The Lion at Farnsfield in Newark and Sherwood

First time at this venue and we were extremely pleased with the ambience, pleasantness of the staff and very good quality of the food. Portion sizes are the best we have encountered in a long time. Highly recommend for a quieter dining experience.

Booked for Valentine’s evening. The restaurant goes the extra mile when it comes to decorating the place for Valentine’s. The place and tables looked amazing. A fresh rose on each table for you to take home, balloons and fresh flowers on each table, along with other lovely decorations. Fabulous. The service from start to finish was faultless. The staff worked hard to make our visit special, accommodating requests to box food we could not finish up. To start, we had the red pepper soup with cheese straws, very rich but lovely. For main, we had the steak sharing platter. What can I say but wow, no small portions here and plenty to take home. The platter had chips, macaroni cheese, onion rings with cheese sauce and bacon bits, garlic mushrooms, garlic bread, roast potatoes with fried onions, garlic mushrooms and steak. All with a side of cheese sauce and aioli. For dessert we had the sharing platter. Again amazing. My son was thrilled we took him some back. This had fresh brownies, waffles with cream, chocolate ice cream, Terry's chocolate orange pieces, milky way stars and after eights. This was served with fresh strawberries and 3 chocolate truffles along with a pot of chocolate sauce, ohh my we couldn't finish it but took it home, amazing. Would definitely recommend not just for Valentine’s but any meal.

Never eaten there, but the food looks great. Beer is good and service the same.

Came here for a meal here yesterday and the service was good. My uncle had the steak and ale pie which he really enjoyed and said had the most filling he's ever seen in a pie. My son had the pork belly and was very impressed with it. My burger was very tasty but unfortunately was very much on the small side. So much so that I had eaten it in not much more than 5 minutes and sat there hungry, waiting for a good 10 mins or so for everyone else to finish eating. It wasn't just the burger that was small. It was a tiny portion of fries, probably not even a full potato's worth. The thimbleful of coleslaw was mostly liquid and served no purpose on the plate other than to make the whole dish look a bit bigger. I left disappointed. If you want to charge the best part of £20 for a burger then there needs to be a decent amount of food on the plate. I'm not a big eater but this was not fulfilling. A good sized snack at best. 4 stars because the other meals were excellent. I would have given my meal 2 stars however.

Food and service good .A pity about the smell of fish /frying that hits you on entrance and pervades the restaurant I hadn't returned for years due to this and hoped it would have disappeared . Sadly still there

The best place by far for Sunday Lunch. Superb is the only word to say, price isn't an issue here as the quality is top notch and you'll not be disappointed.

I went to The Lion at Farnsfield for my first visit after attending a funeral and was really impressed with this pleasant country pub... The buffet provided was excellent and the staff were very friendly and welcoming... I'm certainly coming again under different circumstances... I can't believe I haven't been here before. I'm sorry I neglected to take photographs and of course will do so on my next visit ... Pop in if you're in the area and take in the atmosphere of a typical country establishment.

Unfortunately, there was no space in the dining area, but the bar area was quite comfortable. The Sunday roast was well-prepared, though the dessert didn’t quite satisfy my taste. Custard was delightful.

Lovely, welcoming pub with good, friendly service. It's the first pub I have found for a while that actually does decent, real fish and chips. All cooked fresh, with real chips, not the 'twice cooked' frozen variety and excellent batter too. The steak pie, whilst bought in, was of great quality and came with nice sides. The only miss was the Hunter's Chicken. Decent enough ingredients but It was dry and over simplified, its one to avoid off the lunch menu. Overall excellent food quality.

Yet again, another amazing meal at this place, absolutely nothing to fault whatsoever. The quality of the food was top notch, like the staff and service. ⭐ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️+

This is the warmest pub you could wish for on a winters day ! well worth a visit and the food and service was excellent.

The best Sunday dinner I've had out,the whole dinner was just fantastic I had the beef and it was cooked to perfection and the amount of veg was great we had an extra portion of pigs in blankets they do a lovely glass of Malbec as well and staff are all lovely and friendly and can't do enough for you

We visited back in October and the whole experience deserves 5 stars from the staff, the food, the quality, right down to the location and decor. We popped in on a weekday before attending an event in Southwell, at the time of day we visited the pub weren't very busy and we got served without any hesitation. The food came out and was presented well but tasted divine! Neither of us were disappointed and would highly recommend the braised beef! We will certainly be returning in the near future!

Lovely food good service nice staff

Six of us had a beautiful meal here yesterday (27/12/24), which was our first visit. We pre-ordered 6 different meals from the December menu, one of which was not available due to the supplying butcher. We were notified of this and asked to select another option. The atmosphere was very warming, the surroundings spotlessly clean (loved the bottle stocks on display) and the food was excellent, beautifully presented and served. It is refreshing to see staff who are trained in product knowledge and social skills. The cost of the food is very reasonable for the high standard provided. Only one very slight hiccup for us was a rather boisterous table of eight next to us but hey, it was that time of year and didn’t detract one iota from our total enjoyment. We look forward to returning and would certainly recommend this venue. **We can thoroughly recommend the Roast Salmon, the Scampi (x 2), the Blade of Beef, the Steak and Ale Pie and the Beef Melt.

Recently took my mum for a Xmas lunch after visiting here for years and always enjoyed it. Unfortunately this time we were very disappointed. Firstly our table in the main room was positioned in an awkward place so we had to move it. Secondly we ordered drinks and were told that no fresh limes had been delivered…surely someone could have popped to the local Co op? We didn’t have starters and had to wait 45 mins for our mains…at no point did anyone inform us of the delay nor apologise…by this time we wished we had ordered starters as we were hungry. They clearly could not cope with the amount of people booked in (several work parties). When the meals arrived there was barely any difference between the adult and child size portion! There was 1 slice of turkey on the adult one….really for £18:50? We ordered 1 portion of the accompanying veg without butter but were given a dish for 2 without butter. After mentioning I was given another portion. However both were that hard (and I don’t mean al dente), they were inedible. Also there was 1 Brussel sprout between us! Normally with a Xmas dinner one would expect sprouts and braised red cabbage / something a bit special not just a pile of veg thrown in a dish. What should have been a lovely special Xmas lunch with my mum was a huge let down. We were compensated but sadly this didn’t make up for the disappointing experience. Have to say the usually high standard of food and service were lacking on this occasion. A case of too many people booked in for the kitchen to cope with. Will think twice before returning especially as I’ve moved out of the area and had made a 50 min journey to visit.

This is a fabulous welcoming place where the staff and customers all seem so nice. Welcoming to dogs and there were a few there which is always nice. The food is great and varied. Can’t wait to return.

Great atmosphere and outstanding food. Would definitely recommend. One of the best pubs for food around Mansfield.

30 Nov 2024. Meal booked for approx 16, for my 60th Birthday, which my daughter organised as a surprise for me. The starters were late, 40 mins after 4pm booking and one was incorrect. The main meal was a disaster for me and disappointing for others. The pork was not crispy, it was like a brick. I sent it back and by the time my other chosen main arrived, everyone had finished theirs! Comments from others was that the blade of beef was extremely salty, the turkey meal had rock hard, dried up roast potatoes, inedible dried up stuffing, the vegetarian loaf was basically like eating a slab of stuffing. I would have expected a small compensation for this, but it was not offered. For a place I have dined at before, I will not be revisiting until the chef is replaced and an announcement made. From all the recent bad reviews, this needs to be swiftly addressed, before the reputation of this once highly recommended eating place is tarnished for good. My Birthday meal was a memorable one, but not in the context expected.

Poor reviews can be damaging to a business but, at the same time, they can serve as a learning point to improve the quality of service or standards of food. In my case, the served blade of beef was hardly edible, dried out and far too salty. I assume that the copious amount of salt was, however, applied by mistake. The dryness of the beef is a quality issue, a good chef might be able to apply a trick or two to improve the outcome of a tough cut of beef but this is often hit and miss and, for that, is forgivable, but, far too much salt isn't. As for the service and atmosphere, top notch.

It's absolutely brilliant. Good service, great food, and very good value for money .

