Low ratings give me feelings of guilt and dread, but I don't live in San Antonio anymore. Â So what are you going to do about it, Lion & Rose, with your decent but overpriced drinks selection, stuffy faux-British pub ambiance, waitstaff that freaks out if you just want to sit at the bar and drink instead of getting a table and eating your sub-par food, and incredibly tedious and predictable evocation of the Anglophilic drinking experience? Â Come to Seattle and beat me up? Â I'd like to see you try! Â You are a restaurant and not possessed of agency or the ability to move about under your own power! Â Also, the people who go here call appetizers "apps". Â Don't call appetizers "apps", everybody.
Review Source:As a UIW student and '09 resident, many a night were spent at the Lion and Rose with friends. It's a cozy place just happens to be a bar, unlike many of the bars in the area that are either super swanky (ie unaffordable on a student budget) or downright divey.
This place has a good mix of regulars, and draws a diverse crowd of students, older adults, and everything in between for a relaxed night out for drinks or a meal. The food here is actually surprisingly good- while I wouldn't necessarily recommend this place to anyone who's actually had food in England before (it won't hit that spot), it is tasty and they have nicer food than bars typically do.
Some menu highlights are their angels on horseback appetizer, anything that comes with their Guiness beer cheese sauce, their fish dishes, and most of their sandwiches. I have a friend who swears by their BLT and grilled cheese sandwiches!
The beer selection is fairly diverse here, and there are drink specials throughout the week, including the Geeks who Drink pub trivia group. There is also billiards and darts for those who want to get active when they drink. Additionally, I love how this location in particular has several little nooks for privacy for small groups, or larger meeting rooms available for reservation for larger groups.
This is a pub in every sense of the word. It's got a great location, but parking can be a pain. Straight up pub menu and great selection of beers. They used to have "Pint Night" where they would feature a beer and give away the branded pint glasses. A very cool perk, I think. It's pretty smokey and really, really loud. Don't bother to try and participate in Trivia night because you'll never be able to hear the guy.
Review Source:Love the location and the feel of this place. Â Food is always good with the typical L&R menu items. Â Nothing different here. Â Sit at the bar or grab a table. Â Good place to take friends. Â Staff always friendly and quick to serve. Â Though, the few times i've come to this location, the brews on tap never seem very chilled; a particularly important thing for me. Â Otherwise, great pub.
Review Source:I'm not a smoker so I usually sit in the back room...but what draws me back? They have the best fish and chips in San Antonio. The white fish is perfectly cooked and just flakes off. The batter is golden crispy brown. Pay a little extra and substitute fries with the limerick fries (fried green beans). Just a little heat but very addictive.
The waitresses can be a little slow but sometimes i appreciate being left alone. Â They wear skimpy skirts and some of them look like they outgrew their original size, but who am I to judge.
I guess the place used to be a cigar lounge so they are grandfathered in with the smoking permit, so if you aren't a smoker and abhor the smell, you might want to stay away from the Broadway location. Â Ps... They do give a military discount on food....not the alcohol though. But the drink prices are pretty reasonable so bottoms up.
Just returned from another visit at this L & R location to watch some NFL and Formula 1. One word: Â Awesome! The waitresses and bartenders were totally on point all day. Â I could have stayed home and watched the sports on my own TV, but I always feel like I'm at home there too. Â (A special shout out to the best bartender I've ever met, Melody!) Â I don't go out much, but this is definitely my favorite destination to get great food, drinks and service. Â Thanks L&R for yet another wonderful experience, I will definitely be back soon.
Review Source:Nice place to have a beer and watch footie on the telly.
The beer selection was very good. Â The draft beer was delightfully chilled, a nice deviation from British tradition.
The Scottish Eggs are fantastic.
The Shepherds pie was "meh". Â Which i guess is in the tradition of British food overall. Â Next time I will have fish and chips instead.
I am giving 4 out of 5 Â stars mainly for having a great atmosphere and a great selection of beer served cold.
One of my favorite British style pubs anywhere. Had some great times here in the past. Great fish and chips and the Jameson steak is incredible. Do yourself a favor and get the Guinness chips & cheese to start, I could probably live on that stuff. Â Really wish we had these around DC.
