We decided to visit Thunder Bay on a weekend trip to Grand Marais now that things are starting to open up again! Red Lion was recommended by a friend. I was on a mission to try authentic poutine so I was happy to see this on the menu! It was not busy during our Saturday afternoon visit. We were seated immediately and service was great! Nice drink selection! We ordered 2 orders of poutine, chips and aioli, blue cheese wings, and the brisket burrito. Everything was very good. The poutine was unexpectedly delicious. Us American's thought chips were going to be chips but they were gigantic potato wedges! LOL Very delicious nonetheless. Very pleased with our first Canadian restaurant experience! read more

We try and stop each time we are in Thunder Bay. The staff were outstanding, especially with our kids. The beer was varied and delicious. The food was quick and hot and yummy. The restaurant itself was open and inviting. The place is always busy but not over packed. Love this place and will visit again and again. read more

Red Lion Smokehouse - Astronaut Girl beer. If you know where I can get more of this beer, please let me know! - Smokehouse Near Me - Thunder Bay, Ontario

Yummy but smallish tacos, a good fried chicken sandwich but only an ok burger (dry and oversized bun). Service was ok and as good as the fried chicken sandwich was, I ordered and was charged for the smoked chicken. Sandwich/burger and a side of fries or salad however came in way higher priced than expected, $32 each. read more

Red Lion Smokehouse - Fried chicken sandwich - Smokehouse Near Me - Thunder Bay, Ontario

Food was amazing, ambiance was great nice old fashioned and retro. The service was slow,think the waitress maybe just started but all in all the food made up for it read more

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What happened to this place. Walked in,server told us to grab any table. We sat down,server took her time to take our drink order, another 20 minute's or so she walks by with someone else's order and says sorry I'm doing the best that can.so I could only imagine when we would get our drinks and no food order taken yet. It wasn't very busy there this evening at all, needless to say we left, went across the street to another pub, got prompt service and excellent food. read more

Visiting Thunder Bay and first time at the Red Lion Smokehouse. The interior of the building is clean with friendly staff and fun atmosphere. We ordered the fat chips and aioli. They were tasty but not what we were expecting for a light late night snack. They should add a description to the menu so people know that they are ordering huge potato wedges. The drinks were good. It seems like it would be a fun place to go on a busy night. We were there late and there were not a lot of customers. It was pricey for a few drinks and the one appetizer but I would go back and have a meal as everything on the menu sounds really good. read more

Went to Red Lion last night. Nice atmosphere. I like the poster with the great british dogs. Food arrived relatively quickly. We got the cheese curds and banana peppers as appetizers. They were great- however, the bowl of cheese curds was mostly greens. Nonetheless, they were very good. I got a buttermilk fried chicken sandwich for an entree. Chicken was delicious. Bun was nice and toasty. We got a side of fries, and those were good. Overall, great place to go if you're looking for good food. Would highly recommend. read more

Skimpy sandwich for the price. Slow service. Nice beer selection but overall not recommended.

DO NOT GO HERE! Five big mistakes were made in my experience... 1. Chairs are metal, hard, and uncomfortable 2. Main dishes are overpriced and DO NOT come with a side 3. Food takes 40 minutes to come out (I know this is sometimes normal for busy restaurants, but it was empty in there) 3. The "deep-fried olives" which cost 5$ consisted of 10 olives on a small plate. Thats 50 cents per olive... like really? 4. Upon FINALLY reviewing the burger, it basically looked like a slider patty on a full size bun 5. THE BURGER WAS COMPLETELY UNCOOKED ON THE INSIDE!!!! I have no idea how it took 40 minutes to make an uncooked burger with no side but okay. Bonus: They barely gave us a deal on the bill. Will NOT be going back. Gordon Ramsey woulda been flipping tables and cussing if he shared our experience. Only good thing about the place... somewhat aesthetic atmosphere. read more

Have not had a bad meal yet! Always timely and delicious. Prices are a little high for what you get, hence the four stars. The sidewalk patio allows for some fun people watching while eating. read more

Solid vegan options and lots of craft beer. Meat eating friends also enjoyed their food. Nice service and outdoor seating.

