The Golden Lion Rainford in St. Helens

Beer too dear not tried the food yet

Great service, lovely food well worth a visit if you are in the area

Had a fantastic meal at the Golden Lion last night. Food was lovely, service excellent and we felt looked after. Thank you to Ben, Liv and the team.

Lovely meal and good service. Thanks

Had a fantastic Christmas Day at the golden lion. The food was amazing. It was well organised and there was no wait times on food at all. I will be booking again for next Christmas.

Called In for coffee very good service by pleasant staff

Attended 10/12. Ordered a boss burger approx £20. It just tasted of salt. We told waitress who took the plate to what looked like a senior waitress who just shrugged her shoulders. She never came over to table to ask what was up. No apology. Just bits of kids seem to be running the place. The one that shrugged her shoulders should not be front of house or she needs some training. £20 wasted. We spent £100 in total and thought it was far from value for money.

Ordered the tomato and basil soup, which was like a tomato passata heated up. Nothing special. The fus was a little dry too. Service was very good for a busy night, very helpful and pleasant staff.

Loved it the food was beautiful and the staff were great with a great atmosphere I give the place a 10/10

Delish food, great place to drop in for pint and feed

Cool garden with a football net!

First time here, called for lunch. Lovely friendly bar staff, immaculate place , good menu, great prices. We opted for club sandwich and fish finger butty. Both were absolutely gorgeous and came with lovely fresh salad and tortilla chips..highly recommend 👌

Nice pub, decent food, very Friendly staff. Good beer garden

Food great plenty of it Service was excellent great atmoshere

Chips awful, fish dry. Staff cheerful and polite, lovely atmosphere and beautiful outside area. We will return but not for fish and definitely not chips.

Lovely good honest food and portions, and friendly staff in a lovely setting highly reccomend.

Been here lots over the past few years. Never had an issue. However today, the food was atrocious and my drink had glass in it. As soon as I noticed the glass the staff changed it for me I ordered the monk fish, which was around £16. It honestly felt and tasted like a microwave meal. The monkfish was minuscule and over cooked. I complained to the staff who brought out another piece of monkfish but the second piece was smaller and even more overcooked than the first piece. Both pieces could not have been more than 4oz total. The veg that came with my meal was boiled beyond belief and had no seasoning. I don’t think I’ve ever had a worse meal. The bar staff were great but it doesn’t make up for how awful my meal was. Also, didn’t offer a refund for the drink with glass in.

Came for lunch today. Ordered the fish finger butty plus side order of mushy peas. Disappointed with the size of the mushy peas for £1.50. Tiny portion. Expected a crusty cob, but instead it was served with white bread. Nothing outstanding, quite underwhelmed.

Considering the price , it's quite poor. Pos and neg. Despite being told , thete really was a long time before food was served - 60 mins. Sarters Prawns - lovely spring roll - one large one.. minus the rest of what the menu said.. beansprouts , veg, sauce.. filo very tough - too heavy puur for nearly £9 in price. Mains Rib Eye steak - gorgeous, succulent. Garnish OK, Veg ??? did I have to pay extra for this?? Chip tasted of prawns ( cooked in the same pan.. I think so). Replaced twice , then offered madh was meal gojbg cold and nearly finished after wsiting 60 mins. The mash , was the inside of a jacket?? lumpy , so salty and full of hard bits.. came too late.. Dessert , sticky toffee pudding with ice cream presented lovely . Pudding too strong in flavour and light like a cake , not traditional- no depth . Ice cream had ice bits in. Choc fudge cake- lovely.. bought in ? Service - excellent - attentive apologetic. Will I return?? mm.. prob not. Shame as we really wanted to like it.

Fabulous once again really enjoyed it me and y son for my birthday meal last week thanks again for looking after us x

Plenty of room and good service

Lovely meals with family visiting the area. Just called in after two other pubs in the area didn't have food on.

Staff excellent , food excellent.

