"Sunday Lunch"... it says it on the tin.



Yorkies with everything.

 Our first post in what seems like an age. We are almost through May now, with the BBQ season in full swing & quite a lot of Bank holidays already under our belt. We have hog roasted, whole lamb roasted & regularly spit roast chickens in the garden, but it is Sunday Lunch that is still as crazy as ever, with the usual queues forming outside the front of the pub come opening time. These are the regulars who know that we have a no bookings policy & want to secure their table early on, a wise choice and well worth the sacrifice.Our Sunday lunch is one of the best known in the area, another fact we are proud of.



Arise!  Sir Loin

  As you can see we make everything on the day, with duck fat roasted potatoes, glazed carrots, fluffy Yorkshire pudding, swede & carrot mash, plus at least two other seasonal vegetables. The gravy is made from a stock pot that has been on the go from three days hence.



A shank so soft, you can leave your teeth at home.



 The meat choice usually comes in three forms - Sirlion of Beef, Whole Roast Chicken for two to share or Slow roast Lamb Shank that ,come service, is clinging on to the bone with every last ounce of it's ever diminishing strength.

  We fully appreciate the Sunday Lunch trade is a done deal in pubs & restaurants up & down the country. We do not pretend to be a market leader using rare breed this & that or organic home grown that & this from the farm next door.(There IS no farm next door, only a used car dealership !)
  What we offer is a good quality, carefully considered, well cooked plate of food that you will eat, hopefully enjoy, and then leave contented that it has done exactly what it said it would on the tin.
  In fact that pretty much sums up our ethos about food at The Red Lion Barnes, we employ chefs, yes they know what they are doing, yes they are trained & yes, they can cook,  they enjoy their work & they work hard. We are not trying to gain a Michelin star,(unless you know someone who is giving them away) we just aim to feed normal people and make them happy - Simple !........well it's not, but we make it look like it is !



Well, what you looking at ? It's Steak & Chips of course !!



Spring Sprinter

A surprise package hit the bar last weekend in the form of a brand new ale from the brewery called Spring Sprinter it is available during April & May & is a light zesty ale with a real spring in its step. Brewed to 4% ABV with Nelson Sauvin hops harvested in New Zealand, this wonderful beer has subtle gooseberry flavours which are balanced perfectly with the biscuity sweetness from the English malts.

We are recommending it to go with our famous London Pride battered Haddock & Chips as perfect accompaniment. Give it a whirl some time, it really is that good, especially in our garden with the sun on your back, what could be better.

It's all about the drink.

One thing that has not yet been given coverage on the blog is our selection of drinks available, silly really considering it's a pub & all!.

Of course we offer the usual pub fayre & are continually on the lookout to keep up with the pack & serve the latest offerings whilst trying not to alienate our market, in that, just because, we, know about products, from within the trade and/or think they are cool , it doesn't follow on that customers actually want them. So whilst we do keep up to date, we also keep it real.



Malt Selection





We try to not to over stock , thus you won't find that old bottle of Creme de Menthe on the back of the bar gathering dust since 1989 !, nor will you find the entire range (or indeed any) of Bacardi Breezers or any other sickly alcopops.

Sipsmith Gin, amongst others.

But we do have most bases covered. We have recently revisited our Malt whisky selection, dumped a few, & got in a few newbies, Glenrothes, Auchetoshan & the Welsh Penderyn being the latest additions, I am seriously considering holding a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue label , but will probably wait until the demand increases ! We are also very happy to be stocking Sipsmith Gin, from just over the bridge in Hammersmith.



Whatever we do.......



Our biggest focus are our Cask Conditioned ales, always Fuller's own & being a "Mastercellerman" means that the ales are always served in peak condition. The stalwarts of the bar are London Pride, ESB & Chiswick with the fourth being the seasonal option. Fuller's London Porter & Organic Honeydew are also available as a kegged version, both of which have a very popular & loyal following. (The chef can't keep his hands off our London Porter, you will often find it used in our cooking)

The wine list is carefully chosen and most varieties & countries have a fair representation.You can view the complete list over to the right hand side of here.

Boon, Kreik & Framboise.

We are not a big bottle beer pub, but are extremely happy to be one of the few selling the Swedish cider ,Rekorderlig, it is proving to be very popular and will be interesting to see how it sells this summer. We have an exiting secret planned on this but am not telling yet.

Also available are the Boon, Lambic fruit beers, Framboise & Kreik, they have a solid fanbase from our aficionados rightly so, because are very delicous & a premium product.



Ringden Farm Apple Juice


Soft drinks are a large part of our portfolio, we have a good range of the Bottle Green Presses along with Ringden Farm apple juices, a firm favourite with our younger clientele.

Bottlegreen Presses

Our hot beverages offer most of the Twining tea varieties, herbal, fruit or otherwise, the obligatory coffee selection and our famous deluxe hot chocolate, with chocolate spoon, cream & marshmallows.



V.I.P nuts



Last but not least is one of our favourite products VIP nuts, believe it or not another one of our locally sourced products.Available loose from kilner jars, a perfect accompaniment to that long deserved drink.

The Hallowed Turf.

We have had a little work done !
 Last week saw the refurbishment of our beer garden, with no expense spared, we have had an irrigation system installed and brand new turf laid, as you can see is was a big job. It should  be ready to use in about six weeks. We are proud of the fact that we have one of the best beer gardens in London, and are keen to keep it that way.
It would have been easier to deck the whole lot, in fact somebody even suggested AstroTurf ! - can't remember who that was -perish the thought.

So it took five days of hard labour and are we extremely happy with the results. All we have to do now is ... nothing, something I am very good at, or so I am reliably informed.









Where's my grass gone dad ?



Half way there !



KEEP OFF THE GRASS !







Snowfall, December 2010

Red Lion from Elm Grove Road corner.

 Just in case the weather is not getting you down enough and you are not longing for lazy summer days, hog roasts & BBQs in our garden, as depicted on earlier posts in our blog. Here are some snaps of the pub during last year's snow, oh what short memories we have ! As one of my locals told me, he likened it to a visit form the "in laws", great to see them, but can't wait to see them go - or words to that effect !


Snow covered decking



A snowy front.

Burns' Night passes by...

Thanks to all who came & enjoyed our inaugural Burns' Night, it was a massive success & was fully booked up with two weeks to go, I would like to thank Mr Julian Glover & his lady wife Ms Isla Blair for their beautiful readings & input, Mr Mark Cockram (Cockram Books) for hosting, although being a bonafide sassanach, done a Stirling job , Mr Charlie Ward http://www.london-piper.co.uk/home on the pipes & Mr John Canmore for his excellent renditions. Everybody thoroughly enjoyed themselves, I think we can safely say it will now be a regular feature at The Red Lion Barnes for many years to come. If you missed out, sorry, but at least you can book early for next year !

Burns' Night at The Red Lion Barnes.

You are able to view our menu for Burns' night by clicking on the picture, left.

It is going to be a good night, We have some thespians involved there will be a piper, whisky,and a freshly shot haggis !

BOOK NOW !