The Red Lion in South Oxfordshire

First time at the Red Lion and if they keep the quality that they had today, it will certainly not be the last. From the lovely touch of having an old book to show my table was reserved, the beautiful artichoke soup, the perfectly cooked lamb, one of the best I have ever eaten, hardly any fat and just the right amount of gravy, the seasoning that was spot on and not the over salty trend that has hit so many good pubs in Oxfordshire. Hold on to your chef and lovely young team please! This was truly a sensational Sunday Roast, served with a smile. Ps cherry on the icing, being greeted by the scent of an open fire on arrival!

Delicious meal with my son. Fish & chips were great and the mushroom risotto was delicious. Thank you! Service was fantastic 🤩

Lovely food, well served and friendly

Very, very low qualty food. Avoid

Under new management so time will tell. We're hopeful.

Gloomy and quite cold inside. Heating not on in September. Several people arrived by bike but there didn't seem to be anywhere to lock them

Absolutely delicious food, wonderful service, there's always a good atmosphere and some bantering which is good, thanks everyone.

Old style boozer, a bit run down and tatty around the edges. No food (Sat eve), but menu looked decent.

Lovely little pitstop whilst out walking in the sun 🌞. Variety of beers, very welcoming and cosy. Also very friendly. Didn't eat here so cannot comment but it's well worth a visit if you're in the area.

In this traditional country village is this traditional country pub. It's a beautiful space. The wide ranging, home-cooked menu is sublime. Landlady was attentive, kind & great fun. Our family really enjoyed our visit & loved our meal. Thank you, Red Lion!

The food was very good and the staff were polite and friendly. Will definitely be recommending to friends

Often meet my friend here, it's a convenient place for us to meet. I've rated the food a 3 purely because I've not actually eaten here but from what I've stolen off of her its incredible, just I've never had a meal to myself so I can't give a proper rating but I'm sure you'll be ok. Fast, friendly staff, I mean what else can you ask for from them. I'm a passionate man to put it one way so I can get quite amped up over certain topics especially after some drinks, so their either very tolerant or i think I'm worse than I'am. Dude they've got a fire on when it's cold, a beer garden for when its warm what more could you ask for. Oh and I came here twice as a kid (back when you could smoke in pubs) for pre drinks before my uncles leaving party at the shanki lee (back when you could dine in, covid killed that) and a wedding or something. So yeah all in great little pub, don't tell to many of your friends otherwise it'll ruin it, but come own down bring the dog. Oh yeah its dog friendly to.

lovely staff, especially the blonde ! great food and lovely service, recommend veggie burger and pizza! quick service and pool table for kids, big garden

Beautiful roast dinner and the service was amazing. Will definitely be returning!

We went for relatives birthday the other week, was disappointed by the food. Hadn't been in a while, so just assumed menu would be similar. Most of us wanted chicken, which they didn't have any of. Main meals were bland, and puddings not great. Want to support local restaurants/ pubs, but sadly won't be back for food again.

This place seems to be going downhill each year that passes. Last year Xmas meals were amazing. For me whilst the service and bar staff were good this year the Xmas food was below par for the price on both occasions.

Just move to the area and first time visiting my local pub staff was really friendly very helpful and amazing service definitely looking forward to return :) thank you for such a wonderful night

WOW. The food was amazing . I have never seen such a huge half rack of ribs . A nice friendly pub that was recommended by ridgeway adventures after an axe throwing experience.

Very nice country pub with good real beer

Lovely meal. Generous portions. Staff very helpful and friendly. Dining room could have been bit warmer

We booked for a family birthday get together early afternoon so there were 11 of us. The waiting staff were pleasant but seemed to be struggling with the kitchen… they had no peas or coleslaw left so offered us mixed vegetables instead. We waited an hour and a half before our food arrived and then one person still didn’t have theirs for another 10 minutes. The hunters chicken was dry, mixed grill had no mushrooms as advertised, ribs were unpleasant and scampi and chips was chucked on the plate with no accompaniment. Sausage and mash served in a bizarre soup bowl and were really salty. Generally not very satisfactory although staff tried hard. Would not recommend the food.

