Red Lion Public House

A Marston’s pub located on Wilmslow Road, this time in Withington. The Red Lion is an historic traditional pub dating back to the 17^th century.
The Red Lion is popular in the summer, featuring a bowling green to the rear. It is possible to sit out here.
Inside there is a comfortable atmosphere with a conservatory added to the rear. However, beware of the low celing in the bar!
This pub remains unspoilt by the passage of time and is worth stopping off at before heading into Didsbury.

The Red Lion used to be our local for Friday after work drinks and starting the weekend. Nothing much has changed, except new TV screens and that a live band played later in the evening (we were there on a Friday). It’s a nice pub with friendly staff and cheap drinks.

On a sunny day you can head along to the Red Lion and sit out in the beer garden over lunch with a couple of pints.
A couple of old guys will be playing bowls on the extensive bowling green, and they’ll be staff from Christie’s having a well earned break!
The food menu is fairly broad, and about what you’d expect for typical pub food. Good food, at a not-​too-​pricey level.
You could actually make everyday Sunday, and have a roast carvery if you wanted to! If you love roast potatoes (as I do) then this is the best way to make sure you get enough :)
Today I couldn’t resist the lite bite that they’d called pie! Served with chips still, it was a fairly normal sized pie, and just the job. (Imagine how big the normal pie is? :O) I ate with someone who had nachos for one, and as the portion size was fairly big I got to steal a few as well.
Really is nice with all this great we’re having to sit out in the sun at lunch, and have a proper break. I’m happy that I only live a couple of minutes away. Was also happy that when my phone got to boiling temperature there was umbrellas to sit under.
I’m not a football fan, so it’s great to along out of the season for me. In season, in the evening I would expect that most evenings there’s football. So I tend not to go as much then. If you’re a fan then it’ll be a treat for you.
In summary. Traditional pub. Great in the sun.

Watch your head, tall Unilocalers! That’s a low-​hanging ceiling you’ve got there, Red Lion. Makes you feel like you’re walking back a few hundred years into the past, when everyone was shorter. The entrance to this pub has a great feel of atmosphere that’s lost in many places, but as you work your way to the back of the pub it becomes more modern with assorted teles on walls for watching sport, and a high ceiling so you don’t feel claustrophobic.
I came here on a sunny weekend and enjoyed a few ciders on the large patio they have out front. The back area seems like it has a beer garden as well, but I think that area was closed for a private event the day I went.
Not a great selection of beers — just the standard go-​tos you imagine getting at most public houses. Decent atmosphere inside and out.

I consider myself to be a lucky lady to have The Red Lion as my local pub. It’s an awesome Proper Pub sporting traditional décor (think patterned wallpaper and wooden beams) that looks tasteful rather than outdated. It also has two sizeable beer gardens to the front and the rear of the pub, a fab selection of ales and ciders to which they add guests regularly and, what I find to be most important, it truly has that ‘local pub’ atmosphere. It feels as though you’re in a village pub, though it’s less than five minutes walk from the centre of Withington.
Unusually for a city pub anywhere, The Red Lion also houses an honest-​to-​goodness bowling green to the rear. Now, in the times I have visited this pub I am yet to see people playing bowls here, but due to the incredible standard to which it is maintained, it wouldn’t surprise me if there were regular tournaments held. There is something in the deep recesses of my brain poking me into thinking I may have seen games of bowls advertised at some point over the last couple of years in which I have given this pub my patronage, but I am stumped as to when this may have been.
My favourite time to visit this pub is definitely during the summer (although this year, September has been the sunshine substitute for my forays into beer gardens) because the bowling green makes a lovely backdrop for lazy summertime conversations, but the beer garden at the front of the pub is also a wonderful people-​watching spot. And I must confess, come rain or shine I do love me a bit of people-​watching! Having said that though, there is also the Proper Pub winter cosiness which is totes present here. All in all, this pub suits the cold Mancunian winters, or the «see when it happens» Mancunian summers alike.
Unfortunately, the food can be a bit hit or miss. I partook in a cheese and onion baguette on my most recent visit which was grand — it would take quite a level of skill to make something so straightforward taste bad! — but I was informed by my significant other that his burger was somewhat dry and came sans the advertised jalapeños. I have found the food to be of varying standards on my visits, but it has never been terrible by any stretch of the imagination.
All things considered, I would definitely recommend The Red Lion for a lovely Proper Pub afternoon/​evening, and for fellow football fans, their screens are HUGE and amazing to watch the game on (though get there early if you want a seat for any United or City game; I have learnt that the hard way!). But perhaps if you are peckish, opt for the barbecue which can be found near the bowling green of a sunshiney Sunday afternoon (£3 per burger rather than £6.50), rather than the one from the menu.