Lunch with wife,daughter and youngest grandson(birthday treat for me). All had sandwich,which to be honest were very disappointing...insufficient filling,apart frpm grandson who said his steak ciabattawas ok,very thin bread(even for the 2 toasteds),very bland and not particularly tasty.Came with a tiny amount of uninspiring salad and a cup of dry nachos. Nice pub,perhaps we caught the chef on an off day,but overall a very forgettable lunch.

Nice pub good food, can get busy so wait for good can get on a bit.

Not been here for a while but it was nice to go in and have a great night with friends. Staff where friendly helpful and great at their jobs.

The drinks are overpriced ( £8.10 for a pint of Theakston and a small coke) otherwise a very nice pub with good food.

Superb staff,food and venue.A real gem.

This was very disappointing. I had the steak pie it was barely edible it came with chips in a mug and mushy peas. The menu was very limited and was different to the one on line. I won't be going back

Trying to support local businesses. Unprofessional service from start to finish, if there was a manager on duty then their presence was not felt. Food was very much under par and appeared to be using frozen items, not all freshly sourced. A big disappointment and at over £400 for the bill, not pleased.

Wine served in a dirty glass but sorted immediately. It's the attention to detail that's important and the seem to have missed the point

Great choice of beers and wine, ace beer garden

Good atmosphere in the local pub food and beer garden was great in the sun.

Great pub, lovely atmosphere and very handy being close to home .

The black pudding starter is fantastic and the service staff are lovely.

Lovely clean and friendly, need more choice for vegetarians

First time visit. Food was very good, but the sunday lunch is waaaaaay too heavy on the cauliflower cheese! Pub is let down by the little things, service was slow with meals not coming out together. Staff discussing topics probably not work appropriate, which isn’t ideal when the pub is quiet enough to hear. Dogs annoyingly not limited to a specific bar area, so you end up surrounded by them while trying to eat. Would return, but definite points for improvement.

A lunch meal, lovely polite service and good food. It’s was my first time there and will go again.

Sunday lunch, wow. New chef Dan is a magician! I had the lamb shank and my wife had the roast beef, we were both so full but still tried to finish the meal. Best Sunday meal ever. If you’ve never had a roast here, you are missing out 10/10.

Amazing customer service by Charlie and Freya, 100% recommend coming because of these two alone, good was amazing aswell

Large party, well looked after.

A nice local pub with nice drinks and comfy seats. A different vibe to 20 years ago when it was more of a footy pub. Parking is crushed and I did find myself worrying for my poor car when watching someone getting out of their car next to mine and having to perform pretty much a contortionist routine. Service was good with staff friendly and attentive.

Lovely atmosphere, great service and great food, would definitely go again.

Not the place to go if you want quality in good food Not very welcoming Won’t be going again

Had our work night out here and the food was amazing will definitely be going back.

Can’t fault The Golden Lion. So accommodating! Delicious food that was plentiful. The service was impeccable, an all round great experience. Will definitely be going again and soon! Big up to the new look Lion!

Nice friendly atmosphere and food really good. Hadn't booked beforehand but that was no problem. Will certainly visit again soon.

Great pub nice decor,only thing was there was a party taking over most of the pub,So not much room at all to sit down ..

Pre booked a table pre ordered the meals for10 shown to table set for 7 curry and scraps of food on the floor one meal didn't arrive until all the others had been eaten was enquired about 3 times at least two others were cold and another wasn't eaten as the meat was to tough to cut was told by waiter the kitchen had been chaotic all day needless to say will not be going again

