Red Lion Hotel, Northampton

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Thuck Phat left this review about Red Lion Hotel

The Red Lion is a pretty Northamptonshire stone pub in the attractive village of East Haddon.
It's historically been more of a restaurant than a boozer and that is even more the case now with the take over by Adam Gray, formerly Gary Rhodes head chef, in 2010. Since then there has been a significant refurbishment and, although the layout hasn't changed, the interior is now top end gastro pub with solid, mismatched wood furniture and tasteful, neutral decor. As you enter, the bar is ahead with just 3 bar stools. The rest of the large, open plan room is laid dining tables. There's a room to the back which can be booked for conferences, private parties etc and there are also 8 or so guest rooms.
The emphasis is very much on food with the menu using locally sourced ingredients where possible. I ate here and found it excellent, the best meal I've had in a pub, and decent value for the quality with starters up to £7 and mains ranging from £10 to £15. Don't expect juliennes here, tweals there and smears everywhere though. This is all about taking the best ingredients they can, cooking them well and serving up balanced, well presented meals. The Michelin inspectors have also noticed and the Red Lion has been awarded a Bib Gourmand - a budget Michelin star for 3 courses under £28 - the only one in the county.
There's also a successful cookery school here with a range of courses including British cooking, curry, bread, game and fish.
The welcome was friendly and the service very good. I'd certainly recommend eating here.
Beer: regrettably the pub is tied to Charles Wells with all the woes that brings. The proprietors acknowledge that they don't serve the best ale but also point out that the bulk of their wet sales are wine. No surprises there with the current ale available. On our visit Youngs Best and Courage Directors were offered. I passed.
This is a very good gastro pub and I'll definitely re-visit for something to eat but my guess is that just slipping in for a beer, if you can face anything from Wells, may not be especially welcomed. If I were marking for food alone, this would be a 10 but I simply can't ignore the lack of good beer so 4 points lost.

On 19^th November 2012 - rating: 6
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