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Image posted by Tris C
Submitted on Tuesday, 22nd June 2021
With picture contributions to 2293 other pubs
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Detail Pages
The Red Lion, Stoke Newington, N16
N16
N16 0JX
Served areas
Reviews of The Red Lion (Average Rating: 5 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Red Lion
A Red Lion has stood here since at least the late 17th century. This incarnation was built for Truman, Hanbury, Buxton almost certainly in the 1930s and almost certainly by their inhouse architect, A. E. Sewell who built for them the far more regal and elegantly appointed Rose & Crown across the road.
I came here once around ten years ago and wasn’t impressed with it, what with the gloomy lighting and loud music. Recently acquired by Frontier Pubs, it still has its impressive brewery motifs to the front, painted black picked out in gold not red. Truman’s pubs of this era were often noted for their stylish interiors and if there was one such example here, it has sadly long gone. Geared towards the younger drinker, it now has a generic interior, bare boarded with conventional solid furniture. Music is loud and there was a giant projector screen showing the boxing. I’m not a great fan of the sport - some people are offended by it. Either way, a giant projector screen is never going to endear a pub to my heart. The only benefit it conferred was to increase the lighting in a still gloomy pub, pitifully illuminated by filament bulbs. Along with its similarly gimmicky sister pub, the Victoria Tavern (N7), it has diversions such as Lego Challenge.
There’s a U-shaped bar with seating all around and table football attracting a very vocal male crowd. Conversation was made difficult by music which was really too loud and a rather sauced-up young throng were barging about a bit. The pub was quite full - the busiest pub of our evening crawl - and it was two deep at the bar, which it would appear has given up selling real ale. I opted for the keg Five Points Pale at a stiff £2.70 a half, the joint most expensive of the evening; keg Thornbridge Tart was also available.
Sandwiched between the vastly superior Auld Shillelagh and Rose & Crown, this pub definitely isn’t my thing, at least not in its current format and devoid of real ale. It reminds me of a student union bar, so I’ll not be returning.
On 7th May 2018
- rating: 2
[User has posted 1985 recommendations about 1951 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Lion
Doom Bar, Sharp's Atlantic, and Timothy Taylor Landlord (£2 a half) were available here. "Lidya Bistro" laminated menus are on the bar counter, featuring a breakfast menu on one side (Englich breakfast is £5.95), and a dinner menu on the other side seemed to Greek based, including a hot meze plate (£11.50), moussaka (£9.95), falafel (£8.45), and kebabs (£9.95). Fair enough if you like that sort of food.
The exterior still has some interesting old Truman, Hanbury and Buxton signage, but the interior's nothing to write home about. The main bar area is a single room with curtains and walls all black, and with the ceiling painted a dark brown. There's no decor to speak of, apart from on the ceiling, where there are large posters of events taking place (in here presumably) in each month of the year. There are signs notifying us of the heated garden, and the games room upstairs. The room was dominated by the enormous pull down screen, which was showing MCFC having a hard time of it at Stoke City when I was in here on Saturday afternoon.
Furnishings are a mix of normal tables and chairs and sofas, the latter taking up far more space than they deserve. This seemed to me quite a gloomy pub with small windows somewhat obscured by the curtains, and with the use of black not helping. This is not a bad pub, and it does have three ales on, but I found it a bit bleak, although others will no doubt like it.
On 8th December 2015
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about The Lion
Seems to me its now called the Red Lion although outside the have lions are painted gold not red.Anyway a dull gloomy ,empty pub with Landlord.Doombar and Pride.If you don't have to name the brewers only the beers its a boring pub.
On 18th April 2015
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
View more reviews of The Red Lion (5)
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- Official site of The Red Lion - www.frontierpubs.co.uk
- Randomness Guide to London - Lion entry
- Facebook - Red Lion
- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Red Lion - whatpub.com
Rectory Road, 0.76 miles, 14 min walk (show)
Stamford Hill, 1.1 miles, 21 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 24 March 2017 by ROB Camra
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 07 May 2018 by Tris C
- Beer Festivals : No last updated 24 March 2017 by ROB Camra
- Beer Garden : Yes last updated 24 March 2017 by ROB Camra
- CAMRA Discount : No last updated 24 March 2017 by ROB Camra
- Car Park : No last updated 24 March 2017 by ROB Camra
- Child Friendly : Yes last updated 07 May 2018 by Tris C
- Function Room : Yes last updated 24 March 2017 by ROB Camra
- Hot Food : Yes - Pizza-orientated. - last updated 07 May 2018 by Tris C
- Live TV Sports : Yes last updated 24 March 2017 by ROB Camra
- Micropub : No last updated 24 March 2017 by ROB Camra
- Quiz Night : Yes - Sundays. - last updated 07 May 2018 by Tris C
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 24 March 2017 by ROB Camra
- Real Cider : No last updated 24 March 2017 by ROB Camra
- Wheelchair Access : Yes - Disabled WC. - last updated 07 May 2018 by Tris C
- WiFi : Yes last updated 07 May 2018 by Tris C
