The Lion in Craven

We visited the Golden Lion on our recent trip to Settle. A very warm welcome awaited both us and our dogs. There was a great choose of local ales and we finally settled on the Settle Pudding for our tea. Wow, this has to be tried to be believed, the best sure pudding I’ve ever had. The food and welcome was so good that we turned up for breakfast the following morning. Again a very warm welcome and the food was fantastic. The service on each of our visits was excellent with very attentive staff who couldn’t do enough for us and our dogs. Well worth a visit.

This review is for the restaurant although we've stayed here before and would have done so again, but it was fully booked. Friendly staff, efficient service, really good menu choice including locally sourced ingredients. Well worth a visit if you are in the area, NB no parking on site but the town car park is very large and 2 minutes walk away. Recommended.

I’ve been trying to cancel a reservation that I made for Sept 2025. I have sent three emails since over 1 week ago and have not had a response, to date. Very poor customer service.

Rated lunch less than average. Had the Cumbria sausage but the "sausage" tasted unlike any other Cumbria sausage I have eaten and was bland. Chips average at best - ditto the sauce.

Good pub food! Only dog friendly in the bar area, not the restaurant 🐶

Decent beer, and pies to die for.If you are in Settle, go get a Golden Lion pie

Great atmosphere, good choice of beers, staff friendly and helpful, had a couple of nice drinks, will definitely eat here on our next visit

Really lovely hotel, surroundings are beautiful, great staff, delicious food. Would definitely recommend staying here.

Lovely, attentive staff, always make us and our black labrador most welcome, well kept ales and dog treats. Been today, town was quiet, but bar was busy, testament to the welcome.

Lovely room with a very comfy bed. Delicious breakfast!

We had 'pie of the day' (steak and Guinness) and it was absolutely bang on! No gristle at all and very tasty. Thank you

very good food and lovely selection of local ales

overall good, don't have room five

Lovely spot for a couple of nights away. Large rooms and nice breakfast 👍

Bright and pleasant atmosphere and not too noisy although quite full. Good spaces between tables. The order was taken and delivered in good time. The quality of the fish and chips and the burger was exceptional. They were well presented and served in large portions. The waitress service was pleasant and polite. Unfortunately, I could not say the same about the service at the bar. There was no warm welcome, little communication, and no information about the ordering process. When going to the bar for a second drink the barman who was talking to a lady at the bar (who was not ordering) looked at me and carried on his conversation. He then looked at me and said nothing! Just waited for me to speak. Not impressed.

Lovely food. Didn't stay overnight.

Great location if you are wanting to walk the Dales. Busy pub in the evenings with an extensive menu and a great range of cask beers.

Lovely friendly pub with welcoming staff

We enjoyed an excellent lunch at the Golden Lion, I had the Settle Pudding which was pretty much solid with good quality steak and my other half had the lunchtime special fish and chip butty. Service was friendly and professional and the food arrived very quickly. As I was driving I only had a half of ale but they had a good selection of cask. I tried the Thwaites Settle Express which was really good and well kept. Highly recommend the Golden Lion 👍

Always enjoy nipping in here for coffee or lunch when we visit Settle. Warm and cosy, great food and fab with our little dog! Staff always bubbly and chatty. Great place.

We visited to meet up with some friends and only used the restaurant. The service was excellent, the staff were all very friendly. The food we had was all very good, no complaints at all.

Disgusting! All roast dinners were tepid, very small portions, hardly any vegetables. The gammon was served with a hard fried egg, the chips were hard and black. One of the party of 10 was called away to the telephone and her meal was given to staff to keep warm, when it was requested back, they had served it to another customer although it had been sitting on the table for some 10 mins previously. Steer well clear, very expensive badly cooked food.

Booked in for a meal 2 people the staff were very pleasant and helpful the food was delicious overall it was a very nice evening.

