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Red Lion, Bletchingley

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user reviews of the Red Lion, Bletchingley

please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.

Lunch was good but overpriced, nice enough Pub, Bar lady was bit of a Sgt.Major type, not as relaxing as I would hope for a lazy Luncheon, lots of entertainment planned but found the advertising to be a bit overpowering.No Garden but a nice patio area out back. Pub was very clean and tidy nicely decorated but lacked atmosphere !
BrendaO - 10 Sep 2013 14:51
Enticed in by the shiny lights I should have realised packaging disguises much. Gasping for a decent beer I would not normally choose a Greene King pub but we all make mistakes and/or are slow learners! This time I was positively excited at seeing, to me, a new draught beer on tap...London Glory...as the spiel went.. "A celebratory ale created by the master brewers of Greene King for the nation's capital city. Centuries of expertise and craftsmanship have come together etc etc" ...Ye gods it was horrible...nasty taste..reminded me of my home brewing when a fermentation went wrong...if Jose is their "master brewer" it would simply be..No way!
Insearchofthebestpint - 6 Nov 2012 11:54
Below average food and service!!!
Three meals ordered, one poor.
Fish pie with 32 counted bones!!!
No effort made to redress the situation when staff informed of problem.

I will be giving this pub a miss for a long long time! Shame because it has potential.

beerandfood - 26 Mar 2012 22:22
Never seen so many muskets, rifles and shotguns adorning the walls of a pub (should this place be renamed The Huntsman' or something similar?). Exceptional sausage and mash. Fine enough.
filf - 31 Oct 2011 01:05
My husband and I enjoyed a really good roast lunch here today. The staff were all very nice and the atmosphere was very welcoming. A good and varied menu at reasonable prices.I'm not a beer drinker but my husband said there was a good choice. Nice big car park at the back but still not enough spaces for the busy Sunday trade so many cars were out on the road in the front. Goes to show it is popular and certainly worth a visit. The pub itself had lots of character and was spotlessly clean in comparison to a few I've been in of late. So I hope to go again soon but will remember to reserve a table as I'd hate to be turned away.
sackvillemum - 20 Mar 2011 17:30
my post was independant to fromsurrey1 and anything else. My review on 2 pubs was based on visits over the festive period. I have no affiliation to either.

The quality of both pubs goes up and down and this is reflected in my latest feedback in Jan. What do you want me to do Railtrack - review 20 million pubs - no. I provide feedback on ones I have visited. The whole point of this site is to provide reviews on pubs visited and therefore eventually feedback may be of some statistical merit.

If you dont like the feedback - remeber its a free country and everyone is entitle to opinion.
surreyman - 29 Mar 2010 22:14
I refuse to believe that 'surreyman' and 'FromSurrey1' are anything but completely and totally - nothing to do with the French Oil Company - independent.
Look at their records!
See - they have commented on - well - ohh - two pubs.
Ahhhh.
And in a rather limited time.

Don't mistake me, I've only driven past the William IV and the Red Lion (nearly typed red loin).
Don't know either.
No rating for either - they may be the two best pubs in the observable universe.
Or not, too, I guess.
For me, no matter..
railtracksurvivor - 13 Mar 2010 22:20
Knowing both pubs well I simply say the last two comments are cleary not independent. Choose your local wisely!

Ps the food here is what is know in the trade as "ping food".
Insearchofthebestpint - 28 Jan 2010 22:05
This pub is great, with welcoming staff and a friendly atmosphere. The food is always good with a varied menu and fantastic roasts on a Sunday. Family friendly as well! By far the prefered pub in Bletchingley.
FromSurrey1 - 9 Jan 2010 21:10
Excellent staff and the landlady very welcoming. Good selection of beer and food all good quality. Family friendly and looked great this Christmas.
surreyman - 3 Jan 2010 18:58
When arranging a surprise birthday celebration for my husband. The Red Lion staff were really helpful, they arranged for us to have a cosy area and was so friendly. My husband and friends really enjoyed the food and the entertainment that evening was exceptional. Would fully recommend this pub.
SelsdonGang - 28 Oct 2009 00:26
Went here with a group of friends for dinner. Food was OK, but when we received the bill they had overcharged us for 2 bottles of wine that we did not order. Why would they do that? 1 bottle is a mistake, but 2 is questionable as it was one each of red and white, totalling an extra �30.

