Red Lion The Restaurant

Lovely restaurant, been coming here for years! It’s a proper restaurant in the shell of a country pub. Been under new management since early 2011 and it’s the best in the 12 years I have been coming. Good menu selection, main courses range between £12 and £23.

Oh dear…
We came here on Christmas Eve for a family meal. We had been told that the restaurant had recently been refurbished with a new menu and new management.
The décor is very stylish with a combination of old rustic and more contemporary dining. The restaurant is separated by a bar in the middle which looks very cosy and inviting.
However, on Christmas Eve, we arrived and were seated promptly in the dining area closest to the entrance to the pub. It was absolutely freezing, a combination of the doors continually opening and shutting and drafty windows made it an uncomfortable atmosphere. Though in the other restaurant there was a fire which made that particular area much more inviting.
Once seated, we ordered from a rather expensive but large menu. My parents decided on rib eye steaks, my sister for piri piri chicken and I chose a linguini.
For some reason, it took a long time to order our food and eventually we had to ask a passing waitress if it was alright for us to order our food.
Our starters came quickly and we were pleased with the taste and quality. However, problems started to amount from there…
During our starters my parents were told that they had sold out of steaks and that they would have to re-​order, so they chose two fillet steaks instead. However, it was up to a young waitress to go around all the tables and have to admitt that they did not have their dishes that they ordered. This shouldn’t have been up to her, it should have been up to the manager and there should be a better system implemented so that all staff are aware how many of what dishes of what are left.
Later into the evening, we overhead other customers being told that there were at least four dishes that were no longer available!
The restaurant on Christmas Eve, when we arrived (8pm) and thereafter was not that busy but between starters and main we had an hour and a half wait.
To be fair, the food was very good and my parents both enjoyed their steaks with my father commenting that it was one of the best that he had had. My linguini was very well cooked though it was missing the chilli that was supposed to be in it. However, I think I enjoyed it not having the chilli in the dish!
My sister was not that fond of her chicken piri piri and complained it was not like Nandos… yes, I’d ignore that too.
Eventually, after our main meals, the manager/​assistant manager came around and apologised for the substandard service that we had recieved. To his credit, he offered us a round of free desserts or drinks and he looked so embarasessed by the whole situation that it was hard to condemn him any further.
It transpired that they had had problems with staffing in the kitchen compounded with a later date of opening the restaurant.
I think it is a terrible shame for this restaurant as the food is generally to a high standard with a lovely atmosphere and friendly staff. It would not deter me from going back, I just hope that they get all their problems sorted and didn’t have such problems on Christmas Day!

This is a nice big pub right in the heart of the friendly village of Handcross. It does concentrate more on the food side of the business than the pub locals which does detract from the atmosphere a little bit but it does make up for it.
Its perfect for large groups as there is so much room inside and out and they always have plenty of staff on the go to cope with things.
If you are a fan of long walks, there is an excellent one just opposite called Cow Wood, really picturesque and made even better when you know you can finish it off by a nice long lunch in this pub.