Black Lion in Central Bedfordshire

Lovely place and wow what a great idea with the craft ale and cider bar x

Isn’t family friendly, was made to feel unwelcome with our child. We sat in the garden so he would be able to play a-little we kept him close. My husband went to the outside bar with my son next to him and received a comment about watching his child he was just standing with him. You will never bring new business In without being family friendly in the day this was at 2 pm I would understand if it was later on in the day.

Good beers, strong selection of gins and great atmosphere. What's not to like? Best in the town.

Great selection of beers and ciders, also the pork pie is very generous and tasty

A great real ale pub. Great decor and atmosphere. There was a jazz band playing.

Love the craft beer and gin shed :) excellent selection of changing beers

An excellent pub full of character. A selection of well kept ales is complemented by a huge selection of continental beers. This place is well worth a visit.

Superb pub definitely worth a visit.. excellent ales on offer at reasonable prices

Best pub for miles. Brilliant atmosphere especially in the patio area at the rear. Very dog friendly. Amazing selection of drinks too. Favourite pub for miles and I don't even live in Leighton Buzzard.

Great selection of beers and a wonderful garden to drink them in.

They have a great craft ale bar in the back garden and a great range of beers.

Great selection of top quality beer, perfect staff.. can't fault them! It's got even better... 14 craft beer taps and over 300 gins to choose from.

lovely drinks and cool atmosphere. Alcoholic slushi was lovely and refreshing.

Called into the pub on 3rd August 2024. Nice bar, good service, good outside seating area. Great selection of ales. Sadly my 3 stars is for the over priced Leffe Lager. £4.20 per half a pint. Said not able to sell it in a pint. My wife had two halves of Leffe. We left the pub turned right and the next pub sells Leffe for £4.20 per pint ! I will leave it for the reader to decide.

Simply the best pub. The staff are awesome, the service is top & the beer is simply gorgeous. Never a bad pint. Wonderful beer garden with an amazing gin bar. Great festivals throughout the year & always a lovely atmosphere. The pork pies are a meal themselves & a great selection of cheeses too.

Great pub, friendly landlady and staff

A lovely pub in the town of Leighton Buzzard. On the day I visited all the bar staff were wearing bow ties, which was a lovely touch. The pub feels like an independent pub striving to do things better. Looks like a lovely menu too.

Excellent pub it's what real pubs are about Staff 10/10

Great pub with awesome beer garden.

I occasionally visit Leighton Buzzard to meet up with a friend as it's equidistant for us both. On previous occasions we've struggled to find a place we liked drinking here, but on the last occasion we stumbled across this gem. Excellent beer garden out back that's served by one of the most impressive collections of alcohol I've seen in a long time. If you like quality spirits and brilliant bar staff I'd recommend this place to you. If only they did food...but if they did, we'd probably still be there.

Still the best pub in town. The beer and gin selection is unbeatable!

Superb choice of ales. Well kept Bass on draught.

Great Cider 🍺 festival lots of choices of cider on offer

Excellent town centre pub. Great beers. Fantastic pork pie or cheese platter! Veryhighly recommended.

The food is crisp and snacks, proper ale pub, alcohol very strong percentage, customer service excellent service, some beers slightly expensive, but worth the price and service, ales on tap always right temperature, and not a long wait in queue, very reasonable, plenty of room for seats and very comfy highly recommend for ale and cider beer,

Can't say on food, not sure they do food but was busy and decent selection of drinks but staff were a bit kax as preferred to chat as opposed to serve

Great beers, great staff and in the summer this place has such an uplifting atmosphere. You may even forget you are in Leighton buzzard ha ha

Excellent pub with great drink choice.

Could be one of the best pubs in the world?!

Great , friendly staff good service 👍

Dropped in for a quick visit and had a couple of drinks. Nice friendly pub, large selection of beers, open fire and a large patio garden at the back. Should be a nice place to visit in Summer.

By far the best pub within miles. Friendly staff and a great selection of drinks.

Fantastic pub 👌 very good prices 👍 lots of good beer 🍺 😀 had a great night thank you 😊.

Beautiful old building with a great choice of ales, stunning wood beams scatter the building with a million coasters/posters of beer/breweries. Decent beer garden and a fire inside

This pub is very popular and always busy yet the speed of service is magnificent. I've never needed to wait more than a few minutes for my order to be taken. It also has a fantastic range of beers on offer.

