The Red Lion in South Kesteven

Never ate there but a nice place

Thoroughly enjoyed our lunch. The 3 courses were excellent and it was great to have seasonal choices of such a high standard. There’s always something different on the menu . Gourmet dining in a village pub….superb! We will be back

Great food and service in a nice relaxed atmosphere. 5☆

THE Best pub, the best food and my God, they serve Hawkstone 🎉, best beer, EVER.

The quality of food was splendid, absolutely adore the atmosphere of this local pub. My wife and children will be coming here often as it is a nice destination to meet in the middle of where we live. We also took our Labrador who was met with lots of attention from the staff who gave him blankets and water to drink. Our waiter for the evening was a young lad called Felix who was very efficient with his service and was as polite as could be. Overall a really nice experience and as stated will be coming again.

Really lovely village pub with lovely staff and friendly locals.

Very nice food, nice staff. Well worth a visit.

We're always looking for places to ride out to give our classic car a good run. Had a lovely Sunday lunch of the most delicious lamb and perfectly cooked veg. It was great to see 4 real ales on. The building is very pretty and complimented by a friendly atmosphere. Attention to our table did lack a little but it wouldn't deter me from returning. We had Sunday lunch this time but the main menu looked very exciting. Looking forward to a return visit

What an evening! Superb food showing great creativity all paired with some great wine from Amps. Excellent service. No surprise that this evening was fully booked. Well done everyone.

I'm a Canadian visiting the UK and really enjoyed my stop at The Red Lion! Great selection of pints & food was spectacular + locally sourced. Best pub in the area for sure.

Came for dinner with friends as we had heard good things about the pub, the layout is lovely as. There’s good parking, the food that we all had was superb and could not fault any of the courses. However the customer service was appalling, apart from delivering the food and first round of drinks which was ok, after the that the service element was awful, we got asked if we wanted dessert and as we all said no was immediately asked “want the billl then” even though we still had half drank drink, no offer of additional drinks or coffee, after that no one came to check on if we wanted drinks or the bill, considering the price of the food the smaller details of customer service fell by the wayside and let the pub down. To the RL, please train your staff more in customer service.

Atmosphere is lovely and staff amazing and well good is I have no words it's just to good . Well worth a trip. the food is fresh and you can taste it.

Excellent food, really good service Beautiful pub inside and out, lovely beer garden so relax and eat in. It's a lovely spot for Sunday lunch but looks like they have lots on during the week like steak night - will definitely be back. Really like that you can see their vegetable garden as well. Lovely little dog station with water and blankets.

Really nice pub, nice beer garden, good selection of drinks & staff are really friendly. The vocal point of the community.

We had an absolutely lovely time here last night! It's a real family-run pub, everyone's so friendly and the food was delicious. They have a garden outside where they grow herbs and veg for the restaurant, as well as chickens for eggs. They also let us stay in the carpark overnight in our campervan. Thanks again for everything guys :)

Fabulous food & service. Staff are extremely helpful and approachable. Menu provides a good choice. Genius idea as the desserts also come as a mini option. Tapas style selection of "picky" bits really good selection. The Chef has some excellent ideas including caramelised butter for your bread. The samphire pakoras are moreish. Really good options for coeliacs and the kitchen and serving staff are very allergen aware, including cross contamination. Excellent choice of wines and other drinks. If you like a cheese board be prepared to select your cheeses from a selection by a local cheesemonger.

This was our second visit to this pub/restaurant, our first visit was 1st class. However our second on 30th May was disappointing on all levels, other than service. The dishes were confused and lacked the excellence of our first visit. My dish “rack of lamb, actually turned out to be two slightly undercooked lamb chops swimming in a broth of some sort with are dente asparagus. Perhaps the owner/chef had the day off. The most uncomfortable aspect was the seating. Yes, it is trendy to have some old church pews, but not the ones offered where the actual seat is approximately 30cms wide with a vertical back.

