A smart gastropub with 23 guest rooms, The Lion Inn is a cosy and rustic spot in Chelmsford, serving lunch and dinner.
The dining room here blends the traditional with the contemporary, featuring wooden accents, high ceilings and cutesy portraits dotted along the walls. The best bit is that form most of the year (aside from holiday seasons), The Lion Inn operates a no bookings policy, so you can just turn up whenever you like without needing to worry about securing a table ahead of time.
When it comes to the food at The Lion Inn, you can expect a menu of classic pub grub that has been given a modern twist. The lunch and dinner menu is the same, so you can expect to kick things off with starters such as homemade soup of the day served with a crusty bread roll, or fried salt and pepper calamari with a sweet chilli dip. For your main course, you can tuck into classic dishes such as slow-roasted pork belly with apple sauce, homemade fish pie or line-caught beer battered haddock with duck fat chips and tartare sauce.
If you are in the mood to indulge, order something from the grill, which includes 28-day aged English steaks, an eight ounce burger and steak frites. If you are dining in a group, choose one of the sharing platters, with options including a fish platter, a vegetarian platter and a Ploughman’s: glazed Wiltshire ham with ham hock terrine, cheddar, pickled onion, Branston pickle and crusty bread.
To round off your meal, take your pick from The Lion Inn’s selection of tempting desserts. Perhaps Bramley apple and blackberry crumble with warm custard or sticky toffee pudding drizzled with toffee sauce and served alongside vanilla ice cream.
Further plus points include a dedicated children’s menu, while you can also bring the family along to Sunday lunch, when you will find hearty roasts.