The Red Lion in Tendring

This Is One Of Nicest Pubs Been To In Long While, Food Was Amazing🍲Really Friendly Family Run Pub, Beautiful Outside Space With Kids Play Area And Dog Friendly🐶..

I cannot say enough about the red lion . We’ve been here one year in the area. This family run business are so friendly. The food and the events held there are so much fun quiz nights, barbecue nights/lunch times with great DJ and music across the board soul funk jazz and everything between . Lovley way to meet the locals wile having so much fun . Last but least Good food and drinks at fair prices. ❤️

Honest to god the worst pub experience of my life. Theyve managed to ruin what was once a decent pub. To reel off what was bad would take too long, with pubs run like this its know wonder theyre being shut all over the country

Booked for the Chinese buffet night. It was not what we was expecting at all. There was a few slow cookers to keep what food there was warm. It was awful got there for 7.30 and I hate to think how long it had been there. Mini spring rolls and dumplings just on a plate on the side, the beef in black bean sauce looked like minced beef with a jar of sauce added. Most of the dishes on the buffet menu missing. Defiantly wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

Enjoyed an excellent lunch in the beautiful beer garden. My partner ordered chicken and bacon pasta and I chose the lion burger, both dishes were excellent and the burger could feed 3 people. First class friendly service and reasonable prices make this a guaranteed to visit again venue. Many thanks to the staff for making our visit so enjoyable.

Lovely atmosphere! Polite staff, Large beer garden for kids to enjoy and Brilliant food. Came last year and back again this year. Will be back again in the summer :)

Great Atmosphere Had Such Good Night There With Friends.. Food Was Amazing And Great Selection Of Drinks… Highly Recommended!!!

We visited the Red Lion on Christmas Day for lunch our first time of eating out for Christmas lunch, so slight trepidation, no need to worry each course was delicious. Service was excellent and a lovely festive atmosphere. We shall certainly be visiting again very soon.

We had a school reunion here..fab welcome...friendly and professional staff...plenty or room inside and a lovely outside area....

Awful meal. Lamb chops overdone. New potatoes like bullets. Broccoli past it’s sell by date. Dining area filthy. Terrible experience.

Sunday roast .. unfortunately first and last time visiting here … worst roast dinner I’ve ever encountered .. not a good word to say , uncooked gammon tough chewy beef that I couldn’t cut , hard potatoes and lack of them , 2 deserts with no Icecream as described on menu … other customers complaining aswell.

Visited with family for meal. Very disappointed after visiting many years ago and it being lovely then. Asked for lamb roast was given beef, told the staff who just apologised didn’t offer to bring me any lamb or change my meal. Desert states came with cream cream, didn’t was a very small tart which looked lost on the plate. My son doesn’t like roast dinners but that’s all they serve on Sundays so he didn’t eat at all. Pleasant staff but they wasn’t keen on checking everything was ok. Would not return

What a shame.!!!! Have always supported local venues, but am sorry to say that won't be going back or recommending this to anyone either, Looked at negative comments but decided to give it a chance. Food was cold asked and ordered things on the menu and after about 15mins was told wasn't any longer available. Although only 4 in restaurant we were ignored and was never asked if dessert was wanted. In the end asked for bill and there was a mistake on that also.

If I could no stars I would!!! No-one interested in serving at the bar even though bar area was empty. One girl said she couldn't serve alcohol and another came out avoided eye contact and started tidying up the snacks. We left and won't be back.

Having not been since the new owners I was very disappointed. The bar staff were neither welcoming or informed and the pub has a placard outside saying food served all day between 12:30-8:00, yet they weren’t serving food! Would definitely not recommend.

Top notch homemade food at affordable prices. Great service, can see that they are doing their best to update the pub but the food is already top notch

Pleasant looking pub and friendly staff, plus a good choice menu and specials. We were the only table in the restaurant itself on a Saturday night. Our two starters took half an hour to arrive with no one telling us a delay was due to a party of 10 arriving. Mains of quiche and vegan burger were just ok, except most of salad leaves were going brown and chips a bit over cooked. So we sadly wouldn’t return but hope we just had a glitch that evening as we believe it’s recently under new management.

Really impressed with this pub. It was our first time visiting & we really liked this lovely place. We felt very welcome & comfortable, staff were very friendly & accommodating , lovely wine & a great lunch. The garden is absolutely lovely too & we will returning very soon. I would highly recommend this place. Best pub we’ve visited around the local area for ages.