Outstanding! I believe they describe their offering as 'elevated pub food' but, make no mistake, while that is a perfect description of part of the menu, the rest is very, very good restaurant food. A warm welcome, a lovely laid back atmosphere and efficient, unhurried service accompanied some of the best food I've ever eaten in a pub. The menu is imaginative and the cooking is spot on. I have no idea how they make caramelised butter but, wow, it is spectacular. All three of us; a vegetarian, a pescatarian, and a picky eater, had plenty of choice and could find no fault with any of our 3 courses. Will definitely be back soon

Fantastic pub, tasty food and a great new tapas selection.. Great choices of drink and a beautiful setting.. well worth a visit..

Gemma’s 40th Birthday Lunch Excellent service and food We had a table for 9 , all food was freshly made and of a very high standard. Great range of drinks Highly recommended

Good choice on the menu with unusual food combinations. Friendly, efficient service.

Very awsome meal again this evening this place is a joy to visit .. friendly warm and welcoming..10th time being here nothing is to much trouble well worth the visit

Food was lovely and the atmosphere was nice.

The pub itself is old-fashioned and a lovely place to enjoy a few hours while having a beautiful meal while having a drink. The service was above and beyond, explaining all the different ales to me and letting me try them. The food was unbelievably good. The 1st bite made my partner and I both happy that we came along for a meal. It's not the cheapest place to go to. But it's totally worth it, and we will go back in the future. Best meal we have had in a long time!

Spectacular lunch on Easter Sunday, booked last minute and served with excellent toast Guinea Fowl, celeriac rosti, blackened cabbage and grain mustard mash om the side.

Food was excellent, beautifully presented and very good value. Only issue was the room temperature, we felt very cold especially on the legs and feet.

Our first visit with the new owners and must say what a great job they are doing...pub is very clean and comfortable....Emma the owner was very welcoming and really good at her job....Fraser the chef did an excellent meal....thoroughly enjoyed his food.....a special night will definatley be back....well done guys.....Tony and Karen King

First off our waitress suzie was very polite and welcoming and instantly lifted our moods. Secondly.. the turkey and cranberry pie with mash gravy and veg was absolutely incredible!!!! Upon the first mouthful I actually moaned a little, it was that good. Will absolutely be back for pie Thursday 😍😍

It’s was a few days before Christmas and myself and my better half popped in to meet some friends for a few drinks. The atmosphere was outstanding along with the service. The food was amazing and the drinks flowed all night. This is an outstanding country pub and would highly recommend. 5 star all the way.

Didn't have any food on this occasion. The pub itself is clean and has a cozy feel to it . A bit disappointed with the selection of soft drinks that were on offer.

Without a shadow of a doubt this place is outstanding for their food . The only issue we all had is the cold , even though there were heaters in the restaurant we had a draft where we were sitting and it made the night uncomfortable sitting with cold feet and hands. Blankets are a fantastic idea , not everyonne will like using a blanket that has been on someone else's body. It potentially could put people off from coming if the air is cold so maybe something to consider by upgrading your heating. Don't go to the toilet your feel like your sitting outside because there is no heating at all in there.

Absolutely superb lunch. We chose fish and chips from the a la carte menu.we can honestly say they were the finest we have ever tasted! The dessert was scrumptious too. Friendly staff and pleasant setting. We will be back!

We wandered into the Red Lion after a wet and windy walk with the dog. The staff were so friendly and inviting, the atmosphere was warm and cosy - perfect for a relaxing autumnal lunch. They even had treats and blankets for our pooch! The food was really outstanding. If you're looking for recommendations from the set lunch menu, my partner thought the salmon tagliatelle was perfectly seasoned with the exact right amount of dill to balance the whole dish, and I had the sausage and new potatoes which truly warmed my cockles - so rich and comforting. A big shout out to the bread sticks with garlic butter too - so moreish!

Not impressed with the service or atmosphere in general .. very expensive and Sunday lunch was poor not warm enough...can't say I will be going back and wouldn't recommend a family/ friend.

