The Red Lion, Yardley Hastings
A beautifully refurbished, cosy-chic gastropub in a picturesque village setting. The Red Lion serves exceptional British cuisine with a twist.
I was so excited about visiting The Red Lion the minute they re-opened their doors towards the end of 2020, knowing that new owners Nathan and Dave had been pouring a huge amount of time and dedication into transforming the interior of this gorgeous thatched country pub, with Head Chef Emma Fowkes focusing on upgrading the menu with her culinary artistry.
The modern country style interiors are now a haven of rustic oak and stylish deep blue walls, welcoming open fires, quirky wallpapers, cosy blankets and rich velvet upholstery, but the star of the show is most certainly the spectacular menu. There’s a brilliantly different and fun line of cocktails – dry ice and smoke bubbles anyone? – which are a marvellous opener for the wonderful food. Think Panko fried Tunworth, Tempura banana blossom gin and tonic fish and chips and pistachio and fig frangipane. I have to admit to asking for seconds of my parsnip and pear cappuccino, it was soo delicious.
As national lockdown hits yet again, the fabulous team are now also offering the At Home With The Red Lion menu. You’ll get 3 sumptuous courses for £25 per person, available to pre-order for collection on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. See their Facebook and Instagram pages for the latest menus. And as if that were not enough to shout about, they’ve also created a Lockdown shop within the pub, selling a range of essentials in addition to pastries, cakes, meat, cheese, preserves and loads more.