Came here for a midweek evening meal with friends then also for breakfast the following morning. We had the same person serve us on both occasions and could not fault the care we had. Settle pudding for evening meal with great chips. Followed by Pannacotta with peanut ice cream. All were good quality despite what other reviews and their experience were. Full Yorkshire breakfast in the morning with added black pudding and toast. Will return next time I'm in the area visiting friends.

Was very disappointed with the food it all seemed to be out of a packet! I has suet pudding and mash it was not nice, We used the sister restaurant in Malham for lunch and that was delicious

3rd time eating here and i.have to say that this time was the best. The food was amazingly delicious , my wife had the steak and she said that it was the best peppercorn sauce she had in a long while. I had the steak and ale pudding with mash which was simply beautiful. Aspalls cider to wash it all down. Well worth the money

Very good pint of Thwaites bitter in the lovely courtyard. The interior is also very smart and the service is good.

Would very happily stay there again.

Gem of a hotel bar in Settle. Excellent range of well-kept cask beers, mostly local, good atmosphere, friendly service. Highly recommended. (For food, replace with beer - didn’t eat)

Stayed here last week on day 1 of a Dales Cycleway tour. We have ebikes and the staff were really helpful with charging and storage. Fillet steak in the restaurant was excellent.

Went for lunch with friends. Warm welcoming pub with very friendly and helpful staff. Excellent meals and nice drop of beer. All round a very pleasurable experience.

Lovely pub in the centre of Settle. Food was awesome and would definitely recommend and shall return. Dog friendly and it's a lot bigger than it looks from the road. It has plenty of room inside and a nice courtyard with some tables under a heater and shelter.

I was really disappointed yesterday as went for some dinner with my 11yr old daughter from the moment I was spoken to it was like I didn't have any money I asked to sit down for food only to be told this area is only for people with food we'll yes that's obvious as got knives and forks at the table got 2 pints of coke and got told by the person who works there that's other places to go that's cheaper felt like I was someone who just turned up who didn't want to pay I defenitly wouldn't recommend here I can see how much things are on the menu that's it's not cheap but that was up to me if I wanted to get a meal not be told to go somewhere else

Had a table booked 5 or 6 weeks in advance for 7.15pm with friends. We arrived at 7pm & were promptly shown to our table. 10 mins later we had our drinks order taken & then our food order. At 7.55pm we still had not received our food & gestured to the waitress to get her attention to ask where our food was, she went & checked & said it would be another 10 to 20 minutes longer & that they had been busy tonight hence the wait, not once did she apologise or even ask if we wanted any more drinks. Our food eventually came out 8.10pm, all looked lovely apart from the fish & chips looked very bland & TBH it was. No one at any time came & checked if our food was ok. When we had finally finished the waiter came & asked if he could take our plates, he cleared half the table & never came back. Another lady came & asked if she could take our plates & it was then that we told her that the service had been absolutely diabolical & the fish was awful, she apologised & said she would pass this on, we asked for the bill, she came back with it 10 mins later & threw it on the table, no offer of a discount !. We paid & left, never to return !

Very good pub style (Thwaites) quiet hotel situated on the main street in Settle, with off street (paid) parking available only a 2 minute walk away. Thwaites and guest beers. Good Thwaites menu choices, reasonably priced. Friendly, helpful staff. Settle is an enjoyable town to stay in and very convenient for good walks and the Dales. There is also the option to take a scenic train journey up to Carlisle across the impressive Ribblehead Viaduct. Malham Cove/Tarn is nearby also, as is the lovely town of Kirkby Lonsdale.

Really nice place right in the heart of the town. The rooms were perfect and modern. Really nice staff. The pub itself is great. We even had Mike Harding playing folk music on the night we stayed!

We stayed at the GL for 3 nights and found the staff very friendly, rooms very good, breakfast excellent and the one evening meal also very good. It's an excellent base to travel from if you are exploring the Yorkshire Dales. The bar closed a little early on Weds and Friday but that was based on customers present and is quite common for small market towns - well within what you would expect. I would defo recommend this hotel and don't recognise any of the negative comments on TripAdvisor.

Called in for a drink and snack, friendly attentive staff.