I've never been to Rainford before, so yesterday, I took a trip and realised just what I've been missing. And now I'm kicking myself for not going there a long, long time ago. Boy oh boy have I missed out. You see, six months ago I had to go see a Consultant at the Fairfield Hospital in Crank, So I drove past Rainford to get there, and I drove past Rainford coming home. It was as simple as that, I had no need to ever call in. Until the Consultant told me that he often drives all the way from Lytham to go visit this top little eaterie in Rainford: "it's called The Golden Lion, Mr Jones. You should go and check it out" he muttered. Well, my eyes were fixed on the Motivational Poster he had on his wall. "Once a year, go someplace that you've never been before" I wish I'd paid attention and driven back through Rainford then, but oh no, I zipped along the M58 and headed out towards the safety of Southport. But it's niggled away inside of me ever since. "Why oh why would a world renowned Consultant drive all the way from Lytham, just to go eat lunch in a gastro pub in Rainford?" It still didn't jerk me out of my lethargy until yesterday, when I saw another motivational poster that reminded me of the one I'd stared at in the Consultants room 😮 "Never put off until tomorrow those things you could be doing today". Hence my trip from Ainsdale to Rainford as the gales of Storm Jocelyn ebbed away. Turned out to be the best decision I've made this year. And now I bitterly regret putting it off, and I'm trying to find a reason to go spoil myself there on a regular weekly basis (God help the poor staff) 🤦‍♂️ But you know, they're the best part about The Golden Lion. Every one of them had that warm, inviting personality. Really genuine and kind. And I want to adopt my young server, Liv. She went so far out of her way to make the whole 'Golden Lion Experience' really special for me. Nothing was a problem. Yes, her smile, her warmth, her kindness and her very genuine interest made the whole experience worthwhile. So instead of being a food critic, I actually sat back and relaxed, and OMG I enjoyed it so much. Yes, the food is every bit as good as my Consultant said it would be, but I really need to go back and try something more substantial, because as gorgeous as the steak ciabatta was (and those caramelised onions Chef Lenny blessed it with, were 'to die for' on their own), but I'd blundered in at an awkward time (schoolboy error 87c) which was 'too early for my dinner', and a tad 'too late for my lunch'. But it didn't ruffle The Golden Lion staff at all, and I've been to lesser restaurants where they simply won't serve between 2pm or 5 o'clock. Which brings me back to the gorgeous Liv, who helped me decide on "a little something to go with my delicious Ciabatta" (I secretly thought she'd be sorry she asked 🤣) but she was an absolute dream, who brought me a pot of tea, a delicious raspberry cheesecake, a much needed fresh OJ and that speciality Malbec which has got me still smiling and raving about it 24 hours later. I can't wait to go back next week and try out the main course menu. But instead of rushing off, I actually sat and savoured the moment this time. And staying there an extra ten minutes gave me the chance to chat with Chef Lenny to quiz him on "how his steak was so tender" and what his secret was to getting those caramelised onions so sweet and delicious? Turns out he treats every customer exactly the same. And it works. His Steak Ciabatta knocks the Miller & Carter Ciabatta off Number One Spot, so well done young Lenny. And thank you young Liv (I told her to tell her mum she should be really proud of her, and she should, she really is that special). The food is top class but the staff know how to make you feel really welcome, and the next time I pop in, it will simply be to enjoy the whole experience again, it really is that good. A hidden gem that Consultants travel all the way from Lytham to hang out in. What a find. I simply must go back. In a taxi. For a little more of that Malbec. Five Star (PLUS) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐(+)

Only called for a coffee whilst out walking and it was lovely and hot. The staff were very friendly

The pub is perfectly adequate for people who have no dietary requirements or allergen requirements. Golden Lion is recommended on a gluten free eat out app and so I felt this would be a good choice. I put this on my booking, made every server aware of the situation but for the first time in 2 years was severely glutened and unwell for days. I called and spoke with the manager who apologised and stated they would speak with the kitchen but no call back to explained the situation and state what they may do next. All other food was nice. Servers young and seemed a little inexperienced but pleasant on the whole. The pub is clean and modern and as I said fine if you have no additional requirements.

