The Red Lion in Cherwell

Comfy country pub! 100% would reccomend. Friendly staff, great service, decent range on tap. Excellent atmosphere and a large car park.

New management has elevated the Red Lion. Fantastic food but even more important is the brilliant service whether you’re there for Thursday night live music, Sunday roast or just a pint. Thoroughly recommend.

A dog (& people) friendly restaurant for a tasty breakfast. Excellent welsh rarebit and my friend had a vegan full english which was enormous. The staff were lovely and were great with the dog 🐕

Popped in for breakfast and met by the friendliest of staff. Really welcoming and helpful. We both had the Full English breakfast which was huge, but wonderfully cooked and presented. The coffee was great too. Would go again without hesitation. Look forward to the beer and an evening meal next time.

Attentive staff, you can take your dog, the food was very good.....

Wow. Stopped here for dinner. My husband is coeliac so we called ahead and Alex was amazing. He talked us through all the options. Turns out the fish and chips is GF. We had the most wonderful meal and my Alex on our arrival sorted my husband out with a pint of GF beer!!!! Everything was so tasty and the service was exceptional. Thanks so much for a wonderful evening. When you have someone in the group with a food allergy, to be treated like this is so special. Will so be back!

Beautiful breakfast,good quality produce and freshly cooked, we had a full lion and a veggie/vegan breakfast soo much food you’ll need a doggy bag service was excellent,attentive without being intrusive. Great price will definitely be back 😊

Had drinks there. Lovely pub. Food looked good too.

Always great food, service and atmosphere!

Popped into The Red Lion for dinner during a recent stay in the Cotswolds and boy are we glad we did!! What a fantastic pub!! The decor was beautiful, the service was amazing and the food was not just the best pub food we’d ever had but some of the best food we’ve ever had, anywhere. Exceptional! We even happened to pop in on a Thursday evening which is “event night” and they had a band playing in the garden which was also really great. If you’re in the area and are looking for a decent pub with excellent service and top notch food go here… you won’t be disappointed! Highly recommend!!

Lovely welcome for a pre booked early evening meal. Every member of staff was really friendly and helpful. The food was excellent - a cut above pub grub but not pretentious. The pub was clean, tidy and well decorated so a very pleasant environment all round. Thoroughly recommend.

Our family of four adults visited for a family Sunday lunch. We were a "late lunch" booking. To get in the mood we shared a bottle of Prosecco, which was well cooled, and during the meal I had a decent glass of red wine . I started with the soup, which was excellent and the others the parfait, which was rapidly consumed, as they were gossiping! For mains three of us had the roast pork dinner and one the three meats roast all of which were good portions of meat served with a selection of fresh veggies, gravy and sauces etc which were really tasty and obviously freshly prepared. The mains were really substantial so we could not manage a sweet and were content with the latte coffee. We really enjoyed our meals and will definitely be back!

We four adults visited for a family Sunday lunch. The restaurant was about half occupied as we were a "late lunch" booking. To get in the mood we shared a bottle of Prosecco, which was well cooled, and during the meal I had a decent glass of red wine which was at just the right temperature. I started with the soup, which was excellent and the others the parfait, which elicited little comment, other than being rapidly consumed, as they were gossiping! For mains three of us had the roast pork dinner and one the three meats roast all of which were good portions of meat served with a selection of fresh veggies, gravy and sauces etc which were really tasty and obviously freshly prepared even though we were a bit late. (more chat). The mains were really substantial so we could not manage a sweet course and were content with the latte coffee. We really enjoyed our meals and will definitely be back!