Went there twice, once for lunch and once for breakfast, excellent suet pudding for lunch, lovely breakfast, dog friendly as well, a real character pub, would highly recommend.

Nice food, good beer, lovely village, had the fish and chips and went back for the breakfast, both were great. Nice IPA on tap too.

We had a family meal whilst on holiday. The service was OK and the food was unspectacular. In particular, two of the party had the pate starter, which was unpleasant and seemed grainy and watery. It was returned uneaten. Our concerns were explained to the staff. No replacement was offered, and the full price was shown on the bill. The mains were OK, and the fish and chips was the best option. A bit disappointed ☹️

Stayed bed and breakfast for two nights. The room was spotless, comfy bed and slept very well. Good sized bathroom with an excellent shower . Great choice for breakfast , they do a good porridge portion. The hotel provides a flask of milk to take up to the room for making tea and coffee with, great idea and it saves all that messing with individual milk portions.

Sunday roast was poor. We visited for Sunday roast after a few hours walking. An overwhelming disappointment in most respects; the only thing that was going for the place was the beer! The roast beef was a couple of slices of wafer thin beef served with a smattering of overcooked veg and a splash of tepid thin gravy + a well aged Yorkshire pudding. The ability to slice beef so thinly speaks volumes for the chef’s skillset, it’s just a shame those skills didn’t stretch to any form of professional pride. Admittedly, it was 16:30-17:00 when we visited, but if they don’t have enough food of the correct quality then they should remove the option from the menu! The other options looked fine! We were so hungry that went to the other pub nearby for a pint and plate of chips to share immediately after eating at the Lion.

The staff were friendly and attentive. They showed an interest in where we were from. It is clean and has a good atmosphere. The food was good and well presented. We would recommend the pie of the day and the cheese and red onion pie.

Lovely place to stay. Rooms beautifully decorated and comfortable with the bonus of being dog friendly! Food lovely and breakfast delicious. Friendly staff. Would 100% recommend staying here.

Very friendly bar staff highly recommend

The food here is delicious, loved the Sunday roast!We needed a dog friendly pub with wheelchair access and this was perfect.

Only went in for a pint but it was a very nice place

Lovely pub&bnb, rooms are exceptionally well furnished nice cooked breakfast locally sourced sausages are to die for, g👌 and best sausage I've had in a long time, pub on main high street, but there's a carpark 2 mins away

Stopped in passing. 2 soft drinks and 2 packets of crisps for just under £10. Nice location and clean, well lit and maintained looking pub. The grub looked good when we saw it being bought out.

Friendly, helpful staff. Excellent food and service. Lovely room with everything you require and a comfy bed.

I really enjoy visiting the Golden Lion, it’s the sort of place where you call for a beer & a chat, but want to stay for several, eat dinner & stay overnight. Very friendly, welcoming, nicely bustling.

My go to eatery when I'm in Settle, I always have the Beef Suet Pie and it is delicious, stuffed full of meat, and perfectly cooked. Staff are great service with a smile and a bit of banter.. Very clean and nicely decorated.. It is a dog friendly pub however the restraunts does not allow pets which I prefer so suitable for everyone.

A lovely freshly decorated room with large comfortable bed. Nice choice of food in restaurant, we both opted for the special of the day- brisket and Stilton pie, one of the best we’ve had. We were warned on ordering there was a delay in the kitchen, so nice to be told rather than sit waiting! the service was efficient and friendly. The breakfast was freshly cooked to order and tasty, husband said his eggs Benedict one of the nicest he’s had. Only downside is there is no onsite parking ,but staff were helpful in directing us to a suitable place nearby.

We often visit the Lister Arms in Malham, and as this pub is nearer home and part of the same group, we thought we'd give it a try. An excellent Sunday lunch, with top quality ingredients, cooked perfectly and beautifully presented. My wife's roast pork lunch, identical to mine arrived too cool for her taste (mine was lovely and hot, not sure why they were different), but is was quickly replaced with a piping hot plateful. The apple crumble was delicious, and I enjoyed the beer. Service was really good, with attentive staff both in the restaurant and bar, and all in all it was an excellent experience.

