THE GOLDEN LION in Winchester

A little gem of a place. A menu with tradititional favourites but also a good mix of non traditional and seasonal specials. The food and staff were excellent, with a friendly social atmosphere. No blaring music so conversation was easy.

Absolutely amazing food at a decent price. Been here a few times and always been lovely. Staff very friendly and attentive, decent menu choices and decent porton sizes. The specials board is definitely worth looking at and the prawn starter is just lovely. Already booked to go back...😀

Thought we would give this a second go but the experience was sadly disappointing. The food was average and not very hot and the service a little slow.

Me and the wife have been scouring pubs in the area for years for a decent roast dinner. Some pubs come close but there's always something that let's them down, not this time. The staff are fantastic, the food was just as good. Honestly the best roast dinner I can recall having in any pub. Well done team, keep it up!

We booked a table for ten at short notice and were fitted in. The service was excellent. Orders were taken quickly, food served shortly afterwards. Several of my colleagues had the pie. It's a proper pie. Pastry under and on top. Steak and Wadworth's 6X ale. I've never heard so many compliments about a pie. All of my colleagues asked me to give the place a 5 star review. I had the calves' live and bacon. It was also lovely.

Great food for a great price Tasty , wholesome Good beer ,good menu and not a lot more to say really The best value for money around

Nice, friendly pub, parking ok, good selection of beers, friendly staff/ owners.

We were passing through and stopped for lunch here. Wasn't expecting such an amazing burger! It was very thick, juicy and full of flavour. The fries were nice and crunchy and well seasoned. Daughters sausages were delicious too. Cost around 30 quid to feed the both of us including a beer so not bad value for money. Staff were fantastic, very friendly. Definitely recommend

Excellent food and friendly service. Value for money

I come here every few months either with colleagues or family. They do a nice selection of food, cooked well consistently. The key thing that is important to say, is that they clearly *care* about what they’re doing. Attentive, friendly, know the menu. It’s so sorely lacking elsewhere that visiting here feels like a breath of fresh air. Go here, eat the food and give them your money. Bin off the chain Italian and support these places, they care and they matter and we are lucky there are still people mad enough to try.

Slightly tired place. Stopped here for a break while on my way to Dorset. Good was ok but nothing special.

Very lovely staff and excellent food

We were taken here by family for lunch recently. It had a lovely old school vibe inside but we sat in the beer garden with our doggos to enjoy lunch. The staff were lovely and the food was spot on. Highly recommend the fish & chips 🍽️

Went for Sunday lunch on a day visit to family in Winchester and wasn't disappointed! Food (Sunday roasts & dessert) was excellent quality with good portion size, staff were friendly and attentive and selection of beers was good. Added bonus of being dog friendly. Pub was busy, but not rammed, and the overall vibe was very relaxed. We wouldn't hesitate to visit the Golden Lion again!

Delicious food, very good service. Definitely not just your generic pub grub. High quality food was made from scratch

Came here twice over one weekend as we were visiting Winchester. Lovely pub with atmosphere. The staff were amazing with their quality of service. Food was great quality for all 4 adukts. Would recommend within a heartbeat.

Having been to most of the pubs in the Winchester area over the years, the Golden Lion was a complete revelation. From a warm greeting to the really excellent quality food, we had a wonderful Sunday lunch. One of our friends who had gone for the full Sunday roast was heard to describe it as 'perfect'.

Fantastic food! Everyone delighted with their meals. The service was excellent too. The chicken and steak were cooked perfectly and the steak and mushroom pie was amazing! Highly recommend!

Fantastic food in both quality and quantity.

Popped in on the off chance as we were passing on Sunday and although they were busy they very kindly found us a table. They told us there would be a bit of a wait for food, but this didn't bother us, however our meals arrived fairly quickly. We had Thai green curry and a lamb dinner, and both were delicious.

The pub was recommended by friends and what a good recommendation it was. Very swift service (at the table) and delicious food. My liver and bacon was the best I've tasted in a very long time - thick, rich gravy, crispy bacon and liver cooked just right. Nice selection of desserts too - a bit different from the standard pub fare.

Fab Sunday lunch, as always! We visited this weekend for Sunday lunch, after visiting about 5 times before, sometimes with family. As usual the service was friendly and courteous and the food extremely good. There is a small beer garden which seems to have a nice breeze on a warm day. Will we visit again? Oh yes!

Cracking spot by the river lovely friendly staff, didn't eat but Sunday roast looks fab

Beautiful food in a in a lovely garden. Would recommend if you're in winchester

Lovely pub. Decor good and attentive staff. Food great and good choice of drinks. Only downside was dust and very dirty doors in the ladies loo. Our dog was made very welcome. Very happy to plan a return visit.

Lovely pub in Winchester on Alresford Road. Had lively meal, didn't wait long. Free car park!