To add insult to injury, we paid and they did not bring us our change, assuming a tip. Will not be going back after 4 years of patronage.
pubcrawler15 - 13 Jun 2009 23:28
We went to The Redlion for sunday lunch and the roast dinners were great. It was very busy but the waiter got us a table very quickly. The atmosphere and staff were all friendly and would definately recommend it. We have just booked a table of 8 for christmas day dinner.
myopinion1234 - 20 Oct 2008 11:43
Well what can i say the most awful evening ever, home cooked food, i really want to question that? awful service will not return
justaperson - 12 Oct 2008 13:51
Outside it advertises fresh food locally sourced while the scampi, whitebread, breaded mushrooms & chips came out of the freezer. Service was doing you a favour to bring your food. No one checked if your meal was alright.
What is difficult about a blue/rare steak?
Mayonasie, tomato ketchup but dispite the fact 2 people were having steak the mustard had to be asked for, more concerned with selling drinks.
Prices in line with real fresh food and not glorified fast food.
NO one seemed to know what was in the food - for example a "Homemade" soup was it thickened with flour or cornflour - which made it very difficult for a wheat intolorant person to choose anything.
Golda - 5 Oct 2008 18:18
We went to the Pub on the 10th June. The bar staff were extremly helpful and greeted us warmly. The food was well presented, and most enjoyable. A very plesant evening. Looking forward to going on the 10Th July an 'Elvis' evening.
hurstgreen - 17 Jun 2008 17:54
This pub could be a great pub!
but the bar manageress spoils it for me.
(could be we went to the pub at the wrong time of the month?)
the food is ok, but pricy.
We did have a problem with one of the courses, and the helpful waitress told us that they just buy the food in? So i got the impression that they only heat the predone food up. Rather than cook it.
the staff that served us were pleasant enough.
but near the end of the night the bar manageress changed to rude and abrupt. It was as if they wanted us to leave, so we did!


anonymous - 6 Jun 2008 18:04
I had a great night out with friends at the ELVIS NIGHT.The entertainment was brilliant, the atmosphere was buzzing and service was superb. The food was very high standard.We all really enjoyed the evening,it was great value ,best night out in ages!
janeto - 2 Apr 2008 21:58
four of went to red lion bletchingly for lunch 25/01/2008
we had 3 fish & chips 1 salt beef sandwich
well to say the food was poor must be the understatement of the year the fish frozen the chips like mac chips + frozen pees as for my sandwich grissle etc...
outside they say food is freerange & organic what a joke
and to add to this i complained next day about food ...yes sir we are very sorry will get the manager to ring you and sort something out ...well we are still waiting !!!!!! this is not a place iwill recimmend
seymour1944 - 29 Jan 2008 17:34
This place was buzzing last night and at last seems to be attracting a lot of people (unless it was a one-off).
It deserves the clientele, however, as it is clean, airy and the food looks good, if a bit on the expensive side not that it was discouraging people from eating late into the evening. Mind you the car park was a tad full when I arrived at 8pm on Thursday evening - shall definitely go there again as the other high st. establishments, were rather quiet
HHGTTG - 7 Sep 2007 09:41
nice pub in a pleasant setting. beer green king could be better food ok if a little pricy. worth a visit.
anonymous - 14 Aug 2007 19:04
Well refurbished but it is an eatery now and not a pub. Beer was good but pricey. Did not eat because the prices on the blackboard menu frightened us.
anonymous - 11 Aug 2007 18:12
My wife and I called in for a pint, coffee and to use the WC's after our lunch in the William IV. What a contrast! Spotless loo's! Attentitive service! We'll lunch here next week!
anonymous - 9 Aug 2007 00:17
Too quiet, too expensive for what it offers
Coronach - 31 Jul 2007 11:07
We waited and waited and waited and waited ... it wasn't worth the wait. Staff shortages should not compromise service on a quiet night (40 mins wait for straight forward food). Will not be back. No apologies offered, just excuses.
anonymous - 13 Jun 2007 18:06
This is strange, you know. Went there last night but found this refurbished pub very quiet. Are all the pubs in Bletchingley likwise - I know the White Hart is, and the refurbished Albert has been of late. Where do all the drinkers go then?
Back to the Red Lion, however. Nice clean and refreshed pub but little atmosphere at the moment, although it has got a lot going for it, it would seem.
Felt a bit underwhelmed, to be honest. Bletchingley has become a bit of a ghost town/village.

