What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
The White Lion, Hankelow
Review
About
Travellers' Choice
2024
The White Lion is a country Pub and Restaurant, prominently located in the picturesque village of Hankelow. Expect an array of local cask and craft beers as well as a focussed menu showcasing seasonal local produce. The White Lion has been refurbished to the highest standard, and it is both a social hub & destination venue, ready to welcome everyone from both near and far. The pub represents the passion and determination of its community. More than 40 local people have contributed to the project, from investing in its future to managing the build and design of the pub. The pub has stood in the village for over 200 years, and after an incredible £1.5million investment, the beer is flowing once more. THE WHITE LION HAS REOPENED, HAVING POURED ITS LAST PINT BACK IN 2016.
Features
CUISINES
Bar, British, Pub, Gastropub
Meal types
Lunch, Dinner, Drinks
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Gluten free options
FEATURES
Accepts Credit Cards
Full Bar
Highchairs Available
Outdoor Seating
Parking Available
Private Dining
Reservations
Seating
Serves Alcohol
Table Service
Location
Parking Available
Is this restaurant good for special occasions?
Save this restaurant
Hours
Closed now
• Opens at 10:00 AM
Sunday
10:00 - 22:00
Monday
12:00 - 23:00
Tuesday
12:00 - 23:00
Wednesday
10:00 - 23:00
Thursday
10:00 - 23:00
Friday
10:00 - 23:00
Saturday
10:00 - 23:00
Contribute
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.2
140 reviews
Excellent
93
Very good
15
Average
8
Poor
17
Terrible
7
Peter O
Crewe70 contributions
Jan 2023 • none
We previously visited this pub for meals in July (soon after the re-opening) and December. I previously reviewed our experience & praised the quailty of the building restoration and food quality, but had some disappointments regarding the service of the young staff and the lack of heat in the meal, but the biggest issue was the too-small meal portions. ☹️
NOT ANY MORE! 👍🏻 This time all these recent issues seem to have been addressed, with a more sensible adult portion size, attentive & friendly service, great beer and wonder quailty (crispy) fish & chips! Apart from some odd flickering lighting upstairs, whole experience was really excellent with tasty food, great service and a warm & relaxing atmosphere. The fish batter was thin, crispy and tasty, the fish properly cooked, triple- roasted chips and crushed peas, all delicious. 😄
Meals are quite pricey, but one can accept this better when the quality & service is so good. 9.5/10 ! Please keep it up and we will be back again soon. 😊
Written 27 January 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.
Phil E
Staffordshire110 contributions
Feb 2023 • none
3 of us went here to celebrate my wife's birthday, we went on a Sunday and the food menu is mainly just Sunday roasts, they do an option of 2 or 3 courses, 3 courses is currently £28.95.
The Pub itself is very lovely and has a bright clean look to it, they have a very good selection of beers and also the Titanic Cherry porter on tap which is a bonus!!! the staff were very friendly and we bought our Dog with us, they bought out a bowl of water and some biscuits for her which was a nice touch.
We were shown to our table and asked if we wanted drinks, they then bought menus and gave us time to choose.
2 has the Mushrooms on toast which they said was the best they had had, I went for the Chicken Liver Terrine which again was lovely, we then had 2 Lamb and a Pork Roast, the portions size was great with all the Sunday dinner trimmings and a yorkie to boot! the Pork was a really generous portion and all the meals were very tasty.
I was the only one who managed a pudding and I'm glad I did, I had the Rhubarb Creme Brulee and it was one of the nicest pudding I have ever had.
All in all a great little pub well worth a visit, we will definitely go back, maybe on a day other than Sunday to try other dishes, they do do a small selection of non roast dinners on a Sunday but I would recommend you try the roast dinner.
Written 8 February 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.
MightySkiddaw
68 contributions
Jul 2024 • couples
After a wonderful day out in Audlem at the "Festival of Transport" we stopped at the White Horse without a booking and were lucky enough to get a table for Sunday lunch.
We ordered the Sharing Roast and couldn't fault the platter we received.
The roast beef was melt in the mouth, pink and cooked perfectly.
