Tucking into Indian cuisine for breakfast is the last thing you’d expect to do in a traditional pub nestled in a North Wales village. But it’s exactly what you’ll find at The Red Lion in Cyffylliog, Denbighshire.
The small pub is handily located for walkers, cyclists and tourists, so they can fuel up for the day ahead. Although it’s different to your usual British fry-up, the breakfasts at the Red Lion are just as delicious.
Some diet experts even suggest that leftover curry for breakfast can be beneficial to your health. With this in mind, our colleagues at North Wales Live decided to try the Punjabi Breakfast at The Red Lion, where everything is cooked fresh to order. Here’s how they found it.
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We received a warm welcome from the owners despite our sleepy eyes and early start. Breakfast here is offered between 9am and 1pm every day apart from Monday and Tuesday, when the kitchen is closed.
The Red Lion is better known for being a country pub, serving homemade hearty food but reviews also suggest they also offer the most authentic curry in North Wales. The curry night on a Thursday offers traditional Punjabi chicken or dhal along with a variety of other curries for £10.99. A pint of lager starts from £2.95.
They have a selection of cask ales and fine wines on offer, along with a number of food offers including a bargain hunters dream of two meals for £10 on a Wednesday evening The venue is a very traditional pub with both a lounge and public bar, along with two further snug areas and a function room. Despite the size, it still felt like popping into someone’s house especially as their three-year-old son came in to say hello to us.
The Punjabi breakfast had two versions but they also offered bacon sausage and egg rolls for the more traditional early starters. You also have the option of adding a hot drink for an extra quid. I ordered the bread pakora and vegetable pakora, which was served with a mini salad and tamarind sauce. The bread is a classic of Indian street food and is popular at breakfast or as comfort food for a rainy day. It had a mildly spicy flavour and was a great bread for dipping.
The okra chutney is known for its unique and interesting flavour with a thick, dense and slightly oily texture. It obviously complements many Indian dishes but went especially well with my tasty mopping-up bread.
I also had a vegetable pakora, which was a deep-fried spiced fritter that consisted of potatoes and onions with a coat of seasoned gram flour. It certainly added a great ‘rise and shine’ quality to proceedings.
My wife ordered a vegetable samosa, which was a deep-fried triangular turnover filled with potatoes and vegetables. She also had two beautifully fresh onion bhajis that both had that wonderful crunchy and crispy textures along with a fritter.
She had a homemade tamarind sauce, which managed to be slightly sour, sweet and tangy at the same time. She also had a cooling mint yoghurt dip to go with her mini salad and a slice of orange. It was a wake-up call for the taste buds and certainly made a change from cereal and toast. She washed it down with some warming sweet chai tea whilst I opted for a masala chai tea that was striking in that it was rich creamy and characterised by a distinctive dusty pink colour.
The Punjabi breakfast was certainly a welcome surprise find, deep in the rolling hills and mysterious one-track back roads of the Clwyd Valley. The offer of samosas and spiced tea for brekkie may not be to everyone’s taste, but it’s hardly any stranger than explaining the ingredients of black pudding either.
The Facts
Punjabi Breakfast: £5.95
Chai Tea: £1
Total: £13.90
Opening Times:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday: 9am–2pm, 5–11pm
Thursday: 9am–2pm, 5–11pm
Friday: 9am–2pm, 5pm–12am
Saturday: 9am–12am
Sunday: 9am–5pm
Atmosphere: Community-based
Car Parking: Car park to the left of the pub
Disabled access: Limited access due to nature of building
Service: Very welcoming and warm
Overall: Superb Punjabi breakfast that makes a change from cereal and toast.
Address: The Red Lion, Cyffylliog, LL15 2DN
Telephone: 01824 710375
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