Mawdesley is very much a posh Surrey commuter village dumped in to the flattest, drabbest and obscure area of Lancashire. The village has a reputation locally as being somewhere a bit snobby and inbred. Indeed you're far more likely to hear Home Counties accents around here than Lancashire ones. Parking up, opposite the tiny village shop, flanked by the most Range Rovers I've ever seen in one place, at one time - I entered the Red Lion with some trepidation. It had been a few years since my last visit, and that wasn't exactly great experience. Fortunately the new management appeared to have opened the place out. It now seemed that people outside Mawdesley visited there. Last time I visited it was like something out of The Hills Have Eyes. A sea of locals all gawping because "a non-local" had dared to set foot in their tiny village pub. Anyway it wasn't quite that bad this time, The local, yokels must have been doing whatever they do in Mawdesley - which aside from inbreeding and driving Range Rovers doesn't seem much. Anyway that's beside the point. The drinks I had were OK, the atmosphere OK. An improvement on last time certainly.

Mellifera

We booked a table for two here and mentioned at the time of booking that we wanted to use our Telegraph privilege card. We were assured that this would be fine. We made a deliberate point of making sure that they understood about this. We had the meal a couple of days ago: an unremarkable three course dinner including a Sunday roast. We've eaten much better meals locally, and paid less for them. Upon querying the bill, we were told that we couldn't use our Telegraph card because they stopped accepting them three months ago. We were not told this at the time of booking, in fact, we were told the exact opposite. Obviously, our choices of food had been influenced by the offer. The manager was not available and we were not offered any form of compensation to make up for this. Neither of us usually write reviews however we are appalled by this. The new Telegraph 2012 booklet, in which they are listed, arrived a few days before our meal. This is false advertising. We spent twice the amount that we were expecting to, based on the offer. Neither the food nor the service were good enough to make up for it. Another time, we will certainly eat elsewhere.

Stephan

We visited in January for a birthday meal, and the food was delicious! The chef cooked everything to perfection, with any requests catered for (my wife can be very particular!) The staff were very friendly, which created a very pleasant atmosphere. Each month they hold a themed food night; we attended the Mexican evening - the cocktails were simply fabulous! The girls behind the bar were great fun, which gave the restaurant a great vibe later on in the evening. It was refreshing to have the excellent food combined with the great drinking atmosphere! We will definitely be visiting again!

Ian

good food

Angry Tree

My wife and i visited the Red Lion for lunch recently,we were over the moon with the quality of food and service, also very reasonably priced.We will be returning soon to sample more.

Katie

I often go down to the Red Lion for tea because it is good quality, fresh food at very reasonable prices. I love the beef noodles, but for my past few visits I have forced myself to try other things on the menu and so I can now also highly recommend the monkfish risotto, Goosenard duck and fish and chips. The only thing left to say is go and try it out... the food really is fantastic.

Simon

I have now visited the red lion on two occasions, and both have been very enjoyable evenings. The most recent visit was a Spanish theme night. The tapas was delicious, and my wife and i both had an enjoyable pork fillet for main. Good atmosphere, good service, all in all a pleasurable experience.

Penny

I recently visited the Red Lion completely on a whim with my husband while passing through Mawdesley. The exterior of the pub was what attracted us, especially the sweet little fence separating the outdoor area. The staff were relaxed yet utterly professional and couldn't do enough to please us, particularly the tall boy behind the bar. We chose to dine on the 3 course Sunday Lunch menu (amazing value!) and I have to say, the chocolate fondant pudding has knocked bread and butter pudding off the menu at my 'last supper' - it was divine! All in all I was pleased to be reminded of just how great British pubs can be. Keep up the good work!

Briony

We recently visited the Red Lion on a Sunday evening and I was impressed by how busy the pub was despite the time of year. We had a drink in the lounge (I opted for a real ale) while choosing our food. After much deliberation, I chose a goat's cheese starter and chicken for my main course. The food was well cooked and really beautifully presented, the portions were generous and all the flavours worked well together. The dauphinoise potatoes that came with the chicken were delicious, but that wasn't enough to stop me stealing a couple of my partner's chips. I think they were fried twice and were gorgeous - I keep telling everyone how nice they were! We didn't have space for a pudding each, so we finished off the meal by sharing a chocolate fondant. It was chocolaty and perfectly gooey in the middle and came with a vanilla ice-cream which complemented the chocolate flavour well. I will definitely be returning when I next visit the area - there's lots more on the menu I want to sample!

Petra Jennings

Visited this restaurant this week. As a frequent diner of the old Red Lion I was very disappointed at the standard of cooking. The food was lukewarm to say the least and the quality of the beef was not good at all. Good produce is key to these village pubs and this is not present at the Red Lion at all The owners seem young and inexperienced and have a lot to live up to as this place once had a fabulous reputation.

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Red Lion At Mawdesley

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