The Cardinal’s Hat
📍 0.9 miles from LNER Stadium
About this Pub
Why it's great for Matchdays
The Cardinal's Hat is a historic pub located on Lincoln's High Street, offering a selection of cask ales, including local and national options. The pub's proximity to Sincil Bank Stadium, approximately 0.7 miles away, makes it a convenient stop for both home and away supporters. While there's no specific mention of the pub showing live football, its welcoming atmosphere and range of drinks make it a popular choice for fans before and after matches.
Recent Fan Reviews
A lovely old pub. People talk to you, the service is great, the bar staff is knowledgeable about drinks, it's clean with top toilets. I went there to see a talk on historic unsolved murders in Lincoln. I drank Scottish cider (aged in whisky barrels) and it was lush.. but it did cost £6.60 a pint!!!
Excellent pub on the High Street. Enjoyed an Acorn St George £5.20, 230 THB. In absolutely perfect condition. Friendly customers and staff, a welcome stop walking downhill after exploring the steep hill area. There's no food available but customers were allowed to bring in pizza from a nearby restaurant.
Love this pub. It’s got history, it’s really quirky and unique. Love the original newspaper ( drinks menu) individual drinking lounges with super comfy seating. The local beer was lovely too.
An excellent pub. Friendly staff and usually. Great selection of beers. Love the snug room too. The pub is situated on the main drag and easy to find. We went back last weekend and went upstairs where there’s a large room with plenty of tables and chairs. It’s a popular pub and often gets busy but it always been a friendly crowd and everyone’s happy to make room. Well recommended.
Just a few steps down from the Strait and Narrow sits what is, without question, the undisputed heavyweight champion of my Lincoln pub rankings: The Cardinal’s Hat. Number one. Gold medal. Crowned and robed. If pubs had knighthoods, this one would be Sir Absolutely Brilliant. From the moment you walk in, it doesn’t feel like a bar – it feels like you’ve been invited into someone’s very stylish, very relaxed living room, where everyone is welcome and nobody’s in a rush. The atmosphere is warm, calm, and friendly, the kind of place where your shoulders instantly drop about three inches and your stress levels quietly leave the building without saying goodbye. This time I finally found the mysterious upstairs I’d been told about. After years of hearing whispers of “there’s a room up there,” I discovered stairs tucked away at the back leading to a nook not the ones I was after. The main stairs are at the front of the pub just never took them, (which, to be fair, look like they belong in a completely different building). Follow them and suddenly – boom – you’re in what can only be described as the cosiest secret hideout in Lincoln. Leather Chesterfield sofas, armchairs you sink into and may never escape from, proper living-room decor, and even board games for those brave enough to risk Monopoly after a couple of drinks. There’s a little nook with two tables, perfectly hidden up the rear stairs, ideal for plotting, relaxing, or pretending you’re in a members-only club. The menu is a work of art too, styled like an old-fashioned newspaper, which somehow makes ordering a drink feel like you’re reading the headlines of 1923: “Local Man Orders Another Pint, Shocked By How Nice It Is.” One small detail that absolutely stole my attention (possibly helped by the port) was the toilet chain upstairs – a leather strap and chain pull that was… let’s say… dramatically over-engineered. It looked like it had its own backstory and a spin-off series. I half expected ominous music to start. To top it all off, they had a 10-year-old tawny port behind the bar, which I’m convinced they stocked purely because they sensed my arrival. In short: stunning, welcoming, unique, and effortlessly brilliant. Five stars isn’t enough. If you’re in Lincoln and you don’t visit The Cardinal’s Hat, you’ve basically walked past happiness.