“‘… you’re going into the House of Commons.’”

The Red Lion pub is featured in chapter 10 of Lethal White.

Shortly after speaking with Jasper Chiswell in Pratt’s club, Strike asks Robin over the phone if she could meet him at the Red Lion in Duke of York Street. “This is urgent. I need to tell you about it face to face.”

Having just been to Pratt’s in his suit, Strike is perfectly dressed for the Mayfair pub. Two minutes after getting off the phone with Robin, Strike enters the Red Lion, “a snug Victorian pub whose brass fittings and etched glass reminded him of the Tottenham.”

Strike orders himself a pint of London Pride (a beer he also drinks in The Cambridge in The Silkworm)…

… and sits at a corner table, reading an article on his phone about the forthcoming Paralympics.

Twenty-five minutes later, Robin turns up and orders herself an orange juice before sitting down with Strike. “The pub, which comprised only a horseshoe space around a single bar, was already tightly packed with smartly dressed men and women, who had started their weekend early or, like Strike and Robin, were finishing work over a drink.”

During their conversation concerning the Chiswell case, a tall man deep in conversation with a colleague walks straight into Robin’s chair, knocking her forward and spilling her orange juice all over her and her chair. After trying to get the man to apologise, Strike eventually tells the man to “bugger off” and then gets Robin to swap seats with him, which leaves Robin half-embarrassed, half-touched.

“The thin cotton dress was sticking to her everywhere: Strike kept his gaze resolutely on her eyes.” What a gent.

Later on, Sarah Shadlock arrives at the pub with two men, speaks briefly with Robin and Strike, and situates herself at the bar, keeping them both in sight. Strike and Robin decide to leave shortly after.

Fancy a London Pride or an orange juice at the Red Lion? You can find the pub on Google Maps here: