The Old Red Lion, Holborn, WC1

Previously swerved this place due to the prominent GK signage but att'd comments persuaded me to pop in yesterday and, in addition to IPA, Abbot & OSH, they also offered Holden's Golden Glow & HardyHansen's Olde Trip (albeit the latter is now GK). Nice simple bar area with stools around perimeter to watch the world go by thru large part-stained glass windows. Jazz soundtrack & friendly polite staff. I thought it would be busier at 13:30 so I don't know whether some occasional drilling work upstairs or the £3.05 price tag on the (just ok) Golden Glow put some punters off.

This pub was established as The Red Lion in the 16th century and rebuilt in 1899. I haven't been here for a good 25 years so don't remember it well. It's a Greene King outlet as is almost everything in central London. It's very small with no tables, just window stools with a second bar upstairs, not visited. It's very gloomy with two chandeliers and is bare boarded. Muted music played and no TVs were in evidence. Ales: GK's Abbot and IPA, Timothy Taylor's Landlord and Darwin's Origin at a steep £2.20 a half which was ok. I can't see any special reason to return, perhaps that's why I hadn't been back for so long.

A fine old Victorian pub usually well decorated with hanging baskets and is a welcome sight on High Holborn amongst all the glass fronted shops and restaurants. It’s well described by John below so not much more to say except to concur that for my recent visit the so called guest beer was another from the Bury St Edmunds brewed range, so some disappointment that the beer choice seems to have gone backwards in recent months. However the target demographic for the Old Red Lion is clearly the lunchtime and after work local office crowd when I am sure its vertical drinking orientated downstairs space and then more comfortable upstairs room suits the needs of those drinking or/and eating during the week days. But for me popping in for a pre comedy club pint on an early Saturday afternoon the beer choice meant it wasn’t long before I was heading over the road to the The Penderel's Oak to see if something more interesting was on.

Occupying a street corner position on High Holborn is The Old Red Lion, a small traditional pub dating back to the Victorian era. On the wall outside, we see a plaque telling us that, in September 1658, Oliver Cromwell’s body lay in the cellar for several days prior to dismemberment. The interior resembles somewhat a typical City pub (although we are, of course, now outside The City of London boundary) with much woodwork, including a rather ornate bar back, but largely stripped out of furniture to provide more space for stand up drinking, with a few bar stools and a wooden ledge under the large, tall windows to accommodate beer glasses. Upstairs, on the first floor, is Cromwell’s Bar, which provides additional space and also caters for the lunchtime food trade. Wall decoration includes a few prints of old London scenes and, notably, at the top of the staircase, is a framed football photo which, although unlabelled would appear to be the notorious Maradona “Hand of God” goal. On its own, and with no other sporting photos in sight, I wonder if we have a Scottish landlord with a gloating sense of humour. It’s a Greene King pub which, on previous visits, has usually been offering several non-GK guest beers ( eg – Bath Ales Gem ). However, on my most recent visit, only Greene King’s IPA, Abbot and Reserve were on draught, plus Howells Frosty Bells, which, as I later learnt, is brewed by Belhaven, so I’m not counting it as a guest beer. This is a reasonable pub, but its smallness and consequent lack of comfort and seating means it’s not a pub for a long stay

This Greene King house unusually seems to serve well looked-after ales from others’ stables as well as its own. As others have said, the exterior looks Victorian, and the ground floor interior is fairly minimalistic with white walls and dark wood, bar stools round the perimeter for sitting up to a ledge beneath the windows. The upstairs room is known as ‘Cromwell’s Bar’ for some reason. Service was friendly and efficient today, and ales on offer from seven hand pulls were GK IPA (twice), OSH, Abbott, Hooky Bitter, Batemans Salem Porter, and Westgate Gangly Ghoul, the last two presumably for Halloween. Should you wish to eat here, there is a fairly standard pub menu with mains at around £6.50-£8.25. I found this a comfortable place to stop off and certainly one of the best GK pubs I’ve visited in some time.

Routine Victorian street corner London pub which makes a perfectly good job of providing after-work refreshment for the many local office workers round here. Pity it's Greene King and there are a couple of better places close by if you poke around the back streets but it's fine if you are along here and in need of a quick one or somewhere to meet that's easy to find.

Randomness Guide to London - Old Red Lion entry

Randomness Guide to London - Old Red Lion entry