The Lion Pub & Restaurant

Good drinks, bad service, terrible food.
Finally found a place with both Guinness and Strongbow on tap, a great black velvet… little did I know at the time that this would be the highlight.
Wife had the chicken curry, I had the 14oz prime rib which is their special… only served Friday and Saturday.
Chicken curry was basically bland chicken on top of bland rice with sauce on top and stirred together… sweet and gross.
I asked for medium-​rare prime rib and ended up getting a fatty and blue rare piece of meat which was inedible.
After 10 mins of this in front of me and no waitress to be seen… I just ate the sides, except for the yorkshire pudding which was like eating thin cardboard. After I had finished the sides, the waitress finally comes over and says «Why didn’t you tell us, we could have heated it up for you» ugh.
Do yourself a favor and give this place a miss.

Local, hometown pub with great lived-​in vibe and big spaces for big groups. Too bad my service was so meh.
This review’s a quickie. I’ve been to the Lion before, because it is a stone’s throw from the hockey arena where I play. The jumbo wings are great, not too greasy and very little unhealthy skin, which is great. So we headed over after our last game in our tournament this past weekend.
Atmosphere:
Rather British, I would say. Dark wood panels, uptight squares, assortment of tables on the bar side. The place is quite large for an independent bar, with two full rooms that could easily hold three hockey teams each. One more of a bar space, the other more of a restaurant area. Nice and homey but clean, but not too clean, just the way I like my bars.
Food:
We were in a brunchey mood. We ordered English Breakfast and I got a coffee. It came with scrambled eggs, brown toast, some chunky potato home fries, bacon and two pieces of maple sausage. A tasty heart attack. You can tell I don’t order this sort of thing much anymore, huh? The eggs were decent, but the bacon was hard and dry. The sausage was slightly sweet and nicely browned and simple. The menu said it came with fruit, and that meant two orange slices.
The potatoes were the best thing, nicely spiced but not too salty. Could have been charred a little I suppose but I liked them the best. The portion was decent, big enough to share only if you weren’t ravenous.
I probably wouldn’t come for brunch again, but their wings are solid and if their brunch potatoes are good, I bet their fries are too.
Service:
This is where I wasn’t too impressed. Not a great attitude from our server, who seemed to find smiling a difficulty. At least our food came on time, but asking her directly for things (such as milk instead of cream for my coffee) seemed like I was inconveniencing her a little bit. Right. Nothing too terrible, just not what I’ve had there before. It’s never been spectacular, but it’s never been as meh.
Overall:
Come for the independent, hometown bar atmosphere or to watch a game with a big bunch of friends. Come for brunch if you want something old-​school, simple, and pretty greasy. Enjoy!