Best roast I’ve eaten!! Despite being late they still accommodated us

Just stopped for a coffee, great atmosphere and very local place 🤗 dog friendly btw

Lovely Pub Even Though A Seagull Was Watching Me Eat Outside

Went here for dads 91st birthday dinner, staff were very helpful, he cleared his plate , say no more

Well all looked good... garden for kids, and friendly ish welcome. Helpful front of house. Took an age for food to come out.... and it looked terrible apart from my son's pizza which was okay ish but bit doughy.... the sausages in my baguette seemed deep fried or badly reheated and burnt and my daughter's sausage was just about okay but her mash was clearly a roughly chopped baked potato and not very nice tasting. My partner's bacon sandwich was covered in carcinogen and char spots and bread had turned black ish, like my sausage baguette. To send this food out was a bit of a disgrace... when I asked for some fresh sausages they came quick but still frozen in middle. I bit off an end and only realised how frozen they were after swallowing. So at this point complained and they were very good with their apology and I got my money back. Thanks for money back though... also my daughter hurt herself on swing it tends to crash into post and she got stinging nettle stings from area near fence where benches are.... could be one off, due to staffing issues that were cited. top marks for handling the complaint fairly but please oversea kitchen better. I actually complained directly to kitchen as table was at the back of the pub and the kitchen looked extremely messy and chaotic.

Had a bewilderingly terrible experience 3 weeks ago. At 12pm on Saturday I phoned to book for 8 people at 2pm the same day. My booking was taken with no problem. On arrival the pub was basically empty with a couple of people eating inside and a few drinking outside. We put in our food order and waited at least half an hour with no update from staff on our food or anyone coming to see if we wanted more drinks. We asked about our food and were told it was coming. We had to specifically ask for some water for the table. More time passed and then the manager came over to say there was only one chef on (not that unusual for a quiet pub in the middle of Saturday afternoon) and he hadn't made a calzone before so he had had to teach him there and then(!) Still no offer of more drinks. The food eventually arrived about an hour after ordering. It was surprisingly alright - even the calzone! When we came to pay we were given the bill with no offer of taking any money off or goodwill drinks. My wife went to the bar to say we didn't want to pay the full amount and they offered to take the 10% service charge off, which they'd had the audacity to add before giving us the bill! To top it all off, my wife knocked on the kitchen door to ask if they had a container so we could take away some of our food, and she saw the chef eating coleslaw out of the tub with a spoon! We have since checked the Food Standards Agency website to find that an inspection in March 2023 gave this pub 2 out of 5 (improvement necessary). Just wanted to warn anyone else who was planning to eat here - please check whether they have made any improvements before booking a table.

Doesn't give you much trust in the kitchen when you see pints going in there more regularly than food coming out of it! Terrible food service with a burger that you'd be better off cooking your own and pizzas so dense that you could use as a drain cover. Very polite waitresses that seemed to be spoken to rudely by kitchen staff for a mistake she hadn't made. (Yes, you can hear the chefs in the kitchen and it's not pleasant)

Popped in on Tapas Tuesday and had a lovely meal. Great atmosphere and very tasty food served with a smile!

We had a great time on Sunday thank you. The hog roast was delicious, live music brilliant , such a lovely atmosphere in the pub , Every Friday night is the meat raffle ! We were the lucky winners a couple of weeks ago , only £2 for a strip of tickets 😄

This pub used to be great - really friendly staff, really tasty food, nice vibe. But it changed hands a year or so ago and, while it started well, it has gone steadily downhill over that time. Food is average at best, staff are surly and bewildered most of the time. They used to have a good range of gluten free food options and a good wine list (2 things I care deeply about). Now you can pay £3 more for a gf pizza that is a fraction of the size of the usual one and they never seem to have 1/2 of the wine choices. It’s a real shame because it has the potential to be a fabulous village pub

This pub served a great chicken ‘Parmo’ - it’s a local dish known globally served on Teesside (N. East). I’m from there, I now live here in Cholsey. Unfortunately, they’ve ceased serving this dish - so we were disappointed as that’s why we went to this pub - with our dogs! To our family, now it’s just another pub. Parmo were we’re from is served with creamed cabbage (black pepper) and chips (French fries the best) but here it came as standard with jacket potato - that’s almost two meals. Very sad.

Excellent food and service. Great Sunday Roast.

Great service, food tasty and very reasonable price.

Very welcoming place. Friendly and caring staff. Tasty high quality seafood - I had a king prawn and smoked salmon cocktail. I will come back next time I'm in Cholsey.

Red Lion and Chequers team couldn't have been more helpful after an unavoidable short notice change from the sister pub, The Chequers, Well done for coping so well with all the weather challenges and for an enjoyable lunch with friends.

Great atmosphere and amazing food.

