Red Lion in Tunbridge Wells

This was our second visit to the Red Lion. Again, the food was delicious, fresh and tasty. If you want to enjoy authentic, fresh, delicious and tasty Thai cuisine, then this is the place! The most delicious Thai food we have enjoyed since Thailand. Highly recommended!

Nice old pub Lovely in side old and very interesting place lovely prices friendly atmosphere we go back for food e.t.c. yes .

Impressively great Thai food!!! I didn’t expect that in the middle of nowhere!!! I really recommend this place!!!

Really lovely local pub, been going here for years! Friendly owner called Shawn and his team of Thai staff serve a delicious range of traditional Thai dishes and beers that go really well to settle the heat! Would highly recommend to any other pub in Rusthall.

Great family run pub serving fantastic authentic Thai food.

Very good local always nice and friendly pub with good Thai food at a sensible price too. New menu and how its done is great

Decent range of beers and some nice outdoor areas, all staff friendly and helpful. The Thai food was excellent too. This was our first visit but we'll be back.

Lovely local village pub that welcomes families with children and pets. The staff is very friendly. The Thai food is delicious made with quality fresh ingredients. The chef is a genuine Thai chef. Prices/quality ratio is very good. I would recommend ordering food straight to the bar, it is a Pub not a restaurant. You have to be a bit patient about serving times as the food is prepared on the spot , it is not a pre-made food then heated for serving like in the majority of the pubs. They have a lot of events like: live music , stand up comedy, trivia etc. I would definitely recommend this place!

I popped into this pub while walking the Tunbridge Wells Circular Route. I was looking forward to enjoying some Thai food and it didn't disappoint. I had the £16.95 lunch menu which gets you a starter and main. The Prawn Tempura starter was good but a very small portion. The Chicken Pad Thai was excellent and a good sized portion. The pub is kid friendly with a good beer garden and kids slide out the back. Decor in the pub was quirky and comfortable. Service was friendly. It was very quiet in the pub on a Friday afternoon and I enjoyed the selection of "dad rock" they were playing (Foreigner, Don McClean etc!) Well worth a visit.

Had a meal here with friends, the food standard was very high and good portion sizes, great value for money, and a good atmosphere on the night. We were lucky to get a table at late notice as it was very busy. And will definitely come back again

Lovely pub with great vibe and friendly hosts. We had some lovely Thai food and beers, and they also have Pizza nights and other occasions. Would gladly spend time here again

A down at heel pub offering poor service but excellent Thai Food

Wonderful hosts. Really friendly and welcoming. The food was amazing and the entertainment for the evening was great. I look forward to coming here again.

I have been looking for a good pad Thai in kent, and after looking at the boards outside the pub and the website, the Red Lion was promising! Unfortunately, it did not live to the expectation 😕 I will keep looking 😀

Lovely local pub which has a really vibrant feel. Believe it's one of the oldest pubs in Kent. The landlord has clearly put a lot of effort into making the pub part of the community but putting on regular events such as Jazz nights, quizzes, comedy evenings with comedians coming down from the London scene, and local bands performing. I believe they will also be doing regular BBQ events in the summer. The restaurant serves Thai which is really tasty and good portion sizes. Certainly recommend the Pad Thai.

Great night thanks. What a treat, we really enjoyed the food and the jazz.

It’s a great pub with amazing food. Jazz on Wednesday is a treat. The musicians are incredible. Shawn and his team are incredibly friendly and families are very welcome.

Friendly, shabby chic village pub, with an eclectic clientele, serving excellent Thai food, cooked fresh to order by chef Gai. For starters we had the Mushroom and Veg Tempura with Coconut Tempura and Salt & Pepper Crispy Chicken Wings. Both were really good. I opted for the Pork Green Curry, fragrant and deftly spiced with a pleasing chilly kick often missing in some dumbed down Thai cooking. My wife had the Massaman curry, which was equally good. Highly recommended and we’ll be back soon. The only negative was the Harvey’s, which didn’t pass muster. I suspect the pipes could do with a clean, which prevents me giving a 5 rating.

Shabby chic village pub with excellent Thai food from Chef Gai.

Lovely food and music - 80s - and Harry was exceptional - great service - very friendly - chatty and helpful! Definitely deserves a raise!

Can't say enough good things about the food, can tell the chef is passionate about the food she produces. We had chicken wings, ribs, prawns and fish cakes to start, could not tell you a favourite as they were all phenomenal! Mains just as good. Lovely atmosphere, friendly locals and lovely staff. Perfect little pub really and live music too, what's not to like?! 5*

What can I say! Wow wow wow. The food was incredible. If you want true traditional Thai dishes then this you place. Also a very declared atmosphere. Live band, with re lard acoustics instrument. I’ll definitely be coming back. Thank you. 🙏🏼

Great food, friendly staff...food took a while but was worth the wait

We love this pub - the Thai food is absolutely 10/10 every time we come for dinner. Friendly staff and great atmosphere. A real hidden gem in the local area and our favourite place to eat out.