Table booked for 2.30pm for 5 if us. Waited 15 mins to order drinks. 4 items where unavailable from the menu. Ordered food and it was served 1hr and 15mins later. We all ordered a roast no starters. The meat was OK but the vegetables where cold roast potatoes rock hard stuffing balls you could use as footballs. Asked for mint sauce and horseradish but didn't have any. So very disappointed as it was my father's 85th birthday. Will never return.

We thought we would try this place unfortunately we did not get our roast dinner after waiting over an hour no one explained when I asked how long our food would be pretty shocking for pub that has not long been open

Was really let down with our meal last night and at no fault of the lovely waitresses who came over to confront the issue and apologise. Starters came out promptly and were lovely, can’t fault them. The main courses on the other hand were terrible. 5 of us visited and 3/5 asked for lamb to be told 20 minutes later that the chef has said there is no lamb. We understood and changed our meat preferences. 20 minutes later we were told there was no roast potatoes and given the option of fries, mash, new potatoes which despite gutting we accepted and ordered alternatives. 15 minutes later we were told that the chef had managed to find some roast potatoes so would we prefer those which we all agreed yes. When our dinners were served we had 3 plates with “new” potatoes and 2 with “jacket” potatoes. After waiting going on an hour for our main courses we were served nothing but disappointment. Chips and mash were offered alongside our meals once the waitress realised we had been let down but we decided to not take the offer as god knows how long we would have waited for them. We were told the head chef decided to do a BBQ that evening.. which is great, but completely let down your restaurant. Yorkshire puddings we’re cold, cauliflower cheese was in something far from a cheese sauce, more like watery milk. We don’t know what happened after the starters but was a disaster.. and that problem came from the kitchen, not your waiters/waitresses. We wanted to stay for dessert but left after we heard of the troubles from the table behind who had been there for 4 hours, waiting on food and having the same problem as us. I’ve never heard a family ask where their fudge cake is so many times for it to not make an appearance for 45 minutes and them needing to take it in a takeaway box because of how late it was getting. Not to mention they were told no cauliflower cheese, then seeing it be given to us who ordered after? Head chef at no point came to speak with us, poor girls did an amazing job at apologising and trying to sort the issue. Nothing but polite and understanding. We will never be coming back, wouldn’t recommend. A complete let down

We ended up in the red lion as a local pub was full, honestly we are so happy we went piping hot, super food and great service and staff Please try it , you won’t regret it.

We went here for the first time as group of seven, organisation was terrible, we ordered our food, when it arrived it was barely warm, and got meals wrong, when asked to correct it the again they brought out the wrong meal, then the chef proceeded to come out and be aggressive, confrontational and rude, would not be eating here ever again, and the prices for what you actually got was really expensive,

Just had Sunday dinner and it was wonderful,service was very good and excellent selection of beers will definitely be going back.

Well done to you all. It was an absolute pleasure to dine with you. I wish you every success in the future as i can tell you have all put your everything into making this new venture work. The staff are a massive asset to...

Went in yesterday for lunch. Was very quiet admittedly however no complaints about the food we ordered. Biggest portions of dirty fries I have had served. Only thing I would say is the menu was a bar snack menu and very limited and not a...

The Red Lion opens for lunch at noon. I called in at 12.05pm on Tuesday 31 January and asked if they were doing meals. I was told there was a snack menu that day but there would be a wait of 20 minutes because the...

Called in for lunch today. First time with new owners. Not very busy for a Saturday.....was that telling? The menu is very limited in choice so you would think they would at least have what was advertised. No such luck. Wanted baguettes but only had...

Lovely family atmosphere . Plentiful delicious lobster tails and fabulous cheese board...Will be visiting again soon!

Finally our local pub has been taken over by a lovely local family who really want to succeed in bringing the Red Lion back to life. We had the steak and chips for dinner last night and it was delicious and plentiful. No fads needed...

This pub reopened under new management earlier this year! We have visited a few times in the hope that the new team would settle & make a difference to the local community. Quite the contrary, the team appears to consist of inexperienced youngsters who lack...

Food & service were excellent. Fish & Chips and Bacon Chop were perfect. Kids menu very reasonable with larger than expected portions. Haven't given 5 stars since first & second choice of beers were not available & grandkids complained outside play area 'smelt'. Despite this,...

1/2 cider and pint of carling £ 7.60 disgraceful - cheaper beer elsewhere, will not be going to this pub again even thought it’s only 300 yards from my home. Wetherspoon open an outlet in the Walton area - the area needs it to keep...