Disappointing. We arrived on a Tuesday evening in September as 5 adults with a pre booked table. We were late but I had rung ahead and advised so they were expecting us, we got there at 18.45. The Landlord advised they had a private function going on that evening in the garden so he wouldn’t be taking our order until 7.30pm to help the kitchen team. We got some drinks and chatted and after our prompt at 19.40 our order was taken. All the food for the garden event had gone past us and had been completed, but sadly we then waited over an hour to get our food order with no apology, no explanation, and no check up from the waiting team. The pub was now empty and we were the only ones left. The Landlord spent the evening complaining loudly about problems with the till, the engineer who hung up on him over the phone, the broken till in the garden and didn’t acknowledge or attempt to offer any drinks or an apology for the really late service. We had to go up to the bar and remind them we had ordered further drinks as they had forgotten. I am an ex Pub Landlord, and we had a Chef and two waitresses in our party, so we are all aware and forgiving of external events and large functions but we were all very unimpressed by the lack of contact from any of the team all evening. From arrival at 18.45 we actually got some food at 20.30 which is not acceptable. The table next to us commented how tolerant we had been before they left, which was telling. Our first visit to the Red Lion about six months ago was excellent, sadly we won’t be coming back for another.

Whilst I can’t fault the deliciousness of the food, my word the portion of fish in the fish and chips is very small for £17.50! Here’s a photo from a recent visit. So two portions plus two drinks came to £46. That seems a bit far fetched for such a small amount.

Not sure if we were unlucky but the size of fish we were served was absolutely minuscule. Was really disappointed, especially with the price of the dish, when you order fish and chips in a pub the fish is usually hanging off the plate! This was the size of a piece you would get from the freezer in the supermarket. Shame as it was delicious but felt like daylight robbery.

Poor choice on the menu, especially as it was a scorching hot day and there were no salad choices. The pork Roulade was tasty but a little dry, small amount of veg with it. My friend had Veg Thai curry which was more like a soup, again only a few veg in it. Both had deserts as we were still hungry. Staff were chatting amongst themselves so we had to interrupt for menus and for the bill.

Our local pub with a lovely atmosphere and delicious food. New Owner very happy to sort any issues out. Thank you for being our local.

As always consistently good food, smart, pleasant, & friendly staff & I am respected with my dietary issues. We'll definitely be back again soon!

Fantastic choice as always! Been here a few times and have never been disappointed. Family meal for about 8 people. Servers were polite and quick with our orders! Lovely food and high quality. Had the chicken supreme with mushroom sauce it was delicious! Highly recommend to anyone wanting good wholesome food, and a cosy pub vibe! Will definitely be back again for a 4th time!

The Red Lion has been a regular Sunday breakfast for us for a while. This Sunday was the first since the new owners. Service was excellent as ever, the staff are always enthusiastic & helpful. We were, however, somewhat disappointed with the quality of the breakfast compared to how it used to be. The bacon was meagre, one rather small disappointing sausage with the space being made up with rather a lot of mushrooms. Will probably be looking elsewhere for future breakfasts. Had an evening meal with friends on a weekend, sadly disappointed. The Nachos with chilli sharing platter was pretty mediocre. The chilli was pretty tasteless & very dry, it felt like it had been reheated many times, & the cheese didn't taste particularly fresh. I wonder if the Nachos had been pre-prepared & then reheated, I somehow doubt it was freshly made. Followed by my main. Their burger. Had it before, many times. This particular one had a peculiar flavour & was quite dry, it just crumbled away as you tried to eat it. There was some bits of lettuce stalk, the white bits from the end of the leaf in there which wasn't pleasant. The bacon wasn't cooked evenly, resulting in it being rock hard on one edge & just about cooked on the other, & a rather thin, sad looking piece of tomato. I couldn't eat the burger, just unpalatable. They informed me that they no longer buy the burger in, its now made on site, with tarragon. Tarragon. Tarragon? What the...? Horrible. This doesn't excuse the rest of the burger being mediocre. I wasn't offered another main, although they took the burger off the bill. (I didn't complain about the Nachos). We will be looking elsewhere for evening meals, which is a shame.