Good service, good beer, but the food is barely edible at best. The poutine consisted of giant chunks of potato, artlessly deep-fried, with some cheese melted on them to the point of crispness, with stringy, dry, allegedly-smoked brisket on top, with some sort of red wine reduction. I took a few nibbles and when the waitress asked me how it was, I couldn't manage to say it was good, fine, alright, or even remotely edible. She graciously took it to the dumpster and brought my second choice, the maple bacon mac and cheese. This was at least somewhat palatable, but nothing resembling macaroni and cheese. There was no attempt at any sort of sauce or otherwise transforming the eponymous ingredients into an actual dish, though they were at least all present. It was just cooked noodles, again with bits of cheese melted onto them, with some maple syrup and bacon thrown in for no apparent reason other than to tick the boxes in the name of the dish. I shall not return. read more

I found a rock in my food I'm not sure why or what they're doing while cooking and my kid eats the food too

Excellent beer list, appetizers were just ok. Loud and busy place. Great for socializing and drinking beer. read more

Don't come here when you are starving: we waited 30 minutes for our food. And it was so so. The atmosphere is nice though. And very large selection of beers. The waitresses were all nice and helpful. read more

Great little pub restaurant to grab a bite and sip before a flight. Great selection of beers you have never heard of and and small menu of quality dishes. Had the beef rib with Fries.. Fries were awesome... Yukon gold and njce and thick. Beef rib was large!, and had a nice smoke that wasn't overwhelming. read more

Extravagant selection of beers, very pleased with my service and meal. Enjoyed myself the smoked risotto and the stack vanilla chai ale, I recommend both. Definitely plan on returning to this joint. read more

Red Lion Smokehouse - Smokehouse Near Me - Thunder Bay, Ontario

I wouldn't recommend this restaurant. The food is below average (we ordered burgers and fries). The menu wasn't very clear about the burgers having aoli on them. I had never had it before and it ruined the burger, which was undercooked. The service also wasn't super friendly and accommodating to boot. All things considered, it wasn't the worst ever but it was the most disappointing restaurant experience in quite some time. I wouldn't recommend this place if you're looking. read more

Ordered the spicy chicken sandwich. Came out fast but obviously too fast! Was raw inside, very disappointed

Had the hot wings and the bacon cheddar burger. Standard order but the food was excellent. Burger was cooked perfectly and the bread was great too. Very friendly staff as well. Not a single complaint. read more

This was a great experience for me. We sat and waited on the couch and play games while we waited for our table. This made the experience a lot more fun and our table is ready and I want to finish the game. That was the only minus star for me. Because I love playing games and it was just like a little tease. I do think that that is amazing though that they have games for you to play while you wait. Also as we are awaiting the bartender came over and asked us if we wanted anything and we were able to order our drinks and start wow we were playing a game. We got our table our server was incredibly polite and beautiful. I got the burger it was amazing the people I was with got the macaroni and cheese and they loved it. I totally recommend this restaurant to anybody who wants to stop visiting chain restaurants like swish chalet and all of those garbage places. This is a great experience for anyone who likes beer food and a great atmosphere. read more

Had an amazing evening at the Red Lion. The food was incredible, we sat at the BIG TABLE and were entertained all night matching wits with our waiter Forrest, whose service was exemplary! The beer list is massive and means we will have to go back again to try work through more of it. Next time we go back, maybe it will be for Quiz Night! read more

My boyfriend and I come here fairly often. He likes the taco Tuesdays and wing nights on Thursdays. As a minimal meat eater nothing ever really jumps out at me on the menu, but everything I've tried has been good. We have brought out of town guests here on two occasions and they were very impressed, we have also introduced friends to this place. However, the service is bordering on atrocious. Jordan is the only decent server we've had - he is fun and friendly and seems to actually know what he's doing. I have spent over 10 years working as a server so I guess I have fairly high standards, but even the basics don't seem to be mastered by their staff. They all seem like first-time servers who lack sufficient training. We have had wobbly tables (only takes two seconds to check/fix when setting tables for dinner service), a waitress who accidentally misled my friend into believing upsizing a beer was cheaper when it turned out to be twice the price (poor math skills on her part, sure he should have questioned it but it's her job to know what she's talking about). Servers that constantly interrupt to see if you need anything (it's called "silent service" for a reason) or alternatively and more annoying, are nowhere to be found. Worst of all, screwing up my order after double-checking TWICE. Even bringing the iPad to the table and punching in the exact three tacos I ordered and somehow it still comes out wrong. It was so hilariously bad it was almost like being in a Monty Python skit. The food and atmosphere in this place is great but it could be made better with proper training for the staff. read more

I'll start by saying the atmosphere and service were great, which boosted the score. The food, however, was bad. We started with the brisket poutine which was huge potato logs smothered in some weird wine sauce with a dab of cheese. I had the ribs which were on sale which was nice bc the sauce was kinda bland. The Cole slaw that came with it was pretty good though. My girlfriend got the bean burger and it was pretty awful. They seemed to have a solid beer list and drink menu and a cool assortment of bar games so it would be a fun place to grab a drink with friends. I probably would eat before I came though. read more