Had a Sunday lunch wiv family and friends x food amazin and great value. The staff were luvly and nothing was too much trouble . Wheelchair friendly apart from toilet .great that we can take our dog with us too

Very disappointing meal. Several menu items and beers were not available. Fish was undercooked. Expensive for a local pub

We ended up here as a last minute booking for 6 on Mother’s Day. We all had lovely home cooked roast dinners including a vegan one and left clean plates all round. Only small criticism was no vegan option for desert but other than that...

The Red Lion need owners who care about there customers. Won't be going back, i suggest trying the Ship Pub down the road or wait until you get to Walton-On-the -Naze. So disappointed.

We visited this pub today,this is about the third time we were told we have no food,very disappointed yet again,this was a good pub,but it's been taken over quite a few times recently,I didn't feel very welcome today,I think next time we will go down...

Though this place has changed hands in the last couple of years there seems to be a proprietor and whomever is in the kitchen is cooking some very lovely meals. We (locals) took a chance as we noticed a few cars out front. The four...

Arranged to meet a friend for a pre Christmas drink and catch up with family and friends happenings. All was well until they decided to put commercial radio on so loud we couldn't hold a conversation. Which is fine but only two of us in...

We used to visit The Red Lion pre pandemic and have always enjoyed excellent service and good food. However, the pub has obviously changed hands and food and service have plummeted. Service: 1. The young waitress who came to ask what we wanted to drink...

I came here with friends , i booked a table for food ..I arrived and was told there is no food as there was a kitchen fault. They could of rang us as we left our number. Our table was 8pm

Lovely welcoming pub We arrived on a Sunday afternoon and hadn’t booked. We were welcomed in and they arranged to squeeze us in. Pate and Soup for starter. The manageress very kindly offered my wife an alternative soup and it was delicious. Roast Beef was...

We visited today and the Sunday roast was absolutely amazing - perfectly cooked meats, fluffy roasties and so much food we didn't need dessert. The pub has a lovely environment, very cosy and welcoming, as well as friendly and accommodating staff. Prices are also great...

Appalling, inedible beef, cold vegetables, burnt Yorkshire pudding, just a disaster. Asked for bill which arrived with no reduction at all for the three virtually full plates that went back to the kitchen. Would not recommend and definitely won't be back

We found this lovely establishment by chance and were warmly welcomed. We chose to sit inside the restaurant for table service, which was friendly and helpful. They were very busy, but we were kept informed when our food would be with us and it was...

Took my wife and dog for a couple of drinks early Friday evening. The pub was almost empty only 7 customers 2 of which had dogs in the garden. Whilst ordering my drinks there was a bit of barking from the garden, the landlady said...

Booked a table for Sunday roast Told as we sat down thet there was no beef … Ok … I ordered pork and apple sauce and partner ordered chicken, but wanted leg not breast meat. Ordered wine and drinks … £32.00 Overheard waitress tell next...

Visited with some family, the staff were helpful the garden area is very nice and we.l kept. All 5 adults had a starter and main meal and the food was good, the price was average for pub food and the drinks were reasonably priced. We...

Great staff but was told it was too busy. However we were offered a tall table in the corner so accepted. My husband's calamari and my duck was extremely tasty even though my duck was thrown on iceberg. Hubby's pizza was lovely but my fish...

Visited here with my daughters for a quick drink. Now, I am very local to this pub and it has gone through a myriad of licensees recently (brewery owned) and has been very miss rather than hit. We sat in the garden and I went...

Visited this pub the first time today since new owner started. The pub and restaurant is lovely and decorated to a great standard. The food however was a real disappointment. The vegetables weren’t cooked and still had dirt on them, the parsnips were so hard...

Just returned home after lunch with friends, we were made very welcome and service was fine only one complaint (suggestion) maybe with the Ploughman’s lunch maybe a scotch egg or pork pie to bulk it out a bit and drop the crisps and serve it...

Very disappointed visit to the Red Lion. Been going here for last 15 years and had great home cooked food. Today - Sunday - was roast only. Very ‘pre made’ - the roast chicken was a boiled chicken breast. The pork was half fat on...

Recently moved to the area looking for a regular place to drink and eat and can honestly say we were made to feel very welcome food was lovely even low we had not booked .we definitely be back soon .

We decided to visit here for a family dinner out and was extremely disappointed with the food! When the food arrived it didn’t look promising but tasted far worse. The gravy was burnt, the roast potatoes were soggy and chewy, the veg had no flavour...

