The Red Lion

Set in the Chess Valley, in a picture-book village, complete with a pretty green and an ancient parish church, and just up the lane from Chenies Manor. The unassuming, white-painted Red Lion's owners Mike and Heather Norris have over 20 years' experience behind them, and they firmly believe the 17th-century inn's popularity stems from being a pub that serves good food, not a restaurant that serves beer. Expect a plain, simply furnished main bar, a charming, snug dining area housed in the original cottage to the rear with a tiled floor, old inglenook and rustic furniture, a restaurant, and Mike talking passionately about his real ales. Lion's Pride, brewed by Milestone, is available here and here alone; other local beers come from Vale Brewery in Haddenham. Heather cooks everything, including fresh daily pastas; bangers with bubble-and-squeak; big chunks of oven-baked leg of lamb (much like Greek kleftiko); roast pork belly on leek and potato mash; game pie; fishcakes with horseradish and beetroot dip; Orkneys rump steak; curries; poached haddock with peppered red wine sauce; and sausage, apple and cheddar pie. Speaking of pies, brace yourself for the famous lamb version, which a visiting American serviceman once declared beat a rival pub's pies hands down. Ever since, its entry on the menu has acquired an additional adjective every time it is rewritten. Today, therefore, it reads (take a deep breath) 'The awesome, internationally acclaimed, world-renowned, aesthetically and palatably pleasing, not knowingly genetically modified, hand-crafted, well-balanced, famous, original Chenies lamb pie'. Outside, on the pub's sunny side, is a small seating area.