Very disappointed with our vegetarian Sunday lunches x 2 yesterday Sad to say this was the worst nut roast that I have eaten - consistency of mush, no texture or taste, looked like it came out of a tin So bad that I couldn’t eat it ! Told waiter when we were asked how we were enjoying our meals, who offered that he would inform the kitchen staff and that they had received previous similar comments Offered a coffee on the house !though we declined Please listen to your customers and review vegetarian option and consider offering more than a coffee if food inedible

Stood at bar without any acknowledgement from large loud bloke and ineffectual woman you seemed more interested in talking to their mates. Couple before us walked out tired of waiting for service. Filthy tables, poor service grubby glasses. Clearly a ace that's badly managed.

Lovely stop after a 9 mile walk. And dog friendly

A very nice pub(hotel we guess) excellent beer and food and very welcoming. We wished that this pub was in Bainbridge where we are staying to visit more often 😋😋

Perfect we loved this place great food, and beer, cosy fire. Only problem is that it is in Settle and not in Bainbridge where we are staying so we can visit every day Excellent thank you👌👌

Had a birthday meal a few weeks ago. Used to be in all the time but due to moving away havnt been for a few years.! Just the same, Great service and even better food! 100% recommend!

I haven't seen the accommodation. We had a full English breakfast today. The place is cosy and inviting. The staff we encountered were good. The breakfast was very good both vegetarian and standard. The breakfast was very good overall. We would go again.

Excellent pub, delicious food, well presented and quick service. 10\10. Great after a long walk to Pen Y Ghent.

Nice local pub with an open fire and superb food. Well worth visiting

Lovely place, great food, friendly staff

A very friendly welcoming place, food fabulous as was the drink! We stayed for two nights in a gorgeous room, we were made so very welcome and breakfast was fab! Thanks 😊

Regular local visitors to this cozy pub both for food and a drink.

Booked the apres ski winter experience in the courtyard part. Really disappointed on arrival that when we went to order the food off the festive menu we were told they were not doing it that night despite us booking specifically for it. Had to order off the normal menu . The wait for the food was ridiculous. Over an hour. Thankfully when it came the settle pudding was delicious and a good plateful. The waiter was very attentive and apologetic for the wait. We were offered money off the bill due to the wait . Lovely food but the kitchen needs to be quicker and also don’t take bookings if you’re not going to honour them!!!!

Good food in a cosy pub. We enjoyed the fillet steak and veggie burger, service was prompt and friendly.

Place packed looked promising all tables full was told we could eat in the stables which was empty plenty of patio heaters staff friendly ordered meals, not cheap but meals cheap and nasty chicken dry ,not fresh looked and tasted as if out out of a packet,most disappointing.

We went for a meal before going to the Victoria hall. The main meal was great the dessert looked like vomit on a plate .it was meant to be winter Eton mess.Very unpleasantvto.look at couldnt eat it .was a shame .also 2 young waitresses arguing over where a table should go not very professional

Wonderful food, great service. Lovely people. We ordered the sausages and mash and they were great. The soup of the day was cream of tomato with a hot bread roll and butter. So good. There’s a kick in for carrot and coriander soup all over the UK and Ireland, so glad to have some soup. Tired of saying no. The staff were really lovely and attentive, They obviously value their business. We’ll be back.

The food here is always good and the staff and environment are always welcoming but today I opted for the pie of the day: cheese and leek and it was the best shortcrust pastry I have ever eaten! I was worried it'd be too stodgy when I realised it was an individual pot pie (meaning extra pastry) but it was so light, so tasty and the filling was great too :) Have to say that the decaf tea here(Taylors of Harrogate) is really bland but this is by no means unusual! I'd have given a 5* if they'd had Yorkshire decaf or at a push:Twinings 😉

5 out to 5 as always Food and service are second to none. Lovely atmosphere. We have visited lots of times with our family and have taken the kids here too. This time was just us as a couple and we always enjoy it here.

