very british.