Red Lion Grog House

Seriously, if the service was any faster, they’d be feeding it to you! I asked them to recommend something and they didn’t recommend the most expensive thing, they recommended what they thought was best!
Melanie was an awesome server and took great care of me!
Kudos!

Really good fish and chips. The bangers and mash are also the real deal. I do mean the real deal. The sausages are true English. If only they had a cask ale…

How: delivery via GrubHub
Times before reviewing: 2 or 3?
What: fish and chips, elephant ear, grilled cheese, bread pudding, scotch egg
Verdict: fish and chips is absolutely phenomenal. The right amount of batter around the cod… The right amount of grease. Served with pretty darn good fries. More than your money’s worth
Elephant ear: say no.
Grilled cheese: via the 2^nd try. Not as great as the fish and chips, but a darn excellent grilled cheese sandwich. The cheese choices meld (and melt) together wonderfully.
Bread pudding: okay.
Scotch egg: had to just to see what in the world… It’s a hard boiled egg, with a layer of sausage around it, and that in turn has been deep fried. Strangely good. Got to try it at least once.
Can’t comment on service, since it was all delivered on two or three occasions… But it was packaged quite nicely.

My husband is british and i lived in england for 4 years. This is a nice twist on English tradition classic dishes with american innovative flavors. Great atmosphere. Definitely pub like. Not for younger children but they accommodate. Nice staff. Great drinks

Good food and fun trivia on Tuesdays and Thursday’s, definite plus they pay winners of each of the 3 rounds!

What a HUGE disappointment. Two burnt tenderloins, and soggy fries. Topped off with a sarcastic disengaged waitress named Michele. Had to ask for silverware… then mustard… then mayo. If she could have asked us if we needed anything versus dropping off the food and running away, our experience would have been better. Never did get my drink refill either. The worse part was that our re-​made tenderloins tasted like fish! I’m not a fish eater. Maybe I should have gotten fish and chips in hopes it tasted like a tenderloin. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend it to my clients or friends.

Good food and not far from the office? What’s not to like! We came here for lunch during the week and I was pretty impressed. It’s bigger than I thought it would be, which was good for our somewhat large group. The place has a cool look to it and some real character — definitely more than just a hole in the wall. We stuck to burgers and sandwiches mostly, since it was just a quick lunch outing, and everyone enjoyed their selection. I got a burger and it was cooked to a perfect med. rare, so nice work kitchen staff! Our server was also quick and attentive, which is always appreciated by those of us who need to get back to work in a reasonable amount of time. I think my next visit will have to be after work so as to enjoy some of the drink specials. Or, you know, maybe just another workweek lunch…

Love this place. The food is wonderful. I love the atmosphere small and cozy. Staff have always been friendly and the drink selections are very good.

In search of a good burger, I ended up at Red Lion Grog House. A British pub might not be your go-​to place for a good burger, but this place should definitely be on your burger (or pub) list. Located right in the heart of Fountain Square, Red Lion is packed full of traditional pub food including bangers and mash, fish & chips, fried mac-​n-​cheese balls and fried pickles. If you’ve been to the UK, you area aware that Indian food is a staple in many places including pubs. On the menu, you’ll find chips (french fries) and curry sauce. If you like curry, do NOT miss this. Their fries are awesome as is the curry dipping sauce.
Main courses on the menu range from salads, sandwiches and wraps to full on meals. I opted for one of the many burgers on the menu, the black & blue burger. They were not kidding about the blackened part. Heavily seasoned in «blackening» spices, and topped with a blue cheese dressing, this burger was awesome. The burger was cooked perfectly and served with a side of tater tots.
The drink menu is equally impressive. There are plenty of beers and a nice selection of mixed drinks. Many of their signature drinks are mixed with ginger beer which plays nicely with most of their recipes. All-​in-​all Red Lion Grog House is a great, laid-​back place to grab a drink or a bite.

First time at the Grog. We had a large group of 20. They handled us well. I ordered the French onion soup which had a nice beefy beefy taste. The Mac and cheese had a good cheese flavor but was a bit on the dry side.
I’d like to come back and give the fish and chips a go

This pub food is everything but pub food. The salad is a mix of different types of lettuces. The Fish and chips are not dripping in grease. The crust on the cod was excellent. Loved the fries. They may be famous for their gourmet burgers but I am crazy over the fish and chips. We had the elephant ear for desert. Wide selection of drinks and micro brew beers.