Food is great, service very average as the barman had to be told our order 3times...paid £11.20 for a pint of lager and a medium wine at 6.00 p.m. ordered exactly the same at 7.15 and was charged £12.80.When queried with the management no explanation given... very poor and just feel totally ripped off.

We walked in and there was plenty tables, so we took a seat. Went to the bar and ordered drinks. No one came to offer menus etc so we went in search of them. Again ordered at the bar. Food came quickly, was tasty, could’ve been hotter but certainly wasn’t cold. However no one checked back on our table and we had to get up to get a member of staff for condiments. Could just perhaps do with a staff member on the floor to take a bit more care with the customers. Would defo go back though.

We were staying here and happy to dine in. Menu looked great and my mates were keen on the suet pudding and I was ready for the Sunday roast. The food was really good. The roast beef brisket was perfect, gravy wonderful and the vegetable sides were incredible. I could not fault my meal. My friends equally enjoyed their puddings. Two of us had sticky toffee pudding and the meal was lovely. Service however lacked polish and there were too many untrained people. We were given wet glasses and noticed the guy putting dripping glasses onto tables - just not right. Good food wins.

We received a warm welcome, ordered drinks at the bar and were then shown to our table. I had already looked at the menu online and had a fancy for the Settle Pudding, as you rarely come across suet crust steak puddings in restaurants. Our waiter appeared with the menus and said that there were no Settle Puddings, no Tapas and no Sunday Roasts. We both decided on the Pork Croquettes, with apple puree, crackling and black pudding crumb to start with. A single croquette arrived on a weird plate. It was sitting on the black pudding crumb, with a small amount of apple puree at either side. I could not see anything that could properly be described as crackling; certainly nothing like any crackling I have ever made before. Having said that, the croquette was enjoyable enough. The menu just needs a tweak to singularise the description.. For mains, I had the pie of the day, which was steak and mushroom. There was a choice of mash or chips. I went chips and when I tried one, wished that I had gone for mash, as the chips were insipid and could have done with a lot more cooking for my liking. The pie however, both looked and tasted very nice. I'm not a fan of placing the various elements of your meal in separate containers. You get a plate full of hot containers which you then have to scorch your fingers, trying to empty the contents onto your plate. My wife had the Chicken Caesar Salad, which was a delicious, mountainous affair, served in a large bowl. It was very impressive. Chocolate Orange ice cream followed, before we paid and retired to the bar for another drink. The staff were very pleasant and attentive throughout.

This place has a unique style that combines traditional pub charm with restaurant atmosphere and comfortable hotel decor. We were there for only one night and made a note of the good reviews it was receiving. On arrival (7.30pm on a Friday) the staff immediately arranged our booking in and were genuinely interested in making sure we were looked after. The pub area was packed out and food was being served at pub tables and in the restaurant- all very busy but absolutely no panic from the staff. After booking in we decided to go for a walk and have a couple of drinks nearby. Both the pubs we went into seemed very very quiet in comparison so we made back for dinner and immediately noticed how much more welcoming our hotel was. The waitress recognised us as soon as we went to the bar, got our drinks and showed us to a table - very attentive. We had a look at the menu which (thankfully) wasn’t overblown with options. We both decided on the fish and chips. I had the large and my wife the small. It was served with the wine we ordered in about fifteen minutes and had clearly freshly cooked. The fish was lovely and flakey and I have to say mine took over the whole plate!!! Fantastic value. My wife said hers was just as good. Great value in both cases. The quality of the food was just as good at breakfast. Their speciality full English grill was great quality and clearly local produce. This is a must for all breakfast lovers!!! The room was clean and had a rustic and classy feel at the same time. Very comfortable be and very little external noise. We both had a great nights sleep. All in all we would definitely return and would recommend it to our friends and fellow travellers. Thank you to all the staff. Loved it.

Lovely pub, great devour and very friendly and attentive staff. I had the suet pudding which was good and crème brûlée which wasn’t great. My friend had a very good Sunday dinner and crumble. Portions very good. Well worth a visit.