Not brilliant but it didn't help themselves when they got my daughters meal wrong as it had to be glutten free and was not witch made her ill later on and did not get much response of them

First visit since Pre- Xmas , looks like New Owners/ Chef , total Letdown 🤢 Slow- cooked Pork Belly 😡 🤔🤔 Pink in the middle , extremely tough 🤢 more like 10 minutes in the Oven 🤔 last visit for a while , Slow cooked Pork Belly usually melts in the mouth 😡

Really enjoyed the food, quality and speed was on point. Service was excellent, will definitely be returning, thank you to Alishia for an outstanding experience!!

Went for drinks Christmas Eve. Sitting at the tables in the main bar for the best part , best part of 24 people drinking in bar area seated at the three main tables. 4-5 rounds per hour for the next two - three hours at minimum .Who has made the decision to book these tables out on Christmas Eve in a packed bar for food?? This is a bar area and not a restaurant.(Please read previous reviews) There is no space for any drinking in the main bar for a family. Minimal space is dedicated for drinking as all bar area is designated for just eating. We decide to all get up and leave. This is a decision based on profit but in truth I imagine this resulted in less revenue. We will not be drinking or eating in this establishment going forward.

Really great food. Friendly staff. World have been nice to be able to choose between the bar and restaurant area when booking as we ended up in the loud bar at Christmas time for what was supposed to be a nice family dinner

Good food. Staff very helpful and friendly.

Visited today for the first time - a group of friends travelling from all over the NW and Rainford seemed pretty central. What a delightful find The Golden Lion was! Gorgeous decor, helpful and friendly staff and fabulous food at a reasonable price. Highly recommended by us all. We will be back!

After a long wait for our very average meals, two of our party order the Eton Mess. They were tiny when they arrived, despite costing £6.25 each. But by far the worst bit for me was the fact that it wasn't just warm ( though should definitely have been cold) it was really hot in places. It was literally defrosted frozen fruit and squirty cream, which immediately dissolved. No merengue pieces whatsoever! What a poor effort! Mentioned it when paying the bill and was simply told " it will be passed on".

Lovely food and the staff were excellent.

Brilliant food and a lovely environment. The way they have decorated for Christmas is elegant and lovely.

Great atmosphere, lovely staff and the new menu is v nice.

Good menu choices, tasty food and efficient service.

Big thanktou today to manger at the pub ,my friend to ill looked after her 💯 till the ambulance arrived, would highly recommend the pub for food and drink ,and staff are excellent 👌 thankyou very much for today x

Really nice pub beer garden is lovely and excellent service. Didn't have food so can't tell you anything about that

Very poor food for price , spent £140 on two for food and drinks , waited a long time for the food which didn’t come as requested much better places locally wish we just revisited the Windmill, parbold. Which was half the price and much better

Relaxing village pub with very helpful staff. Service was quick although we were there on a weeknight so cannot say how it would be on a sunny weekend.

I ordered the warm seabass salad which, when it eventually arrived, was missing 4 of the 6 ingredients: baby leaf salad, cherry tomatoes, red onion, pesto; the seabass was overcooked & greasy 😝

Roast beef dinner was delicious, and not expensive

Lovely pub, great food, friendly staff. I went for lunch with my sister, we both enjoyed the food so much, definitely will be going back

Called in for lunch had light bites fish and chip buger chips food very good quality and value. Service team Mark and Sam very welcoming .Have been sister pub in Burscough again always good. Would recomend

Over priced and bland food .got charged £4 for glass of lemonade .pepper sauce out of a packet mix I think ...staff wer nice .

Super Sunday food. The two courses were great

Been going here a lot since opening but lately food is of bad quality and service also bad , needs to get back to how it used to be or will suffer, was in on sat nite nachos sent back twice and calimari is scandalous to even serve this, chips Wer soggy and undercooked and not once did any staff attend to us we had to call them over every time even to ask for menus, really bad experience last nite

Best roast ever, without a doubt..

I really like this local pub, it has a great atmosphere and great outdoor space. The last few times I have visited, I would’ve given a 5 star but tonight, my sons pizza was over cooked and I was very disappointed with my chicken burger, not what I ordered. I hope they get it right next time.

