The UK’s best gastropub has been crowned, beating off competition from thousands of venues. It’s a spot that’s much loved-by celebrities and famous for pouring the best Guinness in the country
The top gastropubs across the UK have been named, and the winner is a spot that has been enjoyed by many celebrities and was praised for its “premium quality, homemade food, focusing on the best of British produce”.
The Devonshire in Soho, which prides itself on offering a warm and welcoming vibe and has the style of a traditional British pub, took the number one spot in the new ranking. The venue sits on one of the lively neighbourhood’s narrow streets, amongst theatres, restaurants, and busy shops.
Downstairs is a wood-panelled bar which looks a lot like many of the historic pubs found in this part of the capital. Tourists and Londoners just finishing work crowd around the bar, often spilling out onto the street on sunny days, giving the pub a friendly, lively atmosphere.
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What sets The Devonshire apart from other pubs in the area is its claim to serve the “perfect pint of Guinness”, with bar staff obsessed about getting the perfect pour. Its bar snack menu offers the chance to try the cuisine on offer, and includes snacks such as sausage on a stick, scotch eggs, and chips, among other British favourites.
Upstairs, the restaurant has a more upmarket vibe, and the handwritten menus feature seasonal specials and local ingredients. With an on-site butcher and baker on the team, you can be assured that everything is fresh and local. Highlights include Scottish beef, which is dry-aged and butchered on-site, and seafood from Devon, including lobsters and hand-dived scallops.
The Devonshire has gained a number of celebrity fans in recent years. Last summer, A-listers including Margot Robbie, Jon Bon Jovi, and Ed Sheeran were spotted among its diners. Yungblud and Florence Pugh even surprised punters by taking on duties behind the bar and having a go at pulling pints.
In second place was The Unruly Pig in Woodbridge, which, by contrast, sits among the Suffolk countryside. This 16th-century inn has a traditional pub vibe with wooden beams and a roaring fireplace, but adds a contemporary twist with colourful modern artworks on the walls.
The menu is a fusion of British and Italian cuisine, which they’ve dubbed ‘Britalian’, and uses fresh ingredients that are sourced locally whenever possible. In the bar, there’s a wide selection of craft beers as well as over 60 choices of wine and fizz to accompany your meal.
The menu changes monthly, and in addition to its a la carte selection, the restaurant offers a three-course lunch menu for £35pp, with a choice of three dishes per course. It also offers a popular Sunday lunch, where you can opt for a sharing roast platter for two or dishes such as iberico pork and parmesan gnocchi.
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Another London venue, The Red Lion & Sun, came in third on the list. The pub, set in leafy Highgate Village, has two beer gardens that are incredibly popular in the summer. And in fourth place was The Woolpack Inn, set in the quaint Cotswolds village of Slad, which offers real ales and hearty cuisine.
Full list of top 100 gastropubs in the UK
- The Devonshire, Soho, London
- The Unruly Pig, Woodbridge, Suffolk
- The Red Lion & Sun, Highgate, London
- The Woolpack Inn, Slad, Gloucestershire
- The Star Inn, Harome, York
- The Angel at Hetton, Hetton, North Yorkshire
- Parkers Arms, Clitheroe Lancashire
- The Rat Inn, Anick, Northumberland
- The Rum Fox, Clitheroe, Lancashire
- The Cornish Arms, Tavistock, Devon
- Canton Arms, Stockwell, London
- The Dog at Wingham, Wingham, Kent
- The Abbey Inn, Byland, North Yorkshire
- The Three Horseshoes, Batcombe, Somerset
- The Broad Chare, Newcastle
- The Gunton Arms, Thorpe Market, Norfolk
- The Baring, Islington, London
- The Merry Harriers, Hambledon, Surrey
- The Fordwich Arms, Canterbury, Kent
- The Bell, Langford, Oxfordshire
- The Kentish Hare, Tunbridge Wells, Kent
- The Crown, Burchetts Green, Berkshire
- The Marksman, Hackney, London
- The Hero, Maida Vale, London
- The Kerfield Arms, Camberwell, London
- The Sportsman, Seasalter, Kent
- The Mariners, Rock, Cornwall
- The Bull, Charlbury, Oxfordshire
- The Coach, Marlow, Buckinghamshire
- The Highland Laddie, Leeds
- The Pipe and Glass Inn, South Dalton, East Yorkshire
- The Silver Cup, Harpenden, Hertfordshire
- The Waterman’s Arms, Barnes, London
- Heft, High Newton, Cumbria
- The Tamil Crown, Islington, London
- Harwood Arms, Fulham, London
- The Killingworth Castle, Woodstock, Oxfordshire
- The Gurnard’s Head, St Ives, Cornwall
- The Bull & Last, Highgate, London
- The Kinneuchar Inn, Leven, Fife
- The Tartan Fox, Newquay, Cornwall
- The Queen of Cups, Glastonbury, Somerset
- The Knave of Clubs, Shoreditch, London
- The Mason’s Arms, Bampton, Oxfordshire
- The Wild Rabbit, Kingham, Oxfordshire
- The Black Bear Inn, Bettws Newydd, Monmouthshire
- The French House, Soho, London
- The Loch & The Tyne by Adam Handling, Old Windsor, Berkshire
- The Shibden Mill Inn, Halifax West Yorkshire
- The White Horse, Chester, Cheshire
- The White Swan at Fence, Fence, Lancashire
- The Cross at Kenilworth, Kenilworth
- The Castle Inn, Castle Combe, Chippenham
- The George, Kempsford, Fairford
- The Hoop, Stock, Essex
- The Scran and Scallie, Edinburgh
- The Black Bull, Sedbergh, Cumbria
- The Edinburgh Castle, Manchester
- The Bull’s Head, Craswall, Herefordshire
- The Camberwell Arms, Camberwell, London
- The Parakeet, Kentish Town, London
- The Boat, Lichfield
- The Longs Arms, South Wraxall, Wiltshire
- The Anchor and Hope, Southwark, London
- The Pelican, Notting Hill, London
- The Pack Horse, Hayfield, Derbyshire
- The Drapers Arms, Islington, London
- The Hand and Flowers, Marlow, Buckinghamshire
- St Kew Inn, Bodmin
- The Three Fishes, Mitton, Lancashire
- The Bull Inn, Totnes
- The Clarence, Glasgow
- The Dog & Gun Inn, Skelton, Cumbria
- Heathcock, Cardiff
- The Fat Badger, Notting Hill, London
- The Chagford Inn, Chagford
- The Eagle, Farringdon, London
- The Clarence Tavern, Stoke Newington, north-east London
- The Five Elms, Weedon Aylesbury, Bucks
- The Horseguards Inn, Tiilington, Petworth, West Sussex
- The Oarsman, Marlow
- The Two Pigs, Barton under Needwood, Burton on Trent
- The Lady Mildmay, Newington Green, north-east London
- The Royal Oak, Witney, Oxfordshire
- The White Hart, Lydgate, Oldham
- WildMoor Oak, Bromsgrove
- The Double Red Duke, Clanfield, Oxfordshire
- The Blue Stoops, Kensington, London
- The Crown at Bray, Bray, Maidenhead
- The Bucks Head, Sevenoaks, Kent
- The Parlour, Kensal Rise, London
- The Dog and Pickle, Essex
- The Burleigh Arms, Cambridge
- The Charlton Arms, Ludlow
- The Suffield Arms, Gunton
- The Hare & Hounds, Vale of Glamorgan
- The Sun, Felmersham, Bedford
- Pyne Arms, Barnstaple
- The Standard Inn, Portscatho, Cornwall
- The Swan, Bampton
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