Review Source:Really enjoyed the experience. For sure an American take on English pub grub...but it was delicious...and the menu was a great read with options not readily available in other pubs that brought the English part of the experience to life. Â Beer selection was ok, but that is probably because I am spoiled with Flying Saucer. Â I will definitely be back!
Review Source:Give it up for English Pub Grub and a cool pint of your favorite beverage!!
Love this place. The decor says chill-in pub. Always a soccer game or rugby game on the tube with loyal fans in attendance. Great selection of beers and ales. This place knows how to pour a black and tan.
They have some really great food here to go with the cold pints. Some of my favorites are the Sheppard's pie, fish and chips, Scotch eggs, and the chips with Guinness cheddar cheese. But all the food is so good and so filling.
The waitresses are always cheerful and helpful. They are always on top of things and never keep one waiting.
Get their reward card for a chance to earn some awesome rewards.
We took a friend here upon rave recommendations and as we are English thought that the reviews on <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2FTripadvisor.com&s=b79f9db772a044ffe9510e72cedec84c2c343ae23839259039f4a16d27a2548b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://Tripadvisor.com</a> could be relied upon.. Â What a waste of an evening.
But first the positive: Â good selection of beers with decent prices and the fried green beans were good with the spicy dip. Â The special appetizer of the evening was a fried eggplant that was a generous serving and very tasty
The negatives: The service was slow and unprofessional. Instead of coming around the table to serve, the plates were handed over each of us, and therefore a tub of tartar sauce was spilled on one of the guests.  The fish and chips (round frozen crinkle chips!!) were greasy and lukewarm. The two pieces of fish were on the thin side.  The pasty was glopped with a thick gravy of undetermined taste.  When we complained to the waitress that the fish was lukewarm, her response was that she could put it in the microwave to heat it up!!! Is she kidding???? And then her next excuse was that there was a big party in another area of the restaurant.  So????  We did complain to someone who seemed to be a manager when he stopped by to ask  how everything was and in his defense we were comped two of the dinners.
Always friendly. Always fun. This location is still smoky... really smoky. Â
They make a pretty good drink, and the young lady who bar tends knows how to pour a proper Guinness. Â The waitress we've had the past couple of times is quite spunky and attentive. Â I hope she sticks around.
We usually get appetizers at this location, and they are pretty decent. Â Nothing to complain about, but not particularly memorable either.
Ack, there is so much to love about this place but oh man there are a couple things keeping it down.
On the love side, the décor and theme is really neat. Somehow it avoids kitsch and comes off as sincere. It's warm, carpeted, wooden and a grateful departure from the shellacked and hosed down bars that dominate SA.
There's also a certain charm to seeing true football and rugby fans cheering on their teams on some obscure satellite TV channel. Maybe it's my expat days coming through, but seeing folks excited about what to them is familiar makes a bar seem like an oasis.
But on to the bad...
Because it's Alamo Heights, you can still smoke in here. They have some kind of filtration system, but due in part to the "exotic" tobaccos being smoked here* it still has that stale, old lady waiting for death smell. You would think it would have more of that cigar and pipe smoke tone, but it's really just jackasses puffing away at Black & Milds.
Second, I don't know where the ladies in the ads work, but it sure isn't this location. The service was atrocious. And anyone who believes what they read in the papers... well, that's life. Â Just fair warning for young lads drawn here by the Current. Â
* Special shout out for douchebags: Hey jackass. Yes you trying to smoke a cigar and your friend with the pipe. A public bar is not the place to practice your tobacco skills. You're doing it wrong, you're stinking up the bar and nobody wants to put up with your bullshit. Yeah, you might be able to pull some freshmen from UIW with your antics, but you're in the middle of one of the more exclusive neighborhoods in SA which is also right next to an Army base and trust me, most of the people in here have smoked cigars that would give you Stage 4 cancer on your first puff. Get that stinky Valero station crap out of here and come back when you can smoke like a gentleman.
I've been coming here almost every Sunday since my first experience, and I can no longer think of any other place to be on a hot San Antonio Sunday afternoon than TL&R -- if your idea of a perfect Sunday afternoon consists of a 22oz glass of Pilsner Urquell with fried Champignons, watching the latest iteration of el clasico (that's FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid to those of you who don't speak futbol), then you're definitely in the right place.