A great old fashioned pub that i used to use many years ago

Becoming a regular of their beer festivals! a great variety of beer . nice touch when leaving "hope you enjoyed " or thanks for coming - small but lovely touches

Lovely place for a drink with friends fantastic atmosphere. Love the outside area, provided with blankets to keep warm and a well stocked gin bar ❤️

As usual a great choice of ales at their Dark Beer festival

Popped to see friends for the Black beer fest and quiz. Surprisingly large bar/barn out back and a great selection of beers. Will be going back later in the summer!

After savoring a few light ales at a preceding haunt, a companion steered me towards the Black Lion. The moment we crossed its threshold, a vivacious and unexpectedly animated atmosphere greeted us, complete with live music on a Monday – a delightful enigma. Lured by whispers of Bavarian-style steins, I inquired with the spooky-looking barkeep. To my astonishment, she confirmed and pointed me toward the traditional German wheat beers – a choice not for the faint of heart. Emboldened, I hoisted the stein brimming with the alcoholic wheat elixir, adorned with a tantalizing slice of orange that danced with citrus notes in the potion. Venturing forth into the garden, bathed in warmth and illuminated by flames, I found solace as both the ambience and the stein worked their magic. A secondary bar beckoned, a haven of diverse libations. However, succumbing to the elixir's effects, I realized I had reached my limit, barely making it home in one piece. In reflection, the Black Lion stands as a formidable establishment, firmly etched on my revisit list, where I anticipate engaging once more in a spirited battle with the Germans.

The best pub in the area, cosy pub, great drink secretion and lovely service.

Massive choice of cask conditioned real ale kept and served excellently by knowledgeable staff. Lots of space inside and out, blankets available for use outside in cold weather, nice touch.

Lovely pub, great ales, friendly service. Couldn't ask for more!

Easily the best pub in Leighton, great crowd and good beer selection.

Good selection of beers and the gin bar was excellent

This is our local. We love it. It's a proper pub with wooden beams throughout, a large selection of wine, beer, and spirits. There's always lots of events throughout the year and a craft beer/gin bar in the large part-covered garden to the rear with heaters. There are also hot pasties at the bar along with cheeseboards with crackers and pickles. I couldn't recommend it enough

Always busy, which is great for local people, however, sometimes staff are a little flustered. Great atmosphere though!

Great place to grab a drink or two with friends. Very good selection of beers on tap at the bar, or even more out in the garden. If beer is not your thing, then they have over 200 gins to choose from.

A pub with a great range of cask ales an Oakham beer is usually available. There is also a separate craft beer and gin bar just off of the garden. Frequent beer festivals are held.

Top pub - real ales + craft beers. Lovely staff and good atmosphere with friendly regulars. Lots of innovative festivals and fun events.

Live this place on an evening, great atmosphere for a drink and the staff are always welcoming 👌

As always everything is fine. Perfect service and great beers. Today is also Oktoberfest. Top!

Expensive and staff very rude I asked what is there stongest draught drink the bar maid snapped at me and said tea so i had a cup of tea and when the lads i work with turned up 24of them they all asked for tea taking the piss she wasn't amused then left went to the bottom bell and had a fantastic night

Great range of Real Ales, relaxed atmosphere and friendly service.

Friendly pub with wide selection of beers

Great pub for a few drinks. Haven't eaten here. Love the fireplace and the gin bar out back is so cool, they have a amazing selection of gins and mixers and some really friendly staff. Would definatley recommend!

Great food from total cow burgers, decent pint and great beer garden out the back.

The Black Lion is a great traditional pub with a large selection of ales and beers all part of a traditional English pub environment. Smallish place but comfortable atmosphere that for me is an excellent change from the large establishments. Well done to all those keeping this pub as it is.

Cool vibe on a Summer's evening. Live music, lots of gin.

