The Blue Lion is one of the nondescript pubs sandwiched between Chancery Lane and Kings Cross. Not much to look at, for a cheap and cheerful bite to eat or a crack at the pub quiz it’s worth a visit.

The Venue
Between a curry house and corner shop, the Blue Lion’s cheerful hanging baskets can be found alongside a couple of smoker-friendly tables outside. The interior is fairly dull with a selection of high booths, a couple of brown leather sofas, and a cliched mock countryside assortment of tables and chairs filling the rest of the square bar, with photos of the pub’s Sunday Roasts and curry nights adorning the walls.

There’s a pool table tucked away at the back, which is always guaranteed to be busy, and other entertainment includes Sky television, an eclectic juke box and various fruit machines. On the whole, the pub is clean and tidy, but weirdly there only seems to be one ladies toilet so be prepared to hold on or chance the gents.

The Atmosphere
The sort of people who prop up the bar here are a noisy concoction of media types and regulars. Although week nights tend to be busy, weekends are a fairly quiet affair with private hire available.

Once a week, revellers will find the Blue Lion’s very own answer to Dale Winton hosting the pub quiz, which you can play for a mere £1. If you venture here on quiz night and don’t want to play, be warned: if you are not cajoled into giving in you won’t be able to hear yourself think, let alone talk, as ‘Dale’ tends to get a wee bit carried away with the microphone.

The Food
Food at the Blue Lion is pretty standard fare and is mainly deep fried to perfection. Burgers, salads, Sunday Roasts, pizza and curry can be found here. The safest bets are the lunchtime sandwiches, but for the price you pay you can’t expect to be too fussy.

The Drink
The choice of liquor is vast and reasonably priced. Don’t expect anything too flashy, although there is a selection of Cask Marque Approved real ales. Apart from that, the vino on the menu tends to be of the Kumala and Mateaus variety, and the draught lager options are the Stellas and Carlings of the world.

The Last Word
The Blue Lion has a strange feel about it, plonked on the pub scale somewhere between a faux countryside watering hole, gastro boozer, camp quiz night gem and media types' favourite. What customers can be sure of is a well priced if unpolished selection of food and drink with entertainment provided should you need it.

venue information venue map view london review user reviews (2)