red lion grog house

nothing to write home about. i came to theredlion with my english (london-born) husband hoping for some authentic english fare for lunch. we each had a strongbow cider (on tap) and he ordered the chicken pot pie - i selected toad in the hole (english bangers in yorkshire puddings). my husband also had a cup of the soup of the day, aredconcoction with shredded cheese over the top.

the cider was pretty good (although i prefer blackthorne, it was not a big deal that they didn't offer it on tap). the soup of the day was good, although a bit on the sweet side. i didn't taste the chicken pot pie but according to my husband, it was nothing to rave about. the toad in the hole was pretty gross - it seemed overcooked and not fresh at all. the brown gravy was overpoweringly salty. i only ate about 2/3 of the dish and then passed the rest to my husband to finish. he said it tasted nothing like traditional english toad in the hole - and he would know, because his mother used to make it all the time. he said the pastry was too dense and overcooked, the brown gravy was too thick and way too salty, and the bangers seemed overcooked as well. the bill (with tip) came to over $31 and we didn't think that was very good value, considering the quality of the food.

unfortunately we won't be returning to this establishment anytime in the near future.

visited during lunchtime on a weekday. very different experience from our first visit whenredgrog first opened. then, portions were ample, and the price was reasonable. today, however, the lunch portion was tiny -- a less than 2 ounce portion of battered fish (just one tiny piece) and a mound of fries for $7.99. the portion was small but enough to momentarily fill me. the price for this size portion was out of line. it should have been $5.99 rather than $7.99. i doubt that i'll be back. just too expensive for what you get. also no refill offered on soft drinks.

a new favorite!. my husband and i stepped inredlion once before, before they had their liquor license, and promised that we would return. well, we did and we couldn't have been happier with our experience.

the beer special included a upland dragonfly for $3 a pop - a great price and very tasty. i love me some bangers and mash, but quite frankly, i have been disappointed with some of the other versions around town. i asked a few questions first, and then gave it a shot. it was the best bangers and mash i ever ordered from a restaurant. it's a simple dish really, so what can i say other than that the sausage, potatoes and gravy were really good. the husband got another traditional dish, fish and chips, and there were no complaints in that department. i can assure that the fries were great because i took a number of them off his plate.

we both thought our server was awesome, and my only complaint is that she and i could not, for the life of us, figure out where we knew each other from. oh well, i guess she is just a friendly face on the streets of indianapolis. service was fantastic, our food came out quick, and our drinks were never empty. the price for two meals and four beers came out to $35, so it was a great deal too...

there was also some trivia going on that night. we only made it in time for the "guess that tune" round, but wound up in 3rd place after a personal defeat in the second place tie breaker. it was still a lot of fun.

we can't wait to go back, and i would recommend this restaurant to anyone.

i would like to add a side note on chicken tika masala not being english - it was invented in birmingham, england in the 1970s.


-----09 apr, 2010-----

theredlion grog house is finally serving beer!!!

came with 7 other friends. i suggestedredlion on it 4.2 rating. the food was edible but not good. the burgers are horrible. this is not a 4 plus place.

completely underwhelmed. my husband and i ate at theredlion grog house recently, and were actually disappointed by how underwhelming the whole experience was. we had seen the reviews on here and other websites, so we were reasonably excited to check it out. long story short, it just wasn't worth it.

our server was nice, but seemed completely rushed off her feet, despite the lack of people inside. my guess is that they had a full patio area, because i kept seeing her, and the other two servers, running outside somewhat frantically. my guess is that instead of assigning sections to the restaurant floor, like a normal restaurant, they have a table-rotation thing going on, so each server has tables in the far corners of the restaurant and has to somehow manage that. to the restaurant management, i have to say that this is not a system that is conducive to good service or a relaxed atmosphere.

we started by ordering drinks, and for some unholy reason, the beer menu that they're supposed to be famous for doesn't have prices on it. which means that when my husband ordered a can of sun king's osiris, they charged him $7.50 for it. dafuq?

