The Red Lion, Boldre in New Forest

Birthday 🎂 meal was amazing, friendly staff.

dirty pub - grumpy old bag in charge - hubby said the gents stinks - he was gagging - avoid! Very funny that owner returned with nonsense about a French woman being front of house. It was the owner's wife who was grumpy!

Good food and excellent service. A little pricey possibly.

Early evening meal for 4. Plenty of choice food & drink. Deceptively spacious but cosy too! Would recommend

We had planned a walk starting in Boldre and so we chose the pub for that reason, but we are so happy we did! We had a lovely Sunday lunch, delicious food and very friendly staff. A great choice of roasts and specials, as well as the usual menu. Lovely atmosphere in the pub, and it was warm and cozy - very welcome after a chilly walk. Thank you!

Very good meal. Parking available. Good selection of dishes offered.

Stopped here for a quick drink and a small snack with my friends whilst my partner was doing the 100 mile bike ride round the new forest and so glad we did. Staff were very friendly and the snacks we had were good and there was a nice atmosphere. Was nice to cheer my partner on as he went past the pub too!

Mediocre meal (including under cooked fish in the fish&chips!) served in a cold pub by inexperienced young staff, no management presence. Nobody checked the meal was ok & in fact we had to go and pay at the bar as waiting staff not present … the place was absolutely empty when we left at 8.30 on a Saturday evening, which sums it up really. The response below from the owner does not reflect the situation - nobody asked for a fire at the end of August but we did ask several times if the back door (in the kitchen?)could be closed?! And my comments on the food and lack of service stand.

Mediocre meal (including under cooked fish in the fish&chips!) served in a cold pub by inexperienced young staff, no management presence. Nobody checked the meal was ok & in fact we had to go and pay at the bar as waiting staff not present … the place was absolutely empty when we left at 8.30 on a Saturday evening, which sums it up really.

Lovely old pub, with nice garden. Service excellent, good pub grub. Visited on a Saturday evening, staff really friendly and helpful

The dusted whitebait isn't whitebait - it's some sort of Herring. Still tasty though. Young staff were friendly but looked like they were guessing what they were doing haha. Atmosphere was fantastic though. Awesome building and beer garden.

Lovely traditional country pub in a nice and quiet location. I like.

Been to loads of local pubs in the New forest as we live here . We went here last week absolutely superb Sunday lunch all the food is cooked really well , my only criticism is as we were first in for food I think I got the end of the beef ,but other than that absolutely recommend this pub great service and great lunch

Can't really say much about the pub only had a few beers & they close at 3 what I can say was it was very very very £6.30 a pint tha wat London prices serving Estrella out of a san Miguel pump naughty can't say anything else

An old style pub with traditional values...the service was excellent and the food was perfect ..a nice menu and very reasonable puddings...we will certainly return..

The once a month "Pie & Pud" night had been recommended to us, sadly we shalln't be passing the recommendation on! The lamb suet pie was fatty and tough. The fish pie came with a potato topping. The menu stated that mash could be swapped to chips for £1 extra, but pies with mash topping would have the chips served in a bowl separately. Fine, except that it was not explained that this would then be charged at the normal chip price of £4.50! The £4.50 was refunded when pointed out (rather begrudgingly) and mentioning the poor quality of the lamb was met with little interest. Deserts - not worth commenting on!

Really friendly staff, delicious homemade pies, kitchen was open all afternoon on a Saturday which was great for a late lunch after a long walk. Strongly recommend.

One of the few dog friendly places we could find serving food on a Monday. We received a very warm welcome and had a reasonably priced, delicious dinner.

Great old fashion pub which we visit whenever we are in the area. Good reasonably priced menu, helpful and friendly staff and they know how to make a bloody mary! Highly recommended.

Excellent food and service, very welcoming.Oldie worldly pub not posh but very homely, excellent choice on menu and a specials board. Very affordable .