Stunning food (Thai). Awesome vibe. Super friendly people. Highly recommend

Fantastic food and amazing staff. Food was very tasty and felt like I was back in Thailand. I will definitely be returning to try the rest of the menu.

Have been to the Red Lion quite a few times and it has never failed to live up to expectations. The food is always spot on both in terms of quantity and quality. The staff are great and ask if the spicyness is ok as you can ask for more or less as it’s ordered. One of the the few places where the staff in a pub will come to your table to take orders, not only for food but for drinks as well. Very family friendly and frequently has live music on as well. All the staff are friendly and polite, nothing is too much trouble.

A hidden gem a BB lovely pub great ambience and amazing Thai food available with jazz jam on Wednesdays also amazingly caters for gluten free food. Great choice of beers and gins friendly staff

Great food as always - won’t go anywhere else for Thai good. Very tasty and excellent service. Food arrived quickly and all together.

This place is so special. The food is amazing and the music on a Wednesday is so brilliant

I had been intending to visit for some time due to all the rave reviews about the Thai food here. I’m not impressed, we had some prawn crackers which came with the most generic sweet chilli dressing, very watery and cheap, the sharing starter (this is an Iceland frozen selection with absolutely no authenticity whatsoever) the dim sum were ok, 5 very small dim sum for £8. We chose the Prawn pad Thai to share instead of rice which was about half a portion at best this was ok but very sweet and was oddly bulked out with chunks of tofu, my wife had the sweet and sour chicken (salad tomatoes and cucumber with some other bits and pieces with a tiny amount of cheap chicken at the bottom in a generic sweet and sour sauce from a bottle) very disappointing. I had a chicken green curry which to be fair was ok, totally lacking in heat (spice coming only from the sliced red chillis used to garnish). I must say I’m so disappointed with this visit and I’m not sure why it gets such great reviews. A friend was there at another table, they ordered a pork dish and were presented by with prawns, when they highlighted the mistake they were brought the restaurant order slip and told look, it says prawns “ok so we ordered pork and you thought we said prawns, yes. You can have this or wait 45 mins for a replacement dish”…. What???!!! No apology. I won’t be recommending the red lion which is a shame as I really hoped we’d found an authentic thai restaurant, unfortunately not. On the plus the music and beer were very good.

An amazing green Thai curry and gluten free. Will return

Family friendly and affordable.

Great food, friendly and helpful service

Absolutely amazing food! The atmosphere was great for a Sunday night.

A wonderful gem! Good food and live music. We were staying local and found this place by chance. Excellent would recommend for a enjoyable evening!

A great atmosphere and lovely food. Will definitely come again.

Always great food, atmosphere and service. The food is delicious, the garden is really lovely for a sunny afternoon and lots of great music acts.

I've been to alot of thai restaurants but this lovely little place offers up the best Thai food. Sean and Gai are absolutely lovely. Recommend

Fantastic THAI food and great music.

Old English village pub with a mid-high end Thai restaurant tucked inside! The food cooked by Gai is exceptional and unsurpassed by anything we've eaten in Thailand. What an absolute gem the Red Lion is....one evening you'll get semi professional fusion jazz from a band who are on the eve of their European tour and the next week an acoustic sibling duo. I almost don't want to post this because it's really special and i don't want it to get too crowded but then, that's just selfish.....!!

Best thai food I've ever had! Really friendly and helpful staff. Will be back!

Best Thai food this side of Bangkok My wife it from Thailand and loves the food here We will be telling all our friends

If you like Thai food it's worth considering the historic Red Lion pub on the edge of Rusthall Village in Kent - TN4 8TW. It's easy to find. My prawn starter, beautifully presented, with a plain rice pilau to mop up the delicious juices, was a great light lunch in itself. I'll definitely be returning in the near future. Bonus: parking is easy.

Absolutely gorgeous food ! Came today with my partner and daughter. Had the spare ribs, tempura prawn and dim sum. Was great, if you like thai food you shouldn’t overlook this place, much better than the other chain places in town.

Best Thai food in Kent. Chicken wings are also amazing. Great friendly staff and lots of events throughout the week.

Came in for a beer and had some amazing chicken wings! Will be eating here properly for dinner soon.