HHGTTG - 9 Jun 2007 14:05
I finished my tour of the village here. very freindly staff, food ok but pricey for a pub, or is it a restaurant? I'm not sure it knows either.I'll be back again Im sure.
KITCHEN - 1 Jun 2007 12:59
I used to go here before the refurbishment and liked it but I must say it looks far better as it is now. The food was really good and the staff are welcoming, polite and smiley. Well done.
briefcase - 23 Apr 2007 11:52
The staff are friendly and efficient. Tried the food which was very good, and the Greene King IPA was well kept. The whole pub is clean and has a relaxed atmosphere. A lot of tables get reserved for diners in the evenings, but there is still lots of space for those who just want a drink. The people running it seem to know what they are doing, will return again.
CountryBoy - 25 Feb 2007 12:51
What a nice place! Found it by accident after escaping a smoke filled pub and really enjoyed a lovely pint and the ability to breathe clean air at the same time. We liked the lack of smoking areas.

It could be improved by the lighting being a bit more subtle as it was rather bright.

Really good. Menu looked nice as well and the toilets were AMAZING :-)


slugbreff - 6 Jan 2007 11:48
Vastly improved since its summer refurbishment with new leaseholders having taken it over. 4 real ales on tap from Greene King. Excellent, reasonably priced food and the service is genuinely friendly. Nice decor and some interesting photos of the pub under former ownership.
coulsdoncrawler - 17 Dec 2006 23:03
Although living fairly locally and drive past quite often, decided to go here today for the first time. We went for lunch and the sandwiches were very good, so will go back to try the main menu food. Prices seem competitive, pleasant staff and the recent re fit, has been nicely done. The previous post from a local is good to read, nice photo's of the place in it's former life are a nice touch too.
unhappyhammer - 24 Oct 2006 16:04
This pub has now been re-opened for a couple of weeks. Much improved internally and externally with lots of room inside and a nice heated patio at the back. Still plenty of parking at the back however. Serves amongst other things Greene King IPA, Abbot, Ruddles and one other Real Ale which I think will be a changing guest beer. Food and beer is very good standard and is quite competitively priced. As this has been my local for many years I was worried that the refit would turn it into a plastic chain type bar. This I am glad to say hasn't happened. The new Landlords/Lady - John, Chris and Tracey and their staff are all very friendly and the place retains a lot of its original character. Smokers may not be so keen though as there is a very small smokers area - but there's alway outside! Big thumbs up from a local.
bletchyid - 27 Jul 2006 14:33
June 10th - still closed - but has a sign 'opening soon'.
Externally much improved.
railtracksurvivor - 10 Jun 2006 17:47
Drove past it today - it was shut for a [major?] renovation.
Had a sign saying 'Reopening soon'.
I guess: give it a try in May '06.

No rating - of course.
railtracksurvivor - 15 Apr 2006 20:11
Non descript pub on main road with blackboard advertising fairly pricy menu. 3 Greene King beers available
lout_from_the_lane - 26 Sep 2005 13:31

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