Red Lion — Restaurant in New Forest

Well I’m always saying this but I wish I didn’t have to share this but I love a good honest review and this place is brilliant. I went here for lunch today and the guys behind the bar are so welcoming and accommodating it was a real treat to dine here. I’d give them 10/10 just for customer service. They really are a friendly bunch. I’ve never been here before and the friendly welcome made me want to make it my local. We had the coconut and lime battered prawns to start and steak baguette with fries for main. The steak was medium rare and both dishes were cooked to perfection. I have a couple of criticisms though. The salad could have done with more dressing and the prawns were a little over cooked and could have came with a choice of dips. The thatchers cider went down a treat though and having such a lovely traditional pub setting with A GAME delivering staff made my afternoon a real treat. I’ve stayed in very expensive high end hotels in London and these guys could teach them a thing about customer relations. I will definitely be back to try out some of the other delicious dishes that caught my eye on other diners tables as I left. To say I had food envy is an understatement the muscles looked amazing and the pie looked a real gem. Thank you red lion staff your a breath of fresh air in an industry that’s battle scared from post...

We had been recommended to the Red Lion, heard some good things. Sadly we didn’t have a good Sunday lunch, the quality of the food was not great, the meat in particular was like something you would get from a processed meal in a box, the lack of it was also noted but we wouldn’t of eaten it in this instance anyway. The side vegetables were microwaved (leaving the cling film around the dish is a bit of a give away) but also tasteless, mashed carrot/swede was sloppy and runny, the one tiny parsnip was miniature actually thought it was meant for a dolls house! Gravy was rationed too on the basis extra gravy is extra £2. It just didn’t look appetising. Overall not a good lunch, such a shame because the pub itself is lovely and staff are very welcoming and helpful. They were very apologetic too. A time when cost of living is so high, eating out is really a treat therefore we felt very disappointed. We hope our constructive feedback will raise awareness as it has the potential to be a little gem.

Whilst we appreciate the pub not charging for the two adult meals our feedback (not complaint) was not about receiving a discount or money off but our genuine disappointment we experienced following the recommendation to visit and hopefully received in a...

This is a lovely country pub, with excellent food choices and fantastic service at a surprisingly good price.

There are many items on the daily, chef specials menu, as well as a good selection on the main menu. There are starters, main and puddings, plus a broad selection of beer and wine.

Our sea bream was superb, and the burger our son had was not only tasty but stood out by having a toasted pretzel bun!

There are many decorations around - including some securely fastened to the ceiling! - that reflects the farming history of working the fields.

Lovely fireplaces bring warmth to cold winter days. And the nearby large framed mirror was so clean it looked like a window to another lounge.

Definitely, a lot of pride is taken in this pub by the landlords and staff.

One minor complaint came from my wife who, upon hearing from me about the decorations in the men's loo, was upset that the womens didn't have a similar theme! You'll know what I mean if you are a male and...