Love the 'old' look about the place, old games laying around, its just different... nice 👍

Very very expensive. Sunday lunch was £21 pp and that was just pork. The meat was like pulled pork but stuck together. I said to my partner is that the stuffing 😳no crackling and Luke warm. The desserts were £9 so we didn’t bother. I know they are trying to claw some money back after Covid but these prices are well over the top

Went for a birthday celebration. What a wonderful pub. Great food friendly staff and a lovely atmosphere.Would certainly recommend by this pub as it has character.

Another excellent Sunday lunch. This is a lovely, friendly pub with an open fire, good beers, good wine and for the two experiences I’ve had superb Sunday roasts. Shame more people don’t know about this and support a local gastro pub like this.

The reason for our visit was numerous friends asking me what I thought of it as they had heard good things, I am the local food crash test dummy :). I have read many comments highlighting "interesting", "quirky" menu , in the most part it is actually just very clever and original, and depicts a chef showcasing his own style, which is critical for the industry to constantly evolve. The RL definitely has a pub feel to it , to accompany the menu , and is an excellent balance for its location, and is certainly being talked about. We arrived and were warmly greeted, and immediately shown to our table, would have liked to have been offered a drink at the bar first perhaps, which could be an important tactic. On evening of our visit(Thursday) there is a homemade pie and drink offer which is normally popular I am told, but on this evening the A la Carte reigned supreme, which put the kitchen under pressure, offering drinks at the bar, with a menu to order prior to being shown to the table, gives the kitchen extra prep minutes for that attention to detail without the customers feeling they are waiting. The Dining experience, Hambleton Bread arrived, think it was meant to be warm but fell short, with some lovely local butter, it arrived literally 2/3 minutes before our starter, I had noticed this occurred on other tables as well, so placement of starters were difficult as bread came on large board. It is important that anyone reading continues to the end of this review and not jump to conclusions! We both ordered the Marsh Samphire Pakora , which again I tip my hat to Frazer for this one, this defines fusion cooking to perfection and really really clever, only to be told at ordering point it wasn't available, very disappointing, ( back to a menu brief and pre-order at bar?) Back to the menus.... Starters arrived, Crab cakes were excellent well balanced flavour with panna cotta to balance the texture , clever dish, I would surmise that this was faultless as it is all about the mis en place with this dish, the fallow deer loin, with green beans & fried onions not so, cooked perfectly blue it was distinctly lacking in seasoning, served with stem broccoli and fried onions, the dishes was just overwhelmed with the taste of inconsistently cooked fried onions, ( perhaps charred 1/2 pearl onions, wouldn't hold the grease as much? Mains- Sea Bream with shellfish sauce/ Pork Rib Eye with pickled cabbage and oregano parmentier potatoes, these dishes were returned but i would emphasise that while this was again disappointing, the customer service here was exceptionally good, and demonstrated an absolute dedication to getting it right, when replaced the shellfish sauce was excellent, as was the jus with the pork , and I thoroughly enjoyed this, with the pickled cabbage adding a piquant impact that brought the dish together. I asked how many were in the kitchen, and wasn't surprised to hear Frazer was alone, and as highlighted earlier, the A la carte took the brunt, worth remembering how a non-popular pie option impacts :). The RL is only going to get busier, and with that the potential to miss more detail, and if standards drop become a victim of its own success, though our experience wasn't the greatest, it in no way reflects the potential for this place, it definitely needs some fine tuning and is a little raw, I would guess that this is the landlords first solo venture but just hope he has the time to learn as he goes along, because , it maybe a way off yet but it should be targeting Michelin guide in 2 years if they can iron out the creases. Final point , I am heading back tomorrow, just to try the homemade eccles cake with Stilton ice cream and port gel, I hope i get a wow, i have one reservation about it, but really looking forward to being wrong, but again very clever concept !!

Once again, we enjoyed an excellent meal from a varied menu. Indeed one of us tried some 'wood ants'. Guess what, they are truly delicious: bursting with flavour! Who knew!! Two of us enjoyed the 'best fish and chips' in the world, which once again lived up to expectations. Coupled with friendly service, this led to our having a really enjoyable evening.

Lovely meal , on the spur of the moment but found the most fantastic pub and restaurant, great food and service, would recommend.

