Providing the perfect setting for a meal with friends, a romantic dinner with a loved-one or a night out with your family, the newly-refurbished Red Lion restaurant and bar in Stoke Poges ticks all the boxes.

The selection of drinks in the bar would be a welcome sight to anyone visiting after a long week. 

An extensive variety of real ales, world beers and spirits was truly impressive. 

Unfortunately, being the designated driver, my drink choices extended to a diet coke. 

However, my friends sampled the gins. The raspberry gin – I am reliably informed – is an excellent choice; perfectly accompanied with elderflower tonic. 

As a lover of seafood, I was delighted to see on the menu a lobster and king prawn pot (£7.95) for my starter. 

Served in a Devonshire crab crème fraiche and toasted ciabatta, this starter was light but incredibly flavoursome. 

The quality of the seafood was evident, with rich, strong flavours partnered perfectly with a citrus zest. 

The other selection on our table that caught my eye was the sweet chilli king prawn roll, with julienne vegetables, chilli and coriander wrapped in rice paper with an accompanying dipping sauce (£6.75).

At just 152 calories, this starter offers those trying to stick to a diet a delicate and light starter. 

The best part of the meal, for me, came in the main course. I had high expectations – given the quality of the starter – and I was not disappointed. 

The roasted rack of lamb, served with a generous portion of aubergine, sweet peppers, dauphinoise potatoes and a red wine jus (£21.95) was nothing short of a masterpiece. 

I ordered the meat medium rare and it was prepared to perfection; the meat was served on the bone and was perfectly tender and was complimented beautifully with a hint of mint, which gave the dish that traditional Sunday roast taste. 

Having struggled to decide between the two, I will be trying the seared salmon fillet on chorizo mash, with tenderstem broccoli and a bouillabaisse sauce (£17.95) on my next visit.

To finish off a delightful meal, I ordered the warm chocolate brownie with bourbon vanilla ice cream.

It is very hard to get a bad brownie, but similarly hard to get one that stands out as excellent.

Unfortunately, in this case, the texture was slightly dry, however the flavour of the brownie and the rich flavour of the ice cream more than made up for it. 

The Red Lion reopens on February 9 and would be the perfect place to visit on Valentine’s Day or any other special occasions. 

Visit: theredlionstokepoges.co.uk to find out more details.