Best roast I have had out for many years, not hurried, quality was outstanding, I would highly recommend it. Friendly, nothing to much trouble. Well done to all at the Golden lion

Lovely food, excellent service, and friendly staff. Not a question of would i go again, more when can i go again. Excellent

Disappointed if everything it was a horrible experience

Perfect for a Fish&chips. Non-ambient Tables with plenty of space and good beer.

We had the loveliest Sunday Roast Lamb meal today, can honestly say the best Sunday Roast we have eaten out. The sweet menu is fantastic and the ones we chose were exceptional which were treacle tart, fruit crumble, sticky toffee pudding and lemon sponge... The girls who served us were very polite, informative and friendly The only negative is that the pub is a little dated and in need of a refurb to modernise... very overdue a paint to brighten the pub up.

I took my wife here for her birthday and both of us were very impressed with all aspects of the visit. Food was 1st class, lovely presentation, piping hot and really tasty. The staff and landlord were great and very attentive. A great evening, will visit again !

Stopped here en route to Portsmouth from Yorkshire. Absolutely superb meal. Steak and Ale pie as good as it gets. The wadworth beer was well kept. The welcome and service faultless. Highly recommended if you are anywhere near Winchester.

Amazing roast in comfy surroundings

We only had drinks but the food did look good 🍻

Sadly today was not a good day for the Golden Lion. Three of our party of 5 ordered the special of pork with rosti. The rosti was so burnt it was black and acrid (think charcoal). The waiting staff were apologetic and offered to get us new rosti’s only to be told they had run out so provided us with potato dauphinoise instead which was fine. Then we ordered our desserts, I had the creme brûlée which arrived with a such a thick layer of suger on top that once I broke though it, I had to actually pour off several unmelted tea spoons worth of sugar. The shortbread wasn’t available and the bottom of the brûlée was the consistency of single cream. Another in the party ordered the chocolate torte which she described as tasting like protein powder. Apologies were given but not reflected in the very steep bill we paid for food that really isn’t up to par. Won’t be returning.

Customer service was second to none. Very attentive and reasonable priced. Dog friendly too which was a bonus. We ordered roasts for four. It was 3pm so maybe they had run out but the food arrived and not a green vegetable in site. Closest to veg we had was mashed carrot. A very brown dinner. Maybe gravy should be seperate too as it was swimming in it. The meat was good but tepid as was everything else apart from the scolding hot potatoes.

Food was delicious. Good choice of beer.

We went to the Golden Lion for an evening meal while on a short break to Winchester. The staff were friendly and helpful, and the atmosphere was pleasant. The food was excellent and the service first class.

Fantastic food and great selection! Lovely staff and served quickly

The Golden Lion is a golden find - spent the weekend in Winchester (fabulous city) and prebooked The Golden Lion for the Saturday evening. We were not disappointed - amazing food (great value) staff very accommodating. It's clearly a popular venue as the evening was buzzing. Will definately return when in the area. Keep up the good work🥰

Food was delicious but took an hour to come. Think they were short-staffed. We just had coffee to follow and asked for the bill at the same time, funnily that came quickly. As I said, I think the staff were under pressure.

Nice menu and choice of beers and drinks

Great food and friendly service. They were happy to accommodate a large dog and supply water. Will go again.

Great food. Good prices very welcoming staff

Le cadre est sympa, typique de l'Angleterre. La nourriture d'excellent qualité et succulente. Le personnel attentif et gentil. Le service laisse un peu à désirer - ils ont carrément oublié de nous servir le désert.

Weekend in wonderful Winchester with friends - found The Golden Lion when searching for places to eat and found it to have good reviews. We were not let down. Staff very attentive, food we could not fault, atmosphere lovely - we arrived early evening and found it odd there was no music but once the evening went on, you didn't need any background music. Will definately return when in Winchester again.

We bookd for our wedding anniversary having read recent excellent reviews and were not disappointed . Indeed it was one of the best meals out we have enjoyed for many years. All the food was delicious - in particular the slow cooked beef cheeks were cooked to perfection. The beef just melted in your mouth. Friendly attentive service; pleasant ambience, and very reasonable prices for both food and drinks. Recommended without reservation.

Good food and very good service. Really enjoyed the Sunday roasts we had.

On a little trip to Winchester, discovered this "little gem of a pub", The staff were brilliant! The atmosphere great! And the food, well what can I say, I had the "liver n bacon!"..... "it was that good I ordered another to take away with me! Best I've ever had, 1 word "LUSH"😋

First time off going here. Well what a lovely pub. Friendly staff. The service was fantastic. I had the beef and ale pie it was delicious. My husband had ribs. They were very moreish and filling will definitely be recommending to people.