the food was ordinary. and i mean, like really ordinary. the fish and chips, their "specialty", was two small pieces of frozen, tasteless, breaded whitefish, over a mound of old, burnt-oil fries, and the tiniest serving of coleslaw that you can still call a "side". why they charge $13 for that i have no idea, and frankly, their pricing on this dish is offensive.

my portobello mushroom sandwich was fine. but that's all it was... just "fine". i would have happily payed $5 for it, as it was really nothing special, but i certainly wouldn't buy it again at almost $10. again, their pricing is simply bizarre.

long story short, we won't be back. we were disappointed in the food, and felt quite bad for the staff.

one of my new favorite places. i must admit, i wasn't really eager to go toredlion when i looked at the menu online, but my husband insisted that it was good. he was right. i have visited three times in the last four weeks. the service was exceptional each time, which always surprises me these days. i was surprised to see other reviews stating that they had poor service. they work as a team, so it isn't always your server picking up plates or bringing you more water. i have really loved all of the following foods atredlion - meatloaf, chicken tikka masala, chicken pot pie, chips and curry, bangers and mash and of course the elephant ear. i would highly recommend trying theredlion.

disappointed. we have just retuned from theredlion and i must say that we were sadly disappointed. it started out great, our server was attentive (i stated this was out first visit). we ordered the scotch egg which was very good (beware the picture shows 6 pieces, its only 4). i ordered the piccadilly drink which tasted great (very little alcohol) and my fiancé ordered the preachers daughter beer which was alright. this is where it started going downhill. first we ordered the picatto chicken sandwich with french fries and the special (steak, mashed potatoes, green beans). after our order was placed our server was rarely seen. we had to get her attention just to get ketchup for the fries. the fries were burnt and cold. our server brought out another order of fries which were also burnt, but piping hot! the sandwich tasted...interesting and had so much sauce the bun was soggy. the steak was good, as well as, the mashed potatoes and green beans. i ordered another drink,redlion grog, which according to the server was to be sweet, it definitely was not. it was very bitter. overall, the experience wasn't too bad, but bad enough that we will not return. i am a server of over 3 years so i am greatly familiar with how things run in a restaurant. we may have just been the recipients off a bad experience as the reviews of this establishment are primarily good. i hope this helps others and thank you for reading.

love love love!. this was a happy accident for us. we originally went to fountain square, with my out of town visiting parents, for a different restaurant, only to find it closed. we decided to wander around, and the cool name and sign of theredlion grog house caught my parents' eyes. it was wonderful!! our food was delicious (and huge), and we all tried something different (they ate curry for the first time) and it gave them an awesome impression of the coolness that is indianapolis! we will return :-)

this week’s target was theredlion in fountain square. pat and fran had been there before so it wasn’t a complete mystery. the location is the old gc murphy lunch counter; so it’s not too big of a space. our server katie told us up front she was fighting a hangover;something i’m sure we can all appreciate. i told her before lunch is over i would have to take her picture for my blog. she groaned, and then posed obligingly. however due to her frail condition at the time i won’t publish her picture; especially since i remembered to take pictures of our food. patrick decided on a hoosier tradition, a breaded tenderloin. he declared it a first-rate effort. a nice portion of tender meat with minimal breading ; just enough to protect the flesh and offer a pleasant crunch. all their sandwiches come with fries, or you could substitute baked beans, or tater tots . they hand cut all their fries and the result is a great 7/16 skin on french fry properly fried and seasoned. naturally i chose the m

meh.... my wife and i are burger hounds, and try to go a new place every week or two to sample the fare. she sometimes tries other menu items, i stick to the burgers. i liked the location, appearance and atmosphere of this place but the service was slow, it took about 40 minutes to receive our meals (we both had burgers) and this at 8 in the evening on a thursday. being kind of a burger connoisseur, i will simply say that the food here wasn't bad, but it also wasn't good either. i had the big ben burger; the chili had good flavor but the beef wasn't savory enough to hold its own against the chili, so the whole thing just tasted like really meaty chili. i am pretty fond of wheat buns butredlion doesn't offer one. the onion rings on the burger were the best part, but they aren't offered as a menu choice (still wondering about that one). my wife had the mushroom and swiss; she said it was ok, with nothing much more to say. the coleslaw was pretty good; good texture, creamy but not too thick, not too much of any one ingredient but i like mine a little sweeter. the burgers aren't hand patted, they are pressed (whether in the kitchen or out of a box, i do not know) and i think it had a lot to do with the flavor of the burger. i will say it's a decent burger for the price, but for a couple bucks more you could go someplace that really knows how to cook one. the beer list was great, but i don't drink a whole lot so i did not indulge. all in all, probably not a place i will go back to but i am not terribly disappointed either; mostly just unimpressed.

