The Red Lion (JD Wetherspoon), Doncaster

The Red Lion is certainly one of the more appealing Wetherspoons, helped by the fact that it was already a pub with a 260 year history to start with as opposed to being a converted carpet shop or bike showroom. Situated on the historic market place, the interior is deceptively large and quite spacious. The front bar has a loungey section around a cosy fireplace with the now ubiquitous tub chairs whilst the rest of the pub has a more traditional ‘Spoonslike feel although with a bit more character than most. Given the depth of the rear section you would expect it to be a bit dark and claustrophobic but a sunken skylight gives it a welcome burst of natural light. The usual history snippets make interesting reading and the town's horse racing connections are represented by a board listing post war winning runners and riders of the St Leger. The pub excels with its guest ales (usually 5 available) which are all sourced from local brewers as evidenced from the labeled map on the pillar by the bar. The 5 on offer on my visit included York Centurian, Thornbridge Wild Swan, Daleside Pride Of England, Elland Savannah and Acorn Old Moor Porter. One minor gripe is that the hand pumps are spread across the length of the bar so it is better to check the barely noticeable board listing the ales rather than attempt to eye up the pump clips (which I prefer). The place can also proudly boast being the local Pub of the Year for 2009 and for that alone, is well worth a visit even for non Spoons fans.

An existing pub taken over by wetherspoons. Horseshoe shaped bar serves usual wetherspoons selection and deals. Horseracing memorabilia on the walls. One of three wetherspoons within walking distance of each other in central Doncaster.

The Red Lion is a Wetherspoons’ pub with the usual cheap prices including drink and meal deals. What I took to be a Northern roast dinner of half a roast chicken, peas, chips and gravy was the deal of the day for £3.99 on my recent Saturday afternoon visit. Standard draught products are available and I counted eight hand pumps that were spread around the bar. To the right of the entrance is a raised seating area with a dartboard and to the left is another seating area with a plasma screen that was showing muted rolling Sky News. The main body of seating is located down the left hand side of the bar and stretches back to the rear. Being a Spoons’ pub there is no music or live sports. As JDWs go this place is perfectly acceptable.

A pub called the Red Lion has graced this market square location for over 250 years, with its latest incarnation being one of Doncaster’s three Wetherspoons pubs. The use of a pre-existing pub means that this place has a bit more character than your average ‘Spoons and it seems that plenty of bits and bobs have been retained since the conversion. The place has a fairly simple layout, with a sizeable seating area either side of the front door offering lounge style furniture in a space broken up by coloured dividing screens and livened up by attractive stained glass windows. The right hand side has a raised platform with some nice dark wood panelling and a fireplace with a small stove sat in it. The horseshoe shaped servery lies beyond this area and boasts some decent stained glass itself, set into the canopy above. The pub extends beyond the servery to the left into a carpeted area with bare brick and wood panelled walls and a whole load of horse racing memorabilia. I noted, among other things, paintings of horses and famous jockeys, a small model racetrack, a series of boards listing every winner of the St Ledger and a plaque explaining that the aforementioned race was conceived of in this very room. A TV screen was advertising upcoming racing whilst further sets to the front of the pub were showing muted news coverage. I noticed another plaque commemorating the pub’s involvement as the first meeting place of the town’s freemasons. I believe there are eight hand pumps here, but it’s a bit tricky counting as they are not arranged in banks, which means you need to walk around the semi circular bar counter to check them all. Thankfully, a handy board has been placed between the front door and bar, allowing you to make your choice before you reach the servery. I opted for a pint of Thornbridge Pollards (£2.15), which went down nicely for a 5% ale. I liked the feel of this place and it didn’t really seem like I was in a Wetherspoons. The staff were very friendly, especially the waitresses who had a kind word for all of their customers, and the place seemed very popular on a Saturday lunchtime. Well worth adding to a crawl around town.

When is a Wetherspoons not a Wetherspoons? When it is the Red Lion, a conversion from what was a long-standing pub. Bar the exterior signage and some promotional posters you could almost miss it. A good number of guest ales are dotted out along a large and attractive semi-circular bar so they make you work for your reward. Both my Saltaire Olympic-themed beer and York brewery half were in good form. Plenty of equine prints on the walls and there’s a St Leger winners board, plus old pump clips above the bar. The stained glass red lion I spotted was a nice retention. Less cavernous than some Wetherspoons, this one is worth a visit in Donny or if you are a student of the Mullet’s business empire.