Great food, generous portions! Very friendly and attentive staff, good selection of drinks - brilliant night had by all! Can't fault anything!

Graet Sunday afternoon with long lost friends made even better by the team in red lion!!! Personaly I am not the biggest fan of this website but I need to give credit where credit is due. Personally I am not a key a warrior prefer...

I like the Red Lion as a pub, a historic building with a great atmosphere. We have visited a few times for a drink since restrictions were relaxed. However, this time we thought we’d take our granddaughter for a bite to eat. We wish we...

This has to be the worst dining experience of my life - waited an hour for food to arrive that was cold and burnt - impossible to imagine but this place managed it. Food was dreadful and manager full of platitudes and excuses. Was also...

Kirby Cross is a small area and there aren't many places to eat. So when I saw it had changed hands, I thought I'd give it a go. The staff were ultra-friendly, they couldn't do enough for us. Service was good. But it does seem...

I was persauded to try somwhere 'new' and local. A mistake. The service was 'untrained' in the extreme. I chose Home Made lasagne. It was certainly home made, no one else could have left out any sauce, reheated it so poorly and it took an...

I am a regular at this pub and had many happy hours dining there when a lady called Jodie took over. She was a breath of fresh air and we loved the food and entertainment she put on! Her Sunday dinners were gorgeous! Couldn't fault...

So disappointed. My elderly Mum’s first visit since lockdown, went to the local for an evening meal. The foods was abysmal, fish & chips was very overcooked, and very small, french fries were cold. Ham hock & salad, salad was lettuce leaves with a few...

Absolutely brilliant, well worth the wait for the pub to be run as it should after a extremely disappointing last few months, at last they have found a chef that can cook and produce excellent and properly cooked food, staff we're friendly and professional, well...

Have been waiting ages for the pub to get a new chef. Finally they were advertising they were serving food again with their new chef, great I thought hopefully it will be as it use to be amazing Sunday lunches. What a major disappointment, the...

What has happened to The Red Lion ! we have been regulars here for a long time , eating , and drinking, meeting friends, always been a lovely place. Until two weeks ago, so gutted that jodie and George have left, jodie had some great...

I think you need to get your act together,otherwise you will lose your regulars,the service was slow,I could only see about three tables to serve,the menu was limited,not sure we will be back unless things greatly improve.👎

Expensive limited menu with food quality not matching the price. Appears to be under new management. Staff were friendly enough but the kitchen needs to up its game on quality or prices need to reduce to reflect what is being served.

Went for lunch, no food. Waitress non too pleasant. What has happened to this pub?. Seems to be changing hands , like the weather. No consistency. What a shame, such a beautiful pub, with a great reputation.

Tried telephoning the day before, no replies they weren't answering. Drove down from Bury St Edmunds, the pub was open. We went in, they told us they didn't have a chef so they did not have any hot food. we decided to have a drink...

Have been to this pub many times over previous years and the choice of food and service has be very good. This time the choice of food was limited and the service was terrible and the wait for the meal was a joke. Also the...

The food was very poor and not worth the money, table serving was shocking and waiting time to be served was a joke along with lack of food options on the menu.

Really good. We had some drinks and ate here in one of the lock downs, so groups of 6 only. The food was really good, service was quick, they had live music at the time outside and it was brilliant.

Booked a table in the garden for 6 of us as we hadn’t seen our grandparents in weeks due to the lockdown..we travelled down from chelmsford to meet them and after almost an hour in the car we were looking forward to a nice pub...

We had two veggie roast takeaways today, and they were lovely! Excellent selection of veg and the roast potatoes were excellent. Very friendly service too, which makes us want to come back again!

Love that you can order via text, cuts out the problem of the phone line being engaged when you want to order! It's also really helpful knowing when it's on the way. I would love to see more places offer this way of ordering. We...

Decided to have 5 starters between both of us instead of a dinner they were all very Small and average and for a Pub expensive , the desserts were nice but with a coffee each and two drinks each I thought £ 78.95 was far...

Visited here last week in the evening, lovely meal, food was superb and great service. Quite reasonably priced and all socially distanced.

Very welcoming and friendly staff. Lovely clean restaurant with great social distancing setup. Food was delicious and piping hot. I had the beef short rib and my wife had the dressed crab for main. Will definitely return 👍🏻

I have visited this pub quite a few times recently, I live a 100 miles away but due to a family bereavement I was staying with family who live nearby. I have had the meat free roast and the cod and chips which were both...

