The Red Lion (Wolvercote)

A real pub! We visited in November just as the new bar meal offers arrived. A tasty two course meal for well under a tenner and a lovely warm welcome. Can't wait to visit again.

Dosierosie (Unverified), 13/12/12

By far the best Sunday carvery I've ever been too. Excellent service, beer and service. Highly recommended.

Scoop (Unverified), 26/02/12

We were a party of 15 of all ages for lunch on Boxing day. We were given a very good meal including delicious puds. Service was quick and friendly, only £16 per head incl. drinks. Doggie bag was included!

Hugh (Unverified), 27/12/11

Went to the Red Lion a couple of weeks ago (April) on a Bank Holiday Monday night. Having popped in earlier to check when food was being served, was delighted to see a full and varied lunch and dinner menu lovingly described by the bar staff. Plenty of pub favourites (burgers, fish and chips, sandwiches) and some nice-looking specials (lamb, roast pork). Ended up going in for a drink first - really nice and well kept ale with apologies for the limited range (it was one of the bank holiday weekends and they'd been drunk dry!).

Went through to the dining room at the back for dinner. We had two burgers and an order of scampi - all of which were great. The burgers in particular were really huge, juicy and served with loads of toppings and really good coleslaw and chips. Scampi were crispy and came in a generous portion. The service was very friendly and efficient, and both the lounge and restaurant area had a great atmosphere.

Having been disappointed by some of the nearby pubs, I'd really recommend the Red Lion as a nice place for a drink and pub food. Just hope there is a nice summer ahead so I can take advantage of the big garden!

MarstonMaggie (DI User), 16/05/11

James and The Team at the Red Lion helped organise a fantastic birthday party for me. We had a mixture of kids and adults (about 60 in total) and everyone had a great time. Food was spot on, staff friendly and helpful and the party ran smoothly. I look forward to eating here again.

Louise H (Unverified), 28/02/11

Been coming here for donkey's years. The food used to be mediocre to bad but cheap, and has gone up and down over the decades with whoever was currently running the pub.

The food has just got immensely better - delicious crunchy roast pork belly and red cabbage, brill fish and chips with mushy peas (or puree of peas if you want to be posh) and good quality sausage and mash, and much better cooking than most pubs. Unpretentious good value and atmosphere.
They are out to give the Plough a run for its money.

white lady (Unverified), 30/09/10

The Red Lion, which beats the pub over the road hands down, was great. Good beer and a tasty carvery, a good buzz to the pub.

Charletpainter (Unverified), 22/08/10

What a fantastic family pub in a stunning village. BBQ food was superb, v. friendly staff and large secure garden for kids. This was our first visit and we will definitely be going back.

The Brights (Unverified), 02/08/10

My wife and I wound up here last Sunday after cycling over to the Trout Inn and discovering that the wait there was pushing an hour. We turned around and headed back to the Red Lion, picking more or less at random.

Cumberland's and Banks's ales were fine. The food, on the other hand, could be improved. I had the breaded plaice with chips peas and salad; the fish and chips were piping hot and quite tasty; the peas were acceptable, and the salad was disappointing. Overall, 7 out of 10 points.

My wife, on the other hand, ordered the salad with chicken, bacon, and Caesar dressing. The chicken and bacon were acceptable but not wonderful. The salad was tired iceberg lettuce, and there wasn't very much of it compared to the meat. My wife was disappointed by that because we had skipped the carvery as she wanted more greens. 4 out of 10 points.

We sat in the garden, which was lovely. In the end: a pleasant place to sit and have a good pint, with friendly staff, but the food was hit or miss.

Brian O (Unverified), 08/08/09

Visited The Red Lion on Sunday afternoon for a late lunch. There wasn't a great choice of food on the menu but it also didn't help that they were not doing their normal carvery for some reason, which was a shame as I probably would have chosen the carvery but chose the lamb shank and my boyfriend had the scampi, the food arrived too quickly for our liking. My lamb shank tasted ok but I had to have new potatoes instead of mash because they had run out of potatoes for mash or something! My boyfriend said his scampi was average. Overall it was ok, but we felt that the food we had was overpriced for what it was!

PW (Unverified), 21/07/09

My wife and I dropped into the pub on a Friday lunchtime about 12noon, looking for a quick meal. Although the pub was very quiet we were greeted by a friendly bar person who informed us both the lunchtime and bar menus were available. We ordered our meals and drinks and did not have long to wait before the food arrived. It was cooked well, tasted very good, chips nice and hot and crunchy, and of a generous portion. Will certainly drop in again for a lunchtime meal if we can receive this standard of service. Good pub food at a reasonable price

jscoop (Unverified), 10/10/08

The beer selection was "reasonable" with a choice of three bitters, mass produced but better than the usual selection. The wine list was similarly average - although they did have mulled wine on tap, which I had tried before at another pub and which is surprisingly nice!

The menu is uninspiring to put it mildly. 30 years ago it might have been interesting - rather like the decor. I was in the mood for some bangers and mash, but having seen a gentleman at the table next to me receive his meal, I changed my mind. There’s really no excuse nowadays not to serve a decent local butcher’s sausage. In the end I went for the scampi, which was a very generous portion and cooked through. My parents decided to share a tuna baguette, which, despite being big enough for the two of them and made with still-warm bread (although of the mass-produced type, not the home-made type), did cost nearly £5, which was going a bit far. My boyfriend probably had the best meal, ham, egg and chips, which came with several thick slices of good quality ham and two perfectly fried eggs.

Overall, not quite as bad an experience as others. It clearly needs to raise its game though, if it still wants to be around in five years' time. Finally, the restaurant was ridiculously overheated to the point of being uncomfortable. Not the best way to enjoy lunch.

Katy (Unverified), 18/11/07

I've had a bad experience with food here before, but not one to judge, I decided to give it another chance, so I went for the carvery two Sundays ago, and unfortunately found a maggot crawling in my veg. I was stunned, I asked to see the manager who confirmed that it was real and still alive (!) and offered me more veg or a drink! I at least expected my money back. So needless to say I'm not going back!

disgusted, wolvercote (Unverified), 18/10/07

Unlike the previous review, I had a thoroughly enjoyable meal at this pub at the weekend. I had a steak which was perfectly cooked, my wife had the battered cod, which was an enormous portion and clearly home made (battered). There was a decent choice of kids meals, and they enjoyed playing on the bouncy castle, which gave me and my wife a nice break after our meal. We were welcomed by a very friendly bunch of staff who looked after us throughout the afternoon. Drinks were a reasonable price. This pub really is far more enjoyable and relaxing than any other nearby pub, a real must if you are in the area.

Big B (Unverified), 08/10/07

As the previous review said, this is a family pub with bouncy castle and a good selection of drinks. It has a kind and friendly staff who were very accommodating.

I would strongly recommend you avoid eating there however. Two meals arrived partially thawed; one cod was uncooked through the middle. Most of the vegetables were again uncooked and two of our party succumbed to food poisoning later in the evening.

Adam C (Unverified), 09/08/07

Better than average family style pub with large garden with modern garden furniture and cosy indoor areas. Front bar area is quite small but there is a larger dining room at the rear that leads into the car park. Menu looked ok if not that inspiring. Overall, a not unpleasant experience but out-gunned by some stiff local competition.

Joe B (Unverified), 22/03/07