I absolutely love this pub. It’s a fantastic location in the heart of Rainford, with a really upmarket decor and great outdoor space. The service is always awesome, as is the atmosphere. Unfortunately, on this occasion, the house burger looked quite lonely on its place and my sons sausage was cooked so much, I couldn’t cut it with a knife. This was the lunchtime menu and tbh, given the higher prices here, food is off the menu for me. But a great pub for socialising with a wide range of beers, ales and spirits.

Average food at best for higher prices than you'd expect for what you get. They have a good variety of drinks but again overpriced.

Not the cheapest place on earth

Previously this review was 5 stars but after a recent terrible experience here, I am sadly back to amend my review. The place that once was our favourite place to eat food with family has now left us doubting if we will ever return. We were left sitting around as if we were invisible. We left very disappointed and sad at the recent down fall of this place. According to recent reviews, it seems we are not the only people experiencing poor service.

Great beer and a nice atmosphere with really attentive friendly staff.

Pleasant interior if a little tired, the cutlery did not look clean on the table which was a little off putting. The food was very nice but rather expensive and was not hot upon arrival. I have paid less for a more enjoyable dining experience. The beer garden looked very nice though.

If I could give 0 stars I would, this place is a joke, came in to an almost empty building was sat in the bar area and not the restaurant section by the looks of it, I witnessed no food coming out of the kitchen and a barely busy bar however was left waiting nearly two hours for the food to arrive, let alone the fact two children had been waiting and one order wasn’t even done for one of them till we spoke about it. The starters practically an hour, it was diabolical the mains were flavourless and barely warm, the staff who served us decided to ignore most requests to get anything from them and after asking for a kids menu several times I had to go to the bar and request one as nobody had brought one over, there seemed to be one chef working and bringing out all the food, personality was wonderful but he should probably spend more time cooking than making lovely jokes at the expense of mine and others frustrations, this place is definitely not worth looking at as you drive past let alone eating there.

If I could give 0 stars I would have! I came here with my family to enjoy a lovely dinner together, we where seated in what seemed to be the bar area with a very loud table next to us , the waitress had an attitude with us straight away and when asked for menus, condiments & more drinks was met with either no response or an extremely cold one and eye rolls, the starters where lovely but unfortunately the mains where dreadful, I ordered the lamb shank & I was really looking forward to this to only be let down with clumps of fat & absolutely no flavour at all, I had two small bites of the lamb & two roast potato’s, when the chef came to collect the plates he said he would get it taken off the bill yet when we went up to the bar to pay was met by the managers who in turn was also extremely rude stating she had been to the kitchen and looked at the plates and was only going to take the meat off so I had to pay for everything else that I didn’t eat £29 for nothing she also stated that our family where the first people to complain about the lamb & was very cold with her response, I would definitely avoid coming here if you’re looking for a lovely meal

We had came here for a family meal. Been sat in a bar area for a meal of 13 of us. I had taken my nan out for dinner which was very loud. My young cousin who has autism who had food from the children’s menu , his food was served last which was not good at all, we had waited ages for it to come and no apology was given. staff member serving us was very rude & whenever was tried to speak to her to ask for drinks,sauce or anything walked away. was not intrested at all. The starters was lovely, mains was not great… do not recommend the lamb shank at all. Unfortunately was full of lots of fat, small bones throughout & had no taste at all. 3 of us had the lamb shank and felt the same. Chef offered to take the lamb shank meals off the bill but manager said no, and only taken the lamb shank off wasn’t understanding at all when the meat was for the vegetables. no one wants to order a meal and just eat it’s sides and be charged for it. All in all very disappointed… won’t be visiting again.

Nice enough people but they really need to get their act together in here...

The service was slow and when meals came they were not as we’d asked. We were told, oh well I told the kitchen and the waitress walked away. The roast potatoes looked like they’d never seen the oven. Very disappointed. First time and last time going here.

