The Golden Lion Tap
The Golden Lion Tap
3.5
12:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Monday
11:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Tuesday
11:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Wednesday
11:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Thursday
11:00 AM - 1:00 AM
Friday
11:00 AM - 1:00 AM
Saturday
11:00 AM - 1:00 AM
Sunday
12:00 PM - 12:00 AM
About
HISTORY The Golden Lion Tap is a real old English pub dating from the 16th century. Many of the original features have been preserved, the building has been sympathetically restored to maintain its heritage, character, history and atmosphere. The entrance to the Bar is light and airy with comfortable seating for dining, drinking or, just watching the world go by. The central bar is a beautiful space which was once a courtyard area and retains many original features whilst the main bar is more modern and contains 2 wide screen t.vs for live sporting events. The staff are dedicated to providing a warm welcome and a relaxing atmosphere whilst maintaining a professional level of service. The Bus depot and the Train station are a short walking distance away and the taxi rank within 20 yards. A separate Clubroom provides a lively venue for the weekends and 2 outside seating areas (1 covered) are available for outside drinking.
Duration: 2-3 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
3.5
36 reviews
Excellent
15
Very good
9
Average
4
Poor
1
Terrible
7
Martin B
3 contributions
Jun 2022 • Friends
Cat the barmaid was awesome. I noticed she worked very hard when it was busy and worked well under pressure. The pub itself was good. The only downside was the music kept repeating. Probably about 10 songs on repeat. But other than that. Good time
Written April 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lorna
United Kingdom2 contributions
Mar 2020 • Friends
Nice to find a proper pub in this world of theme pubs and wine bars. Old or young I think this pub has something to offer. Great staff and management and lovely on a sunny day to just sit outside and watch the world go by.
Written June 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Phill J
2 contributions
Jul 2024 • Family
Awesome British pub. A great pub that is thankfully independent. Great atmosphere, awesome welcome from owners and staff too. Good prices and great entertainment including, live music, comedy and karaoke. Gutted I am missing Steve Hughes next week. Thank you Tracey and Nick.
Written July 9, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gimmick4Life
United Kingdom251 contributions
Apr 2015 • Solo
Friendly atmosphere with fantastic staff. one of the best pubs in town - always worth a visit. Family friendly and the food it exceptional too!
Cannot say enough about this histoc building either.
Cannot say enough about this histoc building either.
Written April 14, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John J
Redditch, UK45 contributions
Jul 2021 • Family
My wife, son and I went to this pub on Saturday evening before going out for a meal. We had visited the pub a couple of times before when visiting our son and had no problems. We have enjoyed the quirky architecture and the local ale,
My wife ordered a cider which was good but my son and I ordered a pint and a half respectively of Old Appledore, a local ale which we had drunk and enjoyed previously at this pub.
As soon as both my son and I tasted the beer we knew that it was off. It had a flat, sour taste with an acidic aftertaste. At this point I should disclose that my son is the President of his university’s craft ale society and is somewhat of a beer expert. My experience is limited to having drunk various real ales in a pub a few times a week, for the last 43 years.
I’m also a former licensing magistrate.
We immediately took the beer back to the bar and told the barman it was off. He proceeded to pull some more beer through the hand pump and poured a small amount into a small glass for us to taste. It tasted no better so we asked for a different beer to replace it.
Imagine my consternation when asked to pay again for the replacement beer because the original beer was off? I told the barman that he was not entitled to charge me for beer that was not fit for human consumption so he called his supervisor , called Josh.
Josh told me that he could not possibly replace the beer free just because the customer didn’t like it. I told him that he simply had to obey the law and either refund me for the undrinkable beer or give me a suitable replacement.
He told me that he would have to ask his manager so went upstairs and came back a few minutes later saying his manager would come down soon. I told him this was not acceptable customer service and quoted the relevant consumer law. He decided to dig in and refused to offer a refund or speak to the manager again.
He then told me that the manager wouldn’t be here for another hour and we would have to wait until she arrived, which was completely unacceptable. Again, I quoted the relevant consumer law and also told him that I was now recording our conversation. His attitude was that there was nothing wrong with the beer but I asked him how he could possibly know that, as he had all along refused to taste the beer.
At this point he just started to lie through his teeth, claiming that it was illegal for anyone serving alcohol to actually drink it. What utter rubbish.
As we had been arguing with him for about 25 minutes and our table was booked in 15 minutes time at another establishment we were left with no alternative but to leave the pub with no refund and no apology. All this time, the replacement beers were standing on the bar, not having been paid for. I wonder if these beers were sold on to another customer or poured away?
