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Detail Pages
Golden Lion, Soho, W1
W1
W1D 5BL
Pub Type
Taylor Walker (Spirit Pubs)Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5 of 10) see review guidelines
Graham Coombs left this review about Golden Lion
A classic old no-frills Soho pub with some interesting ceiling and wall decoration. In typical fashion the ground floor bar is sparsely furnished, with 'additional seating' upstairs and some 'north face of the Eiger' stairs down to the toilets below. A Greene King pub with Abbot and IPA on handpump - the latter was decidedly past its best. Definitely a reminder of what many of the smaller local pubs used to be like, although as I recollect the beer was generally better back in the day.
On 11th January 2024
- rating: 5
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about Golden Lion
This pub hasn't changed much since Tris's visit more than two years ago. And what a pokey little place it is, with just half a dozen tall tables and tall stools with drinking ledges around the windows. There were condiments on the tables but I couldn't be arsed to look at a menu, but I suppose it's the usual Greene King stuff. There's some atrractive ceiling decor though, with some gold painted cornicing and friezes.
They had on Greene King IPA, Rockin' Rudolph and Morland Original (£2.30 a half). I've never seen the latter beer before, but it's obviously a bogstandard Greene King bitter.
I haven't reviewed this pub before, and I don't remember it from when this area was my regular haunt in the 1960s, but there again I don't profess to remember everything from the 60s. I'm not a fan of GK beers so maybe I'm biased, but with what I would regard as a good real ale it would creep into the OK category.
On 30th November 2021
- rating: 4
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about Golden Lion
Another pub with a respectable history dating back to at least the early 18th century but rebuilt with a nod to brewers' Tudor in 1930; it certainly looks more unusual than most pubs in the W1 postcode.
Inside, and there's a relatively small ground floor bar which appears a little stark and dreary with little to entertain other than two TVs showing random banality early evening, to few drinkers when all other pubs were doing a roaring trade. Down here there's little other than limited tall furniture with tables supporting ugly sauce bottles and drinking ledges below the windows. The floor is modern bare boarded and there are games' machines flashing away.
Upstairs, and there's a slightly more comfortable lounge/dining/function room which is carpeted and displays some leaded lights with 'heraldic' stained glass motifs along with another TV.
Ales: GK IPA, London Glory, St. Austell's Tribute and Truman's Zephyr which was a bit musty.
Apparently serial killer Dennis Nilsen used to pick up his victims here - perhaps he was doing them a favour as I certainly can't think of a reason to return.
On 1st May 2019
- rating: 3
[User has posted 1985 recommendations about 1951 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about Golden Lion
Small single roomed pub, sports tv , three handpumps with a poor selection of GK IPA, London Glory and T&W(Westerham) 1730 which was awful, looks more inviting outside than it actually is.
On 25th October 2016
- rating: 3
[User has posted 1872 recommendations about 1845 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about Golden Lion
A small and quite basic Taylor Walker pub. 4 real ales and food served.
On 24th October 2016
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2883 recommendations about 2820 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Golden Lion
Small single-room Soho Taylor Walker pub, with further upstairs seating. Leaded square windows, dark wood panelling and some schizophrenic gold cornices but that’s about it for ambience. Designed for vertical drinking so just a handful of high stools and tables. Jumbo Six Nations flags draped around the place made it feel like some sort of estate pub. Football on a number of TVs. Inevitably rammed on my Friday evening visit. Just four ales on; Truman Zephyr (decent nick), GK IPA / London Glory and Westerham 1730 (decent nick) – most expensive round of the day, two halves clocking in at an astonishing £4.70. There’s little to get excited by here, I doubt I’ll ever see the inside of this one again. Not so fun fact – the 1980s mass-murderer Dennis Nilsen picked up some of his victims in this pub.
On 22nd March 2016
- rating: 5
[User has posted 5081 recommendations about 5064 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about Golden Lion
Nice comfortable pub.Quite small pub with a limited range of beers Tribute,Doombar and Trumans -Swift which was good.Would revisit as this chain of pubs seem to be improving the beer range and I can usually find something new and drinkable.