Good size portions Appetizers (pork bellies and deep fried olives) were great. Ribs were ok - have had better ribs from our smoker read more

Have been in previously for the odd drink or two, but first time coming in to dine. We started with the eggs on eggs on eggs appetizer, as well as the pork belly. The egg dish was a nice treat, very flavourful and loved the variety of texture. The pork belly was to die for, best appetizer we've had in a while, the pork just falls apart it's cooked so perfectly and the sauce was amazing. For dinner I had the classic pulled pork sandwich and my fiancé had the lambwich. We were both super impressed with how delicious our mains were, and the portion sizes were huge! They had live music from an Irish string group playing, and a great sized crowd. Our server was friendly and efficient. Only complaint is that I wish they had more wine options, as the house red was sub par. It made for an awesome date night, and we will definitely return! read more

Popped in for a pint with a good buddy while in town. GREAT huge selection of beer. Good pub fare, not a lot to choose from there, but great fish and chips. read more

First time here. Beef rib for me and briskit on a bun for Jen. Both great. Largest beer selection I have seen in town. We'll be back.

Food was mediocre, service was bad.. water tasted funky! Will wait a bit to try again! Love the atmosphere though!

Went there last night. The beer is great, though I do not know how they manage so many different kinds. Sort of overwhelming. The food was meh. Had the pulled pork burger, and it lacked flavour. I personally do not like how they do their fries either. I came for the atmosphere and liked it. But would not advocate it as a place for a good meal. read more

In Thunder Bay for work and stumbled across the Red Lion I think it was the stack of board games at the front door and the promise of a Connect Four match with a worthy opponent. I started with a beer. Local. Sleeping Giant 360 Pale ale. Clean and crisp not too hoppy and easy drinking. Once I started on my beer I was informed it was Taco Tuesday and had a choice of brisket, pulled pork, smoked chicken, pickerel or red pepper and goat cheese. Initially I opted for brisket, pulled pork and the pickerel. All of which were outstanding. The stand out among them being the pickerel. It was so good I ordered 3 more of just the pickerel. They were lift, packed with flavour and had a crispy and bright fennel slaw on them. I felt like running into the kitchen and giving the chef a high five! Bottom line, great atmosphere, great drink and beer selection, fantastic and knowledgable staff make for a fantastic meal, drink or quick bite. read more

Why a great atmosphere. Portions are small prices are high but the quality is there. Great drink selection! I would recommend the potato skins. read more

I've eaten here a few times and found the food to be inconsistent. I found the pull pork to be extremely dry and bland. The customer service I found to be atrocious. When I brought up an issue to the wait staff I was met with a rude comment and zero resolution to the problem. Will not return. read more

NEVER AGAIN! The ribs were awful and expensive. They were dry, cold, and tough - all things you don't want in ribs!!!!!! We would probably have mentioned this to the waiter, but he never came to check on how we were doing. We had to eventually flag another waitress down to give us our bill. We ended up paying the bill, and ate at another restaurant. It was a sad, expensive night... I'll never be back. read more

Acceptable pub food. Great appetizers (deep fried olives and BBQ pork belly). Large beer menu. Good service.

Awesome food and service - great portions!! try the potato skins! Don't miss this spot!

Good menu, good beer selection. Let down by a inconsistent cooking and inattentive service. Almost great, but not quite there.

Overall a very good experience. Good service and fairly quick to be served. I had the classic pulled pork. It had a good flavour but the bun was a bit soggy. It came with a homemade coleslaw and chips (fries) which were very good. I would definitely return as there were many other options on the menu I would like to try. read more

I have the pleasure of being a chef at the red lion I have never met a owner of a business who is so passionate about what they do I would recommend this restuarant to any one who appreciates authentic smoked food or a out of this world burger or if your just looking for something new to try. awesome quality kitchen to work in they have a josper stove one of only 3 in canada which allows you to cook food at excellent quality at a very efficient speed. 5 stars in my books for food and how the place is ran john is a awesome chef and puts passion into his food. very big up and comer in the thunder bay food industry. read more

First time here, nice comfortable clean place. Had the classic burger and fries. After opening up the dry oversized bun and brushing aside a few bits of arugula I managed to find a microscopic piece of burger that I assume was the patty. The fries turned out to be oversized wedges. The beer selection was great. They had a $10 off special on bottles of $45 wine which would have brought the total bill down to about $100 for two. The wait staff were amateurs and the washrooms were really nice. read more