The Red Lion, York

We received a good welcome from the manager, who was friendly and chatty. He gave us great info about the pub and told us about the hidden priest hole in the chimney breast in the front room. The old cast iron cooker in the dining area was also of interest. Six ales in operation, we went for the Ossett Silver King which was well kept.

No visible cleavages on the two male bar staff on our visit. The last time I visited here was a good number of years ago. On that occasion I liked the look of the pub, but the beer selection was very poor and we hadn't been in since. However, Ouse Boozer and OB have both said that it had improved, so we called in. The pub has been well described by others, so I won't bother. Six handpumps on the bar with four beers available. The turned round clips both had Urban Hopwork Orange badges on. The others were Hobgoblin, and 3 from Rudgate. I had a pint of Rudgate Blonde which was in good nick and we started chatting to the friendly bar staff. It's now a pub that we will definitely call in again. Good turnaround guys, please keep it going.

Looks and location make this something of a tourist destination, it's old and not too messed about. Removal of internal walls means it's a flow of different spaces, although a room to the left side (from Walmgate) , all too close to the Gents, is a comfortable if cramped mix of the mediaeval, Georgian, Victorian and maybe some 20th Century bunkum. For the rest blackened beams, grizzled studs marking the site of old walls and a bit of olde world charm. The right hand room is as Soup Dragon describes. Three handpumps on each on the two counter faces with some decent local ales in addition to some national brands and kegs. Full of middle aged, tourist, diners on the lunchtime I called in. There seemed to be a cleavage of the month competition going on between the two barmaids so that's all good then.

Official site of the Red Lion - redlionyork.com

Official site of the Red Lion - redlionyork.com