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Red Lion

Restaurants
 Vail, 81657

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About

The Red Lion has stood at the top of Bridge Street since February 1963, when Marge and Larry Burdick opened it as the Red Lion Inn and raised seven children in the rooms upstairs. Six decades on, it is still a Vail Village gathering place for après, burgers and live music.

It suits groups coming off the mountain who want food, a drink and a band without planning ahead, and families looking for a casual lunch in the middle of the village.

A Vail original

The Red Lion Inn quickly became the place to meet in early Vail, and plenty of business deals and marriages were hatched at its tables. The Burdicks sold in 1980; a group of Vail regulars revived it in 1988, and since 2000 it has been owned by a group of locals.

The food

The menu is generous pub and Tex-Mex cooking: half-pound burgers from Harris Ranch beef, red and green chili that the menu says was voted Best in Vail, heaped nachos, wings in half a dozen sauces, hand-cut onion rings and big salads such as the Game Creek Bowl.

Live music

Live entertainment runs through the season, typically an evening set from 6 or 7 p.m. and afternoon sets on weekends, with local players such as Johnny Schleper and Brian Spotts. The entertainment calendar on the website shows who is on each day.

Getting a table

Lunch and dinner are first come, first served, so arrive early at peak après. During live music, two tables by the bar can be reserved for adult groups of 8 to 12 with a food and beverage minimum. Food can also be ordered online for pickup. Details are in the FAQ below.

Finding it

Walk through the covered bridge, up Bridge Street past the clock tower, and look for the red awnings on the left at the top of the street. Shakedown Bar, a late-night live music room, shares the 304 Bridge Street address, for anyone who wants to keep the night going.

Sources: about us, The Red Lion, entertainment calendar, location, online ordering and menu. Checked September 23, 2026.

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Company Name
Red Lion
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Location
304 Bridge St Ste 1
Vail, 81657

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About Red Lion

Quick answer: Red Lion is a bar and restaurant at 304 Bridge St Ste 1, Vail, CO 81657. The Red Lion has served Vail Village since 1963 from the top of Bridge Street: burgers, award-winning chili, live music and first-come seating. As of October 2026 it is closed October 26 to November 11, 2026, and reopens Thursday, November 12, per its website.

Last updated

The Red Lion has stood at the top of Bridge Street since February 1963, when Marge and Larry Burdick opened it as the Red Lion Inn and raised seven children in the rooms upstairs. Six decades on, it is still a Vail Village gathering place for après, burgers and live music.

It suits groups coming off the mountain who want food, a drink and a band without planning ahead, and families looking for a casual lunch in the middle of the village.

A Vail original

The Red Lion Inn quickly became the place to meet in early Vail, and plenty of business deals and marriages were hatched at its tables. The Burdicks sold in 1980; a group of Vail regulars revived it in 1988, and since 2000 it has been owned by a group of locals.

The food

The menu is generous pub and Tex-Mex cooking: half-pound burgers from Harris Ranch beef, red and green chili that the menu says was voted Best in Vail, heaped nachos, wings in half a dozen sauces, hand-cut onion rings and big salads such as the Game Creek Bowl.

Live music

Live entertainment runs through the season, typically an evening set from 6 or 7 p.m. and afternoon sets on weekends, with local players such as Johnny Schleper and Brian Spotts. The entertainment calendar on the website shows who is on each day.

Getting a table

Lunch and dinner are first come, first served, so arrive early at peak après. During live music, two tables by the bar can be reserved for adult groups of 8 to 12 with a food and beverage minimum. Food can also be ordered online for pickup. Details are in the FAQ below.

Finding it

Walk through the covered bridge, up Bridge Street past the clock tower, and look for the red awnings on the left at the top of the street. Shakedown Bar, a late-night live music room, shares the 304 Bridge Street address, for anyone who wants to keep the night going.

Sources: about us, The Red Lion, entertainment calendar, location, online ordering and menu. Checked September 23, 2026.

Bars American

Quick Snapshot

Neighborhood: Vail Village
Cuisine: American
Service: Lunch • Dinner
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Business Hours

Closed for the season · Reopens Nov 12

Amenities at Red Lion

  • Kids' menu
  • Vegetarian option (black bean burger)

