Tuck into tasty tapas at Ye Olde Red Lion

Ye Olde Red Lion
Bicker
Telephone 01775 821200
www.redlionbicker.co.uk

Having previously enjoyed a lovely evening meal at Ye Olde Red Lion in Bicker, I jumped at the chance to go along and sample the restaurant’s Lincolnshire tapas menu – and I wasn’t disappointed.

My colleague Mel and I dined at the restaurant on a Friday night and when we arrived at 6.30pm there was already a buzz about the place.

Ye Olde Red Lion is a lovely country pub with a delightfully rustic feel to it.

The Hobble Barn restaurant seats up to 60 people and the bar area, where we sat, offers several secluded rooms where you can enjoy a romantic meal or a natter with friends.

We were greeted by a lovely, very attentive waitress who showed us to our table and looked after us for the rest of the evening.

We were able to choose from the restaurant menu or the summer tapas menu – and opted to share some tapas.

We weren’t sure how much to order but our waitress offered some guidance and we chose two Yummy BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders (£4.95 each), Succulent Calamari Rings (£4.95), Lion’s Lincolnshire Meat Tapas Board (£7.50), Melting Lincolnshire Breaded Brie Bites (£4.95), Trio of Crispy Seasonal Vegetable Donuts (£3.95), Panko Coated Lincolnshire Breaded Chicken Strips (£4.50) and Mini Lincolnshire Boston Sausages (£4.50).

Most of the dishes were accompanied by a dip, and we were spoilt for choice with garlic aioli, piccalilli, spiced plum chutney, sweet chilli, tomato relish, coleslaw and honey and mustard glaze – all homemade, I must add.

Other tempting choices on the menu were Warm Roasted Garlic, Tomato and Basil Bruscetta (£4.50), a Half Pint of Grimsby Peeled Prawns (£7.50), Mixed Leaves, Sundried Tomato and Olive Salad (£3.95) and Roasted Seasonal Vegetable Tartlet (£4.50).

When our food arrived – beautifully presented on two large wooden platters – we thought we’d never eat it all but it was far too good to leave any!

Being a seafood lover, I particularly enjoyed the calamari, while Mel’s favourite was the chicken strips, which were crunchy on the outside but perfectly tender inside.

We were both pretty full but 20 minutes later the dessert menu proved too tempting so Mel plumped for summer berry crumble with custard and I chose homemade ice cream (one scoop each of morello cherry, honeycomb and raspberry sorbet) and we soon polished it off!

The tapas choices change seasonally with the new winter menu launching tomorrow night.

Ye Olde Red Lion is the recipient of a highly commended pub of year award from Select Lincolnshire and recently received a gold award from Lincolnshire Today magazine, in recognition of outstanding quality and service – and I can see why.

There is a range of menus for all tastes and budgets including a special tapas offer on Wednesday nights, the Lincolnshire tapas menu that we dined from, a lunch menu, a restaurant menu and a Sunday carvery.

There are several special events coming up including a quiz night, live music, a Beaujolais evening, a Halloween-style medieval night and Christmas and New Year events.

And if we happen to be lucky enough to enjoy an Indian summer this year, the pub offers a lovely sunny garden area with views across the fields.

Review by Rachel Mayfield