The Red Lion Hotel(Y Llew Coch)

The Red Lion Hotel (Y Llew Coch)
Dinas Mawddwy
Machynlleth
Powys
SY20 9JA
Tel: 01650 531247

We know the Red Lion well and have eaten there on many occasions. It is best described as 'pub food' although there is a separate restaurant that is opened for Sunday Lunches and special occasions.

The pub is located at the end of Dinas village in the picturesque Dyfi (Dovey) valley. The village is reached by turning off the main A470 road to Dolgellau and consists of a small street of pretty Welsh cottages. It is also inside the Southern edge of the Snowdonia National Park.  It makes the perfect place to stop off for lunch or an evening meal after a days sightseeing or walking.

Enter the pub at the front and there is a small bar to the right, with seriously original wood beams and tables, giving it a real olde worlde atmosphere. Turn left and there is a small games / TV room, and carry on down the corridor and come to a big open lounge kitted out for extra business from holidaymakers in the summer months and for overflow on a busy evening.

The menu is simple and the prices medium, but what is offered is cooked well. Try the homemade Welsh beef pie, with its generous filling of good quality beef, served with a puff pastry topping (not one of the appalling ones that are heated separately, rise to the size of a chef's hat and plonked on top of a microwaved bowl of gravy). The meals are served with either baked or chipped potatoes and peas or beans. On this occasion I had the homemade chilli con carne and rice and my wife had the beef pie. The children are catered for with the usual chicken nuggets or sausage and chips.

The portions are generous and there was a feeling of being well satisfied after the meal. We couldn't manage a dessert from the menu.

Verdict - A good family pub stop, basic fayre but good value generous portions. Ideal for the hungr traveller or walker!