The Thai food served here is amazing. The pub is warm & welcoming & olde worldwide. Log burning stove. Does live music on some weekends. Can't comment on that as not experienced it. The people who we took raved about the food & they are Thai aficionados. Well worth a visit.

Probably the best Thai food in Tunbridge Wells, really friendly pub with good atmosphere. Will be certainly visiting again soon.

Absolutely the best Thai food this side of Krabi. Undeniably authentic, reasonably priced, engaging staff and gorgeous country pub ♥️

Popped in while walking from Bidborough to Tunbridge Wells via Rusthall. We were drawn in by the sound of music and were greeted with a fantastic jazz trio. The pub itself seemed like a classic, quaint Kentish pub and had a friendly atmosphere. The staff were nice and there was a decent selection of beer.

The Thai food at a small pub in a town in Kent has no right to be as incredible as it is! Great food at a fair price. The live music was a suprise bonus too!

Lovely little pub, very quaint and welcoming

Weird pub tbh, decent pints though

Took friends last Saturday. It's the best food I and they have experienced and they are well versed in their quisene. A total delight. Thank you.

1st time last week. Will defo come back. Customer Service is very friendly & attentive. Food is very Yummy and cant wait to try other things.

The beef noodles is next level out of this world

I have been twice and both times the food has been fantastic. My last visit was with my cousin who is half Thai and we were so impressed by the quality and price. Definitely a go to for authentic Thai food.

Friday lunch at this pub was excellent.A very authentic tasty few dishes! We had the set lunch which was so reasonably priced. We traveled 40 minutes to get there, definitely worth it and would go again .

Really warm welcome from Shawn the landlord awesome Thai food as a regular at the pub the consistency of the food is brilliant

Visited here this evening was so nice , travelled over Thailand and this is the best food I’ve had in the uk ever since , thank you and will be recommending and visiting soon again , 5 stars

Ordered a Thai takeaway and the food was delicious! Really tasty. Would particularly recommend the Bangkok chicken

Wow, this is a hidden gem. It is what it is, a old pub (has a lovely pub feel) serving the most delicious authentic Thai food. Pad Thai was delicious, and much better than other well known Thai restaurants in the area. Perfect for a...

We LOVE this place. The building has tons of character as it dates back several centuries. The food (authentic Thai) is delicious and the staff are instantly friendly – as are the punters. The landlord has recently started to book live music on a regular...

Outstanding food and service at the bar. This is a real gem and I can’t believe I haven’t eaten here before. If you live in Langton, Rusthall, TW - support this pub! It’s fantastic. Highly recommend the Red Curry and the drunken noodles. I’ll be...

...and won't be our last. The food was fabulous and the barman was very attentive and looked after us well. It was a lovely find on our first visit to Rusthall and we shall be returning soon I am sure. We run a business in...

I am so glad to have amazing Thai food in Tunbridge wells, Prawn toast, pad Thai, satay all very delicious., friendly service and reasonable price.

Shawn is a great addition, great ideas mixed with the great Thai food. The Thai now do deserts! Look forward to the new option in the future

I did not expect such an incredible Thai food from a traditional looking pub. Absolutely perfect, I went there with the family, had some drinks and ate a delicious meal. Thanks Sean and team!

Great family outing at the Red Lion Pub, Rusthall. Food and Service first class. Thanks to all the staff that made our afternoon very enjoyable

Absolutely amazing food! Friendly staff! 3 full bellies, all wishing we could have eaten more! All I can say is thank you for a delicious dinner

Visited The Red Lion in January this year and have returned twice a week since. The Thai food is simply amazing, the pub lounge is old but traditional and one of the oldest pubs in Kent. There is an open fireplace with sofa armchairs for...

I didn't stay, not that the surly woman supposedly serving seemed in any way upset at the loss of custom.

Cosy little pub serving amazing Thai food. My new to go place. They also have live music which is great in a small village like Rusthall. Will definitely recommended.

Absolutely stunning little village pub from the outside anyway me and my family visited on the 15th for a pre booked Thai dinner. First five minutes into our visit there was the landlord at the bar absolutely out of control drunk shouting and swearing telling...

A bad experience at this pub 2 weeks ago. Our food did not materialise and 45 mins after ordering we asked where it was. After a few minutes the girl behind the bar came back and said it would be another 10 mins - presumably...

The management appear to be change constantly The Staff are very very young and inexperienced We were charged twice for our dinner and we thought it was odd at the time when we were convinced out payment went through Contacted the manager who refunded the...

A great place to come for a great night out in Rusthall. The amazingly good Thai food that is reasonably priced. The new landlord Joseph gives you a really warm welcome.