very good shepherds pie. i had read about the shephards pie at theredlion grog house, and yesterday i decided to take the drive from brownsburg to fountain square to give it a try.....and i was not disappointed! i loved the combination of spices...it was what i think of when i think of shepherds pie. it was slightly spicey, but not too much at all. the hostess said they use a bit of rosemary to turn up the flavor. the consistency of the meat mixture was a little thin, but certainly not runny. there was just the right amount potatoes covering the meat mixture, and then a layer of melted cheese on top. it's probably not the most traditional shepherds pie, but it was a fabulous version, and was absolutely delicious. it's worth noting that i am not a big fan of the shepherds pie at claddagh irish pub that everyone raves about. it's just too sweet for my taste. i prefer a more savory flavor. i also don't like shepherds pie that is tomato-based.

my meal was served quickly, and bubbly-hot by a friendly hostess in a great pub setting! my bill for the shepards pie and an appetizer came to $16.00...and was worth every penny. (appetizer was half-off prior to 6pm).

i've become addicted toredlion as of late. great burgers, chicken sandwiches, fish and chips. decent enough beer selection and great music.

can't wait to go back!. update: order the chips with spicy curry sauce and get extra curry sauce. i am a lover of yellow curry and this sauce was so awesome. i could have drank it! also, the burgers are pretty good as well. my husband got the black and bleu burger and he loved it. it was perfectly cooked to medium, as requested, and it was juicy. i am stuck on the blanket bangers and chips, so i of course still have not tried anything different.

when i came upon groupon's deal of the day about a month or so ago, i sawredlion grog house, and thought "hey, i have heard of that place." i looked it up on here and decided that it was definitely worth trying, so i bought the groupon. i have to say that i am really glad i did and i believe my husband is to. the owner was there, at least i think that's who he was, and he was very polite and kind and making sure everyone there was enjoying their meals. i love that they had a couple of sun king beers on tap and i love love love the location. i may be a sucker for nostalgia-type atmospheres and it was my first time in the fountain square area, but the area is super cool and hip. in fact, radio radio is an awesome music venue right around the way that we visited as well, but that's a different review. back toredlion grog house.....we started off with the scotch eggs and wowza! they were addicting and quite honestly you could put an egg on anything i would probably slurp it up. it was accompanied with a chili aoli and they had just perfect amount of a little heat in each bite. i ordered the blanket bangers with chips and my husband wanted to try the fish and chips. i couldn't finish my bangers but they were soooo good and they phyllo that was wrapped around them made them even more amazing. i am a huge fan of mcniven's fish and chips, so i stray away from anyone elses, but my husband did give me a taste and they were pretty good. he devoured them and ate one of my blanket bangers. i also love that they are a family-friendly pub as evidenced by all the moms and dads with their little ones in high chairs. we have a little one, so it's nice to know i don't have to get a sitter for her when i want to come back. the only thing that turned me off is the smell of the fryer which is very strong since a lot of the foods on the menu seem to be fried, but that is really the only thing that i didn't really like. the server was very nice as well and i can't wait to go back for some scotch eggs and to try something else on the menu.

good fish, great chips. have visited theredlion only once but will return. the fish and chips were good; fish light and flaky but a bit oily, while the chips were outstandingly good. made from fresh cut potatoes, they were perfectly cooked, hot and tasty. they even tasted good cold, as i nibbled the last few before my plate was removed. folks at the next table had the shepherd's pie and it looked and smelled great; think i'll try that on my next visit.