Had the katsu burger, chicken was tender and delicious, the katsu sauce was outstanding. Great lunch atmosphere, even on a Monday. Staff very friendly and attentive. A little noisy next to a busy road

We were staying in Bloxham for a couple of nights and The Red Lion was recommended to us. We went for 7pm, but I should have checked if we needed to book as it is very popular and it is recommended you book! We did manage to get a table for a bit later on so we went for a walk around Bloxham. We went back for our table and was informed that unfortunately the kitchen power had gone off but they were working on it and could not guarantee any food. We said, we would stay and have a drink and wait. The staff were so friendly and apologetic but these things do happen. My other half tried two of the bitters and chose and I went for a cider. It was a lovely atmosphere and you could see the staff were trying their best to sort things out. A littlebit later on, the power in the kitchen was sorted and we ordered some food. My other half had the rump steak rare and I had the crispy katsu burger. They were delicious! Honestly, some of the best food I have had. The staff apologised for the delay and we reassured them it was OK, and that the drinks were superb and food was well worth the wait. My other half went for a cheese board dessert with a glass of port and I had a whisky. All in all, it was a brilliant night, staff were very friendly, food was lovely and it was just brilliant. We will be back again. Thank you all.

Good little pub/restaurant, with good quality food and a reasonable menu choice. DOG FRIENDLY!! Our visit was for food, and the service we obtained was typical of a restaurant, and felt as such without much the feeling of a pub. Atmosphere marked down for this as we were expecting less of restaurant atmosphere and more of a pub atmosphere. That being said, we didn’t explore the building and not sure if there is another section to it that would be for patrons. In any case, staff were very friendly, and could not do any more, for that I would love to visit again. Food itself had a reasonable menu, with specials boards. The quality of food again was on point, seems to be a Cotswold thing, as pubs I’ve gone into recently have been producing restaurant quality food, not typical pub grub. I had the Katsu chicken burger, which was something different and worked well. Parking on site, and spacious area out the back in their pub garden. I would definitely visit again.

Good food friendly atmosphere as usual.

Superb meal at the Red Lion Bloxham, the staff were so friendly with our 3 year old son, food was amazing, service was efficient and polite. All round great meal, highly recommend.

Friendly service. Good food. Everything to like.

Lovely place with amazing food and the staff were so friendly, helpful and pleasant. Will definitely return!

Great atmosphere, great food, great service and great beer, what's not to like?

Dont answer phone or emails for bookings.

Red Lionhas new owner. Went for breakfast yesterday and typically price of breakfast increased by £1 and price of hash (tiny) brown £1 extra, slice of black pudding £2 extra. Daylight robbery with lousy service and owner shows no interest in customers. Come back Mark and Sandra please.

Fantastic breakfast from excellent staff.

We went as a family of 8 on a lunchtime and can totally recommend The Red lion. Lovely layout and very friendly staff. The food was gorgeous and everyone’s meal was enjoyed from the adults to the children. Fish and chips, pork and chicken dishes especially well received Obviously a talented Chef and well worth the money. Thank you.

We turned up without booking having been double booked elsewhere. The welcome was amazing, they immediately bought into the big birthday we were celebrating. The food was delicious. Five of us with very different tastes all loved our meals. Will definitely go back!

We had a different meal and agreed that it excellent. It was lovely to have my birthday acknowledged by the waiter.

Attractive pub with nice garden. Car parking available. We had a lovely lunch. The staff are very friendly and helpful. The male waiter was very kind when one of our party became unwell. Good value for money.

Fantastic..!!! ..So much better than Miller and carter.

First visit. Had a lovely evening

Went to the Red lion for a lunch time meal, so didn't have a starter for this reason. The main meals were top class, the house speciality 12 hour slow cooked pork was laid on dauphinois potato which were crisp top and bottom, sat in a good amount of very flavoursome gravy which I really like. The veg carrot and tenderstem broccoli were cooked perfectly with a little bit of a crunch, my only thing I would have liked a little bit more veg. The crackling was light, not greasy and crispy. The others all enjoyed their meals. On to the puds, Ella's kinder chocolate brownie was one of the best I've had, the ice cream was good quality, strong vanilla. The brownie had a warm, gooey center and was melt in the mouth, then the little bit of fresh cream just set it off. The beer was a good pint too. So down to my final question would I go back again? A definite yes.

Excellent village pub, great food and service

A stunning pub , with a friendly staff that make you feel welcome , a true gem, thank you for your hospitality.

Visited with friends for lunch and everyone agreed the food was delicious. Good sized portions and everything was well cooked. Will certainly be back.