The chicken and pork were likewise both excellent.
The roast potatoes and veg were all seasoned perfectly and and quantities were plentiful.
A good selection of beers on offer and the beer garden in the summer sunshine was at it's best.
Service was prompt and friendly.
Definitely somewhere that we will return to.
Written 28 July 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.
19Phil62
Whitstable12 contributions
Aug 2024 • family
As we were staying in the area and the pub was within walking distance and accommodated dogs we booked at 7:00 PM. Previous reviews were mixed but we decided to give it a go. We were told we could take any table as it was mid-week and not very busy when we arrived. We commented on the decor and atmosphere and were looking forward to our food chosen from a promising menu.Eventually they took our drinks and food order. Starters arrived after someone had noticed we hadn’t had them but when they arrived the calamari was cold, rubbery,soggy and inedible so I returned it and said just to take it off the bill. By 8:10 there were no signs of any main dishes so gave up and paid for our 3 drinks and 1 edible starter and left. One of the worst experiences of eating out we have had.
Written 8 August 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.
MisterJinks
Woore148 contributions
Jun 2024 • couples
We’ve driven past this pub a few times & thought we’d give it a go for Father’s Day. Decent selection of beers, nice beer garden & nice interior. Ordered the shared roast which looked great on the menu. Food not great, most of it wasn’t warm, Yorkshire puddings were stone cold, roast beef very sinewy & chicken was dry as a bone (had to take a drink with every mouthful).
Service wasn’t great & was inattentive. Food arrived (not warm) & no plates or cutlery. Waiter went downstairs for cutlery but didn’t think to bring plates so another delay & trip downstairs. Plates stone cold & by this point our food (on a wooden board) was getting even colder. No serving spoons for vegetable dishes so another delay whilst waiter disappeared again - came back with teaspoons which was strange.
Would have preferred to be on the ground floor where service might have been better, felt a bit forgotten about upstairs.
With the poor quality of the mains & poor service we didn’t fancy ordering desserts so we paid the bill & went to the CoOp to buy desserts & took them home. When paying the bill we noticed that they hadn’t charged for drinks (presumably as a gesture of goodwill) but this wasn’t pointed out to us & no apology offered which felt a bit awkward.
Overall a disappointing experience & doubt we will return. Shame, because it was a Father’s Day treat & it only comes round once a year.
Written 16 June 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.
Joe B
Nantwich13 contributions
Nov 2024 • family
Arrived at the venue at 5.45 for our table reservation, very empty restaurant with only 1 other table in there. Another table arrived after us who got served way before. Waited 20 minutes for anyone to come and take an order. Starters were lovely. Onion bhaji scotch egg & chicken fried bacon strips- both lovely. No one cleared the plates for another 15 minutes. Finished drinks no additional drinks order. Mains came- disaster. Ordered a katsu curry which had very little sauce. We asked for more to be told 5 minutes later they have no more sauce because they have 2 more katsus on order. Sea bass was very dry; potatoes very bland. Didn’t order dessert as the service was absolutely appalling. Not a single check back to see how everything was. Had to go to the bar to order additional drinks. The curry was taken off the bill due to this, which we are grateful for, however, it left one of our party hungry. As we were walking out the table that ordered the other 2 curries had a ridiculous amount of curry sauce which we were denied. WILL NOT BE RETURNING, this is clearly a local’s pub.
Written 9 November 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.
Miss T
3 contributions
Dec 2024 • family
This lovely pub is sadly let down by its food and table service. As a family of five we booked for Sunday lunch after perusing the tempting online menu. Bar service was fine but it all went downhill when we sat at our table. Our waiter was clearly not trained in customer service and had the worst skills I’ve witnessed in a long time. Many items from the menu were not available including the roast turkey. We ordered two half chicken dinners and one roast beef. They had run out of cauliflower cheese but we were told extra veg could be had, we also asked for a portion of stuffing. Neither arrived. We also ordered one jerk chicken burger which would be better described as joke chicken burger. A slice of plain dry chicken arrived on a plain dry bun with one lettuce leaf. All cold. The menu said it also came with avocado. It didn’t.
