Red Lion - York

Myself and my husband live locally and opted to eat here (on a rare childfree night after wanting to try it for a few months. Unfortunately the experience and food was underwhelming. Firstly, the menu was quite uninspiring compared to the spring menu (change of chef I believe . The steak was presented well and was cooked as requested, but came completely unseasoned. The chips were very nice, but again completely unsalted. (We also had to try 3 salt grinders to find one that worked! . The onion rings were oily and slightly undercooked. The duck dish sounded nice on paper and was presented in an attractive way. Taste wise the dish was ruined by a sickly sweet 'jus ', which needed to be less sweet and more acidic to cut through the richness of the duck and dauphinois potato and counter the sweetness of the red cabbage. The dauphinois was very dry and flavourless and the portion was tiny. The dish was missing the crispy leeks and instead it came with, obviously, some watercress. Now the dessert the cheesecake was the worst I have ever eaten! It had a soggy oat base (with sultanas in! , like mushed up flapjack. The cheese mixture had a large amount of gelatine in which made it wibbly and eradicated the creamy mouthfeel that a cheesecake should have. The sticky toffee pudding was good, but unfortunately the custard was instant. The food service was slow, but the service from the young waitress was fairly attentive. The menu prices are acceptable, but based on the food we unfortunately we won 't be returning.

Out and about found the Red Lion and decided to stop for a meal. On entering the pub the young lady who greeted us was very nice offered us various seating options in the different rooms. The menu was very good reasonable choices the food was very tasty and arrived quickly after placing our orders. I ordered lime and soda to drink and was very impressed with the cost of it The young waitress was very friendly also. Will be returning if in the area again.

Service was bad and starters were not cooked scalops only two good job as my partner was sick most of the night .

Beautiful carvery, plenty of food and tasty! All 8 of us couldn’t fault the food and service. Lovely atmosphere too. Will be returning.

From the moment we walked in to the moment we left, the staff at this restaurant were excellent and extremely attentive. And then there's the food - WOW. Every dish was piping hot and delicious. The braised red cabbage was particularly outstanding - I could have eaten a whole bowl of it on its own. We will definitely be returning. Thank you for a fabulous dining experience.