Great, the pub looks amazing, food was delicious 😋

Sunday lunch - nailed it. Delicious. Veggie option (chestnut mushroom & walnut bolognese) wonderful. Portion sizes generous without being too daunting. Staff, as always, excellent. Decor warm and welcoming. Tables well spaced & seats v comfortable.

Great evening, food and service excellent

We recently had a wonderful Mother’s Day meal as a family of 8. Food was lovey and very well presented. The Eton mess cheesecake was to die for! Service was also excellent and the restaurant had a lovey ambiance. Staff very prompt and friendly, clearly well trained. I had visited here a couple of times before and having had good experiences then, had persuaded the rest of my family to give it a try (they tend to like going to the same places!) Everyone thoroughly enjoyed our experience and all agreed we will definitely return!

We use this excellent pub quite regularly and are never disappointed. Six of us sat down for lunch yesterday. We enjoyed a warm welcome, different meal selections and brilliant service. Our food was piping hot, thoroughly tasty and well presented. I’ve reviewed before and can only confirm that The Red Lion really is a well run pub that is worth a visit.

What a lovely suggestion didn't even think and its right on the doorstep. Lovely flavours good sized portion. Hot enough. Tasty. Friendly fast service. Will definitely recommend #sundaydinner #sunnysunday #happydiners #fullbellies #redlionbloxham

What a lovely suggestion didn't even think and its right on the doorstep. Lovely flavours good sized portion. Hot enough. Tasty. Friendly fast service. Will definitely recommend #sundaydinner #sunnysunday #happydiners #fullbellies #redlionbloxham

Fantastic food, fantastic staff and a fantastic atmosphere. Such a breath of fresh air to have staff that are happy and willing to chat and banter with you. The food was second to none - every dish was well cooked, well presented and delicious. Tonight was our first visit and it certainly won't be our last!

A great place for a unscheduled lunch visit.

A pre-theatre meal, which was served promptly & gave us time to enjoy before going to the theatre. Smart, pleasant & helpful staff & lovely food.

Excellent food and service. Most enjoyable evening.

Popped in for breakfast. Good quality, good service and well patronised.

I meet up every few months with a couple of old friends from work and we used to try different pubs each time but for the last year it has been the Red Lion every time .We have never had a bad meal it is always lovely, the staff are great and the atmosphere welcoming.Highly recommended

Very very nice. Dylan was great!!., as was all of the team . There were quite a few of us and all got our food hot and with a smile. Nothing was too much trouble. 2nd time we have eaten here as a group of more than 10 and everything was FAB!!!! Thanks team.

Great food , lady server could not do enough for us

Friendly staff, great service and good food. We enjoyed a busy Christmas lunch here with well cooked and plentiful vegetables, tasty Turkey and Xmas pudding. Not cheap but comfortable seating and their blend of welcome was worth it. Will definitely return and it looks like they have a vibrant garden area for the summer too.

After being disappointed to book nearby we booked for Sunday lunch, last minute. Most fortunate to get a table for two. Best Sunday lunch for many years!! If Bloxham was nearer to Cambridge I would have an account. The pork crackling should be sold under a special licence it is that good!

We visited for a celebration meal with 10 family members (12 in total) and staff were superb couldn’t do enough to help! Food was absolutely delicious especially the belly pork and Brie starter. Couldn’t fault our meal well be back again soon.

Went in summer lovely outside area and bar dog friendly bought bottle water and bowl for dog very friendly staff

Amazing vegan sausage option for the Sunday roast. So tasty!! Very impressed with vege and vegan options. A refreshing change. Incredible food, good portions, lovely, friendly and funny staff. Will be recommending to everyone! Thank you

Excellent in every way, food yummy, service second to none, staff can't help you enough. Would recommend this lovely place to all. We ate last two nights of our time in the area wish we had found it earlier.

