Red Lion

Had the day off work to do some Chrismas shopping, hang out with my lovely girlfriend, and see a show in the evening.  My girlfriend, a while after we started going out read in one of those womens magazines an article about signs to avoid in a man.  As far as I recall I didn’t come off too badly, thankfully.  However there was one I was caught out on; ‘beware a man who wears a fleece, as he’ll think going to a pub is an acceptable anniversary date venue’.  Well for one, yea I have a fleece, in fact I have two.  Also more importantly, why would you not want to go to a pub for a date.  I met my girlfriend in a pub, what’s wrong with going back to one?  Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with going to a pub for an anniversary, birthday, wedding, bar mitzvah.  The image of the pub as a place for men is no longer true.   This is the twenty first century, get with the times.  Pubs are great places, they make good great food now and are great places to go.   

As such, wearing my fleece, we went to the Red Lion off Pall Mall.  On the way there, we passed the Red Lion and the Red Lion.  In a small area there do seem to be a large number of pubs called the same name.  Only one of these Red Lions, has made it into the good pub guide.  I’m fairly sure I found the right one.  It’ll be pretty embarrassing if I’ve gone to the wrong one.  The one I ended up at, which I think was the right one is just off Pall Mall opposite St James palace.  It’s up a little alley way which has a bit of a medieval feel to it, with the upper floor jutting out over the alley.  The shops down there now are a mix of modern and old.  A pret and gentlemans hair dressers are next to a Milleners and The Red Lion.  

Red Lion

 The area around the pub is worth a mention.  It’s an interesting part of town with an obvious history of old money and wealth.  There are blue plaques on loads of the buildings, commemorating some marquis or other and inventor of such and such.  It’s not far up to Old Bond Street where the super rich go to do their shopping and buy diamonds and expensive clothes.  It’s fun to walk around there and people watch.  I like the covered arcades, which transport you back in time almost and you can imagine the wealthy Bertie Wooster types looking in the windows.  If you ever need to buy a fancy smoking jacket or embroidered velvet slippers this is the place to come.  Just down the road is Fortum and Mason a famous food shop.  Also I saw specialist shops, selling mens grooming products, hunting gear, cigars and specialty whiskeys.  It’s well worth taking a wander around here before heading for a pint.  

The sign outside the Red Lion proclaims it as London’s last surviving village pub.  I’m not really sure what they mean by that.  When would there have been a village there I thought? Anyway, it looked cool from the outside with its hanging baskets and painted sign.  It is not a big pub inside at all.  The bar takes up much of the right hand side of the pub, where some men were standing having a lunch time drink.  Other men, were sitting finishing lunch of pub sandwiches.  They looked like they had a good pub menu on the go with various sandwiches on offer.  I love a pub sandwich.  For those who have read my post on Chesterfield, you will know my opinion of pub food.  I think, simple, tasty and affordable is the way forward.  So, I was pleased to see they weren’t trying to compete with the Michelin star restaurants in the area.  What would be the point, sometimes a pub should be left a pub.  It’d been there for centuries so don’t fix what aint broke.  

I thought the place had a real quiet charm about it.  Almost a rural feel in the heart of London.  I guess that’s what they mean about it being a village pub.  The bar selection was not huge but there were some decent ales.  I had two nice pints of tribute in there.   

I’d recommend it for a pint and a sit down if you are looking for one up in that part of town.  Worth a visit.