After having a shopping morning in The Oracle,Reading for Xmas pressies and looking around at the lovely town,we decided to have a bite to eat and after trying two pubs on the way out of Reading we headed back to this rather rural pub. Upon entering the pub we had a really warm welcome, being able to have just a lite brunch and a pint . It came out hot, tasty and presented in a lovely way. The price was good value , there was a great atmosphere which made you want to return,and we shall at a later time. This is a pub which seems to attract all sorts of visitors.

Our party spent about 3 hrs here recently. Firstly, the service was first class, and the food arrived promptly. Our meals were fine: I had a pizza, the others had fish and chips. Their sticky toffee pudding (3) and apple crumble (1) looked delicious ( I had nothing). There was a good selection of ales at reasonable prices. The tab was not too bad. I sympathise with the hospitality industry- rising energy costs, raw materials- the list goes on. REMEMBER, although the website states 'Dog friendly,' this does NOT apply to the restaurant. I would visit here again.

Bar staff are excellent, really friendly and helpful. Food was good as was the the beer

Lovely light airy restaurant with friendly staff. We were a party of 12 and had pre ordered. Lovely food, good sized portions and service was excellent. Looking forward to visiting agdin

Nice village pub situated in the small village of cholsey - not far from Wallingford Oxfordshire- staff very welcoming and attentive - food was good - pub managers welcomed us which was great - nice and relaxed atmosphere - worth a visit if you are in the area of !

This is a review purely based on food and not the “pub”. We pre ordered so that it would help the staff and chefs but that made no impact on the food coming out or the patience of their serving staff - my order was pretty awful. The crispy chilli beef was burnt to carbon and was unpleasant so I sent it back. The chef made a point of telling the waitress to advise me it was supposed to taste this way. I can assure you a carbon charcoal crumbly taste is far from a normal flavour. I replaced this with the cod croquettes which were nice and fish cake like. I also had a side of mixed greens of which the broccoli was so over cooked it was mushy. My soufflé finally arrived after we all had finished our food and me reminding them twice - it was pretty awful. I didn’t manage to eat more than a few mouthfuls. It was like a solid scrambled eggs inside. I’d absolutely not recommend to eat here.

Booked for Sunday lunch as a party of seven. Excellent service and delicious food which was very good value for money. Extra dishes of vegetables were provided to accompany our Sunday roasts and all were hot and cooked perfectly. Happy staff made for a perfect visit...thanks

Nice place was quiet and bar staff friendly

Great food beer great staff very lovely pub

Nice food and service. We sat in the garden as we have a dog. Would say it needs some attention....child proof and dog proof gates to get in and out would be beneficial. Tables were dirty and it was very untidy. We feel the manager is missing a trick...could be a goldmine if it was completely family and dog friendly in the garden.

Great food great price,lovely friendly service..what's not to like.. highly recommended..Pulled pork burger was the best ive had.

Food was tasty and the service was very good. Thanks to Jade for her friendly, helpful attitude.

Jade the manager runs a busy pub seamlessly. The food was top class especially the deserts.

Nice pub, polite staff and good atmosphere. A fair few tables outside to sit at.

We enjoyed a great lunch and drinks after following the sign to The Red Lion You wont be disappointed

Very busy because of the jubilee celebrations but all the staff were lovely and the food was delicious

Excellent local Nicely kept beer Really good food Ciabattas were delicious on our Saturday lunch pit-stop Would be 5 star but rear garden needs some tlc to match the interior and the quality of the service and vitals offer.

Nice pub frendly staff Food at good price

Fabulous Sunday lunch. Will certainly return.

The staff at the Red Lion are really friendly. The food was delicious and freshly cooked.

It's a great village pub that reflects the local community and its a meeting place for then all.... and their dogs

Great staff, lovely environment, quality foid and drinks plus a village shop,

Great local pub and great food with a good choice.

Staff nice and friendly, had a very nice meal, 2 potato's bit hard but still edible otherwise the rest of the meal was lovely.

First thing we noticed was how nice and warm inside. Great turkey dinner best I've had for a while.

Only stopped for a drink, but the atmosphere was great!

Lovely pub, good food and nice atmosphere. Staff are friendly, highly recommend

A friendly place, really good food, nice and profesional staff.

Lovely pub for a stop off on our walk... Just had a drink this time but aim to pop back and try the menu next time 👍🏻

Thank you for a wonderful meal today we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves & lovely staff especially Kerry our waitress today

Staff are happy and friendly and food was great 👍

Lovely pub and if you follow the sign from the roundabout keep going because it really is up the straight section of long road right by where it bends. Had a lovely friendly welcoming reception as I walked in.

Only stopped for a drink, very efficient table service.