Red Lion is my sort of place, with a combination of great English pub-​style food, a beer list that never disappoints, always friendly service, and a casual and fun environment. While I have never been to England, this place certainly reminds me a lot of the Irish pubs that I spent my fair share of time in when I made it across the pond.
The space could stand to be about twice as large as it actually is, but I suppose that probably isn’t going to happen anytime soon. It sits right in the heart of Fountain Square, so getting here is easy if you are in the area. Parking in the near vicinity is pretty much just left up to street parking, but I think almost all of it in this part of town is free. There are some free public lots in the area too, so those are always an option if the streets are full. The restaurant is pretty much just a long narrow space, with table seating on one side and the kitchen and a smaller bar on the other. It can feel really cramped when it is at capacity, since everything is very close. I wouldn’t call this place a good one to go to with groups much larger than 4 since half of their seating is on a long bench against the wall, so having more than 2 on that side means numerous people are getting up if someone needs to get out/​in. Their bar only has 5 or 6 seats, but there are a few TVs above the bar area. There are a handful of TVs scattered throughout the rest of the place as well, but it certainly isn’t a bar that draws in a sports crowd and they don’t cater towards that type of environment. If you get one of the tables in their front area, it makes for some fantastic people-​watching on weekend nights.
The food menu has quite a few options that range from traditional English pub to American favorites. The majority of things on it will contribute directly to a double bypass later in life. They tout their fish and chips and their fried fish sandwich as being some of their specialties, and both dishes certainly stand up to that label. Their fried fish is some of the best, if not the best, that I have had in Indy. I have heard one of their servers describe the recipe and process as being passed down through the family for many generations. Their fries are the hand-​cut variety, and are always tasty. I haven’t ventured too far from those two options when I eat here since they are so good.
The beer list isn’t as extensive as some places, but it is always impressive. I think they have around a dozen taps, and they always have a great selection and variety of craft beers. They carry a lot of local options, and often have different local breweries on special depending on the day of the week. They also have an even larger selection of bottles, with plenty of both local craft stuff and unique offerings from around the world.
The service here tends to be very friendly, although it can get a little slow when they get busy. I think that their limited space both in the kitchen and in the dining area slows things down a little and makes things less efficient. They do tend to be crowded during the evening hours, and especially on the weekends. For the life of me, I can’t remember what they have going as far as music, but I have to think they have background stuff playing. I do know that when they have concerts next door, the sound from that leaks into Red Lion so you have to listen to muffled music of whatever style they have going that night.
I certainly find myself here much more often than some of the new craft-​food (is that an actual term?) places that are popping up all around town, although those have their place. If you are looking for good food at a friendly budget, and prefer to do that in a laid back atmosphere with great beer, then this is your place. Take a look at their website for their beer specials, and join for one of their popular trivia nights if you need a fun evening activity.

I’ve been here a few times in the last couple of months… and it’s been great!
The atmosphere is fun and relaxing, and the waitresses I’ve had are pretty impressive as they’ve handled most of the restaurant alone. They have super awesome trivia twice a week, and their food is definitely plentiful and filling. Their craft beer list changes often and they have a pretty decent selection of new beers.
Only complaint is the price of two meals and a beer– can be pretty pricey!

I went this weekend in celebration of my bestie’s «not 40^th» birthday. Service was AWESOME… loved our IU New York waitress. She rocked… she was to the point and efficient with just a bit of sass.
Food was pretty good. Loved the mozzarella sticks. Best in Indy.
But — whoa on the drinks. Terrible house vodka and WAY too much in my mule. My friend sitting down the way from me got the same and there wasn’t an ounce of liquor in hers, so we mixed it up at the table. I don’t know if the bartender got confused but ultimately we didn’t order anymore drinks and sobered up quickly after that!
I would go back for those sticks and next time, I’ll order beer. Thanks for hosting us though b/​c …it was awesome to all sit together!
The bathroom was nasty though they do share it. EEEEEK.