We went for a meal out as part of my 12 year olds birthday celebrations. He can be particularly fussy with food but he ordered the burger minus a few trimmings and this was understood and no extra salad was put on his plate either! He ate all of an adult portion and described it as being too nice!!! The rest of the family had another burger, beef steak and a butter chicken curry. We also had a selection of taster dishes too all were delicious and piping hot. The waiters/waitresses were very attentive and friendly and made us feel at home. We don’t eat out much because of the cost but this was money well spent, we loved the food the service and the atmosphere. It’s not often I talk time out to write a review, but thank you Red lion for a lovely evening

We fancied popping out for lunch on Monday 11th November and thought we should try the Red Lion in Bloxham as we live just up the road in Banbury. Checked the website, yes, open on Mondays (open every day) and lunch was until 1400hrs. Menu looked OK so we drove over to the pub. Outside when we arrived as an A-Board saying 'open every day for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (Tue - Sun)), But it looked shut. Went round to the front door, dark inside, doors locked, no sign on the door, clearly SHUT. First and last visit

Fab service..lovely food...wonderful staff

A lovely lunch Had Liver & Bacon with Mash & Veg My friend had Steak & Chip. Really friendly staff Seemed busy so would suggest booking which we did Will certainly re visit

From start to finish Brennan and his team were very professional and attentive to our evening, celebrating our sons 18th birthday. Food, service were amazing. Thank you once again, we will be returning

My first visit for lunch and will definitely be back, the food was top notch and so was the service, the staff were very friendly.

Staff were very welcoming to us and our dog . We had a table with plenty of space and I loved that they asked if we needed water for our dog straight away. We had a superb meal - I had fish and chips and my partner had calves liver - both were delicious and presented well . We ordered a side of veg for the liver and that was a mix of cabbage , green beans and carrots ( cooked just right ) We had a cherry Bakewell brûlée which was define . I would recommend this place to anyone wanting good food and friendly, helpful service .

Excellent food and service as always. We have never been let down in any way and nowhere nerarcomes close to this place.

Incredible food with quality ingredients and beautiful presentation. Friendly staff. A lovely experience to be repeated soon! It says a lot that we could have chosen anything from the menu.

What a lovely Sunday lunch, service was fantastic all the staff were extremely friendly and lovely to our little boy. The food was tasty & pipping hot. The homemade rhubarb cheesecake was delicious. We will definitely be back

We have just had a wonderful Sunday lunch in a pleasant ambience helped by attentive staff, which made our birthday celebration memorable.

A great place with a good buzz, food excellent, staff lovely

The staff were all delightful, the food was fantastic, and the service was prompt. The ambiance was warm, friendly and cozy. We had a wonderful time

The Red Lion is our local pub and without fail we always have a great experience. Amazing food, very reasonable pricing and above all the warmest of welcomes. We recently hired the outdoor stretch tent for a decade birthday celebration and relaxed in the knowledge that Mark, Sandra and Sheryl would have everything in hand, which of course they did. It was a fabulous setting under the lights with some live music. I couldn’t have picked a better venue to celebrate. Thanks to all for your hard work - we are blessed to have such a wonderful pub in Bloxham

Very nice pub with polite staff.

My wife and I chose The Red Lion as the venue for our 50th wedding anniversary celebration with friends and family. We hired the stretched tent and the garden and chose the afternoon tea buffet for our 40+ guests. The weather was great and The Red Lion did us proud. The buffet was plentiful, very fresh and delicious. Above all, the staff were fantastic and nothing was too much trouble. We had access to put up some personal decorations and this great pub with its wonderful staff did the rest. Massive thank you to Sheryl, Dylan, Brennan and the others who played their parts. Everyone went away happy after a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon Five stars all day long!!!

