Secret Diner Review: Red Lion at Yardley Hastings

Published on August 8, 2014

By Sarah Thorley

Late one Sunday lunchtime we decided to go out for our lunch. I racked by brains and remembered The Red Lion at Yardley Hastings. I gave them a call and they said they could just fit us in…

Well, we certainly made the right choice. We were greeted by the landlady and made to feel extremely welcome. We were led to our table and offered a drink from the extensive list. The menu was impressive – a good choice and reasonably priced.

To start we both opted for the crab and crayfish ravioli and lobster caviar. It was amazing: just the right-sized portion and so full of flavour – creamy and subtle tasting. It did what a starter should do… left us wanting more.

For the main course I went for the chicken supreme with porcini cream. This is an unusual choice for me as I rarely select chicken or steak as I think they are easy options to cook at home. However, this was a beautiful piece of chicken served with an extremely tasty porcini sauce. My husband selected the steak and Director’s ale pie, which came out on a plate in its own pie dish. It was a generous portion. The beef in the pie was cooked until very tender and had a balanced taste of beer. Both came with a generous portion of very well cooked fresh vegetables along with delicious roast potatoes.

The homemade desserts were displayed on a board and they all sounded delicious. I went for the orange drizzle and my husband decided on the lemon posset. Oh, what good choices they were! The lemon posset was just the right sharpness and very lemony to help the dinner go down. As for the orange drizzle, it was a delightful end to a really fantastic meal.

The Red Lion is an extremely friendly pub: it is run by a couple who want to provide great food at reasonable prices. The service was great, the food was great. I have already recommended it to others and we’ll definitely return.

The author:

Matt lives in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. He is passionate about the independent food & drink sector and founded Great Food Club in 2010 after being inspired by local producers near his home town.