What a lovely pub, booked as it was a nice walk from the morn hill camp site over the Magdalen Hill. Staff we really welcoming, place was cozy and comfy but the food was the best. We had a lamb roast and liver and bacon. Only downside was there was way too much food. We would have gone for a desert but we're so full we couldn't - could have had smaller portions and still been fantastic. We will be back.

We were staying at nearby Morn Hill caravan site, and were looking for a pub meal for our last evening. This pub certainly fitted the bill. We received a very warm welcome. The food was best described as excellent! The prawn starter from the specials board was very tasty. I’d opted for the baby ribs for main. This was a full rack, and was well cooked. The meat fell off the bones easily. Excellent service, excellent food, excellent restaurant.

Great dog friendly pub - superb food, beer and wine with excellent friendly service - not far by bus from Morn Hill camp site. We will be back. Thank you Mark for the lift back - much appreciated. Craig and Lorraine

A lovely evening - superb food & wine - I had a pint of Amstel & some Shiraz and my wife French Sauvignon - starter Garlic Mushrooms - main Calves Liver and Bacon - Roast Lamb, all first class. looking forward to another stay at Morn Hill Caravan site and going back to the Golden Lion. To Top the evening off we missed the last bus and Mark (landlord) kindly dropped us off at Morn Hill - Top Pub - food and Staff👍

I can’t explain how amazing this experience was, Not only the food being outstanding, the service by the two gentlemen was very attentive and made the experience even better! Me and my partner eat out a lot and this place is by far NO.1

Really grate food,frindly staff.a big family group.Age 1 year to in there 70's.they catered for all dietary needs.we go there regularly.

This pub is not friendly to its local clientele, awful atmosphere. Trying to be a restaurant. I hope the next landlord does a better job , we will go elsewhere.

What a great pub this is great food and friendly staff Highly recommended 👌

Attentive staff, absolutely delicious food all 3 times I’ve been and really reasonably price. I’d definitely recommend and we’ll definitely be back, thank you.

Great pub, everywhere was clean and the staff were very helpful. I forgot my bike lock, so they locked our bikes up for us. The menu is a typical "pub menu", however the specials were excellent. Service was quick, no matter what you requested - you got it. I asked for extra custard - I got it!! For me and my partner it is 5 star review.

Great pub, everywhere was clean and the staff were very helpful. I forgot my bike lock, so they locked our bikes up for us. The menu is a typical "pub menu", however the specials were excellent. Service was quick, no matter what you requested - you got it. I asked for extra custard - I got it!! For me and my partner it is 5 star review.

Yesterday’s celebratory “big birthday” lunch party for 23 guests could not have been better. Everybody was very complimentary about the terrific food, service was impeccable and the staff were very friendly and accommodating. The conservatory had been thoughtfully set up for our arrival and we could not have been made more welcome. Impressive!!

Fabulous place to hold The Worthy Players annual drama dinner, service good, food great, especially considering the number of people and venue large enough to take everyone. Recommended!

This restaurant is really special and ticks all the boxes. The food is amazing, beautifully cooked and presented. The service was perfect, efficient and welcoming. We will definitely be returning!!

From start to finish 10/10 warm welcome food amazing lovely atmosphere would highly recommended

Excellent - deserves its place as best rated restaurant in Winchester. Beautifully presented & very tasty food, excellent service … we will be back!

Cozy pub, nice staff and good quality of food. Relaxed atmosphere. It was no problem that we were the only guests, later in the evening it was full. Outside the center, but definitely worth it.

After a short walk along the river (beautiful) my friend and I went to this pub for lunch. What a pleasant suprise! The atmosphere is charming, the staff very friendly and the service efficient. The menu is more than standard pub grub with some interesting choices. The pricing is very fair. All in all, I highly recommend this excellent pub lunch.

Mothers Day Sunday roast. The pub was really full. In spite of the quantity of meals they were serving our food was delicious and amazing quality. Efficient and friendly service. Visitors to Winchester but thoroughly recommend.

Met our son here for a meal whilst staying in the area. The pub was busy for a Wednesday night. Excellent food and friendly , attentive service. We all had the steak pie which was superb. The starters and puddings were equally delicious. Would definitely...

The beer was good and the food (steak and ale pie made on the premises) was fantastic! Good helpings so I would say good value for money. Staff very polite and friendly. Hadn't been in this establishment for about 6 years. It was CONSIDERABLY better than my last visit. Keep up the high levels you've achieved. I'll be back!

A welcoming pub, busy on a Monday evening but not noisy, good food and service. Wide-ranging menu with a specials board too.

Absolutely beautiful Sunday roast, 13 guests lamb was amazing, as was the chicken and beef, cauliflower cheese great addition, so accommodating friendly and nothing is too much bother.can not rate this pub , food or staff more highly.

Second trip here over a month period staying in local Motorhome site. Returned as food was excellent the first time we wanted to see if it was a fluke…. Well it wasn’t. First visit nosh of beef cheeks and mushroom stroganoff, both from specials board,...

