The Red Lion

They’re only open Wednesday to Sunday, and food is available just Friday and Saturday. It feels like they’re letting the place run down, the way they did with th globe, so they can turn it into flats. The staff seem to look after their local friends.

We only came in for dinner, didn’t stay over. It’s a quaint little pub, just the sort of place I like, with a friendly crowd, pleasant staff and a good range of ales and wine. The dog was happy sprawled out by the real fire, and we had a nice evening despite the food being uneven. The pizza seemed to be the popular choice, and my wife really enjoyed hers. My chilli con carne was thin and short on flavour. Then dessert arrived: a banoffee “thing” that made me laugh. Skye, our lovely waitress, was very apologetic bringing it out. You’d need to see the photo, as that dessert didn’t inspire much confidence in the kitchen.

After a long drive to a rural campsite, we took a chance and walked in on Good Friday. It was busy, but the staff welcomed us and found us a table right in the middle of the Friday night buzz. The live music was proper foot-stamping stuff, the menu looked brilliant, and the food and beer were both delicious. It’s a pleasure to find a country pub that’s kept its roots and friendly local crowd instead of going all “gastro”. The atmosphere was superb. Thumbs up!

We were in Chumleigh for a couple of days and came here twice. The pub itself is beautiful, in a lovely village, and the staff were great with a friendly clientele. On our first night I had one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had. For our anniversary the second night, we had the best steak we’ve ever had, and it wasn’t even close.