Amazing find whilst walking in the area. Fitted us in even though they were fully booked. Beer was warm, as it should be and the food was amazing! Staff were very polite, appropriately chatty and helpful. Genuinely very impressed.

Stopped on way to holiday cottage and couldn't be made more welcome for lunch. Food was excellent and service top draw. We felt like we were locals.

This is a great pub I had steak which was cooked to perfection the staff were brilliant atmosphere was great 👍 👌 😀

Delicious, fresh food. Cosy and relaxed.

Stopped in on Easter Sunday (used to go here when we were kids), we hadn’t booked but they fitted us in, our food was so good we came back the following evening!

Great pub with wonderful food but unfortunately no baby changing facilities.

Lovely steak and Ringwood ale pie with mash and veg, fish and chips and paella. Ringwood ales behind the bar. Youngish staff were excellent, knew the menu and were very friendly. Great to have our orders written down and read back to us. We are in The Forest five times a year and have been coming here as far back as the 80s.

I've not eaten here, but food always looks really lovely. I will eat here one day. They have a pie night on a Friday. Normally busy but still very good service Good range of beer n lagers

This is a lovely country pub, with excellent food choices and fantastic service at a surprisingly good price. There are many items on the daily, chef specials menu, as well as a good selection on the main menu. There are starters, main and puddings, plus a broad selection of beer and wine. Our sea bream was superb, and the burger our son had was not only tasty but stood out by having a toasted pretzel bun! There are many decorations around - including some securely fastened to the ceiling! - that reflects the farming history of working the fields. Lovely fireplaces bring warmth to cold winter days. And the nearby large framed mirror was so clean it looked like a window to another lounge. Definitely, a lot of pride is taken in this pub by the landlords and staff. One minor complaint came from my wife who, upon hearing from me about the decorations in the men's loo, was upset that the womens didn't have a similar theme! You'll know what I mean if you are a male and visit the loo.

This is a wonderful country pub. Full of wonderful decorations. All really great. My rating, well, ser for yourself. Friendly staff.

Such a wonderful gem ! Went for a circular walk around nature reserve and arrived at The Red Lion to a very hot fire,very friendly team and absolutely delicious food ! We had the Roast in a hole,really hot,plenty of meat and other Roast extras and The Turkey Roast which comes with extra dish of vegetables, staff very accommodating and helpful, very doggie friendly which was great and lots of room,spacious and great decor! Well done Red Lion team, your all amazing! Will definitely recommend to others .

Top quality food and service for our staff Christmas party.

A dog-friendly pub with excellent food and service.🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤

Wonderful Christmas atmosphere. Good food and friendly staff.

Turned up after a wet and cold walk with our new dog, who is only 6mths old and very anxious in unfamiliar places. After he started barking, and wouldn’t settle we started to move to the exit to sit outside. However the manager helped find us a table where we could keep him out the way and comfortable, even though this was a table for 8 and there were only 2 of us. Very grateful for being so accommodating! After a while the dog even fell asleep which has never happened before, so we were able to order food, all of which was fantastic too. Lovely open fire and great atmosphere. Would recommend!

Warm place for a cold beer on cold nights ;)

Great food, excellent selection and very good service

Had an excellent meal for whole family (35 of us). Excellent service and food catering well for vegans and celiacs (gluten free). Lovely cosy feel in a traditional pub with beams and open fire. Highly recommend

Lovely food and nice pub. Friendly staff.

Had a great pub lunch at the Red Lion. They had a good menu and beer selection on tap. The service was exceptional too.

A great meal at The Red Lion Boldre. They accommodated the entire extended family of 35 for roast lunch. Meal was superb and the catered well with the numbers and also the vegan and gluten free meals. Highly recommend.

Lovely pub in Boldre, good food.

Lovely pub and good food. Haven't been for a while but from memory portions felt smaller.. but could have been what I ordered. Dessert prices seem a little high compared to other pubs. Overall love the pub and ambience and the friendly staff.. if we visit forest next year definitely hope to eat here.

