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The Old Red Lion, Leeds

Pub added by James Joines
2 Meadow Lane
Leeds
LS11 5BJ

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Reviews (Current Rating Average: of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Alex Conway left this review about The Old Red Lion

As an avid supporter of Sam Smiths pubs I was very excited to visit here as I usually have good experience in them. The pub is at the corner of a junction and is a large square standalone pub that looks very nice from the outside. Inside there is the classic Sam Smiths old fashioned style that looks like things have not changed from the 60’s and I really like this. From the entrance I came in there was a small room to the right with a few seats and a dart board with another similar sized room on the left with a pol table. The main bar was straight ahead but there was only a small serving counter as the rest of the main bar was partitioned off to make it its own room. All this separate rooms are what pubs used to be like and I Love how Sam Smiths have not opened their pubs out as it loses character. The pub was carpeted in the man bar area and painted a dark cream with lots of traditional wood panelling and old fashioned bar layout with overhead storage for glasses. The beer was the usual full range of Sam Smiths beers but I was very sad to see that they have ripped out their hand pulls. Now I know in some of their smaller out of the way pubs this is the norm but this place is in a very prominent position next to the river and a stones throw away from the main city and trendy bar and of all the Sam’s pubs to do their cask version of old brewery bitter it would be this one. I had a pint of the keg version at the same price the cask would have been at £1.90 and this was quite nice and a lot better than any of the horrible cream flow rubbish but not a patch of the cask version. Overall this was a very pleasing pub to have a swift pint in and is full of character and has a good following from its regulars but sadly the lack of cask drops it a point as up until only a few years ago it sold cask. It does however sell the slightly less seen light mild so it’s still worth dropping by for a cheap beer.

On 14th March 2017 - rating: 6
[User has posted 455 recommendations about 455 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Old Red Lion

Multi-roomed pub retaining a few interesting features but some of the more recent work (e.g. a few replacement windows in the rear lounge) are somewhat lacking in character and the whole place has something of a clinical feel. The old photographs are interesting, though. As a Sam Smith's house, there was just OBB available from the various handpumps, but at only £1.80 it is very difficult to complain.

On 8th March 2015 - rating: 6
[User has posted 8061 recommendations about 8061 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Pub SignMan left this review about The Old Red Lion

Stood in the shadow of the more opulent and well known Adelphi, this Sam Smith pub could perhaps be easily overlooked, but to do so would mean missing out on an interesting multiple room boozer. The main bar is at the front of the pub and has carpet flooring with half panelled walls and a long curved banquette under the front windows. It was pretty quiet when I visited, but a small handful of locals had gathered in this room, sat along the bar counter. To the left, there is a large lounge with a curved button backed banquette along the back wall, a few tub chairs under the front windows which bear the Sam Smith's logo, and low stools elsewhere. The walls have been decorated with some genuinely interesting old pictures of life on the nearby river and other decorative touches include a smart frieze running around the room, a patterned ceiling and an attractive tiled fireplace. A corridor running behind the servery leads to the toilets and eventually brings you out to a small lobby with enough room for a couple of tables and chairs and access to the bar. To either side of this area there are two more rooms, one with a few seats and a dartboard, the other filled by a pool table. I hoped to settle down to read my paper and relax over my pint, but I ended up playing a long, futile game of fetch with the charming and remarkably persistent pub dog.
Old Brewery Bitter was available on handpull, but I fancied something different and opted for the Light Mild which I thought was pretty reasonable all things considered. The landlady seemed a bit gruff and the locals didn't strike me as the most approachable lot, so in many ways, having the dog for company was a bit of a blessing.
I agree with the previous reviewer, that this isn't the sort of spectacular, ornate Sam Smith's pub that visitors from the capital might expect, but I still thought the place was nicely presented and offers something a bit different to other city centre pubs. Not one to seek out for the beer, but certainly worth a look if you find yourself in the vicinity.

On 16th January 2014 - rating: 7
[User has posted 3102 recommendations about 3102 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Steve C left this review about The Old Red Lion

The Old Red Lion is a Sam Smiths pub which was reasonably busy with a local crowd on the recent Friday afternoon that I visited. The saloon bar area is located to the left of the entrance where the actual bar faces some conventional seating that lines the exterior windowed wall. The usual SS draught is available at low prices and I counted four hand pumps. One of these was unused and the other three were badged with Old Brewery Bitter which was served way too cold. I suppose that you take what you get when you are paying 90p for half a pint.
Beyond the bar to the left is a semi separate seating area and the toilets are located around the back of the bar. The corridor that runs past the toilets links the bar area to a couple of small rooms in the right hand side of the building. One of these rooms houses a pool table and the other a dartboard. This is the only entertainment as I didn’t spot any televisions and there was no background music playing.

Being originally from London I am used to SS pubs being quite ornate as the brewery has restored them to their original splendour, but this pub feels like a basic local’s boozer (not that there is anything wrong with that).

I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit here again, but I’m glad that I popped in when I had the chance.

On 16th December 2013 - rating: 5
[User has posted 5178 recommendations about 5147 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Real Ale Ray left this review about The Old Red Lion

There was a nice coal fire lit in the main lounge on our visit, which was good as the beer was served quite cold, but I suppose you can't complain as the prices are so cheap in here, even cheaper than Spoons. I tried the Sam Smith's Light Mild, which was just passable, but then am not a great fan of Sam Smith's beers anyway.

On 23rd November 2013 - rating: 5
[User has posted 3376 recommendations about 3376 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Old Boots left this review about The Old Red Lion

A nicely restored Sam Smith's pub with a selection of small rooms and a main bar. One end of the pub has a pool room, a darts room and a small vestibule like saloon all minimally furnished and finished in dark woods. These three areas are served by a small hatch-like length of counter. The main room down one side is very traditionally furnished with bench seating, Britannia tables and stools. Usual Sam's range and low prices attracting the usual kind of Sam's clientele. The OBB was fairly mundane but at a reasonable temperature and a top up was given unasked for but don't tell Mr Humphrey.

On 11th February 2013 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 3209 recommendations about 2920 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


pint please left this review about The Old Red Lion

A Sam Smiths pub with the usual range of Sams ales. The place could do with a good refurb and spring clean. Much of the seating is filthy so beware if you go in wearing reasonable clothing.

I understand this pub has now been refurbished earlier this year (2011)

On 9th September 2011 - rating: 4
[User has posted 25 recommendations about 25 pubs]