The Red Lion in Tendring

We visited prior to booking to check that the menu was suitable for our dietary needs and tastes. As it is a busy holiday area and the weather was good we made a reservation for Friday 26th July. On arrival we were taken aback that the restaurant area was not set up. Just tables in disarray on a filthy dirty carpet. The bar server was pleasant and swiftly got our drinks. After that everything went downhill. We ordered Lamb chops but were told they were out of stock. Therefore the second choice of mixed grill was also not available.we then tried Chicken and Leek pie - none. In exasperation we said OK Fish and Chips - sorry none! How can a pub with food not have stock of basics at the start of probably one of the weekends that would be the busiest, especially as we had booked? We asked twice for the manager "Kim" to come and talk to us and said we were prepared to wait but twice she refused. Absolutely disgraceful way to treat customers and terrible to leave her staff to deal with her inadequacy. Never ever will we go again.

Lovely Sunday lunch with my family. There was 6 of us and a baby. Proper home cooked meal. Lots of nice vegetables and large yorkshire pudding. The meats were tasty. This is the third time I've eaten here and the quality is always good

Absolute Brilliant Place For Food And Day Out In Drink Garden, Kids Loved It As They Have Bouncy Castle 🏰Wonderful Kids Play Area.. Couldn’t Recommend Enough.. Staff Were Really Polite And Funny Massive Thumbs Up…

It was embarrassing. Met up for a family lunch at my suggestion, but they just didn't have their act together. After waiting an hour after ordering we were told they had no ready cooked rice to go with one of the dishes and asked if we didnt mind waiting 20 minutes for some more to be cooked. We were hungry now, so opted for fries which really was not suited to the dish. The orders started to come out in dribs and drabs except the lamb chops. We were told to wait another 5 minutes while the gravy was made. It was a disasterous meal; I felt so bad. The Red Lion used to be so good. The embarrassed waitress apologised and took £10 off our bill which we felt went nowhere towards making up for our disappointment.

Lovely pub, really spacious outside space, great BBQ food and when we went they had a fabulous singer to entertain us.

We had 27 of us for my dads 90th birthday they let us use the whole restaurant and decorate it with banners and balloons the staff are very friendly and helpful, the food was lovely and reasonably priced. The landlady was lovely and nothing was to much trouble made us all very welcome we will definitely be returning very soon and would recommend to everyone

Eaten in here twice and now time for a review. This is my local in terms of distance. Service is incredibly dysfunctional and the food just OK especially given the high price; especially for a really sub standard Sunday roast. Basics are just not right. Providing cutlery and condiments before food arrives. Getting orders right. The fish and chips was awful ... dark brown flaccid batter. Lots of staff just sat or stood around. No immediacy to anything and not particularly welcoming to be honest. Shame. This place has bags of potential in the right hands. Seen a huge cycle of licensees in the last 4-5 yrs. I won't be dining in here again. Sorry RedLion.

Lovely dog friendly pub, and service was brilliant !! Food is exceptional will definitely be coming back ! Soo happy for the new owners and wish them all the best

Under new management by a brave family from Manchester since December 24th 2022. Having a some previous experiences here we decided to try once again & was pleasantly surprised to meet the head chef (was off duty) & sampled the Sunday lunch menu which had lots of starters to choose from & a choice of Lamb, beef, chicken, pork/gammon. You can choose one or all four. We had a duo of lamb & beef served with seasonal vegetables & cauliflower cheese. The meat was cut just thick enough, portion was generous and was very tasty. Roasties weren't the best, maybe serve a spoon of mash along with crispy roasties. Only negative about the meal is that plates need heating in order to help serve the food hotter! My personal choice fir a roast dinner is that it needs to be piping hot 🔥 Wine - really important to serve good wine at reasonable cost i.e A Dark Horse (personal fav) is £7.50 a bottle in the supermarket & would be cheaper wholesale - both the red & white would accompany the meal beautifully. For me if I can't have a nice wine then I simply don't return regardless of how good the food is. It's important to get it all right.

The Red Lion pub opened at 12 noon today and I arrived at 12.05 pm. I asked if they were doing food and was told there would be a wait of 20 minutes because the chef was cleaning the ovens and the fires. I was very disappointed. I was not prepared to wait for the chef to be ready to do his job and I left. If the pub says it is open from noon then it should be ready to serve food and drink from noon. It is most unprofessional not to be ready at opening time. The new team at the Red Lion seem to be very nice people indeed as I have found on the 3 previous visits I have made since it reopened. I very much want the pub to succeed under its new management. Most other local people do so too. But the pub should be customer focussed and ready to provide the service customers expect of any hospitality establishment. The last 2 plus years have been a disaster for the Red Lion with a succession of hopeless landlords who all failed to run the pub in the right way. I do not want the current team to fail like so many others have done before them. So come on Red Lion team get you act together, focus on good customer service and you should then get your customers coming back for more. I wish the Red Lion team the very best of luck with their endeavour.

