red lion grog house

no thanks.. chicken tikki masala is no more "english fare" than a burger (arguably less, as i'm fairly sure burgers lie closer to english in origin than anything masala).

and if the namesake of your establishment includes an overt reference to alcohol, i can't help but see the irony in not having a liquor license. i can't fault the owners for opening regardless of the availability of a liquor license, i just think it's ironic...that's all. irony, folks. settle down.

"maybe next time you should opt to speak with the owner of a new business about the "ambiance", and deco, before coming to your own conclusion."
--oh, i'm sorry, i thought the point of having a restaurant review was to have your own conclusion.

what is wrong with you people? my criticism was not ill spirited, it was just that: my opinion. the fact people feel the need to point out a specific review (ie. mine) as being "too harsh" or "inaccurate" defeats the entire purpose of this website.

this website provides aserviceto people--if everyone just sang the same hum-drum chorus about how fantastic every restaurant is, what's the point?

i didn't write a bad review for the sake of writing a bad review; i wrote a bad review because i didn't like the restaurant. this is not your grandmother's house, and if you "can't say something nice," you can still say something.


-----17 apr, 2010-----

not impressed. past reviews have been way too generous. i'm all for supporting local business, but the rlgh was particularly underwhelming and will not receive my business again.
1.) decor was severely lacking. for a place that presents itself as an english-style pub, you'd expect more, well, actual english flair. the only thing "english" about the place is the pub sign. no decoration, no aesthetics that make you feel like you're in a "pub"...just 6 big flat screen tvs, all completely distracting, along the bar...otherwise completely bare walls. i'm not sure if they were just in a hurry to open the place or if the current ambiance is the goal…either way it's less than pleasant.
2.) seating arrangement was less than ideal. all tables are arranged along one wall with a large bench, with add'l seats at the bar, and a few tables in front by the window.
3.) food was adequate: my burger--like described in other reviews--was good...though the "english style baked beans" that i ordered in lieu of fries were, quite simply, bush's baked beans. weak.
additionally, my wife ordered the soup 'n salad, the soup being good (tomato basil) but the salad consisting of a few shreds of mixed greens, veggies, and a whopping slab of bad-tasting thick-sliced ham reminiscent of left-over easter dinner ham. very weak.
4.) beer selection is minimal.

if you want a pub with more authentic flair, you're better served going to chatham or mcnivens or the brbp.

a new favorite!. my husband and i stepped in red lion 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.servicewas 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.

friendly faces. every visit to the grog house has exceeded expectations. this is where i go when i need excellentserviceand food. it is so nice knowing what to expect when everyone decides on this pub. all of my servers and bartenders have been friendly, inviting, and diligent. ben, and his gift to make you feel like an old friend having dinner in his home, is why i'm very comfortable visiting this pub even when i don't have anyone to go with. the tenderloin will blow you away.

food was really good andservicewas good. atmosphere was eh, is this place clean? music was kind of obnoxious. building bathrooms were outrageously nasty. we had to go down to pure restaurant to use their restrooms.

one of the better restaurants in fountain square. theserviceis good. the food is good. the tenderloin is average but their fish and chips are good. my wife got the black bean burger and really enjoyed it.

completely underwhelmed. my husband and i ate at the red lion 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 goodserviceor 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 to red lion 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. theservicewas 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 at red lion - meatloaf, chicken tikka masala, chicken pot pie, chips and curry, bangers and mash and of course the elephant ear. i would highly recommend trying the red lion.

disappointed is an understatement...poorserviceand only five other patrons in the place...and even worse food. had the scotch egg and bangers and mash...horrible!!! the waitress said it was one of their top selling dishes(find that hard to believe)... definitely not returning!!!

food was phenomenal, but theservicewas incredibly slow.

nothing bad.....just not great. went with a group for lunch today.servicewas friendly and prompt. i had the spicy curry chicken sandwich with chips. the chicken was marinated in curry as advertised and grilled, though not very spicy. i would have liked more than a thin slice of half ripe tomato on the sandwich and the roll could have been grilled or toasted. chips were nice with malt vinegar. others had 2 of the burgers and fish and chips. again, fine....but nothing to get excited about. would i go back? yes if thats where everyone else wanted to go, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

average at best. went with a friend of mine. had the big ben burger, and was hardly impressed.servicewas good enough, and the place had that feel l like. burger was not seasoned and not memorable in the slightest. i believe that the fried items are really good, and i will try some of those before i give it a dislike, but the first impression was middle of the road.

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 theservicewas 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 but red lion 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.

for grabbing a drink and playing trivia, i could see the grog house being a great location. for food, i’m still looking for a reason to want to order something else. theservicewas attentive and our food was quick when ordered. i think i’d give it another try if i was there for drinks and trivia, but i wouldn’t go out of my way.

... ruined fish and chips for me!. my wife and i have eaten here several times, most recently, this past monday evening. as i enjoyed my guiness draft, my wife was eating her fish and chips. she was very hungry and i was indecisive, so our server, brooke, brought out my wife's usual dinner order. i was shocked when she said "this has ruined fish & chips for me!" i looked at her quizzically and she continued "... 'cause i can't eat it anywhere else now!"

i had the waltimate burger, cooked to a lovely medium-rare. bacon, peanut butter, jalepenos ... mmm! they also indulged me and gave me a side of their mac and cheese, but let me add bacon and top it with a fried egg. everything was delicious.

everytime we have been there, theservicehas been excellent, relative to the volume of business they are doing. this was no exception. brooke was attentive, the entire staff accomadated our quirky requests.

thank you and keep up the great work.

one of the best in indy!. my wife and i really enjoy trying new restaurants (almost like our hobby) and we were pleasantly surprised how great this place was! this review comes after eating there twice in the last couple of weeks and we were both very satisfied with theserviceand atmosphere. the surprise was the food, which is some of the best around town in our opinion. at this point, i'd say this is my new favorite restaurant, so i'd recommend it.