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Red Lion Inn Hinxton

SquareMeal Review of Red Lion Inn Hinxton

Like sister pub The Black Bull in Balsham The Black Bull in Balsham, The Red Lion turns an average village boozer into a top foodie destination with fair prices and a congenial atmosphere. The snug, low-ceilinged front bar is best for drinking and snacking, with a traditional pub menu including burgers and baguettes. By contrast, the more modern dining room also offers a more ambitious evening carte promising unusual ideas such as smoked eel with prawn tartare, black olive tapenade, leek crisp and vanilla mayo or seared loin of venison with pearl barley, celeriac and char-grilled artichokes. There’s a special fish board too, and the kitchen is known for its desserts, so try the chef’s plate for a taste of the lot; also watch out for the pub’s ‘pudding club’ nights. A 70-strong wine list provides plenty of choice, while beer fans will appreciate the pub’s own Red & Black ale.

Good to know

Average Price
££££ - Under £30
Cuisines
British
Food Hygiene Rating

Location

32 High Street, Saffron Walden, Essex, CB10 1QY

01799 530601 01799 530601

Website

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1 Review 
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Service
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Value

BoatLady

24 October 2013  
Food & Drink 3.5
Service 3.5
Atmosphere 3
Value 3.5
Lovely local worth a visit
I took some family here for dinner to celebrate my brother's first weekend off from his officer training at Sandhurst. Thank god I'd persuaded him to borrow a pair of jeans from my husband so he wasn't in the dining room in his bottom-skimming running shorts, all his befuddled brain had told him to pack on leaving the barracks. Because this is what passes for fancy dining in these here parts and it would just be rude to ruin the romantic and special meals everyone else has come out for with bare-faced cheek. The dining room with its light oak tables, high apex ceiling and bright lighting is not quite as atmospheric-ancient-pub as you might hope and gives it a wannabe restaurant air which I think is a bit of a shame as the snug bar and hallway areas have more of the grade 2 listed character and consequently are more fun, at least judging by the volume levels- hushed in our area, occasionally shrieking in the bar. The menu is quite wide and adventurous for a village pub: my sister in law had smoked eel while I had foodie combo favourite scallops with black pudding for starters. My main of lemon poached salmon with a green pea bavarois (woooo, fancy!) was lovely. My husband had a ridiculously enormous pudding plate for dessert with 4 “sample size” puds which pretty much finished him off and I think my brother's waistband (or rather my husband's waistband) was also rather strained. A few ales each for the boys and a couple of wines for the girls, and the bill came in at a very reasonable £142 for 4 of us. Our table with its trestle-bench seating was a bit unkind on behinds and service was not particularly slick but it was generally a fairly relaxing evening. We were entertained in particular by a gaggle of strangely dressed youngsters who kept straggling in and out of the pub; turned out to be a group of the staff (explained plaintively our NFI young waitress) on a fancy dress themed night out. Perhaps my brother's buttock-revealing sportswear wouldn't have been so out of place after all.
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