I haven't been coming back here on the weekdays so I don't know how to new smoking laws have been affecting this joint when there are actually smokers around, but the air certainly seems a lot more breathable now than before...
"Bloody Brigadooooon!"
I don't normally wander into pubs at noon on Saturdays unless, of course, I'm breathing and my heart is still beating. Â On this particular occasion my daughter was having her hair done up the road at Sexy Hair in the City by Yvette, so I needed to kill some time and some brain cells. Â Both of which are dwindling fast with age.
The warm welcoming, mahogany and stained glass expanse of the Lion & Rose is always a soothing respite from the taco landscape of SA. Â Especially in the morning when the only companions are various plasma screens glittering rugby and soccer matches, a lone cricket test lumbering into its third day, forlorn Snooker tables recovering from countless bumper pool references and the ubiquitous 90 pound bar fly wrapped in a veil of cigarette smoke, attempting to reanimate the mimosa into some hideous demonic concoction involving far too many liquors.
I settle into my stool (figuratively speaking) and wonder at the selection of fine Irish and English brews on tap. Â I dabble in a couple of Old Speckled Hens with an accompaniment of Scotch eggs and waste the day away.
I'm considering asking my next door neighbor to convert his house into a Lion & Rose but I guess I should meet him first before requesting such a monumental task. Â Maybe after a few more pints I'll muster up the courage to do so.
"So many social engagements, so little time"
Food - 3/5
Service - 2/5
Price - 3/5
Atmosphere - 4/5
Best Dish: pretty good selection of beer
I went to the Lion and Rose within my first month of moving to San Antonio (almost two years ago), but I haven't been back. Not because the food wasn't good; there was nothing that caught my eye... nothing that was special or anything that stood out to me...just a regular irish/british pub chain seen all across the country. With that being said, I have nothing bad to say about the place. I ordered the fish and chips (I mean what else can you get at a British Pub, right?) and it was pretty satisfying--not bad but not great. The selection of British and Irish beer was pretty good but I felt they were a little on the expensive side. Maybe if I knew about their happy hours or specials they run during the week, I would go back.
After checking their website, they have happy hour from 4-7pm and again 9-11pm for reverse happy hour. However, the "special" is only a buck off...I guess it's just not enough of an incentive for me to ever go back.
A friend and I had mid-week lunch here a few days back. Â We both had to go back to work afterwards, no alcohol imbibed, so this will be a review of the food and service and vibe. Â We both had the lunch order of fish and chips. Â It was a large piece of battered-fried white fish, roasted potatoes and a small mixed salad for about $10. Â It was OK. Â The batter coating on the fish is so thick that they can't get it fried through without burning it, so there was a layer of not-cooked batter that detracted. Â The portions were generous without being ridiculous. Â
Our waitress was efficient and cheerful and prompt, appreciated when you are just on your lunch hour. Â Drinks were refilled without our having to ask and she brought the extra sauce my friend requested without having to be reminded. Â She gets five stars. Â Unfortunately, the waitress serving the two fellows sitting near us lacked some manners. Â They were all chatting and laughing but she kept walking away from their table and yelling back to continue their conversations. Â I didn't appreciate her repeatedly yelling in my face. Â She gets no stars. Â Â
I have always liked the vibe of the place. Â I like the dark furnishings, comfortable booths and constant sports on the many screens. Â I also like that smoking is allowed, it makes the place feel authentic. Â That's where the authenticity stops though. Â When it first opened I was really eager to get there to have my favorite British mixed drink, a Pimm's Cup. Â The first time there I confidently ordered a Pimm's Cup and none of the help, including the bartender, even knew what I was talking about. Â OK. Â It may be a pub but don't expect a Pimm's Cup delight. Â
I'll go back any time somebody else suggests it.
By admission, I only visit the Lion and Rose if I'm going to attend a Geeks Who Drink night... Â but when I do visit, I find myself having a good time.
The wait staff is always friendly and one can't help but swoon over the waitress uniforms.
