Golden Lion - Hartlepool

I ordered a half of cask ale. I was holding a £5 note and the barman seemed to be incredulous that I was paying with cash. He said £2.15 and went to the till. Returning from the till I heard something hit the floor behind the bar. Unperturbed he gave me my change which was 20p short. So I said you dropped it on the floor. He had an unenthusiastic look around the floor but apparently couldn't see it so I told him to put in the charity box if he found it. Not impressd with his attitude at all.

We love the food at the golden lion. It’s a pub but the food is restaurant standard. A family member said it was the 2nd best steak they’d ever had when we went previously. I love their steak and mushroom casserole which comes with a suet dumpling and a choice of chips or veg. I actually hate mushrooms but I just leave those. Their chips are always gorgeous.

I went to this restaurant with my two grandchildren for lunch. The server was friendly, but my thirteen-year-old grandson stopped eating and told me his food was dry and overcooked. No staff members had checked in to ask how the food was, so I took the dish over to the bar to address the issue. They offered to replace the dish, but we declined due to time constraints. When we went to pay the bill, the item had not been removed as promised. I inquired about this, and after a wait, I was told that only half of the amount would be deducted because half of the dish had been eaten. This was supposedly the manager's decision. I was displeased with this outcome and informed them that I would not be returning to the restaurant.

Had our wedding here, Julie was a great host and wedding support. Food was great. Venue was great. Would always recommend to others. A huge shout out and thank you to Julie!

Another quick review…outdoor area is so bad. Cigarettes everywhere, disgusting tbh..surely you can clean the area. Wrappers everywhere so bad..