A party of 4 went for a late lunch. Plenty of choice. Food was well presented and tasty. Service was a little relaxed ( forgot our wine list and had to ask again). Place was still busy at 3pm on a Monday so that's a good signà

Well prepared food and service. Will definitely use again.

The Lion has a fabulous menu that does not disappoint when delivered. Pies are highly recommended, but every dish which we were served was excellent.

We went yesterday for my mums 80th birthday, we was extremely well looked after, the staff dressed the table with our balloon and confetti for us and bought the cake out at the perfect moment. The food was absolutely delicious as always, I can't recommend it enough.

I was a bit gutted, always one of my fav places to go. My gravy had a very burnt taste to it but did not discover until after poured over my dinner, I did get some more gravy but was on my dinner, my husband had the firecracker street eats which had many times the chicken was very over the cheese sauce not as cheesy. Vegan nut roast quite over and vegan meals came out first, by the time the meat eaters meals came out they were nearly finished as would have gone cold waiting. Desserts all just tasted sweet and rainbow sponge pudding had halved. Order 2 cocktails that were the same but looked totally different. Overall I was disappointed as usually so good.

May 2023 - Top quality food for fair price. If you like steak and ale pie... You have to go here... Add stilton on top...🤤 November 2024 - The food is still top quality however the service is seriously slacking. We went out as a table of 10 last night and we had pre ordered our meals. Within minutes of arriving our meals were brought out, however three were missing. It wasn't until another 20 minutes later that we were told that there had been a mix up in the kitchen and the missing meals would soon be out. Most of us had finished our dinner before the other guests had their meals brought out (including the birthday girl). No apology, nothing... Drinks also took a long time to come out and the waiti staff had no idea who had ordered what. Lots of young staff standing round don't doing a lot. Quite disappointed as I was the one who suggested this place for our dinner out, I feel really let down.

Lovely little country pub, polite service. We both ordered a meatball marinara sandwich, which at approx £12 each wasn't cheap (I was midway thorough on tje photo) ! Service was prompt but when I opened my sandwich there was about 4x 50p sized meatballs in this huge lovely soft ciabatta even cut in half didn't fill the roll. And a very very sad side salad, no tomatoes, cucumber, just a sad limp soggy bit of leaves! Feel ripped off for the food.

The food was amazing but the bar staff were rude and aloof. Quite expensive but quality shone through

Called for a quick pint good atmosphere nice place food looked good will call again

I've been to The Lion numerous times and enjoyed it. I took my family for a special meal but was disappointed. The portion sizes were definitely smaller. My meal was certainly precooked and microwaved to reheat. The chicken (tiny amount) was hard around the edges and the mound of potato was also tough on the exterior ....as it would be after being microwaved. The tiny amount of broccoli was very hard. My son ordered an Old Fashioned and there was no trace of whiskey in it whatsoever. He was very disappointed and so was I as he rarely gets out, so this was a big treat for him. We felt the standard had deteriorated since our last visit, over a year ago. The decor and ambience is wonderful and the staff were lovely too, pity the food wasn't your usual standard. I hope you take this as constructive criticism and not a snipe at your business, I truly want you to do well.

Very dark and dull decor needs a face lift

First impressions count . Walked in for lunch . Sat down at table .Place was cramped on bar side and tables dirty. Walked out unfortunately won’t return

Love this pub , usually busy, but there is never a wait . Food is gorgeous and served in good time . TIP , try the street food.

Delicious food with relaxing ambience and quirky decor.

Good food, good beer is there anything else?.

Nice all-round service, food and atmosphere, parking can be a problem.

The friendly staff here at The Lion appear to be working hard to make everyone feel very welcome even under what are unusual circumstances. Already looking forward to making a return visit.

Special occasion but to be frank, the food was mediocre. Chicken overcooked, broccoli hard and fondant potato hard & undercooked. Others in the party had similar experiences except for those who ordered burgers. Not a great wine list or choice of dessert and no cheese board. Awful smell of drains near our table. Toilets were soiled and a right mess in both ladies toilets ( so much so we had to report it). We love this pub so very disappointing. Staff were lovely but inexperienced and lack of an experienced manager presence. Not worth the £200 bill unfortunately.