Not been here for quite a while, fantastic improvements have been made. We have just had a very good lunch, great value and delicious, we will be back.

We had a delicious three course lunch. Flavourful starters with unusual flavour combinations- crayfish and tomato bruschetta, smoked venison, delicious mains : memorably delicious pulled smoked beef patty with beautifully cooked veg, flavoursome pork, veggie tempura courgette flarbreads with amazing herby salad, and puddings to die for - cherry frangipane and chocolate mousse, deliciously chocolatey but not too sweet, with raspberries. Super friendly service too. Try it - you will be amazed....

Came here for lunch with my family. I can particularly recommend the beef shin and the pasta with stilton and walnuts. Absolutely delicious!

Visited for dinner on a Wednesday night. Very pleasant and friendly service and a good selection of beers and wines. Can recommend the Electric Landlady. Very much enjoyed the food - interesting selections available as well as classics like fish and chips. The courgette tempura was excellent indeed - light batter and well cooked courgettes with sharp yogurt and rhubarb salsa.

Superb lunch, the daytime menu is simple but excellent and the staff very friendly.

We liked this rustic pub, its ambience and lovely young staff who were so nice and polite and welcoming. We had texted using the enail address from the website and no reply so called by for a drink and explained. We booked for the following Sun and Emma was so apologetic promising us a good table and wine!!!! We enjoyed a cool table in the bar and a delicious loin of lamb with all the usual roast veg. The gravy was delicious as was my lamb though not pink. Homemade mint sauce a great extra. Veg cooked perfectly. Nothing to fault the lunch if a tad pricey at £22.50. The drinks were costly. My spritizer over £8.00 Our bill total over £70 for drinks light nibbles crackling and apple sauce to die for and olives and one course. We thanked staff and tipped as service was very good. Did we get complimentary wine??? Asking Emma about the website she said the email worked ok. On looking again I noted the email address now in RED and altered slightly. Why? No idea nor had Emma when I emailed. My advice is telephone to be sure.

Had an amazing meal and stayed in the car park in our campervan for no extra charge. Innovative food made with great skill and an understanding of flavours and unusual combinations. Delicious.

Was a lovely pub with great staff but thought the menu a bit odd! Ended up having fish and chips was OK... Dessert menu not to my liking, as like old fashion desserts, ended up having a doughnut in red wine custard ( not custard) with berries that were very sharp! Very odd indeed

My friend and I had lunch today at the red lion and we both had the cod which in my opinion was the best fish and chips ever dessert wasnt half bad either ,Emma and her husband are rightly proud of their pub and the food served there , it was a joy to eat and will look forward to going back.

Called in on the way home late one evening. Pleasantly surprised by the selection of drinks on offer,the real ales were particularly enjoyable. It was nice to a pub busy in this present climate. The staff were very pleasant and accommodating. I will definitely be returning hopefully to sample the food as it smelt delicious.

Dropped in for early Dinner as our Lunch elsewhere was disrupted by a massive thunderstorm. We were ready for a good meal and wouldn't be disappointed. The staff was very accomodating on a Saturday Evening. The meal was superb. I had pulled pork croquettes to start with Beef Brisket to follow. My wife chose the Lamb and a Chocolate Mousse with Raspberries to finish (although she did decide to have the Sweet to go as she could quite fit it in). Everything was perfect, the Ale, the service and the Food. If you want your standard mass produce pub grub, you won't find it here. A well balance Menu with no Chefy craziness. We're losing so many Vilage Pubs and ones that serve good food are becoming rare. If you think your overheads and Utility Bills are out of control at home, talk to your local Landlord. Keep supporting these good Pubs so we have a place to come back to in the future. Advance reservations really help plan staff and stock levels so give them a call soon. Yes, I did know the trade quite well before retirement. The News everywhere is all doom and gloom - forever telling us "You've never had it so bad". Cheer yourself up and get along to the Red Lion, West Deeping soon.

