Another Red Lion in St James — this one claims to be London’s oldest inn (don’t they all?). It’s hidden up a passage off Pall Mall, and we’ve walked past it loads of times but never gone in.
A gorgeous pint of Tribute made us think that we’d been foolish to ignore it this long. Very cosy, friendly staff, an interesting mix of uber-posh hedge-fund types and very down-to-earth Londoners moaning about the price of a pint.
3 replies on “A week of new pubs #2 – The Red Lion, Crown Passage, St James”
I was in there recently. I must admit I had a distinctly dodgy half of Tribute, so presumably you visited when they had a fresher cask on…
And it had been a long day at work, so maybe anything would have tasted good.
It was fairly quiet compared to other pubs in the area. I wonder how quickly they get through a cask?
I went to the Red Lion a couple of years ago (only Bass and Adnams Bitter on or was it Broadside). I went based on a glowing internet review that I had read. The reviewer boasted that the pub was hard to find and this kept away pesky tourists.
On my arrival I found a pub full of small groups of American tourists and not a local person in sight. Evidently we had all read the same review. Some Londoners wandered in eventually.