The one star is given for the fifth dish of sea bass chowder. It was piping hot compared to the other dishes which were stone cold, and at least it was edible. Everyone left most of their food. As a gesture 10% was deducted from the bill.
Needless to say we won’t be returning for food any time soon.
Written 9 December 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.
sandyliz-11
Nantwich137 contributions
Sept 2023 • friends
Decided to give this local pub another chance after a disappointing first visit. The decor is stunning but that’s about the only positive.
A strange selection of starters but a better choice of main courses than previously. I had the sea bass with samphire and a crab croquette. The meal was dry and the samphire too tough to eat. Everyone else said the same. Small portions and needs extra vegetables at a further cost.
Although the staff were pleasant the service was abysmal. It took nearly 2 hours from us placing our order to receiving our food. The place was busy so maybe they need to reduce the numbers of diners to produce a better service but the standard of the meal was very disappointing. There is a long established local restaurant chain which is much better value for money and produces consistently good food so they need to improve in order to survive.
Written 24 September 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.
Michele H
7 contributions
Jul 2024 • family
Having visited here on two previous occasions with family and eaten a great sunday lunch, I was really looking forward to a return visit. Sadly I was really disappointed - the Sunday lunch was just awful- bland with slimy meat and soggy roast potatoes. The vegetarian option of cauliflower dipped/fried in plain batter and served with standard roast accompaniments was also awful (and a really weird combination). We complained at the time and received some recompense with complimentary desserts, but these also were pretty poor so didnt make up for our general disappointment. Sadly I wont be going back!
Written 27 July 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.
Vorg86
Nantwich121 contributions
Feb 2024 • family
This could have been an amazing experience but was let down by being led to a dirty table, our order not being taken and no sauce for the steak. On arrival the service was great until we were left at the table without wine for 20 mins so went to the bar to order. The starters were nice but a little basic and needed some pizazz. Mains were good but steak had no sauce which meant it was a dry plate of food, you can’t serve a steak without a choice of sauces. The steak was actually delicious so had a sauce been available it would have been great. Fishcakes are huge, tasty, and filling. Wine was great too. This could be an amazing place to dine with a few tweaks.
Written 10 February 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.
The White Lion Hankelow
We are so sorry you did not have the best experience and as you say some small mistakes clearly let us down. I have passed your comments onto our Chef and front of house team. We are working hard on training what is a very new and in some cases young team to bring them to the level you describe in your review and we hope that should you return you will see the difference we have made in a short period of time.
Once again thank you so much we want to strive to be better and your measured feedback is a real help with this.
Regards
Sian
Written 26 February 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Hcle
Audlem2 contributions
Dec 2024 • family
Visited Sunday evening. Whilst service was generally ok food was certainly not. Portion size was fine but food was cold and dry. Plus too many items missing from menu. Not one of our party bothered to clear our plates. Needless to say we declined the offer of deserts, left early to tuck into cheese and biscuits at home.
Such a shame as so much effort has been made to attract people to what is a wonderful location.
Written 8 December 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.
Peter O
Crewe70 contributions
Jul 2022 • none
We are locals and have been very impressed by the way the lovely refurbishment has gone, and the way the nice outdoor area has been created, but wanted to give a month or two before trying the service so things could bed-in. The service is very friendly, though the staff are mainly very young and still training it seems with things being missed, like delays in bringing sauces, or not knowing which table to serve a meal to (despite them being numbered), hopefully this will ease in time. The quality of the food was superb, though not overly hot by the time it arrived at our table. We had chicken crown and Halibut from the new menu. But the portion was way too small for dishes charged at £19-£23 and the 'Crown' chicken was really just two slices with 3 tiny new pots. Sorry but this is like a French fine-dining restaurant on price / value & other local pubs are serving similar quality with same or lower prices and more normal portion sizes...this was almost like a kids meal. We really want this pub to succeed and for us to be regulars but this silly small portion problem is just not on & MUST be fixed and is so easily done. The worrying thing is every single person we know who has eaten there (about 8 and counting) said the very same thing.