If you haven't been to this place you must go for coffees a pint or your dinner what an amazing place tip top menu so much to choose from good selection of beers and wine and cocktails brilliant service excellent staff very friendly the place is out of this world well done to all at the lion we will all be back for more

Lovely place overall. Good sized restaurant and it wasn’t overly crowded like some places. Meatball starter was delicious. Chicken burger was over cooked and very dry.

Food was delicious, service great and a lovely atmosphere. Would definitely recommend.

Booked a Saturday night slot, car park very busy, managed the last space! Pleasant lounge bar area before the meal. Bar food served as well, looked decent fayre. Our table in the restaurant was ready on time and a bonus, we were in the “parlour,” best area if you like quiet. Quick service, excellent new Autumn menu, cod croquettes great starter, the salmon fillet excellent, partner enjoyed the chicken breast. Overall pleasant experience, will be returning soon. Booking essential at weekends.

Went as a family of 4, 3 meals good 4th meal poor, gammon over cooked & fatty, gardens peas like bullets, chips re-heated, very slow service. Ordered Americana coffee half a cup.

We were a table of 8 and was advised to preorder our meal to help speed up the service as there were a few larger table bookings. It still took over 1.5 hours for food to arrive, apart from helping the chef work out what food they needed it made no difference to the serving time. We asked 3 times for table water too. 7 of the 8 meals were very good but the sea bream was not great, it was the tail end of the fish and a very small portion. Looking through facebook pics of the same meal made it look like half the portion! He came home and ate again as was still hungry.

Food fantastic, great friendly service and dog-friendly in the bar. Great for Sunday lunch but very busy. Did I mention the food is fantastic? 😉

The best fish and chips I've had for years!!!

Had a pleasant meal here last night! Beautifully presented food that tastes as good as the look! Friendly staff that are trained professionally, always greets you with a smile. Most importantly they know exactly when to approach your table! Comfortable and tasteful decor to seat in and enjoy. All in all a great experience and will definitely be back! Thank you.

Lovely traditional pub in a countryside village. Staff were warm and friendly and the food choices were extensive,well priced and would suit all tastes and appetites. The brisket beef chilli was amazing with home cooked nachos and only £14.50...delicious . Good sized parking area and spotlessly clean throughout. .

Food was lovely took a while for drinks to arrive but was busy

Always great food and service, we took friends that hadn’t eaten there before and they really enjoyed it too. I need a gluten free meal and there is always a good selection

Amazing food and very friendly waiter

Very nice place, excellent food and very good service. Don't hesitate... try it and you'll come back!

Amazing atmosphere. Great staff. Food is always amazing. Keeps the menu refreshed. Always clean. Dog friendly Only issue we ever have here is getting a car parking spot. This can't be changed, but some customers do park rather inconsiderate.

Never fails to please, excellent!

Very nice place, staff pleasant and helpful. I had the steak ale & mushroom pie which was great & my other half had the pan roasted chicken which she loved but wasn't much of it, on the plus side though that meant room for desert.

Amazing food and service. My daughter and I are vegetarians but don’t like too much spice. Joe asked the chef if they could account for this, and the chef made us amazing dishes taking into account our preferences. Attentive staff, only got one person’s name which was Joe, he was great as were all staff. Going above and beyond, really caring if we enjoyed our meals. Lovely decor, music not too loud which was such a bonus for me as I often feel over stimulated in restaurants. Thoroughly recommend

Very friendly staff and loved the decor. Food was nice. Slight disappointment with lack of non alcoholic beer but I know that's a niche market. Overall very nice.

Came away hungry. Ordered fishcakes as a main course. Totally prepared to pay extra for this but order lost in translation. Single fishcake delivered without any salad or anything at all on the plate. Sent back as undercooked and same fishcake served back which was lovely but simply not enough for a main course. Literally a fishcake on a plate. Not great if you don't eat meat or ask for something different. Staff ok but didn't really listen. Husband's meal ok but spoiled by my experience. Second time and won't go back. Shame as it's a lovely setting and looks like a great menu.

Great pub and fantastic service and food.I decided to have the street food off the menu and could not fault the food at all.We will definitely be back again soon.

