The Golden Lion

Great little pub near Buckingham Palace. Bartender was super helpful in getting me hooked up with wifi!

Recommended by our doorman as a place where the commoner and the executive can talk over pints. Friendly staff but realize when they are busy they can be curt. Not rude mind you but rushed. Great neighborhood bar with old world charm.

Not a bad gaff at all. Light and airy with a good selection of beers served by friendly staff. Bearing in mind it’s location, it’s not too rammed at lunchtime and everyone seemed OK with me vaping there. Prices are reasonable, and it was a good place to spend a couple of hours with a few pints and my Kindle.
It’s a traditional looking London pub, with traditional looking London pub food. If you’re lost in London (or the missus is busy burning your credit card nearby), then it’s a great place to line your stomach with beer before heading to the Dukes or Stafford for a couple of Martinis.

On our 10 day trip to London we visited a variety of Pubs. On our trip to Fortnum and Mason we came across this wonderful pub The Golden Lion.
My wife and I sat in the 2^nd floor dining area which was wonderfully quiet and a great place to have a burger and a brew.
Our server David was attentive, suggesting a burger topped with a well spiced brisket that was jucy and flavorful accompanied by chips that were crisp on the outside and very tender within.
The burger came with two fried pickle Spears that had a nice cornmeal covering, not overly battered and crisp and crunchy inside. A perfect complement to the burger and chips.
David let us sample an ipa as well as a brew called old
Speckled hen. We settled on the old speckled hen which was outstanding.
I had a dietary restriction that some pubs we visited would not/​or could not accommodate. David made sure that all was taken care of without a single worry.
This was a fantastic experience. Ambiance, food and a fantastic server in David.

Nice traditional pub. I love spending my nights here and sharing some drinks with friends. Our waitress always lightens our mood and does a very nice impression. The menu is also big enough for every taste you can choose from wide variety of drinks, starters and main courses.

A lovely, cosy and friendly traditional pub.
Extra seating for the restaurant upstairs.
Views to St. James’s Palace.
Screens for sports.

Most of what needs to be said has been said by dmj1962 already: this is a small pub with a highly decorated interior, which I visited with the London Pubs Group (
), a group of members from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) which aims to promote pub preservation and good pub design in London. They arrange about 6 pub crawls a year around interesting pubs (you don’t have to be a CAMRA member to join the crawls).
This pub has a nice selection of real ales, and is cosy, the only downside being that you may have to stand, as seating downstairs is very limited. So it depends if you like drinking standing up, or not!

The Golden Lion is a late Victorian pub with plenty of original fixtures and fittings, a stone’s throw from St James’s Square and Christie’s.
Built 1897 – 98 (on the site of an earlier pub of the same name opened in 1762), this is a good example of a pub designed by the architects Eedle and Meyers, who were responsible for many pubs in London.
It has an attractive and distinctive bow front with original curved wooden windows and doors, all filled with lead-​light windows with stained glass reflecting a theatrical theme: the St James’s theatre was originally next door. The theatrical theme continues upstairs in the name of its dining room, which is open 12−15h.
Downstairs is a long, narrow bar, with little seating — most people stand, and there’s more standing room outside in the adjacent side passage — with more wooden panelling.
Real ales include London Pride and guest ales, which on my visit included Hog’s Back Summer Ale and Sharp’s Doom Bar. Friendly and efficient staff.