Found this pub on our way home from a day at the coast, we were looking for somewhere with a nice garden that would allow dogs, the staff were very welcoming and attentive. We only had a couple of drinks and some sides but all...

Had a lovely roast dinner, lovely beer garden, very clean facilities, great welcome and service, will definitely go again.

Ate there for the first time and ordered the fish and chips. It looked very good on the plate until I tried to eat it. The batter was so hard I had trouble breaking into the fish. Very disappointed when I found the fish to...

If you find yourself on the road between Walton on the Naze and Colchester (as we did) and find yourself famished and wanting nothing more than courgette & haloumi fritters with sweet potato fries (as we did) then look no further!!! Pleasant service, lovely outside space, awesome food - we loved the meal at the Red Lion - you will too!

Self distancing measures in place. Felt very safe. Staff always so welcoming. Food is from a limited menu and is very good indeed! Highly recommended, well worth a visit. Plenty of tables and seating outside but advisable to book for inside eating.

Even with social distancing a really nice atmosphere, gorgeous Sunday roast beef, good quality and price.

Always have good meals here. A lovely pub with a large beer garden. An extensive selection of beers and alcohol. The burger is to die for. Would totally recommend.

An excellent experience from booking through to the meal itself . The staff were extremely welcoming of my guide dog puppy in training , checking the table was suitable and asking if I would like water for him . The menu had a good selection of food, produced to a high standard . Would certainly return.

Popped in for a an unplanned lunch midweek. Friendly greeting from staff and warming atmosphere. We both had the steak and ale pie with chips and peas. It was delicious. Served in reasonable time and it was served very hot. Delicious.

Stopped for a drink after a friends party in Kirby. The staff were okay the pub is quite small and it was quite busy. Small area outside for smokers. Did not eat but service at the bar was ok.

Quick service but the food did taste a little stale, like it had been reheated. Staff were friendly.

We sat outside and had a roast as we had the dog with us It was just lovely Lovely and hot And plenty of it I had chicken and it was so enjoyable Lovely vegetables

There were four vegetarian specials available on the day we ate here. I had mushroom and tarragon linguine and my partner opted for a mushroom and spinach pie. Delicious, plentiful and well priced. Additionally, the staff were friendly and the service efficient. We'll definitely be going back soon.

Today myself and a friend visited the red lion for the first time, firstly what a lovely little pub. Staff were friendly and welcoming and the oun was spotless. I can highly reccomend the thai green curry it was delicious and not forgetting the pecan and salted caramel brownie.... out of this world I cannot reccomend this place enough, a must try.

Today we visited the Red lion at lunch, having been previously last summer but heard it was under new management, we were greeted with smiles and attentive staff, I was recommended the Green Thai curry and it was delicious, we also had the sweet potato curry and Cajun chicken salad honestly couldn’t fault the food. It was much better that last years for sure.The only thing I was disappointed In was the kids play area was closed as my boys loved it there last year and is a big plus point of the pub if you have kids. Anyway I understand as the new management are apparently making some repairs on it. I look forward to returning. And would highly recommend.

Service poor, orders forgotten, food very mediocre (had to send food back as undercooked, was sent out the same pieces of food with the bite taken out of it instead of fresh food being served. Miserable landlady! Will not be visiting again.Forget The Red Lion and go to The Ship down the road. Cosy atmosphere, lovely landlord and landlady, better food.

Went for a birthday meal today with the family. The food was lovely however it was let down by poor service. Firstly they were advertising roast dinners, which they had run out of at 3:30PM. Which was disappointing, they then forgot one of the starters we ordered, spilt some food onto the table and into my brother's lap. They also had forgotten to bring out replacement cutlery and a portion of onion rings that we had ordered. It wasn't the best experience we've had but it wasn't a total disaster. Atleast the staff were kind and rectified some of the mistakes made.

Decent pub and restaurant.Good fish and chips, staff friendly but feel they could be slightly more accommodating. However if you're in the area a d looking for a half decent meal then pop in, you won't be disappointed.

A welcome smile from the landlady would not go amiss when you enter this lovely pub. The beer was very nice but the food was not. When are pubs going to return to serving proper meat pies not the ridiculous type with a topping as in this case about four inch high that just disappears when you cut into it, laziness on the part of the chef. l had the burnt offerings served as seafood mix, awful. l don`t know where some of the reviewers eat normally but they must be easily pleased. lt is a shame, as this was and could be again a lovely pub.