I'm a big fan of their Club Sammich and Chocolate Cake. Â They also have a number of good beers on tap.
L&TR is a comfy and good go-to bar to have in your back pocket to grab a close drink and bite or watch a game.
That being said, it's downfalls (as everyone else has pointed out) are (1) the cigarette smoke that is buried down deep into the fibers of the carpet and upholstery, and (2) the oftentimes sub-par service by waitresses and bartenders alike.
I particularly enjoy the non-smoking room for a quiet time to watch a game or surf the net on my laptop while enjoying a cocktail (my friends and I frequently enjoyed the latter while "studying").
Unlike some others, I really like the food at L&TR for the most part. The fish&chips is a huge serving, grilled cheese was my fave until they changed the bread, crabcakes are lackluster, calamari is good, and the fried mushrooms are my favorite side, but pass on the curry as the portion is small and it tastes more like Thai curry than Indian curry (I'm Thai, and my best friend since childhood is Indian if that gives me any credibility).
I would really like to give 3.5 stars but since I can't I'm going to give it 3 stars. Yes, I could give it 4 stars but I refuse to for reasons I will explain.
First the food: Food is great! I love the sandwiches and the Guinness cheese is to die for. I can't refuse it no matter how badly I want to fit in to  that teeny tiny dress. Last night I had the Jester Grilled Cheese with bacon and tomato....mmmm drool....It was delicious. The bread was perfectly toasted.
Drinks: I love them. Reasonable priced, not wimpy. My Dublin Lemonade was mostly alcohol with just a tad of lemonade which is just as it should be in my opinion. Â I had a honey crisp apple shot which was perfect. It went down smoothly and then had a nice afterbite. My previous trip I had a cosmo and maui taui (or something like that). I enjoyed the cosmo more.
Why dont' I come here more often and why have I not ordered more drinks here? That would be because both times I have been here I have had my servers disappear and not reappear until they decided to bring me the check. Both waitresses decided that after taking my food and drink order that they didn't need to refill my water, ask if I'd like another shot, ask if I needed anything for my meal, etc. That is unacceptable. The first time I was here my watiress was better than this last one. Oh and let me add that I have never been here during a busy time so shouldn't these waitresses have wanted me to buy as much as possible so that they could collect a bigger tip?
I'd be willing to come back just because I enjoy the food and drinks and I've heard its a great place to watch sports. But its time for me to chat with the management to alert them of the fact that their staff needs an attitude adjustment.
Love it! Husband is English so we're always looking for his type of 'home cooked food' and this place comes the closest we've found. The atmosphere is actually very similar to an English pub though if you go to another location (like the one on 410) you get a more Americanized version. The beer selection is good and most of the food is great, though the banger rolls (sausage rolls) are sometimes undercooked. I highly recommend the Scotched Eggs and their meatloaf (know it's not really a British food but it's totally worth it!).
All in all, just go to enjoy a good time, you'll have one. I guarantee it!
My four stars is actually for the Geeks Who Drink Pub Quiz hosted at this Lion and Rose every Thursday night at 8PM. It's a ton of fun, free to play, and a great way to unwind for a couple of hours. The questions run the gamut, including pop culture, literature, sports, anything under the sun.
As for the actual Lion and Rose, it deserves 3 stars. I've enjoyed a few things on the menu, including the Pub Club and the chips, however I've also had a few things that were disgusting...the "creme brulee" cheesecake (which was just cheesecake with a soggy bottom and gelatinous caramel sauce on time), stringy fried calamari, and really awful bread pudding.
The staff, with the exception of one waitress, is friendly and polite. I only wish they would play a more varied play list instead of Sweet Caroline every. Singe. Week.
It was dark and stormy night. I could hear the dachshunds howling. An owl was hooting in a tree
I don't know about you, but i hate when people tell stories on Yelp. its like "dude, c'mon. i just wanna read about the restaurant. I don't care why you're in the area or how many places you passed up. i just wanna know about the place."
ok so theres my rant for the day.
i liked this place! i would def go back. food was good. Wench wasn't that hot. There were cougars. what more could one ask for?
Yes, please and thank you.