Met a friend here for a late lunch. Lovely food, friendly staff with good service. Would recommend 👌

Went for a bday party great venue but buffet food very lacking no indication of what the food was just pick and hope you liked it seemed like there was three different types of coated fish cakes all tasted the same very lacklustre no seasoning of any kind chicken that was very spicy but that’s all you could taste spice not the meat maybe need to marinate would be a good idea Would like to visit and see what the menu is like when you eat in the restaurant but little apprehensive after food we had Friday

A lovely country pub, with great service and great food

Every time I come here the food genuinely blows me away! Went in for lunch today with a friend and were welcomed instantly, great beer, great food, great environment! Love this place! Didn't get chance to take photos of the awesome food as it was filling my face too quickly!!!

Really delicious food and lovely vibe, with such a personal service by a lovely husband and wife team, clearly very passionate about the food and the village. We'll be back!

Lovely place with decent food and excellent beer. Would recommend.

A Lovely atmosphere to enjoy our lunch. Emma made us very welcome, the meal was first class, will definitely go back again to try more from the menu.

We went for a small family 40th birthday lunch with 4 young children in tow. Nothing was too much trouble from the moment we arrived till we left. The menu was very interesting and unusual and catered very well for gluten free options and children. . We were served by Emma who coped with the mayhem admirably and was smiling throughout. Thank you for making the day so relaxed. Thoroughly recommend and we will be back.

We haven't been here before and had the set menu for lunch. When our starters came (all four of us had chosen the salmon tartar with capers and pickled cucumber) we realised that we were in for a real treat. There were only two remaining chicken paprika for the main course, but Frazer offered a pork tenderloin (which I had). The pork was beautifully moist and came with cauliflower and delicious sauces. We were amazed that there weren't more people having lunch here. I suspect it won't remain a secret for much longer.

We had an amazing meal last night from such a creative Head chef, Frazer and his team. The menu is so inviting, it takes a while to choose from as all dishes are so appealing. I had the wild goose on sourdough toast with pickles, followed by sea bass all cooked to perfection, finished off with the lemon balm creme brulee. My husband had the amazing cauliflower soup, loin and cheek of pork followed by the forced rhubarb doughnut with saffron cream and added Ice cream too. The front of house team are both professional and friendly plus there is a warm and welcoming atmosphere here whether you are in for just drinks or dining too. The village is so lucky to have this gem of a pub/restaurant on their doorstep plus the surrounding area too.

Top class food well presented friendly helpful staff.Superb

Excellent meal and excellent service. 👌

Fantastic Sunday roast with a good selection of drinks. The staff were all very accommodating, definitely will be going back again.

My husband and I popped in for a drink on our way home from a night out. The staff were very friendly and the bar staff took time to explain the local ales to my husband. We didn’t eat tonight but the menu looked really lovely so we will return to sample it at some point for sure. The comfy sofas were an added bonus!

We booked a meal here following recommendations from friends on the quality of the food. The food that others had looked nice and the menu was interesting. For the first time ever in a restaurant, we had to leave due to the poor service. There...

Good to see it open and doing well. Lovely staff, food was nice if your not a veggie!! Would benefit from another member of staff, but as we know times are so hard for the hospitality trade.

Hadnt been here since new owners so thought we'd try when escaped kids for the evening. Busy bar and several diners. Loved the menu - not the normal offerings - beautiful food, attentive, friendly service and so nice to see a place providing complimentary water...

Great food, chef is very talented

Nice Sunday lunch, excellent food, good surroundings. Restaurant temperature just right. Service good, not too long waiting for food. Highly recommended.

A varied, tasty and changing menu to suit the time of year. Always welcoming and comfortable.

Fantastic food and service. Brilliant a la carte menu and a special of roast beef to choose from. Susie and the two other young ladies were attentive but not overbearing. We will be back to try the other menus Could not fault any of our 3 courses. Emma and Fraser should be extremely proud.

Fabulous place, amazing food and friendly staff!

Very nice bar and restaurant area's, friendly staff and delicious food.

Been a few times. Always interesting dishes for meat eaters, limited menu for fish lovers, and small portions always disappoint considering prices.