I am still a fan of this place. I’ve never had bad food here. For 1^st Friday the place was busy and we were a party of 9 so take that into consideration when I say service was slower than usual. The food was served hot and fresh, the drinks were good and we didn’t wait long for refills. I’m a huge fan of the scotch eggs, they don’t disappoint. The atmosphere is casual. There are televisions up in the place but they aren’t a big distraction if you are there to hang and talk. It’s a great place for soccer game viewing. We’ll be back again in the future.

Really great first experience! I got the portobello & Swiss sandwich, my friend got the fish and chips. The hand cut fries are crispy & flavorful. We came in on a Friday night around 11:30, the service was great. Food was prompt & DELICIOUS!

I stopped in for lunch and it was pretty calm. I ordered a patty melt and it was ok. Nothing outstanding, because even now I’m trying to remember what was all on my plate. I also went all in for some bread pudding. The pudding was kinda dry, but satisfied my sweet tooth. I dropped my rating because of service. To say that it was lack luster would be a bit of an understatement. Seeing as there were two servers, and four tables (including myself) all of which were finished eating… I don’t see there being an excuse for it. Took a good 5 – 10 minutes to get a menu. The food came out promptly. I asked for dessert, that also came out pretty promptly… and then I sat there for 20 – 30 minutes. My server just vanished. I figured it may have been a shift change… but the other server never checked on me until I flagged her down to ask for my check. This was not her fault, but lack of communication on my servers part.
Nutshell: The food is not much to write home about and service was too underwhelming to recommend you make a stop or go out of your way to visit.

Went here for the first time yesterday with a friend. We decided to go to the outdoor patio in the back. At first we weren’t sure what we were getting ourselves into, but we ended up having a pretty good time!
Some of their food looks a little pricey, however the appetizers are just as fulfilling as any entrée would be. I got the BBQ wings with ranch and about had my heart melt from how great they were.
My friend had the jerk chicken on the skewer and it looked pretty good. However, she dipping it in bleu cheese and that’s just not my thing. However, she enjoyed it!
I also had the Piccadilly Punch, but there’s a secret recipe to it, but I believe it was Malibu. However, it was super refreshing on a warm evening on the 4^th of July (kind of ironic going to a British themed on America’s holiday, huh?)
It’s definitely a place I will probably go back to, however, I think I would probably prefer to go there when the weather is nicer outside, so I can go out to the patio. The inside of the building is cool, but it’s kind of small and gets pretty loud.
I think it’s worth going and definitely way better than a lot of other places in Fountain Square.

To quote from the web page. «Red Lion is not a sports bar — it’s Indianapolis’s only upscale English-​style restaurant that exudes the sophistication and elegance of a five-​star restaurant and excitement and entertainment.»
Hmm UPSCALE? and exudes (oozes) sophistication and elegance of a five star restaurant. Maybe Im missing the sarcasm? Dressed in business casual I felt way over dressed.
First impression walking thru the door was not great. Entry needs a good scrubbing and a paint job. We waited about an hour to eat which was actually ok and understandable because of Dining Out For Life.
Our server was very friendly and he did a wonderful job considering how busy they were.
We ordered fish and chips and chicken and chips. Fish and chicken were really good chips were disappointing. For dessert we got an elephant ear. It was amazing. When I get a craving for this carnival staple and no carnival is in sight I know where to go.
I would have given 2 stars had the dessert and service not been as great as they were. We may go back and try something diffrent but I will still get an elephant ear.

Had a great meal at the Red Lion. I ordered the Fish & Chips with a Guiness and my wife got the BBQ Burger and a grog. The food was really tasty, well prepared, and served piping hot. The waitstaff was very attentive and the experience was just a good one.
Other reviews’ complaints about parking are fairly valid. We found a spot just fine, and it won’t be an issue if you’re in Fountain Square already for a show or night out, etc. But if this is your destination, you might have a bit of a walk from your car to the restaurant. The restrooms, as mentioned, are shared. We lucked out though, because they’re shared with the Hi-​Fi concert venue next door and we were having a pre-​show dinner. So by taking a restroom break, we wound up backstage of the concert we were going to go see. That was actually kind of awesome! However, they aren’t the best restrooms if that is a concern.
Overall, I recommend the Red Lion. Good food, neat atmosphere, and attentive waitstaff.