A lot has changed in here between the last couple of visits, the bowling green is shrinking to accomodate the growing pub size which includes a conservatory. The atmosphere was always good in here with a good mix of people from locals to students and everyone seems to muck in together. I spent many a wasted afternoon in the beer garden so for me it will always have fond memories, suprisingly it has teh same landlord and lady from when I first used to go in at the end of the 80’s!

Like this pub a lot. Very popular, very busy and a good outdoor area, regardless of the weather. Sometimes infested with students, but they do no harm. Good place :)

The Red Lion was a pleasant surprise today. Embarking out of our student house in Fallowfield for our last possible Sunday lunch trip out in Manchester as students, my housemate and I wandered down to the Red Lion on recommendation from some pals.
On the outside (and inside) it is a standard chain-​style pub, very much in lieu with Wetherspoons and the like, but that’s nothing to be sniffed at. The menu is full of deep fried food with numerous possible additions but, when you’re in the mood for food, there’s nothing much better than the chance to expand your waist line and spend the rest of the day feeling tired. We both went for the Sunday roast, with beef, and an additional yorkshire, seeing as one is never enough. This extra yorkshire cost an extra £1 and, lo and behold, you get more beef aswell! My overall cost for the roast and a diet coke was £8.15, and the food was above what I was expecting. The beef was way overdone compared to how I normally have it (I’m a bloody meat eater) but still soft and full of flavour, you get the best roasties AND new potats, carrots, peas, green beans AND gravy. We left feeling pleasantly full and without remorse.
I would recommend the Red Lion for all of those who wonder around South Manchester in an attempt to stave off their ever growing hangover on these rainy Sundays.

The Red Lion is a good pub with good beer. It manages to feel like a bumpkin’s dream despite being in an area that is far from being the actual countryside. And so, if you’re looking for Tom Cruise flaring cocktails and Premiership footballers sipping mineral water in a VIP area, don’t come here. In fact, I’d prefer it if you never left the house at all, but I digress. The thing is, The Red Lion is an old fashioned pub for people who like sitting down, banging the world to rights with some ale and tearing the crisps open for everyone to share. It’s a big old thing too. Deceptively so. If you sit by the entrance and are over 5ft 5 tall, you’ll find yourself being the source of much hilarity for everyone else as you constantly stoop and waddle around like a Disney witch. As I’m over 6ft, you can only imagine how peculiar I looked. That said, it was an enjoyable visit and the pints of Cumberland Ale they pulled were outrageously good. There’s enough seating outside if the weather picks up too. You should pay this place a visit as they’re a dying breed.

im only on my second visit but i think paulo (above) puts it perfectley.
no compalints from me, relaxing, beutiful looking pub, slight reminder of horse and jockey (my fave pub) in chorlton, though my perspective, a real surprise gem i think, had agreat time with no idiot s and relaxed staff,
will definitley go again soon and would add this to my regular haunt list…
minor thing, they had big advert behind bar (we are on facebook) cant seem to find them…

Why on earth is this Unilocal labelled as a public house when no other pubs whatsoever are?

I always forget the name of this place; I tend to confuse it with The Golden Lion and the White Lion which are both in the same area of Withington but are now dilapidated and used only for illegal raves, which for some unknown reason, the local residents are not happy about. So I simply call this pub ‘the nice pub in Withington’. It’s a fair description really.
The punters are a mixed bunch — it attracts its fair share of old men alongside students and young professionals. I have been to this pub several times in the daytime and evening and have (to my disappointment) never seen the ‘evil crowd of demons’ dancing that Alfie B talks about. Due to the vast amount of space available in the various rooms and the conservatory area there is never a problem in locating a vacant table, most of which have a good view of one of the large flatscreen TVs dotted around the pub. The smoking area consists of a covered area with picnic tables overlooking the bowling green to the back of the pub. The food looks decent and the booze is reasonably priced — I really hope that this pub doesn’t suffer the same fate as the other ‘lions’ in the area.

