The Red Lion — Restaurant in London

Went here following the pub's promotion by YouTuber Tweedy Pubs with high expectations. Wasn't particularly appealing if the truth be told. First off, the surly barman let it be known he struggled to comprehend native English. I detected some Eastern European accent. He seemed to blame me for his poor linguistic ability. Bad move.

The tiny one room bar was wood-panelled and characterful, I suppose, but the only character dominating the space was a loud Aussie holding court to his male and female companions. A bit of background music to drown him out would have been appreciated.

On the beer front, no Harvey's Sussex Best, but the inferior Otter proved a mediocre alternative. Seems like a place for generic lager drinkers to be honest. Not one for real ale drinkers.

It's well out of the way from most people's paths so just carrying on regardless is actually giving it a wide berth, which is what...

Small cosy pub : comfortable and pleasant place to meet friends. Routine selection of beers : could give a better selection of 'real ales'. The spiral staircase down to the gents is a marvel of miniaturisation : watch your head ! But that is nothing compared to the staircase up to the ladies Would I patronise again ? Yes : but

1. well before the 'office crowd' tend to make their appearance at about 17.00 : certainly if I want a seat and don't want to end up standing in the middle of the floor : the bar is too small to accommodate more than two or three propping it up at any one time. And
2. also only if someone else is buying .Why ? Because the £5.00p I was charged for a 1/2 pint of lager and a mug of instant coffee is a bit steep even by London...

I was here on Saturday 19th October 2013. Arrived at about 2115hrs with three friends. I'd been to The Red Lion before, about 20 years ago, and was delighted to find it was still a going concern.

Very quiet at 2115hrs - we were the only people there aside from the barmaid. But then, it got very busy. Some very smart gentlemen from I don't know where descended. I'm assuming that this is a regular thing for this pub, otherwise I doubt they would have remained open.

Lovely traditional pub - not jammed with tourists - which...