Enjoyable meal after a pleasant walk in the area

We love this pub. Highly recommend.

Lovely place excellent food, good traditional pub .

Sehr schöner Pub mit nettem Service, gutem Essen und leckerem Bier😃.

The Red Lion is a wonderful New Forest pub, in a beautiful setting and food to die for. I cannot thank the team enough for making my Mum's 88th birthday a really fantastic occasion. Jack's pink tutu was outstanding !!! The area we sat in was beautifully decorated, we had party poppers and the whole team sang Happy Birthday. We did nothing - they planned everything. We had a gorgeously decorated cake and the meal ( Amy thank you!)- what can I say about the food- just delicious. If you go no where else in the New Forest go to the Red Lion at Boldre. Fantastic food incredibly kind team. Kate

We arrived on time @ 7:30, drinks served and menus delivered, very quickly told what they didn’t have left from the specials menu.. couldn’t help think that it was only 7:30! Table we sat at was small for 4 people, and annoyingly being near the door to kitchen, we could hear the music that the kitchen was playing.. I nearly said I don’t want to hear their music thanks. Anyway, food was good, cheerful enough service, so overall ok.

Fantastic place,the decor is well old and what a climate

We popped in for a drink and a light lunch and to do a recce for a family get together. We did this because some of the reviews were not that great and we didn’t want to book for the family if we were to be disappointed. Far from being disappointed we had a really warm welcome from Jack who found us a table in what appeared to be a very busy pub. A good range of beers and an excellent choice of wines, the comprehensive menu offered local produce and a varied selection of home cooked food. We enjoyed the local venison salami and a couple of baguettes. Without hesitation, we booked again for lunch a few days later for us and family members. This time it was less busy but the welcome was just as warm and the food just as good. Between us we had fish & chips, steak & ale pie and ham, egg & chips. Typical pub food and very delicious. Don’t be put off by some iffy reviews, give the Red Lion a go and if you find it as good as we did you will enjoy your visit.

Popped in this evening for a meal and a few drinks.. food was amazing.. didn't think anything would top the venson Scotch eggs we had for starters.. but the steak and ale pie did.. couldn't fault anything at all.. food was 10/10 , serving staff 10/10, bar staff 10/10 . Will 100% be back when in the area again.. Also great place becuase its dog friendly inside as we had our dog with us.

Had an lovely meal here tonight! The lamb steak was fantastic, cooked pink with perfectly cooked veg and my partner had the halloumi burger. Service was friendly and polite and the wine was great too! Lovely atmosphere and would defiantly recommend if your down this way. I couldn’t fault it !

Best pint of Forty-nine I have had in the new forest

Ordered the steak and ale pie, after jackhammering through the pastry I was presented with dry over microwaved black steak with no gravy whatsoever. Add that to jug of bisto that we were told was 50p (we were charged £2.00 for)Used to be such a good foodie pub, now poor value sub standard food. We will never return to this rip off place again!!! Staff completely oblivious and not interested at all!!!

We had dinner as family last night, great service and great food. Staff were super helpful with our many requests. Thanks!

I've not been to this country pub for many many years. It was a lovely pub when I last paid it a visit which was about 35-40 years ago and it didn't disappoint on this accasion either😊. My friend and I had a drink from the bar and had a starter course of Duck pate and salad & the chefs soup of the day which was Tomato & Basil followed by the Special mains course Sunday lunch roast sat in the garden area. Thank you very much to the staff for a very pleasant afternoon and some lovely food. Excellent.👍😊 This is a dog friendly pub as well albeit we didn't have one but plenty of other did.👍😊

Lovely little pub, food and service were great.

Had a lovely Sunday dinner here today. 3 of us had the pie and mash, one had the burger and the other two had the roast yorkie. All meals were delicious and hot. Would thoroughly recommend eating here.

Great pub, so many fond memories from way back, but the pub has hardly changed, which was brilliant!