On 24th January 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Golden Lion
This Taylor Walker pub, just off Shaftsbury Avenue, is typical of the sort of compact, single room pub you might expect to find in this part of town. The room has dark floorboards, wall panelling and servery, including the bar back which has an excellent etched mirror bearing the pub’s name. A similar mirror hangs on the back wall with the words ‘Public Bar’ picked out on it, although I struggled to identify evidence of a former two bar layout. The cramped space opposite the bar has been filled with high tables and stools which are supplemented by a drinking ledge running down the left hand side of the room. The ceiling seemed to have a few decorative touches, but they were partly hidden by various TV screens which were showing repeats of the week’s cricket and football fixtures, with music quietly playing over the sound system. An upstairs seating area was advertised, but most punters had spilled out onto the pavement, making the most of the decent weather.
The three ales on the bar were certainly more adventurous than those described by previous reviewers. I had a choice of Sharp’s Doom Bar, Growler Lemon Head and Hackney Golden, with Thistly Cross Elderflower Cider taking up an additional hand pump, The Lemon Head was in good shape but it’s not a beer I’ll be trying again, as the lemon taste was far too overwhelming. Bar staff were efficient and cheerful enough, even at last knockings on a busy Friday night.
There’s not a great deal of interest here, but I wouldn’t be too quick to write this place off. It’s pretty good by Taylor walker standards and if you’re looking for somewhere to dip into for a quick pint, you can certainly do a lot worse than this place.
On 26th September 2013
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about Golden Lion
The Golden Lion is a typical Soho pub now trading under Punch’s ubiquitous Taylor Walker banner.
The main bar is small and quite inadequate for the location and number of people that it often attracts. Without the crowds it would be quite cosy and the place certainly isn’t without a certain charm with some ornate touches in the décor, in particular the attractive ceiling (albeit inexplicably partly covered by fake panels) and some gold painted trimmings.
Seating is minimal and generally high tables so more people can be accommodated. There is a well positioned TV (signs advertise both Sky & ESPN for the footie fans). On the more macabre side of things, serial killer Dennis Neilson befriended some of his victims here although I don’t suggest that this reflects the usual customer base.
The pub gets notoriously packed but there is an overflow bar upstairs that, whilst generally targeted at diners, is more relaxed with carpeted floors and some attractive latticed windows. I managed to happily park myself at a table without any uncertain looks from the staff.
4 ales available but nothing that you can’t find in any Taylor Walker pub (and there are dozens in the area) – Youngs Gold, Doom Bar, Old Golden Hen and London Pride. Prices were ridiculously high with the Golden Hen at £3.95, around 30/40p more than any of the other Taylor Walker pubs. My pint was topped up from a half full glass already placed under the hand pull and whilst I doubt it had been there long and tasted fine, this isn’t the sort of practice I expect anywhere, let alone at £3.95 a pint.
Overall, despite it having some plus points, there were far too many negatives for me to warrant a visit in the foreseeable future.
On 16th February 2012
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Golden Lion
Had to de-camp to here the other evening when we planned to watch the Holland world cup game in the De Hems Dutch bar but couldn’t get in. Fortunately a decent Dutch contingent who also couldn’t get in came here including a sizeable proportion of Japanese from their restaurants in China town to watch their game, which was also on.
As mentioned below the ground floor area is a fairly small space, mainly set up for vertical drinking with three tele screens and for this occasion a large pull down projection screen from the ceiling, so that wherever you stood, you had a good view of the game.
There is an upstairs room , but like the reviewer below, I never made it up here.
Now an evening when the pub is full of screaming Dutch (of the football supporter type) , is obviously not a typical evening, but the pub seemed OK and the beers were good. Four hand pumps on which included Deuchars IPA and Young’s London Gold, both of which were good and kept going all evening.
And as both teams for the incumbent supporters got a result, everyone was happy.
On 27th June 2010
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]