This is an excellent pub for a country village Sunday lunch. The well-designed website is clear, informative, and helpful: and telephone booking was good. The service pleasant and attentive. The restaurant area is bright and airy, the tables nicely spaced, the garden area capacious. Clearly a lot of thought has been put into refurbishing and re-opening the Red Lion which happened a little while ago, I understand. We all enjoyed a refreshing, nicely presented, homemade, Elderflower fizz aperitivo. More fresh raspberry than elderflower (no alcohol as we were driving). Next up, we shared a delicious arancini starter, with a rich ragout centre, lightly fried on the outside. Though there were plenty of interesting courses on offer, we all had tender, flavoursome roast beef slices, Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, accompanied by a vegetable medley in a tasty cheese sauce. I’d have liked my beef a bit rarer, though I much enjoyed what I had ; and it was my mistake not to ask for rare. My Yorkshire Pud’ was a tad too crispy for me, but that’s my taste, not a fault. So we had good, satisfying food. A special mention for Sheryl, restaurant manager, I think, and at the heart of service. She makes the restaurant service work IMHO. She evidently cares a great deal and watches everything : like good Italian Maitre D’s do though she’s not Italian(!). Her team were attentive and kindly. And well done to the numerous supporting younger folk there, who served us too. Every one of them was pleasant, keen to please in a nice way, and enthusiastic. Shout outs especially too, to the nice waitress who attended us and the excellent young woman who mixed our lovely fizz. I wish we lived nearer to be able to enjoy this pub more regularly. This Red Lion deserves to be successful and on our visit it certainly was: well run, producing tasty food and giving value for money.

Fantastic Sunday Lunch and Lovely Friendly Staff.

Came across this pub on way back from Burford. Appeared to be a very popular pub, but they were able to accommodate us despite us not having a reservation. Lovely atmosphere. Both my partner & myself had the House Special Pork - very tasty, arrived at table piping hot & couldn't fault it. A little more expensive than we'd normally pay, but we both considered our meals worth it. We would definitely go back here the next time we're in the area.

This was an awesome find at 1.50 pm I rocked up and with last lunch orders needed by 2 pm had fast fruendly service. I ate an amazing lunch all home cooked and beautifully presented with such a friendly team.

Great Breakfast cooked fresh - let me change the menu slightly too as I dont like sausages 😋

We met up with friends who we hadn't seen for several years. The interior looked very smart but as it was a lovely day we sat outside. The food & service were excellent. Would recommend The Red Lion to anyone.

Lovely staff, friendly atmosphere and good food. A great place to eat, either for a quick meal or a longer evening with friends.

Excellent evening spent here with great food and wonderful, friendly and attentive staff.

Brilliant local eatery and drinkery

Lovely pub, friendly staff and a good atmosphere. Also dog friendly! The breakfast and coffee were excellent! Tasty food that wasn’t greasy. 5* food and service. We will definitely be back again!

Didnt eat but lovely place definitely goin back.

Very nice food in an unpretentious comfortable pub. The food came quickly and the service was friendly and efficient. We enjoyed our lunch and will happily return when next in the area.

The food was fantastic with friendly and prompt service. If I'm back in the area I will go there again!

A really nice atmosphere and super, well trained attentive, friendly staff. Sadly, I chose the wrong main course of beef curry. It was really not good with gloppy, thick brown and very salty sauce having been introduced to the beef at the last minute of...

I wanted to organise a surprise birthday lunch for my husband’s 50th birthday equidistant between our home in Surrey and my husband’s family in the West Midlands. Having looked at a few restaurants in the Banbury area I settled on the Red Lion as the...

Wow! Immense. Outstanding. Beyond delicious 😋 The food, the sevice, the ambience is perfect. Ella's brownie is the best we have ever tasted. Cannot recommend this superb pub/restaurant highly enough. Cannot wait to visit again, the memory will linger for a long, long time!

I've eaten at The Red Lion several times and had nothing but great food We took my dad this week, he usually finds something to moan about wherever he eats, no matter how good. But I have to say he couldn't find any thing wrong...

Delicious food, excellent service. We were in a large party and they brought all the food out together and piping hot!

We booked a table for a family reunion lunch for 14 + dog. The booking process was easy and communication was great. We chose to be in the tent, which was the perfect venue. Everyone loved their meals and the staff were friendly and helpful....

I recommend this pub to everyone I speak with. The staff are incredibly friendly and go out of their way to help in every way and offer a brilliant service. The food is always delicious and cooked to a high standard. Both the inside and outside area provide a fantastic spot for a drink or something to eat. The music played in the pub also adds to the fantastic atmosphere. The best pub in the area.

Went in for breakfast. Excellent sausage which I feel is a very good indicator of quality. Good coffee and reasonably priced. Toilets were clean and fresh. Everyone we met was so friendly. Recommended.