I know we are on lockdown at the moment hoping in two weeks it be opening again the new manager Jason is really lovely and make us feel very welcome,the new chef AJ is very good pleased give them a chance,the new menu is small...

There is no doubt the Coronavirus has savaged this once very popular community pub which served outstanding Thai food. The virus forced the closure of the pub for sometime. On re opening late summer the old manager Dave had left and a new manager appointed....

I have visited three times since the change of menu, and have been incredibly impressed. Steak cooked to perfection, lovely chicken with a white wine sauce and then today the platter with halloumi and spiced calamari and various dips. All delicious and beautifully served. Very...

Now working within gov guidelines, though did not witness a table being wiped, management doing their best... however no longer serve their famous Thai food.. What a great loss! . Back to being “The Dead Lion”

From start to finish the staff at The Red Lion could not have made this occasion any more special and so very memorable. We were so well looked after. A true gem in Rusthall. Totally smitten with the decor and finer details especially the garden....

Information from a number of sources say The Elephant Thai Kitchen at The Red Lion is to close soon - very sad news. The Thai food being fabulous/stupendous in my judgement and the best Thai food in the area. What has gone wrong with The...

We visited the Red Lion in Rusthall a delightful village outside Tunbridge Wells. New to the area it was recommended by friends. We were not disappointed! We had a few cocktails sat in the sun. It was a pleasure to be in the beautiful garden...

Super impressed with amazing gardens and feature Elephant!!! The Manager Jason and his assistant Connie could not be more welcoming and attentive to our varying needs. The kids play area is great The locals welcomed us with open arms and we had a great day.

We popped in last night as we rarely do at the weekend. So refreshing that the landlord Marc Phuket or is it Pearson was not there. Didn't have to put up with his loud, common and frankly frightening behaviour as he did his usual stunt...

Normally we don't bother with reviews but were shocked by the personal attack in one a week or so ago below. We visited the Red Lion on the same weekend and engaged with the landlady who told us all about the work, effort and imagination...

I popped in to the Red Lion for the first time since lockdown and must say was very pleasantly suprised, the new manager has done a great job of putting life back in to the pub. The staff were great and the customer service was...

This is without a doubt my favourite pub in the area. Beautiful Thai food and a gorgeous garden. The perfect spot on a sunny evening. Their Covid protocols are very good, lots of hand sanitiser and the tables are well spaced. The staff are really...

We went to the Red Lion which was extremely busy for a Tuesday, clearly living up to its great reputation for Thai food, which was the best I have had outside of Thailand! The staff were extremely welcoming and hardworking, and it was very clear...

I have been coming to the lion for nearly 3 years, 2 to 3 times a week. We are never disappointed, the food is amazing, such welcoming staff. And after reading them not being Covid compliant, I had to say they most certainly are! All...

I visited this pub a few weeks ago, as we were passing through. Having been in lockdown for many months it was lovely to break free from the norm and get out. This pub was the wrong decision, the landlord himself was very pleasant however...

Not sure what is not COVID compliment, signage is clear, tables reduced, screens up and additional seating outside, food remains great and Jason is doing great as the new landlord! Cocktails are now available :) If you want to avoid any risk from COVID why risk the pub? It’s safe if you remain sensible :)

Under new management and not COVID safe....failing in so many ways including no track and trace and poor hygiene in waiting staff, management needs to read Government guidelines more clearly..avoid to stay safe

We recently moved in to the area and fancied a Thai takeaway. Rather than ordering from Sucheera, in Tunbridge Wells as we normally do, we phoned The Red Lion in Rusthall. They don't take orders over the phone, so we popped in and had a drink whilst our order was being prepared - we were so pleased we called in - the owners were really nice and welcoming, the atmosphere was great, the drinks were really good and when we got home.....the food was incredible - the best Thai food we have had in ages! We have always championed Sucheera (who are great) but The Red Lion are even better. We will be back many, many times in the future - highly recommended!!

Spacious, historic pub with really good authentic Thai 2 course meal for under £10 (lunchtime) + good beer + hospitality - highly recommended.

Popped in with my wife and child for a quick drink and the pub was amazing. Great feel and the decor was sublime. We had such a nice time we stayed for more drinks and tried the food which I have to say was incredible. Probably the best Thai food I have eaten....Met the owner Marc and his partner Marilyn who could not do enough for us. Can not recommend enough.

We were all very impressed with the standard of the freshly cooked food. Delicious. It's very local to where I live and I wish I'd been before. I'll make sure I go again very soon.

We went here for a meal on a Sunday, great service, staff very obliging, the food was out of this world, we took friends from London and they said it was the best Thai food they have ever had, the price is so good as well, cooked by real Thai people so not fake food.