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Disappointment of the week with Real Ale Ray
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Detail Pages
The Red Lion, Tring
Marsworth
Postal town: Tring
HP23 4LU
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Red Lion
ORIGINAL REVIEW January 2011
Beautiful old building in an attractive corner of the village close to the church.To the right of the front door there is a traditional public bar with a real fire,with a games area behind that can accomodate families if they wish to eat while to the left there is a small snug leading to a comfortable lounge at a higher level with a dining area beyond .The food is typical pub grub from a limited menu with some daily specials,mains around £8.
Up to six real ales on handpump with London Pride always on together with (on our visit) Batemans XB and Dark Mild,Adnams Lighthouse and two brews from the Rebellion Brewery in Marlow.There is normally a LocAle stocked and the ale quality is always very high,fully justifying the regular GBG entry.The public bar is well used by locals and is dog friendly,and on sunny days you can sit outside the pub to the front or in the attractive rear garden.The Red Lion is very close to the Grand Union canal and is a classic country pub with a great interior,to which I return whenever in the area.
UPDATE OCT 2011.
A little surprised to see this pub omitted from the 2012 GBG,there was nothing wrong with the ale quality on my recent visit.I can only assume that stocking two Brains beers ,which are undistinguished brews (SA and IPA),might be a pointer especially as the selection of low ABV beers were priced at £3.20 which seemed a little pricey.The food offering seems a bit out of character for such a traditional pub,but these are small points compared with the overall package.A wonderful unspoilt interior which retains a traditional snug will always get my vote.
UPDATE
The ale selection seems to be a lot worse.The regular Fuller's London Pride will be joined by other low strength BBB,on my last trip Butcombe Original (NBSS 3).A single stronger ale will be offered but Shepherd Neame Bishops Finger just mantained the malt dominated brew selection.Nothing wrong with conditioning but a selection with no style variety equals a point off.The food service is not aways on due to staffing shortages and so my latest trip was a one pint stop.
On 10th September 2022
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The Red Lion
The Red Lion gives that traditional country pub feel in a rural setting. Nice sized public bar with an open fire and then a cosy snug leading to the top bar with wood burning stove. Fortunately we had a fine weather day and were able to bag one of the benches to the front.
Six Ales on for our visit and alongside the usually ubiquitous Shep Neame Spitfire, and Fuller's London Pride were Chiltern Nut Brown Mild and Bucks Best, Hopping Mad Amazing Grace and Rebellion Mutiny and the two Chiltern brewery brews were well kept.
I can fully see why the Red Lion was awarded CAMRA Mid-Chilterns POTY and Bucks POTY in 2013.
On 11th May 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Red Lion
Situated in a picturesque location just off the Grand Union Canal (lovely views to be had from the nearby bridge that spans it), this is a lovely old building (C17th?) with a lovely rear garden and a multi-room interior. Ticks a lot of boxes, with a working (if somewhat thinly felted) bar billiards table, darts, piano, real fires, low beams, stone and tiled flooring. Six ales were on during my visit, with beers from Fullers, Vale, Portobello, and Blue.Bird. An eclectic mix of breweries if somewhat samey in style, though quality was pretty good and four halves came in at £6.60 which wasn’t a bad price. Good mix of local clientèle, boaters and a few people who had made a long visit on a minibus to sample. The pub is beyond dog-friendly; in places it almost resembles kennels. An unusual and much-commented on feature were the brown leather topped tables at the rear. A very nice example of what a good village pub should be like and I’d happily seek this one out again.
On 4th July 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Thuck Phat left this review about The Red Lion
Mr Fastard's comprehensive review below covers the main points so I won't repeat those. We ate in the public bar which is a nice place to be with stone floors, wood furniture and a real coal fire glowing on our visit. The barmaid and locals were friendly and chatty.
The food menu was basic pub nosh and had, I strongly suspect, gone direct from freezer to deep fat fryer. The last time I ate here there were a number of specials available which were a touch more adventurous and freshly cooked so I'm not sure if there's been a change of policy or management or things were kept simple because it was quiet Tuesday evening.
Three ales were offered: London Pride, which was fine, Brains Bitter and SA. Again, that seems to be something of a step down in terms of number of beers offered and with no local brewery ales available. This, I'd hope, is again a mid-week aberration but may be indicative of a management change.
This a great pub which has been offering good food and beer as well as a warm welcome for a long time and I very much hope that my recent visit is a small blip, due to it being mid-week, rather than the start of a decline. I'll definitely return though as it's still a very nice place to be.
UPDATE October 2011
No change to either the food menu or the convivial atmosphere and lit fire but a step forward on the beer front.
Five beers were available: Brains SA and a 3.4% IPA, Oakham Endless Summer, again at 3.4%, London Pride and Rebellion Mutiny. All that we tried, the Endless Summer, Mutiny and Pride were in good condition but 2 beers on at the low strength of 3.4% seems excessive especially when they were being charged at £3.20 with Pride at £3.40 and the rest at £3.30. The strong suspicion of profiteering is reinforced by the presence of 2 unremarkable beers from Brains which is a long way from Marsworth.
I like this pub very much and am pleased that the beer range has improved but I'd really like to see a more careful choice of the 5 available. I will though definitely return.
UPDATE - January 2013
My most recent visit appears to have brought some clarity. The landlord, who runs a delightful, traditional, friendly and cosy village pub, is something of a chancer on the ale front.
Beers offered this time were: Dark Star Hophead, Fullers Pride and Bengal Lancer, McMullens Country and AK, and Adnams Old. Some good beers there and the Hophead and Bengal Lancer were excellent but every time I visit there are always one or two beers from a less well regarded brewery on. This time it was McMullens and the last time it was Brains. I'd guess that the landlord is offered very good deals from these larger breweries and buys their beer in the expectation that it will be profitably drunk by the influx of weekend visitors. Am I reading too much into this? The landlord was drinking Hophead and the regulars were all on Bengal Lancer.
A lovely boozer and well worth a visit especially if you stick with the landlords less profitable beers.
On 23rd January 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Nick Davies left this review about The Red Lion
Very nice pub, perfectly described by BF below. Pleasant service and friendly locals. The ever changing beer range included a couple of excellent specimens from the local Vale brewery the other day. Don't ask me why they always have Pride, must be a cross they have to bear. Anyway very much recommended.
On 14th February 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 567 recommendations about 559 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
train man left this review about The Red Lion
Pride, Everards Tiger, Exmoor Ale, Rebellion IPA, Hobgoblin, Vale Black Swan (Mild). Good local atmosphere, real fire, red tile floor, beyond piano to rear area with dartboard (with its own space) & bar billiards table in one corner. Left to small snug & up to dining area. My notes say ‘top stuff’.
On 9th May 2010
- rating: 8
[User has posted 412 recommendations about 411 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Keith Johnson left this review about The Red Lion
Always has London Pride and three other rotating guest ales. The two open fires are always welcome.
On 30th October 2009
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3 recommendations about 3 pubs]