Updated 2023 - visited yesterday. The prices for beer were astronomical, £6 a pint. The food also remains really over priced for modest portions. Speaking of the food, I'm now left looking after my nephew as everyone who had ciabatta is now bed ridden with food poisoning. For all the negatives however, the staff were lovely and attentive, the decor is gorgeous and the games on offer to play in the garden were great. Was desperate to upgrade this review for the positives, but it's just not good enough there for the premium price you pay! Original 2022 - Second time we've ate here in the last few months and I'm reluctant to consider a third. Each time we have ate here we have been in a group of 8-12 people and have pre-ordered our mains, as requested. The first meal we had here two of us ordered the game pudding. As tasty as it was, pulling a label out of my teeth, stating that the pudding was out of date for consumption, was rather off putting. A free alternative meal was offered that evening, and was quite nice. This second time we attended for my grandfathers birthday. We had pre-ordered mains and asked if we needed to for starters. We were advised we did not need to pre-order starters and this was confirmed when we got here. When we asked again for the starter menu we were advised that our mains had just been plated and would be served imminently. The food was decent, nothing to write home about, but at least it was in date this time! We had to collect our own cutlery from their cutlery station and fetch our own salt and vinegar. No other condiments were offered or found. At no point did any member of staff attend to ask how our food was. Empty drinks accumulated on our tables until we took them back ourselves. They did bring the birthday cake out for us but only lit one of the two candles and, as earlier in the meal, we had to collect our own cutlery to share the cake. In summary, the food is good but no better than any other budget chain pub I eat at regularly when travelling for work. The customer service is close to non existent. The internal decor however is tidy and well looked after, a drastic improvement on how it used to look in there and pulls the review up! The ales on offer are also very nice. A good focus would be for the staff to be trained to offer a service that matches the prices charged!

Visited for a birthday party at the weekend and everything was excellent! Really nice food and staff were super helpful. Great outdoor space as well. Highly recommend!

Wonderful attentive staff, could not fault them

Thank you so much to all the team at the Golden Lion last night who hosted our 30th party for 50 people. The food and service were up to their usual excellent standard. Thanks to Ben and the team for putting on a great night!

Food was really disappointing just average with very small portions for the price you have pay. We had our main which took an hour an waited 45mins for a desert menu and ended up just going the bar to pay and left.

Food was average, Long wait, portion were small for the price waited over half hour for desert menus and ended up going to bar for the bill. Seemed short staffed. Not worth the money Was in for lunch a few days before and the food and serve was amazing.

Had a sharing platter sat out in the beer garden lovely sunny day enjoyed it will be back again

Great food and service!lovely pub,will definitely be back!

Fantastic food, new menu is amazing. Staff attentive and very friendly, Sunday roast is the best. Ben and Kerry are fantastic, service is 5 star. Love coming here.

Unfortunately will have to give a 2 star this time. Food was ok when it arrived. Booked a table for 5pm and eventually got served at 6pm. Ordered 3 roast dinners with an extra side of pigs in blankets. Food arrived luke warm. Pigs in blanket arrived 15 minutes later(just one small sausage with a bit of bacon and £2). Would have normally have had a dessert but decided to give it a miss as didn't fancy it for breakfast. Sorry but service needs improving.

Random drive to find something to eat and found this place. Honestly best pub grub weve had. Meal was new on the menu yesterday so gave it a shot and best decision. Wish the staff wasn't about so I could lick the plate.

My daughter booked a mother's day meal for both of us. We asked the waitress could we have a Sunday roast, without the starter or desert, as it was a set menu of £26:99 for 2 courses. She told us that was fine. The roast, what little there was of it came, we ate, then asked for the bill. £46 for 2 roast dinners, what! My daughter asked the manager if this was correct, he said as it's a set menu, this was the charge for the roast. Absolutely, discusting, to rob people, my daughter especially, who doesn't have that much money to spare, can charge people that about for what was basically 2 roast potatoes an a bit of dryed meat. Extortionate prices, for very little. Will not be visiting this place again.