First time in The Lion at Farnsfield, really impressed by the decor ,it was really lovely inside. The food was great ,but we were given our food the young lady dropped one of my sausages on the floor and I didn't hear an apology. We had the Hog Tray and it was absolutely delicious,we both left some food because we couldn't finish it as it was such a lot . We took the residue home for our dog Star , who thought enjoyed. Definitely would return.👏👏👏

No room at inn but had plenty of empty tables.

I can’t remember the last time I went somewhere and everything was good!! Very pleased and happy with our visit. Food was slow but worth it. All staff were nice, serving with a smile and kind. The place was nicely decorated.

Absolutely gorgeous meal and not badly priced, throughly enjoyed my date there. Great decor and atmosphere, all staff lovely

Had a wonderful lunch here today. My friend and I are both vegetarian, and it made a pleasant change to have so much choice for our main courses and desserts. Great service, with just the right amount of attentiveness. Loved the decor (wallpaper is amazing) and the background music was great and just the right volume to allow for easy conversation. We will most definitely be returning.

Only had drinks here, service was good

Lovely food. Will certainly return

Been many times and always been lovely food, however today very disappointing. We asked for the beef pink it came out raw, all the food served came out cold, the gravy was like water. No love at all went into todays meals. We overheard another table complaining about the meat being raw too. We was offered a free drink as the manager said that's all they can do. When paying nearly £18.00 for a meal we expect it to come out hot at least. It wasn't overly busy.

I like this pub from the outside to the inside with good food (beef rib is delicious) and good drinks selection. The decor is smart too.

Delicious dinner.Good prices.Big cart.Great...

Lovely staff very friendly. Food really nice will definitely come back

Had lunch here on Bank Holiday Monday. The Lambrosia of the God's and the burgers were outstanding. Great staff, really great food. Highly recommended. Many thanks.

Excellent food and service not to pleased with the three men swearing quite loudly near my kids

Food was delicious and staff really friendly

Very nice but disappointed in the seating in the lounge it was very dirty didn't like sitting on it ,when you go out for a meal in your dressie clothes you don't want to be sitting on dirty seating

Nice but very overpriced. Just nothing special

3/24 First visit for a couple of years with my daughter and family who live locally. Reasonably priced and varied lunch menu. Had the beef, caramelised onion and Stilton melt advertised as a doorstep sandwich - which it certainly was! Very generous amount of beef and served with mixed leaves and a generous portion of fries. I struggled to finish it! Good service too. Food and service good overall. My daughter's burger was a bit overdone and the bread (sourdough I think) with my soup was almost unchewable. On the plus side, I have never had so much meat in a pie as in their steak, ale and mushroom! Very tender and tasty too.

I had a Sunday lunch here last weekend and it was absolutely fantastic. I particularly loved the Yorkshire pudding burger! Great selection of cocktails too. Will definitely be back! Thank you :-)

An excellent lunch - good choice but the daily special was superb. Well done all.

First time visiting The Lion, we came on Sunday. The Sunday lunch was great, amazing flavours from all the elements and very filling. One of the best Sunday lunches I've had. The only thing to let it down was the beef which was very tough and chewy. Same for the other 5 people in our group that had it too. I'll definitely come back but would avoid the beef next time.

Beautiful home cooked food, made to order. Well worth a visit. I've been a few times and everytime it's lovely.

Dog friendly, good food and cocktails most of the time. However consistently very slow service, occasionally over cooked food and rude management! Be warned- they ask for feedback but give this at your own peril! The manger, Sam, is extremely unprofessional and insulting if you dare to point out the food was burnt, drinks orders were wrong and warm or service was slow. After complaining, rather than trying to rectify the points raised, the manger became extremely defensive and aggressive in tone, preceding to complain about the customers of her establishment, stating, ‘…angry when their drink is warm, disgusted it took 30 minutes to cook fresh food.. the list goes on and on.’ Considering the prices of food and drinks at The Lion, I don’t think it an unreasonable expectation that drink orders be correct and wine served cold, starters served within a reasonable time and correctly cooked- not burnt. Further more, the manger took great offence over my estimate of time it took to be served. A direct quote from her correspondence to me, ’those times you’ve quoted weren’t truthful, which makes it even sadder…you got called out on exaggerating the truth of timings, which is understandably a little embarrassing’ … this was in reference to me estimating that our starters took an hour to arrive when I fact the cctv reported they in fact took 46 minutes- 14 minute difference to my estimate. Instead of apologising and offering to rectify, the manager chose to use this 14 minute difference to childishly insult and name call. I have no doubt her usual aggressive style, using guilt tripping and name calling, would work on some more timid customers however unfortunately for her bullying tactics do no work on me. I believe in honest feedback so that establishments can improve. It appears Sam, the manager of the The Lion, believes that the customers are the problem, not her training and management of her staff. The young staff need better training and better management to lead them. Sad to say we won’t be returning due to the appalling response received on providing feedback.