Awesome pub - such a good atmosphere. Love the outdoor bar and the pork pie.... chef's kiss

Called in to hear Rich Miller playing the blues. Good beer 🍻

Loved having a gin with my Sister from gin bar. Lovely staff and garden xx

Excellent range of beers and gins

Nice pub on the lovely Leighton buzzard high street. Lots of character inside the small pub with a good selection of beers and knowledge of those beers. Huge garden to sit out the back packed with a great atmosphere

As always, a warm and friendly welcome plus a good selection of real ales. No food is served hence the lack of stars. In every other way the pub makes up for the lack of food. It's a mandatory visit for me when I am in Leighton Buzzard.

We went there on Friday evening for a drink. I had a Chamay Blonde beer that was 10%proof! and some water. We sat in the Beer Garden as it was such a warm evening . I would go again the next time I'm in Leighton Buzzard.

I have not eaten here, so I can't rate it. But the cocktail bar is epic

Best pub in Leighton Buzzard. Spacious inside and outside, friendly staff and great choice of wine and beer.

They don't do food (but do get guest street food in) just craft ale, music and more gins in the gin barn than you will even see and of course a great relaxed atmosphere for grown ups!

Popped for a couple of drinks. Lots of lovely craft beer. Garden was busy but we got a table. Will definitely visit again.

Never had a bad night here. Great place, selection of drinks is good and gin bar is excellent

Great ale selection. Nice garden. You can bring your own food like from local take outs. They do offer great samosas though, also picked eggs and the usual nuts and crisps. Nice atmosphere and friendly staff.

Great choice of ales...best pub of a great weekend travelling bucks beds and herts

The staff were very welcoming and friendly and the pub was very clean and tidy. Whilst there is a reasonable amount of seating inside, there is LOTS outside at the back of the pub. They didn't have Guinness but the Sam Smiths Stout was excellent.

Great selection of real ale craft beer and gin with a good local music events

No food rating as they don’t serve their own hot food. A good range of real ale, craft beers in the courtyard back. Massive stock of gins. A good range of wine. Best pub in Leighton.

Amazing place good value for money a good place for a relaxing drink. Best pub in Leighton Buzzard by far. Staff remember your drinks and always have your back. This is the best place in Leighton Buzzard as they look after there customers and also provide the highest level of customer service.

Great beer garden. Usually has live music and so many craft beers and ciders to try.

Good atmosphere, great real ale selection. Quick service and plenty of helpful staff. Can't fault it...

Great atmosphere and the beer garden is great. There's so much choice in drinks with huge amounts of choice in gin for those that like that sort of thing.

Great range of beers, fabulous pork pie, loads of outside room. Nice staff.

Wow 🤩 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 South facing garden and plenty of CLEAN space outside. And plenty of choice of Belgium 🇧🇪 and German 🇩🇪 beers on draft and of course British IPA’S and larger! We cam and such a lovely staff! Highly recommend‼️

Great pub with nice garden, lovely staff.

Perfect pub! No sports, massive garden and well kept beers!

Best pub in town! Still better than ever! Thanks Nicky, Jasmin and all the staff!

Fantastic nice atmosphere and great value and service excellent

Loved the bar at the front and the gin bar at the rear, a place for different type of visit depending on your mood

Friendly atmosphere extensive collection of gins in the converted barn/gin bar

Best pub ever. Incredibly friendly bar staff, great beer super pork pie snacks. Check it out. Ohh another plus dog friendly.

Excellent beer and cider. Quite busy, but hardly surprising

Good selection of Ales and pleasant service

A lovely, QUIET place to come for a QUIET drink. No noisy jukebox or noisy chatter, and lots of quiet little nooks and crannies in which to sit. Love it.

Fantastic choice of gins,good selection of beer and ale staff friendly good traditional pub and lovely open fire for those cold wnter nights.

More real ale than any other pub

The choice of beers and level of service is excellent. And the pork pies are to die for.

Great selection of real ales. Always friendly and quick service. Excellent!

Always a great selection of beers/ciders and a good range of 0.0 beers as well. Prices are reasonable also. Nice atmosphere and a great cross-section of people in there. No sit-down food, but there are pub bits available. Gin bar in the garden (which has seating and heating), but haven't ventured into that as yet. Staff are always friendly and approachable.

Lovely atmosphere, great beer according to my other half, nice wine, very friendly. Proper old school pub! Staff and management attentive and welcoming, looking forward to visiting again 😀

A proper, traditional pub with a changing range of real ales. Holds the occasional beer festival.