The White Lion — Restaurant in South Kesteven

Not a good experience. Not being from the area my husband and I stopped in for lunch on a long drive home from a wedding. On arrival the male staff member ummed and arrrd as to whether they had a table for 2, despite the pub being almost empty. Eventually he sent us to a table, but we weren't told how to order so we waited 20 mins and no one came over. My husband therefore went up to the bar to order and was abruptly told by the male member of staff to sit down and the waitress would come over.

There were 2 small tables and us in the pub and no one else visiting. Another 10 mins went by and finally the waitress came over. We were told there would be a short wait for food which suprised us condidering it wasnt busy but we we thought ok, fine. I ordered the camenber and then the filo pastry pie, our starters then took another 20 mins to come out and were over done as if they has been sat under a heat lamp. But tasted nice none the less. We then waited another 25 mins for our mains and unfortunately my filo pastry pie was burnt on the outside and sweet potato filling was very dry on the inside. Having said that, my husbands sweet potato curry was lovely. The toilets were tired and old not particularly clean. My main issue was the women's sanitary bin looked very soiled and dirty. Service was very slow, such a shame as I feel this could be such a lovely pub, but interior is tired and definatly needs work regarding food and service quality. I left almost all of my mains and on paying we were asked by the male manager if all was OK for us amd my husband politely said no it wasn't and voiced his concerns regarding my pie and poor service long wait for food. A short flippant apology was given but no offer of discount off of our bill, despite me not having touched my pie. Very poor. Shan't...

We arrived and ordered some drinks. Asked if we could stay for lunch. The manager hummed and harred. Then said ok. We saw the bookings, poor only three tables booked. Been in the industry for thirty years and this was so unprofessional. If you can't handle a few tables then don't go I to the hospitality industry. Anyway we sat down ordered and was told it may take some time to get our food. No problem we said. The garlic bread was half toasted and took about twenty minutes. Mains came almost straight after, my wife ordered the pie of the day my sister in law ordered the lasagne and I ordered the fish and chips.Not a difficult order. The lasagne was pretty goodthe pie was dry over cooked and and actually burnt . The fish and chips tasted great until I discovered a hair on my plate. Called for some assistance. The manager came over and literally and categorically attacked me saying it was a bone. It was curly, she apologized and took it away asking if I wanted another one, saying no thank you. My wife's pie was tasteless and burnt so rock hard microwaved I am sure . She did offer to take it off the bill . A birthday lunch was so spoilt , lack of care or concern for the customer. After paying we were leaving and my wife and myself over heard the manager complaining about us . Total disregard and disrespectful for a customer experience. Pathetic actually. Will not go back nor recommend the place to anyone. We noticed on our way out a sign the landlord is looking for a new operator the run the pub. I wonder why??? So sad....

I was very disappointed with the service at The White Lion. On arriving for an evening meal on Thursday, we were not acknowledged as we entered and instead made our way to the "wait here to be seated" sign. Despite three members of staff being visible — one behind the bar, one setting up quiz night equipment, and another walking past several times — none acknowledged us. We stood waiting for some time before finally asking if food was still being served. The staff member said he would check, then returned with plates and told us he’d be with us shortly. We continued waiting for at least another five minutes before he returned to seat us, by which point we had almost decided to leave.

No explanation was given regarding the menu, daily specials, or that drinks had to be ordered separately at the bar (despite being added to the bill). Despite there only being another two tables in for dinner, service throughout was extremely slow, and the food itself was underwhelming. The fish and chips looked appealing and a fair sized portion, but I found the taste disappointing, possibly due to the batter being cooked with the skin on. My friend’s macaroni cheese was reported to be bland and flavourless. At no point did staff check on our meal.

I rarely leave negative reviews, but the lack of service, disappointing food, and overall experience left us dissatisfied and unfortunately for myself unwell afterwards. This was not the start to our weekend away that we...