Nice pub for lunch. The only disappointment was the 4 tiny prawns for £8. This was not great value at all.

The welcome was extremely warm, nice staff and a fantastic special menu. Quieter than the other pubs in the area, which from what I had / experienced is a mistake. When I’m back in the area I will be back.

Very nice baguettes for lunch, steak and mushroom particularly good.

Food was OK, but a bit dry. Asked for extra gravy, to be told it would cost me an extra 50p for a small jug , another table got a big jug at £2. I belong to a couple of Lunch Clubs and this is the first time that we have ever been asked to pay extra for this. Sweet was very good. When we mentioned about the gravy charge to the manager he got a bit uppy about it.

Fantastic beer, amazing atmosphere, ok pub garden. Needs a kids play area down the back. I wouldn't pass up the opertunity for a drink at this location. Didn't eat, so can't comment on that. Visited twice

Just had Sunday lunch here and everything is spot on service is quality but the food is out of this world do yourselves a massive favour go there

The service was food and a friendly team. The food was mediocre and not well presented. There is better pub food available in the area

Just arrived on holiday down in brokenhurst, and popped into the red lion in boldre , we Just had steak and ale pie ,mash and veg , it was lovely , very tasty , would definitely recommend, thanks again

Lovely pub. Good variety of beer and a very good menu. Excellent food, slightly more expensive than some other pubs, but well worth it. And pleasant staff, oh and dog friendly x If you're around the Lymington area, get yourself down to this hostelry.

Food was lovely staff friendly and very helpful. Would highly recommend eating here.

Lovely location but limited soft drinks for children.

Very busy but were found seats by guy I took to be the bar manager. Three of us ordered steak pie. All were very pleased with the service, speed of tasty hot food. Prices about the norm these days. Rump steak expensive I'm my opinion, hence the pie. In all very satisfied and will come again.

Outstanding!! We booked as it was my wife’s birthday. Staff are so polite, courteous and caters for all your needs. Food for everyone was excellent 👌 we have been on several occasions and the standard of food is always 5•. Thank you all for making our evening special.

A pub that will happily accepted customers money at 1450hrs and make customers very unwanted at 1455hrs This pub is good - the service is personal and the food is ok. We have been here several times and haven’t been disappointed until this week when we went 1.30-3pm and at 2.55pm felt hassled out despite asking if we were ok if we stayed and ordered a round before closing time.

Lovely atmosphere very friendly staff and good food at a decent price! What more can you ask for?! Definitely better than some of the more costly neighbouring pubs.

One of the best meals I have ever had. Brilliant all round experience, staff were great. Great service, drinks and food served quickly and the service was delivered with a smile. Had the Coconut prawns and white bait for starters, highly recommended. Mains was the pan fried chicken, I could have licked the bowl. Will for sure be going back for some more soon.

We found the Red Lion a little by accident and are delighted we did. A warm welcome, a cosy table in a character old world pub setting. We were torn between a substantial specials list of starters and mains and the dinner menu. The venison scotch egg starter was light and tasty. The whitebait exactly as we like it, lightly dusted not breaded. Neither of us could resist the full rib rack which came like a medieval feast filling the table with outsize crispy onion rings, slaw, corn cobs and fries. Everything was clearly freshly prepared and well presented. We didn't have room for dessert but just had to share the lemon tart which balanced sharp and rich well. To say at the end of it all we were satisfied is a major understatement. We were glowing with wellbeing. Overall super value for money. Delightful staff team who looked after us in relaxed and attentive fashion. Can't wait to revisit and taste more of what is on offer. Congratulations to front of house, kitchen and management. What a thrill when everything comes together and we eat out enough to know how rare this is. Thank you.

