Red Lion, Redhill

A short walk uphill from the centre of Redhill, this is a smartly presented U-shaped pub next to a rather ugly modern leisure complex. You enter into the centre of the pub, with the servery directly opposite the front door. The room has laminate flooring, with a long padded banquette running along the front wall opposite the bar and under the small front windows which have vases of flowers on their sills. The servery has a great dark wood bar back with a number of lion's heads carved into the frame which holds the usual bar mirrors. The counter is fairly unremarkable except for a row of coats hooks which also have a lion head image on them. A step up to the left sees you in an open space with some chunky benches supplemented with armchairs and tub chairs under a portrait of a young Queen and a stained glass pane with a red lion image. The floor here seems to slope from the back to front and this is offset by two more steps to the left and rear, where standard tables and chairs can be found to one side and button backed benches further on under two TV screens showing live cricket. To the right of the bar there is a large inglenook fireplace with a modern burner inside, a recess with a slot machine and, to the rear, a snug-like space with more button back benches and yet another TV screen. The TV's were al muted in favour of some quiet, old-fashioned music. A door to the right leads out to a garden with decent furniture, some nice plants and excellent views of the adjacent roundabout. The barmaid here afforded me a very warm welcome whilst I browsed the ale range, which was significantly better than I'd expected to find in Redhill. Options on this visit were Fullers London Pride, St Austell Tribute, Hog's Back Surrey Nirvana and Arundel Sussex Gold. The latter was £3.85 for a pint and in a perfectly acceptable condition. This was a last minute addition to a fairly brief mini-crawl around Redhill, but I'm very glad I made the short walk out here, as I felt this was a very well run pub that seemed to attract a good range of customers throughout my mid-week afternoon visit. The ale range is one of the best you'll find in town and the place has a cross-over appeal that will please traditionalists and casual pub-goers alike. A solid pub that is well worth knowing about if you're in the area.

A few minutes walk from the town centre situated facing a busy roundabout. The building’s fabric is fairly aged. The inside is staple shaped and has, sadly, been almost fully opened out at some point. Still, there appears to have been a sympathetic refurbishment since and the interior has charm, with the installation of some dividers to create internal areas. Floorboard style laminate, some exposed original beams and wooden / iron floor to ceiling supports. To the right is a large Inglenook with open wood burning hearth that was fired up on my visit. Further up is a small raised snug with a telly, papers and board games. Tastefully decorated throughout, not jarring. Very posh smoking shelter in the garden. Bar back is an impressive carved wood specimen, with three lions on it. Six pumps at the bar with five on; Doom Bar, TT Landlord, Tribute and Dark Star Hophead (extremely good nick). A mention of the gents, which were spotless and contained polished brass and copper fittings, plus a baronial toilet seat. A little find, this, and I'm mystified as to why it isn't in the 2016 GBG.