We wanted a find a pub/restaurant that wowed us with food, service and style, this has to be the most outstanding by far, friendly staff, the most gorgeous food, great location, reasonably priced, warm feeling, I would give 10/10 for everything, highly recommend.

Amazing, family friendly pub with astonishing food; Me and my family don’t remember if we ever had such a good food. Although we have been in a bit of a rush, staff could come across our needs and bring our food in no time. Staff was very open and friendly and made us feel like at home.

Lovely lunch with my grandmother. Fish and chips was so tasty and the mushroom stroganoff was dreamy! So impressed we’ve booked to come back this Sunday with family visiting from Italy. Really lovely atmosphere, service and ambience, well done Mark and your team 👏

Superb pub, great staff, great food. Good parking

Really excellent food and service. The menu is excellent. Every plate was clean. Would definitely return. Thank you.

Went for a drink here at the Golden Lion on Saturday night 17th Feb, arrived at 9pm. Purchased 2 drinks and 2 bags of snacks. Went to get 2 more of the same at 9.30pm and was told that they were closing early because there were no customers in tonight. But were we not customers? We were offered another 15 mins to get a drink in. But for me, I dont want to drink something down in 15 mins on a Saturday night out. We normally come here for a meal at least once a month if not twice and spend at least £120 per 2. So we consider ourselves regular customers here, we live across the road!! So I was quite upset to have this experience from the landlord. So be aware of the closing hours changing at a whim!!!

Went the evening after Valentine's Day so it was obviously very quiet. Very friendly staff without being over-bearing. Great menu, though maybe a little too mushroom-heavy for me but they happily adjusted to my tastes and created a different sauce from scratch. We each had a different dish for our mains and each looked and tasted great. Loved it. Ample parking to the rear.

Best meal I have had for ages. Calfs livers mash gravy and veg

We just had a fabulous meal at the Golden Lion while visiting Winchester. The baked camembert starter was plentiful and beautifully balanced with red onion jam. My mushroom stroganoff was delicious, the cheese and spinach stuffed chicken was the best chicken my husband has had...

Came to visit friends, Winchester is a great in between location. I picked here so we could see the Edward VIII post box but what was even better was their great friendly service, delicious food, fantastic portion sizes for both adults and children. We will...

Our 3rd time here, and it really has become a firm favourite! Today we had roast beef and roast lamb, and it honestly was the best pub/restaurant roast we've ever had! Don't think we'll even bother trying anywhere else next time we fancy a Sunday roast, in fact! Starters and desserts were fab too, and just about finished us off, luckily we had to walk back into town afterwards to work it off... Until next time!

Wow food was amazing cannot fault anything. Service was very good very polite friendly staff will definitely be back. Dog friendly . Well done guys u work hard , food cooked with care and love . Amazing .

Nice traditional pub. Plenty of parking too

A really lovely friendly pub with great food and staff.

Had my birthday celebration here. Food was really tasty and plentiful, as always. There was a variety of choices, including for our picky vegetarian grandson. Service very relaxed. You never feel rushed. Staff are always very pleasant. This is our regular go-to for meeting up with friends.

Went yesterday for a Sunday Roast , 7 of us meeting up as a family. The food the staff the place is amazing . They could not do enough for us. Altogether this is a quality top place to go. We will certainly be returning. Well done to everybody at the Golden lion for a memorable occasion.

We went again to the Golden Lion We had 4 starters absolutely amazing and huge portions. Followed by delicious deserts and Bailey's coffee 2 soft drinks and a glass of red wine all for £70 We have never had a bad meal at the Golden...

Lovely pub with friendly staff and a really good varied menu. Big car park and disabled toilet facilities. Starters were delicious and good value for money, the homemade soup was delicious with nice bread and butter and friend had the pate and toast and said...

Fab place very cosy staff are lovely went for mums 60th tonight and couldn't have been more accommodating lovely food and great atmosphere. Thank you guys for helping make a fab night 😊

Home made burger the bun was unable to cut so hard ,the burger was dry and not nice. The BBQ RIBS were dry tasteless sauce ok .so called chips skinny things lot's of . Salad and small dish of coleslaw nice .No offer of reducing bill will never return. Not happy.

Very nice food, an amiable landlord with a good selection of real ale and nice coal fire.

Stopped for a bite to eat, I had the steak, ale, and mushroom pie, great food, great service, great selection of food and drink, would recommend.

Had a Fantastic Sunday Roast and catered for Coeliac. Also freshly made a lovely gluten free Yorkshire Pudding which was amazing. Thank you.

It was a great place and the food was wonderful

This is possibly the best place for Sunday lunch in Winchester. The food is beautifully cooked, portions are generous and the staff are very friendly, polite and helpful. Highly recommend this pub. We have visited a number of times and thoroughly enjoyed every time -...