The Golden Lion, Hoddesdon

This is a former 16th century coaching Inn which is believed to have been in existence since 1535. Plenty of olde – worlde character with lots of what look like original beams and several separate pub areas at different floor levels. Presumably formerly several bars, it is now one internal thin space with a central serving area and larger seating sections to the left and right of the main bar. Has a ramshackle feel befitting its age and is given some character by period photographs and local memorabilia on the wall space between the beams. There is also some Sheffield Wednesday paraphernalia at one end of the bar, as the landlord is an Owls fan. Bit of a local’s pub, who can be a bit clique and tend to dominate the bar stools. But I won’t begrudge them this as they spend a lot more money here than me on my infrequent visits. There is a decent pub grub chalk board with all the usual pub meal suspects at reasonable prices, but cannot pass comment on the food as I have never eaten here, but plenty of people do for the Sunday lunch. On the beer front it has enough of the usual chrome Lager and Guinness pumps and these are complemented by three hand pumps, which usually dispense GK IPA, Fullers London Pride and then the third alternates between Adnams Bitter and GK Abbott. As I tend to visit on a weekend evening when the pub has live bands and there is a few in (being one of the LemonRock Local Music venues, when the band tucks itself in the right hand end of the pub), the ale quality tends to be OK and the Pride and IPA have always been drinkable. So if you find yourself in the Hoddesdon High Street area, The Golden Lion is a recommended alternative to the Greek and Italian restaurants on the high road.