Red Lion — Restaurant in East Suffolk

PROS: The Fish and chips. Really good for a pub. Recommended by all of our group. Burgers also pretty decent. Dining space inside. There's a glamorous small room, with one fancy table for dining (ONE!) then on the other side of the bar, a dark room with more tables (where dogs are allowed). Not an inspiring place to eat BUT compared to other Southwold pubs, it did have larger tables for groups such as ours. A big advantage for those looking to eat indoors out of the cold. Outdoor toilets had character and the seats at the front of the pub offered a lovely view towards the sea. Better beers for those NOT wanting Adnams. Good seating area out front to catch setting sun - the Red Lion occupies the best patch of any pub in Southwold.

CONS: The fish pie! Comically small portion with drab veg. No prawns. Possibly the most uninspired and lazy fish pie we've eaten in a seafront pub or restaurant.

Lacklustre, fed-up looking staff. Some of the previous reviews slate the management for being rude or hostile. We didn't find staff to be rude, just bored. Wouldn't have noticed but for the warmth and friendliness of every worker in the Lord Nelson and Sole Bay Inn - did make the Red Lion feel like an establishment your custom wasn't REALLY valued at. Orders and transactions taken without eye-contact or smiles but made efficiently and can't knock the professionalism, only the welcome!

Clientele not cheerful looking. Can't blame the Red Lion for their drinkers' mood BUT... Four vulgarians at a neighbouring table - all above the age of 40 might I add - were talking at length about sh*tting at festivals, which proved untune-able-out-of due to their loud embellishments. Still, they were much friendlier than the average drinker in here, who scowled and looked generally out of place in Southwold.

Overall... not bad. As a group we thought the food was pretty good, service indifferent, atmosphere glum. An alright little pub in a nice little town. I wouldn't go back here again but I if someone asked if they should go, I'd say 'yes'. Maybe I caught the place on a day when everyone felt a bit flat.

6/10.

(Tips for Eating in Southwold Pubs:

YOU CAN'T BOOK A TABLE ANYWHERE. Of the four pubs we went into, none allowed us to book a table, instead all operated a first-come-first-served policy, which was fair enough given how busy things were during this Easter break. HARD TO GET SEAT IF YOUR GROUP IS 6+: if you're in a big group, indoor seating is very limited. All pubs have plenty of tables for 2-4 but maybe only one or two big tables. The Lord Nelson's outdoor area has large tables so is the best of the pubs we went into. OUTDOOR SEATING IS WINDY AND COLD SO WRAP UP: Whilst outdoor seating might look sunny and look inviting, that North Sea tears up through the streets. If you intend to sit outdoors in a Southwold pub, wrap up lots and watch for your glass...

Visited Southwold for a week during the summer holidays so admittedly a busy time. However, we tired to get a table a few times and found their booking system wasnt great and the staff were not very helpful.

One day we were told there were no bookable tables for our requested time but there were some reserved walk in tables so we could get one of those. When we arrived the staff informed us that the kitchen was closed that day! Wondering why they hadnt told us that when we tried to book?

When we finally managed to get a table one night I wasn't too impressed either. I ordered the vegan burger which came with chips and a salad. Chips were nice, the burger was good but the salad had a dressing on it that was not vegan. When I asked what was in the dressing the waiting staff had no idea. They asked the kitchen who confirmed it wasn't vegan. They weren't particularly bothered and it made me wonder if the burger sauce was infact not vegan? The entire dish was clearly labelled vegan so this is a...

First and the last time of visiting this place. The waitress and waiter we had didnt appear to know what they were doing, when asked questions about the food they just looked blankly at us as if we were speaking in a different language. Ordered drinks which took nearly 30 minutes to get to the table (one drink was tap water, so not sure why it took so long!) Food arrived, very disappointed. We don't go out for meals often, but when we do we dont expect to be served frozen food. Should of just gone to a chip shop and atleast got home made chips for a third of the price. The toilets were unusable! Toilet paper, rubbish and sanitary products all over the floor, broken toilet seats which meant you couldn't sit down (kinda defeats the object when your a lady!) And if you did manage to sit down with out falling off you couldn't use the toilet paper as they were all jammed! The place was an utter joke from start to finish. Had better experiences in a dirty kebab shop on a...