Decent little pub. Visited the place for the office Christmas meal . Had the misfortune of visiting on the very day their heating was down. The staff tried to fix it by ensuring all the electric heaters were turned on. Unfortunately it was still cold. The food was freshly prepared and brought out on time. Friendly and courteous staff made the experience enjoyable. I'm the wrong person to be judging/evaluating traditional food. But I'll give it a go. Starter- chicken and pheasant terrine. The flavours worked well and the crispy toasted (muffins?) were good. Mains- slow cooked beef. I'm told by my friends that it was done very well and they enjoyed it. Dessert- kumquat Christmas pudding - absolutely delicious and a decent sized portion for those who love their desserts. Have a look at the pictures for reference. I plan on coming in another time to try out their normal venue. I'm sure with heating on, the ambience of the pub would be lovely. They have a few seats beside the fireplace and ona wintry day that would the best spot in the pub!

Absolutely outstanding food,as usual for our Christmas party,Emma is a brilliant hostess and always looks after us very well,the food is as good as I've had in Michelin steered restaurants,and all locally sourced.This restaurant deserves to be right up there with the best,so I recommend...

This was my first visit under the new ownership…what a change!…gone are the swirly 1970s carpets, gone is the board bay staff poking at their phone..Instead you receive a warm welcome into a warm, comfortable clean environment, where the food is fantastic (I had the...

Fabulous winter food . I would go back easily

Fantastic food - the most tender flavoursome ox cheek - and huge - have a doggie bag for my lunch tomorrow lol. Lovely atmosphere and friendly professional staff. Very nice wine too. Great for a celebratory meal out.

Good variety of real ales and quality food. Family friendly, what's not to like!!

The pub appeared relatively quiet when we arrived for a 6.30 dinner reservation, however there was pleasant background music (I love a bit of Bowie) and the most welcoming staff. We were quickly seated and having stated we were 'starving' complimentary bread and homemade butter...

From the moment I booked the table to being seated I was made welcome . The service was friendly and very efficient. I had the crab and Kohlrabi salad starter which was a great flavour combination, I like the crunchiness and the well balanced dressing...

Great food, good beer, great surroundings and atmosphere, friendly staff

Family celebration early October. Emma and Frazer, Suzie, were so accommodating. All agreed absolutely perfect. The service and wonderful food. Could not have been better for this special occasion. Recommend 100%. We will be back very soon. Xx

The Red Lion is our local and has undergone many changes since being taken over by the lovely Emma and Frazer around a year ago but my goodness it keeps going from strength to strength, even during these uncertain times what is certain is the...

nly our second visit in 1 year, we vow to come more often. We were very impressed on our first visit, the lovely warm welcome, the menu was seasonal, inventive and delivered almost it promised. Delicious! Just not enough words can do this beautiful hidden gem justice! We wish it was our local because it just offers everything on a top level with heart and quality. See you soon. Thank you all. Lisa & Rich

First time going here. Super friendly and welcoming, to both me qnd my partner and our dog. Very dog friendly. We had the ploughman's which was amazing with the rosemary fries and beef dripping chips which were both amazing

We had important visitors, at short notice, and were unable to book at our usual first and second choices. It was Sunday and we had expected it to be busy. At one stage there were six people it the restaurant area, including our party of...

We've visited the RL twice now within a week and on both occasions have been blown away by the delicious food and friendly service. This is an attractive local pub that has recently been taken over by Frazer and his wife. Don't be misled by...

Fantastic local pub. Absolutely thrilled to have this on the doorstep. The menu is sophisticated and well done, and the atmosphere is quintessential country pub. Can't wait to spend more time here in future.

Excellent place, nice food and good selection of beers.

Great village pub, good ale, excellent hosts. Great food.

Beautiful food and great service 👌

One of the best if not the best pub in The Deepings.

Welcoming, excellent food, best chips in area

Lovely pub Great food Lovely staff Highly recommended

beautiful pub, beautiful food. Will definitely visit again ☺️

Food was very good and different. Service was good and the staff are very friendly.