Not worth a review - just avoid, expensive, over priced local pub with West End prices ! Beer is cheaper in Stratford, Bow, Stepney and Poplar...

Stopped by for quick eats, Had the Sunday roast which was incredible. Easy parking. Friendly staff..

We visited The Red Lion in Kirby with our family. The food was lovely, home cooked, generous portion and well priced. The staff were so friendly and attentive. Definitely will be visiting again.

Stopped off for lunch whilst returning from Walton on the Naze. Food good and friendly service Lovely garden Will visit again if in the area.

Myself, my son, mum and dog Harry have just come back from a family meal at the Red lion, I can honestly say we all had a wonderful evening, the staff, especially Billie who was the perfect host, couldn’t do enough to help. Our food was amazing, hot and fresh. We was in the beer garden and it started to pour down, the staff helped us under their marquee and dried our dog! Even the rain didn’t spoil our evening! Thank you so much for a perfect Friday evening, we will be back very soon with the rest of the family!

A lovely pub. Lovely venue. Friendly and professional staff. Food was exceptional. All COVID rules were followed with no impact on good service. Highly recommended.

Great Pub! We went here at the end of July 2020 and it was great. It was well laid out for social distancing due to Covid and had a large outside seating area. They had live music that was brilliant and the food was tasty...

We visited here in August,(phone to book as they get booked up for dinner reservations quite quickly). Staff were really friendly and helpful, chatted with us and made us feel really welcome - also they took the time to explain menus and drinks- special thanks...

We go here quite often as the food is good wholesome pub grub and reasonably priced. The staff are friendly. The only down side is I prefer my chips on the plate and not served in a trendy bucket.

Family birthday meal, booked a,table for eleven people on Sunday 20th Aug. Food was served to everyone at the same time, the staff were helpful and friendly and the service was excellent . Good food at good prices.

Lovely Food & Service. The setting is warm & comfortable. Really enjoyed our meals, with good service. Many thanks, Geoff Battersby

1st visit to this restaurant following recommendations from several friends. Excellent food and service. Will definitely be back.

Enjoyed our food, really warm I friendly staff, made us welcome. The food was hot and scrumptious. We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Thank you all!

Great beers and excellent menu at value for money prices. This pub is well worth a visit with a lovely garden area. Good service with a varied menu choice.

The huffers can be filled with steak,or sausage,cheese onion,eggs etc the choice is yours as it is cut into with salad add chips which makes this a perfect meal to share washed down withba glass of red wine or in my case real ale from...

First time vist for us to our families local. Bar staff, were passing comment on the previous person served between each other and not really concentrating on the new customers (us) stood in front of them who could hear there remarks !!! Fairly poor basic...

What a fab meal. It was very busy but we were informed there would be a little delay with our meals. Lovely starters, great mains, decadent desserts, clean and tidy, a beautiful relaxing garden, polite staff and a very reasonable bill!! If we ever back...

Had a meal in The Red Lion on Saturday for my mum's birthday quite expensive for pub grub and nothing special. Went in again for a second try tonight to revive a frosty welcome. The women who served us was rude and miserable to say...

My wife and I have been using the refurbished Red Lion for over a year now. The general manager, Charlie, is very passionate about the place and it shows! The main thing I look for in a pub is the quality of the beer (funnily...

Lovely little pub, nice staff, and we visit quite regularly. We as a group of friends are actually very good acquaintances of the bar staff and management; we probably visit at least once a week and have done since it opened. Me and my partner...

Initially it was great! Shown to our booked tables, menus and drinks provided and very shortly our order was taken. Then a 30 minute wait for the food. It was busy, almost completely full, so a wait was inevitable but 30 minutes?A couple of areas pf concern: the waiter was not able to advise on the beers on offer, despite it being a CAMRA recommended pub, and when the burgers came, they were very dry - overcooked. (I know that there is a concern to ensure that burgers are safe to eat but there is a difference between well-done and too much cooking.The table was cleared; we were asked about sweets and quickly given the sweet menu. Then nothing happened. After 15 minutes I went looking for the waiter/waitress and after a few minutes further wait was able to place the order. Early service was good but attention needs to be given to follow-up as we had to then go looking for a server to bring the coffee ordered with the sweet course.

after complete refurb the red lion reopened. not a sympathetic refurb though as it smacks of interior designer learning about pubs.there is too much colour coordination and bare walls ,put some pictures and mirrors up , give the place some proper pub warmth the food...