We were in San Antonio on vacation, staying in the Terrell Hills area in a house. We were a bit nervous to find a place to go grab a drink and get out of the house on some evenings until we found this place. At least for us, it was super conveniently located and such a good time. It's defintiely got a pub atmosphere but with the added advantages of being well lit and not very loud. I mean, there's music playing, and I can still have a conversation with my party in a normal tone of voice. What's not to like?
We liked this place so much we came back here two more times during our time in Texas.
I don't know how it compares to other places in the area, but let's just say, if I lived in San Antonio, I would be a regular.
I don't frequent this place as often as I should. A great place to grab a bite to eat as was well as a few pints. I haven't had there breakfast items but I'm sure they are worth the morning wake up call. Every portion of restaurant/bar has a tv that's easily visible and aren't in your face either.
Love grabbing a pint of Boddingtons here since most places only carry it in a can. The price per pint is very reasonable
Favorite meal is the Corn Beef and cabbage, Favorite bar snacks are the sweet potato fries and the English "Chips" with cheese... FYI the so called chips are small circular potato fries and they damn good.
FYI: Trivia night on Tuesday at 8pm
I love this place and go here at least once a month (to this location or the location near North Star Mall.)
The beer is great, the decorum is great, and the food is phenomenal.
All the stews are great, my husband loves the bangers and mash,
Also the sides that are the best: bubbles and squeak, sugar snap peas, and the fried mushrooms.
The onion petals are the best "bloomin' onion" type appetizer I have ever had!.
Best of all its great for most adult type groups.
As an out-of-towner, this bar was recommended to my friend and me by our cab driver. Â I'm a huge fan of Pubs, and this one did me well.
We met some regulars sitting at the bar that were very friendly, and we all played a few games of darts together.
The beer selection is great!!! Â And although we didn't order food, the meals I saw being served looked delicious.
I was in San Antonio for a just a few days, and the time spent here was the best time I had. Â Period.
Ok, so I've been here before but didn't review (although I thought I had, I just saw that I hadn't... oh well). Â Went here on the 30th and met up with Jamie B. and her bad@ss group of derby girls for Geeks Who Drink (sans Ms. Kimmie!!! *tear*) Â I didn't order anything except a Coke but I know that their apps are REALLY good! Â The fried onion petals and the dip, sweet potato fries and the hot wings are SO yummy. Â And the bangers and mash with mustard... ooohhhh
Plenty of seating (even with the crowd) and of course the atmosphere is always nice. Â Jamie did make a point though - the waitress was a bit on the slow side. Â Even when we were trying to check out. Â Despite that, a good time was had by all.
This had to be one of the best bars I have been to in a very long time. We also happen to have one of the worst servers ever! She only stopped by to ask us for for drinks 3 times in 3 hrs. Maybe she was having a bad night because she never smiled either.
The bar was very clean and didn't have that stale beer and cig smell. You can sit at the bar, high tops or booths. All the TV's were featuring sporting events, while we played Geeks who Drink... (I will review that separately).
We ordered several appetizers- bacon wrapped shrimp (only 4 on the plate), chicken tenders and onion petals. Everything was very tasty and I didn't feel like I just inhaled 10K calories. The dips that came with everything was soooo good. I don't know if they spike their honey mustard, but I could have licked the damn plate.
Since I just ate a weeks worth of calories, I opted for the "sugar free" red-bull and vodka. If this place wasn't good enough, having SFRB alone warrant's 5 stars. They had about 20 ales on tap and a full bar. The entire vibe was great. We kept chatting with people at the next table. This is one of the best times I have had living in San Antonio...
I will be back again... you can bet your ass on it!
This is a really cool bar in that you get to watch watch rugby and soccer instead of American football while you eat/drink. I really liked the fact that they have Belhaven Scottish Ale on tap, and just so you know, Smithwicks may be made by Guinness, but it's an English beer, and us Scotts refuse whenever its convenient to drink their stuff...
The establishment is very clean, they have an English pool table and this location is by far the most "authentic" looking one with a stone entrance down a mini alley.
The food is pretty good, make sure you get the bubbles n squeak, and try and stick to the British menu.
Don't go to Pubs for Dessert.
Slainte Mhath!
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