I don’t find myself traipsing down to Withington or beyond very often. This could be because I’m incredibly lazy (which I am), or because there’s once you’ve walked there you’ve done about half of what you can do in Withington.
I did travel off that way earlier on in the year though with a friend, with the aim of finding a pub to have a Sunday carvery in. The Red Lion was the first place we saw, and in true lazy form I said, «Here is good».
In all honesty, the food was alright. It certainly wasn’t the best place I’ve ever been to, but neither did it turn to ashes in my mouth. I seem to remember the cost was pretty reasonable as well. As a pub it is a bit strange. It’s too large to actually feel like a nice place, even though it tries to come across as one. I can’t comment on the crowds of old people, as I didn’t see any. Possibly they only rise from their crypts at night.

The Red Lion is a country-​esque pub in an urban setting. Great place to sit out and down a couple of pints during summer.
The pub itself is quite big instead, with a huge seating area outside (so expect it to be packed during these hot days we are currently having).
The people it draws in mainly consist of students and some older locals. The drinks it serves are average and unfortunately don’t specialise in any ales/​wines but that shouldn’t put you off from which is a perfectly good pub.

This huge pub is situated on Wilslow Road not far from Christie Hospital.
As far as the food and prices go, its pretty average. The best thing about this place is there is loads of room to sit outside on one of the rare sunny days we have in Manchester! Considering its on a main road, its nice and quiet at the back and there’s even a bowling green! (although admittedly, I’ve never seen it being used)
Cracking pub to go to on a hot summers day.

This colossal pub in Withington serves average food and has a small selection of bitters but is overall a good place for an afternoon drink; there is always a seat and you can invariably get a good spot to watch one of the many big screens if there is a football/​cricket/​darts match on.
I can’t say I’ve ever made it through to the beer garden, probably because it is so far away from the door, but I’ve only heard good things!

Called in here after dropping some stuff of at my daughters Digs before she started back at University.
We intended to have something to eat here but after looking at the menu decided not to bother. Don’t get me wrong it was a nice looking traditional pub serving a decent range of beers tidy and clean enough, and free WiFi if required.
It just that the pub menu was the same most other Pubs that do food in an unimaginative way no specials and everything with chips. But then I suppose what suits one doesn’t suit another.
I wouldn’t put you off going here as it serves a decent pint and the staff seemed pleasant enough it’s just the food menu was the boring usual stuff.

‘ve been coming here for years and never tire of entering the tiny, olden days door portal and managing to bang my nut on the low beams and doorways!
Although many ‘villages’ either sold their souls to the chains or have seen better days, this boozer still retains the village make up.
Delicate enhancements to the exterior make this a bit of a looker when you’re passing by on Wilmslow Road. In the day it’s bright white, ancient exterior (at least a couple of hundred years old) looks too inviting (try not to pass it early week) and in the evening, it’s subtly lit (as are the surrounding trees) and is, well, equally inviting.
This is a Marston’s pub (once, I’m told, Marston’s most successful pub nationally) and as such serve pedigree, smooth, bitter and bank’s. Lager wise they pump out those North European ladies ‘Stella’ and ‘Staro’ amongst the cooking lagers.
They serve food up to 7−45pm most days (5−45pm at the weekends) consisting of the usual pub dishes (pies, scampi, roasts) and also have a steak house.
Out back is a bowling green (overlooked by the writer Anthony Burgess Foundation building) and beer garden (one out front also). They’ve recently built a ‘smokers area’ little more than a bit of creative decking by the looks of it!
I personally really like the front section/​rooms of the Red Lion but not too keen on the huge back room and conservatoryit feels a tad dated (in decades rather than centuries). Perhaps this will one day be overhauled?
They have live music and ‘village famous’ quiz night on a Monday.
A gem of a local boozer, I’m glad it’s in Withington and is still going strong (sadly unlike the white lion and golden lion both having been recently laid to rest).