As we were leaving the pub I took photos for my review and my written complaint to Trading Standards and the licensing magistrates. By this time Josh was standing outside the pub with another female member of staff who made an extremely rude gesture to us which can be seen in the photo that I have uploaded with this review.
Thank goodness I filmed the whole nasty incident on video for distribution to the media.
My wife ordered a cider which was good but my son and I ordered a pint and a half respectively of Old Appledore, a local ale which we had drunk and enjoyed previously at this pub.
As soon as both my son and I tasted the beer we knew that it was off. It had a flat, sour taste with an acidic aftertaste. At this point I should disclose that my son is the President of his university’s craft ale society and is somewhat of a beer expert. My experience is limited to having drunk various real ales in a pub a few times a week, for the last 43 years.
I’m also a former licensing magistrate.
We immediately took the beer back to the bar and told the barman it was off. He proceeded to pull some more beer through the hand pump and poured a small amount into a small glass for us to taste. It tasted no better so we asked for a different beer to replace it.
Imagine my consternation when asked to pay again for the replacement beer because the original beer was off? I told the barman that he was not entitled to charge me for beer that was not fit for human consumption so he called his supervisor , called Josh.
Josh told me that he could not possibly replace the beer free just because the customer didn’t like it. I told him that he simply had to obey the law and either refund me for the undrinkable beer or give me a suitable replacement.
He told me that he would have to ask his manager so went upstairs and came back a few minutes later saying his manager would come down soon. I told him this was not acceptable customer service and quoted the relevant consumer law. He decided to dig in and refused to offer a refund or speak to the manager again.
He then told me that the manager wouldn’t be here for another hour and we would have to wait until she arrived, which was completely unacceptable. Again, I quoted the relevant consumer law and also told him that I was now recording our conversation. His attitude was that there was nothing wrong with the beer but I asked him how he could possibly know that, as he had all along refused to taste the beer.
At this point he just started to lie through his teeth, claiming that it was illegal for anyone serving alcohol to actually drink it. What utter rubbish.
As we had been arguing with him for about 25 minutes and our table was booked in 15 minutes time at another establishment we were left with no alternative but to leave the pub with no refund and no apology. All this time, the replacement beers were standing on the bar, not having been paid for. I wonder if these beers were sold on to another customer or poured away?
As we were leaving the pub I took photos for my review and my written complaint to Trading Standards and the licensing magistrates. By this time Josh was standing outside the pub with another female member of staff who made an extremely rude gesture to us which can be seen in the photo that I have uploaded with this review.
Thank goodness I filmed the whole nasty incident on video for distribution to the media.
Written August 1, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LizHarry
1 contribution
Sep 2019 • Solo
The ladies at the GLT tonight were welcoming, friendly and so helpful. I won't forget how kind you were to a single, lady traveller. I'll definitely stop in when I'm next in Barnstable.
Written September 6, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
saltsman
Devon43 contributions
May 2017
The catering for our pre-booked coach party of morris dancers was excellent. Food was good, reasonably priced, quickly and efficiently served in their upstairs restaurant area within the time span we had given. Very helpful staff. We hope to use the venue again when we run a similar function.
Written May 21, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John W
Stafford, UK370 contributions
May 2017 • Couples
We needed a break from walking the streets and shops of Barnstaple.We walked around the corner and followed the rhythm and blues music into the golden lion.A friendly face served us with drink and food to set us on our way.This historical resting place offers a multiple of music with good food and drink to out.
Written May 8, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gimmick4Life
United Kingdom251 contributions
Nov 2015 • Solo
Went in here as passing by needed the toilet was barred for "not asking behind bar to use the toilet" I have ate here before and drank here in the past but when you need to go and they use this excuse?!?!
This place is gonna loose ALOT of custom.
This place is gonna loose ALOT of custom.
Written November 9, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We often have people walk in and use our toilets as we are located on the square. Although it is common courtesy to ask (we are after all a public house and not a public convenience) no-one has been barred merely for using the toilets. If you feel that you have been treated unfairly then you are welcome to come and see me personally to address the matter.
Written January 26, 2016
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
TawViewer
North Devon3 contributions
Jun 2019 • Friends
I’ve been to a few performances here as part of Fringe Theatre Fest. It’s a really friendly venue, good beer and a fab place to hang out after the shows.
Written June 29, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Is there live music and/or karaoke on a Friday night? Specifically Friday 20th Oct? Or Saturday 21st?
Written October 11, 2023
The Golden Lion Inn is not in Bickington
Written June 8, 2015
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