Without fixing this issue, we would only recommend the WL for drinks or light lunches, rather than dinner.
Please sort this out and you will have a great new venue to be enjoyed by all.👍🏻
Written 10 July 2022
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.
The White Lion Hankelow
Thank you for the review PeterO and apologies for the delay in replying to you. We've taken your comments on board and we're reviewing our menus at the moment.
Written 6 September 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jason W
16 contributions
Oct 2022 • none
What a great place.
I have not seen the upstair area, but it sounds very good.
The food is excellent, and caters for people like me that want to keep it simple, Welsh Rarebit for example But if you have a broader palette it is very good. Wide choice but not so much you think it is all done in advance to pop in a microwave.
The seating and atmosphere is friendly and well laid out.
People judge places on many things, for me, the bathrooms were like a high end hotel.
Now to my best bit.
If you are driving they have a lovely lager at 0%, but with full taste - on draught, yes the driver isn't punished for basically buying a green bottle. It is great tasting 'Lucky Saint'. To make it even better (at time of typing) £4:30 a pint, really. Now there is no excuse for not staying safe, a great beer, contribution to road safety and your pocket - change from a fiver, you only hear that on re-runs of Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy.
It is very easy to find after leaving Nantwich, you just stay on the one road.
Written 7 October 2022
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.
The White Lion Hankelow
Thank you for your great review and, you're right, no microwaves here! Glad you enjoyed your visit, we look forward to seeing you again soon.
Written 10 October 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
laura
Crewe9 contributions
Jun 2024 • couples
Location and pub really nice however, the food was poor.
Starters, gammas pil pil served with no bread, mentioned it to our server who apologised.
Scotch egg was average, nothing special.
Hoping our mains would be an improvement but was left disappointed, the beef burger was dry, the bun was rock hard.
The crispy beef salad was awful, was mostly inedible it had that much ginger in it, packet salad leaves with grated carrot and some old beef.
Food completely over priced for what is was.
Won’t be back in a hurry!
Written 8 June 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.
Carly R
2 contributions
Feb 2024 • family
We booked as a table of 12 with 2 high chairs at 2pm. We arrived and were told our table wasn’t ready yet and to take a seat at the bar, all good we understand! Half an hour later we were still there and had to go up to the bar to ask if our table was ready to which they replied ‘they are paying their bill now’. Ten minutes pass and we were taken to our table. No cutlery, no menus, 1 high chair and no offer of further drinks. We then had to order more drinks at the bar to which our water was forgotten. And also ask for menus then further again ask for children’s menus.
We then asked for another high chair, as booked, to which we got the response ‘ they’re being used at the moment, my manager said I can’t kick babies out of chairs.’ - we think she was trying to be funny but given she was clearly flustered it didn’t come off that way 😂
Twenty minutes later and we had to go to the bar again to ask if someone could actually take our order… and ask for our jug of water again.
We ordered and 40 minutes later, three screaming kids, starters arrived. Lovely food!
After clearing our table, it was a further hours wait for our mains! And again, no offer or further drinks and we had to order from the bar. Table at 2pm and at 4.05pm we still hadn’t eaten, no apology or explanation of time delays.
Tables not cleared, no offer of dessert even for the kids to which we had to order at the bar.
20 minute wait for the bill.
Food was lovely though, and I understand the service industry having worked in it myself but perhaps a bit of acknowledgement of the wait times would have helped us feel a little bit less upset.
A meal out is a once in a blue moon luxury these days, especially for an occasion such as my son’s birthday! And we just felt forgotten about.
This was our first bad experience at the white lion, every other time has been amazing! Perhaps just an off day, but otherwise disappointing end to my son’s birthday weekend.
Written 25 February 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.
The White Lion Hankelow
Thank you for leaving a review and We are so sorry to hear of your experience. I will be in contact directly to discuss further and try to make amends for your disappointment.
Regards
Sian
Written 26 February 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Showing results 1-15 of 140
Best nearby
We rank these hotels, restaurants, and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Best nearby hotels
See all 
Best nearby restaurants
See all 
Is This Your Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim Your Free Listing