Had the duck and can honestly say it was cooked to perfection. The service was bang on and the decor lovely.

Lovely decor & surroundings . The food was tasty, hot & well presented , wasn't quite perfect enough for 5 stars (the chicken wings starter although tasty, were actually sweet chilli and not salt n pepper, left fingers very sticky and no water bowl provided ) but I would still recommend the food and visit again . The service however was slow especially with drinks. No offer of water for the table and had to be asked twice before it came . Nice menu and lovely atmosphere. Overall 4/5

Had a birthday meal with my husband excellent.

Always good food, pleasant surroundings and a few pups in the bar to fuss.

Amazing food and a great time here. Very popular so book ahead. I had the steak and guiness pie and it was fabulous. Glad I had the veg and mash, because the rest of our party had the twice fried thick cut chips and they were dry and not very nice. The waitress did check on us though, and brought out fresh thin chips instead. Thanks !

First visit to the restaurant area and both the service and food was exceptional. If memory serves me well the head chef is Amy Metcalf who also deserves a mention for the amazing food on the menu and the staff are friendly and attentive.

Excellent food , great service and a very cosy atmosphere I highly recommend this restaurant

Great place to eat. Fast friendly service with a great menu.

Heard many good things about this place and they were all true! Lovely well presented food of decent sized proportions. Waitress was lovely. We weren't rushed. Warm cosy atmosphere just like it should be .

Best eatery in Nottingham with king size portions

Served by 3 different members of staff, had to ask and ask again for water. Wasn't asked if everything was OK,not made welcome. Would not visit again, plenty of good competition out there.

We were in Farnsfield for a couple of nights but wish we had been able to stay longer so that I could have worked my way through the fabulous vegan menu. High praise to a thoughtful chef. What a treat to be spoilt for choice! It's very dog friendly in the bar area. Our golden retriever Tallulah was made very welcome as were we. Highly recommended

Fantastic food and service, the menu has something for everyone.

The food is very good as is the service and is good value for money we sell be returning 😁

Long wait over 45min for food, not being kept informed or apology.

My first date with a beautiful young lady yesterday. The Lion is almost as wonderful as she is ☺️. We both ate the roast beef dinner which was perfectly cooked to our choice, plenty of it and a superb selection of vegetables. The Lion was packed from start at 12:00 till we left 2 & 1/2 hours later 😳. All staff were friendly and attentive. So yes all in all, highly recommended, we will definitely be back thank you The Lion👍🏼☺️

Ordered the "Christmas Cracker" Platter from the bar food menu. Exceptional quality. Really nice taste - a Hoisin ( or similar) sauce sparingly dribbled over an eclectic rustically chopped mix of pigs in blankets , Roast cubed potatoes, Turkey & stuffing. Unusual concoction - but .. to 'DIE FOR' TASTE. The flavours are there ! I'm weird with food , & I'm not sure I'd have come up with this but ..recommended. The staff are friendly , professional & humanly helpful. Not obsequious ,but really nice. Working well. Good choice of beers. Nice decor. Nice clientele. Nice area. Gents toilets nice & clean. Parking to side of pub - illuminated parking area. Disabled level floor access. Separate large heated undercover outside / smoking area.

I was recommended to go here by a friend. They still had the Christmas menu running which I was a little unsure about. However the food is incredible and the desserts even better. I don't normally have a desert when out due to most deserts being a let down and usually over priced. Will be coming again once the summer main menu is on.