Had an amazing meal at this lovely pub last night. I had the fish and chips and my friend went for the rump steak. Both meals were cooked to perfection and were generous in portion sizes. The staff are all very friendly and welcoming. I shall definitely being returning again soon.

Excellent food and great service. Nice, friendly pub that combines drinking and eating really well. Food was great

Had the Sunday Roast with our friends in the area here and it was just amazing. The meat was tender and the yorkshire puddings were massive! Came out fully stuffed which is exactly what you want from a Sunday Lunch. The staff were courteous and friendly asking at every opportunity if we needed anything more (drinks, sauce etc) the only down side was that we were so stuffed we didn't get a chance to try the deserts. That's why there is always a next time!

Lovely early dinner - good, tasty food and drinks. Small play area gorvthe grandchildren in shaded rear garden

This is the first time at the restaurant, the staff were very pleasant and helpful. The majority of the meal was faultless and home cooked but a little pricey. BUT, I ordered the pork and apple salad for £14, I got a plate full of mixed salad leaves clearly from a bag, no other salad was on the plate, I had to play spot the pork and apple, I asked for more pork, it was clearly well cooked belly pork that was very fatty although it had been cooked to be crispy. However, it was tasty. On the whole this dish was overpriced and could not be called a salad.

Lovely food tasting great nice and clean service is brilliant nice atmosphere for lunch or dinner

Five stars easy. Delicious food and great service, a waitress who could not have been any more attentive, ranking if we wanted another drink? Or did we want dessert? Being polite at all times when speaking to us. Also MASSIVE Yorkshire pudding!

Arrived around 8pm on a Saturday evening and found a bench outside and the chef kindly agreed to cook for us if we ordered within 5 minutes. We all ordered the Steak and Chips with Peppercorn sauce and it was absolutely delicious probably one of the best I've had. The staff serving the tables were excellent and very friendly and helpful. Great Pub.

We had a lovely meal and really enjoyed the atmosphere so very very safe and the staff was so attentive we will be going again as soon as we can. It was good to return 7 months laterJune 5th 2021and receive same good service and very filling and tasty lunch...will try and come back soon

Beautiful meal and staff friendly

The staff are so friendly and accommodating. The food is delicious. They are dog friendly (even for an over excited puppy). I cannot rate them high enough. It is our favourite pub to go to. Thank you Red Lion!

Lovely pub, excellent food, great atmosphere. We can't wait to return.

Nice to be back. Lovely pheasant and pear sausage and mash. Good Covid-19 measures and nice napkins (the little things)

Lovely country pub for the summer with garden out the back for children to play

Excellent service, we were a very large group and the service was fast and friendly and the food delicious!

Accidentally rated this as 3-star, so changing to 5. Had an excellent visit to the Red Lion.

Went for dinner (last kitchen orders at 2030hrs ) on a Thursday night . Turns out it's "Steak Thursday " Ordered 2 x sirloins both medium rare. Cooked really well by the Chef, came with good portion of "chunky 'ish chips and a side salad. Great value at £25 for the 2 plates of food. Offered desert I had chocolate brownies and ice cream and dinner partner had some lemon mousse concoction both of which were good. Would definitely go again!

Serving locals first even we live in the village. Favouritism. Stood at the bar for ages and not even acknowledged. Went to opo Wallingford instead.

Amazing food, friendly staff, lovely decor.

Very limited lunch menu and wholly inadequate for non-meat eaters. Short of staff today so service was slow. One serving tables and a new member of staff behind the bar put too much pressure on both of them when they had a busy lunch service.

Had the scampi and chips, kids had the fish fingers and the wife had the Gammon steak. No complaints here, great food and a good size. Washed down with some nice drinks. Great staff very friendly and served quickly. Be back very soon for more.

Lovely pub to walk to and have lunch, friendly staff and delicious food

Really nice atmosphere. Decent menu & food.

Great pub, cosy feel inside and the staff are superb

Great village pub, nice atmosphere. Good food

Steak night is THURSDAY NIGHT... oh what a night.. starters : halloumi chunks & pork scratchings making us exited for Steaks and all the trimmings, cooked to perfection and served with a 🙂🙂. Waffles with butterscotch ice cream to finish and we were IN HEAVEN.. staff happy and efficient. Thanks millions for having us xx

Good food and the staff are polite and friendly

Nog veel friendly, kitchen closed and bad, very bad cappuccino

Absolutely delicious pizzas for my son's 16th birthday this afternoon. The staff were brilliant! Thanks Red Lion team!

Excellent steak and chips. Perfectly cooked tender steak. Part of a large group. Meals served in quick rotation. Good reports from fellow diners