The Red Lion, Haywards Heath

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The Red Lion is a large Gastro pub in the village of Handcross just off the A23. To the right of the pub is access to the car park and the pub entrance. The pub is split into the three sections as you look at it from the front. Adjacent to the entrance in the right hand side is a dining area, then to the left there is a central bar area and then further to the left is a large dining area. Through the entrance is a desk where visitors are met by a friendly member of staff who checks your booking. My visit was early on Sunday afternoon so I wasn’t surprised to hear that the pub was fully booked all day. Thankfully I was allowed to sit in the bar when I said that I’d just come for a drink. They made it very clear that food would not be served in the bar, although I did have a packet of crisps.
The bar area is actually quite large for a pub that relies so heavily on dry sales. The counter faces high tables and stools that run across the front windows and the pub’s kitchen is found in the rear of the pub behind the bar. To the right of the bar is a real log fire and to the left is a large inglenook that separates the bar from the left hand dining area. Above the inglenook is a large television that was showing muted Winter Olympics. A couple of sofas are overlooked by this TV and some low background music was playing in the bar.
The bar supports a premium keg range alongside two handpumps. These were drawing Harvey’s Best and Sharp’s Doom Bar. This is very much a food pub that positions itself top end, which is why the burger is priced at £16.95. It sounds very tasty with beef dripping and crispy bacon! The doors open daily at 12:00 and close at 22:00. I found the service to be very friendly and it was a nice spot to buy my daughter a coke and bag of crisps after a long morning of netball up the A23 in Crawley. However, this isn’t somewhere I would ever go just for a few beers.

On 19^th February 2022 - rating: 7
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