It was a freezing cold Tuesday evening when my mum, auntie and myself all decided on a girly night out.
We were after a cosy setting, good wholesome food and a friendly atmosphere. We found all of this at the Red Lion, Longden Common.
One of the owners Greg Dare, greeted us, seated us at a table, and immediately provided us with drinks.
We perused the menu at leisure, deciding on a chicken liver paté served with side salad and toast at £3.50, and chicken goujons with a sweet chilli dip at £3.75 for starters. The portions were extremely generous, with a mountain of paté, and the goujons were gorgeous, also assisted by a fresh, crisp salad.
For our main meals, mum chose the 8oz sirloin steak served with mushrooms, onion rings and tomato at £9.95, my auntie selected the homemade fish cakes with potatoes, vegetables and parsley sauce at £7.50, while I went for the cottage pie and fresh vegetables at £6.75 off the specials menu.
Within minutes we were tucking into our piping hot meals. My cottage pie was huge and deliciously tasty with a cheesy topping.
Between mouthfuls, my auntie informed me that the fish cakes were gorgeous with generous chunks of salmon, while mum devoured her tender steak, crispy onion rings and beautiful mushrooms.
Although we were stuffed, we just had to try the homemade puddings. All priced at £3.50 we chose the chocolate mousse, fresh fruit pavlova with ice cream and treacle tart with custard. The mousse was light and perfectly chocolately; the treacle tart had a combination of a chewy centre and crunchy base, and the pavlova had an amazing selection of fresh fruit, and I can honestly say the best meringue I have ever tasted. In fact, Greg informed us that customers have travelled miles to sample his wife’s pavlovas.
Overall, we had a thoroughly enjoyable evening in the olde worlde country pub and would definitely recommend the homemade food with a modern twist. Greg and wife Carole have only recently taken over the Red Lion and I’d like to wish them all the best in the future.