We stopped into this location on our way down to Milford as it is the start and finish point of a dog friendly walk (Boldre Village Walk approx. 2.5hours). We had a drink and a ploughman’s for lunch before heading off. Staff were very friendly and it is clearly a popular location as the car park was full - they do have an overflow car park if needed. It is dog friendly inside and out, we chose outside as it was a lovely day. There is a private field nearby with some horses who were making themselves known and the garden area was spacious and nicely decorated. Food was delicious and reasonably priced, would defiantly visit again and highly recommend.

We had a lovely meal here, fabulous starters,mains,and pudding and good ales staff very welcoming to you with a fantastic atmosphere will be coming back

Friday Pie and Pud night...always a winner !!! Staff are friendly efficient and friendly. Prices are very good.

After enjoying a sunny forest walk, my wife and I had a pub lunch at the Red Lion. We had pre-booked and were shown to a table next to a window. It was a very encouraging start to the meal that we were provided with...

Always pleased to visit this pub, never fails to impress, with it's choice, price, quality and friendliness. Keep up the good work!

We visited the Red Lion twice whilst staying in the area, we had a lovely welcome, great food, dog friendly & great atmosphere. Staff very attentive and pub decor quirky, warm and very clean.

Great country pub, great service, great food. 3 prawns for £8 questionable. Absolutely loved our experience. I would highly recommend this place. Thank you to the staff who were so welcoming.

Arrived at the Red Lion after being refused service at the Queens Head Burley. This lovely place is just perfect for any meal with welcoming staff and great food. The beers brilliant as well!

Old english pub, very quaint with preserved features. Bar staff very good and helpful. although we didn't eat there, the food we saw looked good!

Efficient, friendly staff - attentive without being sycophantic ! Interesting menus and tasty food . Our first visit for some time - back on the list . The folk that served us were proud of their pub and it showed .

Went for a family meal here on a rainy winter’s evening. It was so cosy and warm inside with a welcoming ambiance. The food was lovely and the service attentive. One of the nicest...

A group of ten walkers enjoyed well presented and delicious lunch served promptly and politely. There was plenty of choice and no one was disappointed.

What a delight to visit yet again this excellent pub and find that if anything had changed it was for the better. The staff could not have been more helpful in dealing with a mixed group of walkers in need both of food and beer...

Set in a beautiful part of the New Forest and serving brilliant food. However the staff member with the beard is terrible. He’s miserable and very rude to the customers. We’ll not be returning.

Lovely greeting, friendly and helpful service, fine food well presented. A really nice surprise just a little off the main Brockenhurst to Lymington Road.

Stopped here for Sunday lunch on our way to lymington. Loved it! Proper country pub with a lovely atmosphere. We both had the roast served in a Yorkshire pudding. Beautiful food & plenty of it. Too often now we go for Sunday lunch & get...

We had visited the Red Lion a few months ago and was impressed with the food. We decided to have a walk to the Red Lion this time for Saturday lunch. The pub itself is lovely, good old fashioned British pub! The staff were great...

Once again had a fantastic pie and pudding last night. It’s that good had to have double helpings😀. It’s always friendly and one of our favourite pubs in the area. Recommend a good walk before and after though. Really hope the current countries financial situation...

Nice pub, bit dated …. Friendly staff , food ok … Menu bit limited not clear. , if it was cooked from frozen .. Beers had run out , so limited in choice .

Five star We have just supper here tonight and I must say it was one of the best evenings I have had for a long while. The food was superb, my scallops were amazing and my venison sausages were lovely. The staff here contributed to...

We booked for a late Sunday lunch and arriving at 5.30 it was very quiet, so we were between services I guess, because it filled up later. The staff were very friendly and attentive. We thought the menu was very interesting with a lot of...

I am recovering from covid and my appetite is not what it was! The really friendly helpful waiter suggested I had a child's portion. This was fantastic and I managed to eat almost all of my ham, egg and chips.

We were warmly welcomed by Assistant Manager Tom and his team which was a great start. The menu was one of the best we have seen for some time in The New Forest. Great specials and main menu. It was hard to choose. Very good...