The good ol' red lion. For years its almost been a kind of 'also-ran' to the bigger and ever popular Black Tiles up the road. Its always been more traditional and 'pubby', but never quite managed to compete. Until now! Its got the same oldy worldy charm its always had, but now appears clean (no more dust!) and fresh, with decent lines (Starropraman, Bombay Saphirre, Tanq etc). Went in for a speedy tea before heading off to the Cinema in Ipswich, taking advantage of their set price menu (2 courses for £9 or 3 for £11). At this price i wasnt expecting much, but was pleasantly suprised. Starters were fast, Tuna fishcakes and prawn cocktail. I ordered the fishcakes but ended up with Lucy's Prawns. Both were tasty but the "deconstructed" prawn cocktail just wasnt as good as a normal one would be, and led to me having to eat it as Lucy wouldnt. All the elements were seperate, with naked prawns piled next to bread and a pot of Marie rose sauce. Looked good, but please, no more. Main courses were steak and Bombadier pie and chicken with mozzerella. The chicken was good, but again, Lucy was unimpressed with her pie, initially having to hunt for the meat, although upon finishing she said there was actually enough in there. I had a School Style strawberry jam pudding for dessert - proper yum!!
The bill at the end was under £30 including drinks for us both. Silly cheap.
All in all I now like the Lion a lot, and will definitely be back. The only criticism i could make would be the rather uninteresting and dull wine list, reminding me that I am very much in a pub! Looks like The Tiles has a competitor at last! ;-) read more