We were so rudely shooed away from an empty table by the bartender upon entry that I was about to leave. Unfortunately, I did not listen to my gut instinct and we stayed, very sorry that we did after the horrendous experience that ensued. The other "available" tables were littered with spilt beer, empty glasses, and dirty plates, so we picked the least disgusting one, ordering an ale, a shandy, one Steak and Volden Ale Pie (£12 - $15.50) and one Ale Battered Haddock (£12 - $15.50). Arriving in due course, the steak and ale pie appeared decent, but my haddock looked atrocious - greasy, soggy, and burnt - so I returned it to the bartender, telling him that it was inedible. He offered to replace it, although I think he lied when he told me that there were no more steak and ale pies, so, being short on time, I ordered a simple Burger and Fries (£10.50 - $13.50) and told him to "keep the difference". Having missed two of our flights to London through no fault of our own, our luggage had been lost, forcing us to wear the same clothes for 4+ days straight. We had to be back at our Airbnb flat NLT 6PM to accept delivery of our finally found bags, having an early morning departure for Paris the next day. I waited and waited for the burger to arrive, but as it was going on 5:45PM and it was still nowhere in sight, I asked him if we could take it "to go". Frenchy refused to box the still nonexistent meal for me, so we had no choice but to leave, having paid nearly $16 for a meal I never ate. What a wanker! CombatCritic Gives The Old Red Lion 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On My "WALL OF SHAME" ... More Bombs Are Better! read more

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Nice bar with a back patio! Not overwhelmed with many people, and the interior was comfortable. The lighting could be a little better. Ps they have a cute swing dance thing, looks like fun! read more

The Old Red Lion is tucked up in the less salubrious armpit end of Kennington Park Road nearer Elephant & Castle. From here northwards things can get a bit tense of an evening if walking alone. Having said that, it's a short walk from the tube and on a busy main road next to a shiny new Tesco Express. I used to pass this place before it's present incarnation and it was always a dark and depressing sight, full of locals nursing cheap ales from early o'clock. Good news, it's much much better than that now! I don't know the Balham Bowling Club or other spots the landlords of this place run, but I've heard good things. This goodness has shone on the ORL as well. . Filled with mismatching retro furniture in a large mock tudor space. Still feels traditional but with an edge. Interesting and unusual bar snacks. Beautiful wisteria filled beer garden lit by candles. Wine served in goblets and carafes. Best thing about this pub? Well there's two things. The staff are just the right side of friendly, appearing both efficient and knowledgeable without being overbearing. Second thing is the toilets. Always nice and warm down there of a cold evening. Jet dryers to boot. And once again, some quirky pics hung in all the right places. They now have a full evening menu and, of course sunday roasts. There's also the obligatory quiz night and now also a folk sessions evening. It continues to go from strength to strength as the word spreads. Long may it continue. read more

Love what they have done with this place since my previous visit, a couple of years back. Now not only does the pub look like a proper pub but it serves really good beer. The Oakham Macaw was so delicious..probably one of the best beers I had in 2012! read more

Very chilled, with sofas and a proper smoking areas (candle-lit, just as romantic as a pub could get). Good beer. Only issue: took forever to order, the waitress kept going back and forth to the storage and we wasted about 20 minutes. 20 minutes to order in my local pub - definitively above my limit. That being said, still love this place. But if you're so understaffed, just do BYOB :) read more

The ambiance is great, the beer selection is good, and the food is realllllly good. This is the best dinner I've had in my visit to London, which I did not expect from a pub. Their rump steak was perfectly cooked and flavorful. Cheers guys! read more

The Old Red Lion is a really cozy pub right near the Kennington tube. It is spacious and offers indoor seating (fun comfy chairs and sofas, tables with low bar stools, etc) to a beer garden, which is small but charming. The service is excellent - friendly and speedy. Also, they give really generous pours on "small" glasses of wine! The prices are hard to beat - a wine and pint was not even £8! I couldn't believe it, especially given the quality of the ambiance and staff. I haven't tried the food yet, so it's hard to comment on that, but the wine selection had a nice variety, especially for a pub. This really is a top notch pub and I would absolutely come back when venturing out to Kennington. read more

This pub is great. I frequent it often. They have great beer and great service. The food here is delicious. My favorite is the homemade beef burger. read more

I had a really good night in this surprising pub which does a great job at mixing cool with tradition.

I heard about this place from one of my girlfriend's colleagues, and was pretty skeptical at first. The pub's been around for ages and I always used to cycle past it to work, but it looked like the sort of grim dark local where you'd go at 11am on a weekday to meet up with likeminded (very patriotic) alcoholics, and stand on the pavement chugging through your 60-a-day whilst waving your arms around and farting. But (even if that was never actually the case) it definitely isn't now. It reopened under new management a few weeks ago, and is now really quite appealing. It has its quirks - quite a few nooks and crannies, and funny little low doorways either side of the central bar to get round to the far side - but has been well done up with an odd but well chosen assortment of furniture. Also, most surprisingly - it's actually quite light inside, and has a beer garden! No idea what the food is like (they hadn't yet opened the kitchen yet last time I went), but there's a decent selection of beers on tap / bottled (similar fare to the Tommyfield actually), and they do a reasonable selection of wines by the glass, as well as carafes of 250/500ml. The bar staff were welcoming (if perhaps a tad slow), and the music was eclectic but good. Would certainly recommend it - a welcome addition to the Kennington pub selection (and close to the tube!) read more

Lovely pub now, quiet at the moment but no doubt will pick up and become a favorite.

This is a great pub. The interior is realy cosy and the beer garden is amazing. The food is very good as well and everybody at the bar is extremely friendly. This is one of the best pubs i found in London read more

Great, comfortable pub with a good, casual atmosphere. Nice garden too. Like being served wine in a carafe. Huge choice of cider too.

Really like this pub, yet another old boozer done up by Antic. Love the mismatched retro furniture and the little details like the dolls houses at the back. Had delicious meatballs and polenta on my most recent visit, was actually really impressed. I hope they do as good a job with the place in Streatham they are taking over. read more

This pub is lovely with lots of character. Multiple rooms with many little corners for smaller parties. They even have an outdoor patio for the time when the weather finally gets a bit nicer. Highly recommend this pub for a relaxing evening with friends. Or an engagement party in the backroom (which we did). read more

I feel privileged to say that this is my local. One of the old, quirky, original little pubs still left in London. Weirdly decorated, low ceilings, stained glass. You can hear the trains rumbling over their underground toilet! A god range of wine, beers, ciders and a gorgeous little garden out back. They have extended this with a lovely conservatory outback. Friendly bar staff, and delicious food! You can hire areas out. The only downside to this pub is that their pub quiz is IMPOSSIBLE to join. Unless your'e joining people who already have a sacred table then don't bother. You have to get their "early" and then find out they're full. We did this twice in a row. And then they shut the whole conservatory area for it, so unless your'e one of the super special people who get to do the quiz then you get RAMMED with the rest of the world in the front area. A nice crowd of normal people from the area. read more

Excellent pub with a lovely conservatory area out back. Head chef's food was a real winning mouthful - the meat was firm yet tender, and the fish course was delicious. Perhaps slightly over salted though. read more