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Red Lion in Vail closing?
Not permanently, and not yet, but the question has two true parts. Seasonally, the Red Lion closes between seasons: in fall 2026 it is closed from Monday, October 26 through Wednesday, November 11, reopening Thursday, November 12 for the winter season, per the notice on its own home page, and listings keep showing normal hours while it is closed, so check before a shoulder-season visit. Longer term, local reporting (Vail Daily and Vail Magazine, 2026) says the Bridge Street building is planned for a major redevelopment in spring 2027, that the restaurant's lease expires in April 2027, and that the new building reportedly will not contain the restaurant. The restaurant itself has announced no permanent closure or closing date; treat the lease and redevelopment as reported plans, not as a announced last day.
What are the hours of the Red Lion in Vail?
The Red Lion does not publish its dining hours on its website, which is why the web disagrees about them. The consistent facts are: lunch and dinner daily, doors from 11 a.m. (the opening time every source agrees on); online pickup ordering runs to 8 p.m.; and evening live-music sets typically run to 10 or 11 p.m. Third-party closing times for the dining room circulate as 9, 10, and 11 p.m. depending on the source, and none of them is the restaurant's own published figure, so call (970) 476-7676 to confirm a late dinner. Hours also stop entirely between seasons (see the closure answer above).
Does the Red Lion take reservations?
No, not for lunch or dinner. Seating is first come, first served, and the restaurant's own line is "No Reservations necessary / Walk in service only", so arrive early at peak après and expect a wait when the room is full. The single exception: during live entertainment, two tables in the bar area can be reserved for adult groups of 8 to 12 with a food and beverage minimum, by emailing [email protected]. The Red Lion is at 304 Bridge Street in Vail Village, at the top of Bridge Street past the clock tower, under the red awnings. Ignore the OpenTable profile for this restaurant: it exists, but the restaurant is not on the OpenTable booking network and the profile is stale.
What should I order at the Red Lion?
The signatures are the ones the menu itself calls out. Start with the nachos ($25), a heaped plate of yellow and blue corn chips with your choice of spicy beef, seasoned chicken, pork carnitas, or black beans, or a pound of wings ($26) in one of six sauces, or the hand-cut onion rings ($14/$20). The red chili and the pork green chili ($11 a cup) are both billed on the menu as voted "Best in Vail". For the main, the half-pound Harris Ranch burgers ($24 build-your-own, $26 for the topped builds) are the room's centre, and the in-house BBQ (sandwiches $26, ribs $29/$41, brisket $30) is the second speciality. The full priced menu is the restaurant's online ordering page, linked from theredlion.com.
When is the live music at the Red Lion?
Most days in season, from the restaurant's own entertainment calendar: evening sets typically run 7 to 11 p.m. (the October 2026 calendar listed Dave Tucker and longtime regular Johnny Schleper in that slot), with afternoon sets on weekends earlier in the season (1 to 5 p.m. on the September calendar). Music stops when the restaurant closes between seasons. Check the entertainment calendar at theredlion.com for the exact act on the day you plan to go, and note that the two bar-area tables during music are the one reservable seat in the house (see the reservations answer).
What do reviews say about the Red Lion?
Reviews describe a beloved institution with a strained front door. Google rates the Red Lion 3.9 out of 5 from 878 reviews and TripAdvisor 3.9 from 744 (both at October 2026; other Google-derived reads circulate at 3.8 to 4.4, so the platform and date matter). Diners praise the nachos, the burgers, the chili, the onion rings, the staff, the live music, and prices that are reasonable for Vail Village, plus the outdoor tables in summer. The recurring criticisms are host-stand confusion and waits that overrun their quotes at peak, and a loud bar at night. Go for lunch or an early après seating if you want the calm version.
How much does a meal cost at the Red Lion?
Mid-priced for Vail Village. Burgers run $24 to $26 with fries, sandwiches $24 to $26, BBQ $26 to $41, salads $22 to $24, a cup of the red or green chili $11, and the top of the menu is the steaks at $42 to $48. Kids' items are $10 to $12. The "$50 and over" label on the restaurant's stale OpenTable profile does not describe this menu; equally, "inexpensive" is only true by Vail standards. Budget roughly $25 to $40 per person for a burger or BBQ plate and a drink, before tax and tip.
Is the Red Lion kid friendly?
Yes, especially at lunch and in the early evening. The menu has a dedicated kids' section, eight items at $10 to $12, and families fill the dining room at lunch; reviewers note a quieter dining area apart from the bar. Later in the evening the room becomes a live-music bar, which is the version to choose deliberately rather than by accident. There is no children's entertainment or play space; the family offer is the menu, the portions, and the noise level before the band starts.
Does the Red Lion have vegetarian or gluten-free options?
Vegetarian, yes, properly. The homemade black bean burger ($24) is described on the menu as "the perfect substitute for any vegetarian", the nachos can be built on black beans, and there is a vegetable sandwich ($22), a crudité platter, spinach-artichoke dip, and five salads; one Google reviewer calls the vegetarian options "excellent". Gluten-free needs the honest version: no dish on the menu is labeled gluten-free and there is no gluten-free menu, so do not rely on aggregator tags. The burrito bowl ($22) is tortilla-free by construction but is not labeled gluten-free. Call (970) 476-7676 before visiting if gluten is a hard constraint.
Can I order takeout from the Red Lion, and does it deliver?
Takeout, yes: order online for pickup through the restaurant's ordering page (linked from theredlion.com as "order carry out online"), with pickup ordering running 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the days checked. Alcohol is not sold to go. Delivery, no: the restaurant offers no delivery service of its own, whatever directory pages claim. When the restaurant is closed between seasons, ordering closes with it.

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