Great menu, great night out, great beers. Great atmosphere, fun staff. We were not rushed at all and found the whole experience relaxing.

Lovely bar area with a log burner, friendly welcoming bar staff with a nice selection of ales and spirits. We ate here twice, once in the bar (pie and mash) and once in the restaurant part for a Sunday roast, both were delicious. We were hinted to try a dark porter with a shot of Tia Maria in it, wow tastes amazing, the rest of the afternoon was spent drinking these. Great pub, great service and great food/drink, what more would you want.

Good pub grub lifted by provision of a nice dining room rather than eating in the bar. Slightly more expensive compared with some other places.

This is an attractive old coaching inn which has been modernised. Food was fine, staff were very friendly but on a cold day we'd been enticed by an old beer guide report promising big fires. Sadly there was just one wood burning stove and the...

Just returned from a 3 night stay at the Golden Lion. Lovely, cozy feel to the main eating/drinking areas. Food very good,all the beers in fine fettle,room comfortable and clean,staff attentive and friendly, breakfast was outstanding. Would highly recommend,only thing to be aware of,they don't...

From the first meeting on arrival as usual the lovely warm genuine welcome The rooms excellent The food delicious and the breakfast to die for The managers /staff are all so caring, nothing is too much trouble for them that feeling of warmth love it...

The ambience is great, food very good, staff - nice people dressed very poorly. Our party ere amazed that the company running this place seems not to have a dress code. Every waiter and barman dressed in poor saggy and inappropriate blue jeans. A couple...

Booked in advance and was seated straight away. Service was great and food was delicious. I would recommend both our dishes that we ate - the sausage and mash and the steak pudding. The only negative is that we don’t live locally so can’t visit...

Friendly staff, restaurant prices were horrendous for poor quality greasy food. Asked for quiet room it was noisy as drunk women were shouting below us.

We had drinks here one afternoon and then an evening meal another night. After having a dreadful meal in another Settle restaurant the previous night we had high hopes for The Golden Lion and we were not disappointed! The staff were great and shared some...

We visited on a Thursday evening after walking the Yorkshire three peaks. We both had the fish and chips which were really nice. Lovely crispy batter on the fish. The staff were friendly and gave efficient service.

Love visiting here every once in a while for food and a drink. Always good portions and plenty of options. Particularly like the tapas options. Pudding on this occasion was the star, had a banoffee pie and it was fab! Staff are always super lovely...

Yeh, pretty solid. Neg: chips were awful. Urgh, chunky chips from frozen which is fine but they came out so undercooked, powdery in the middle not a corner of brown to be seen on the outside. So disappointing. Why is anyone sending out bad chips?!...

Nice enough but a little dated. Dog friendly and a good selection of drinks. Service was good too. Right in the centre of Settle.

Busy place but got a table in the bar with our dog. Lovely staff - very friendly. Food was fantastic particularly the Settle suet pudding. Well worth a visit.

Called in to the Golden Lion over the last week - the pub is a lovely building right in the centre of the town. It has a really pleasant beer garden at the rear...I did not sample the food this time, mainly because I considered...

Called in for a meal after a lovely day trip out. Awe were accommodated immediately by friendly and helpful staff. Fabulous menu with lots of choices. Food was absolutely delicious. Fantastic drink choices too. Staff were all very helpful and attentive. Highly recommended for singles,...

Stayed for 2 nights but had breakfast once and ate one evening meal which was a £18 burger. But it was a cracking burger! Service was great for both meals.

Our second stay at the Golden Lion and we have breakfasted and dined in the restaurant on both occasions. The staff have always been pleasant, attentive and helpful. The restaurant food has been good - we sampled a "Special" Steak and Mushroom pie on one...

We had an evening meal here last weekend. We often go to the 'sister' pub in Keswick (Royal Oak). Very nicely furnished - comfortable and stylish. Waitress was attentive, cheerful and helpful. A nice evening - and a delcious raspberry gin and tonic!