British pubs are no longer serving the slap up nosh that once rendered them absent from the UK’s top restaurant guides.
In fact, pubs are serving such great food that some are set to be bestowed with the prestigious, fiercely contested and infamously difficult-to-come-by Michelin star.
Read on for our pick of the best, and let the gastropub revelation commence.
The Alford Arms, Frithsden, Hertfordshire
A finalist in the catering pub of the year at the Publican Awards 2004, The Alford is a small and stylish inn with a good community feel. Don’t be fooled by appearances though: this might be a pub in name but with foie gras, slow cooked lamb parcel and Thai chicken sausages on its extensive menu, the food as well as the prices (average £11 for a main course) are decidedly restaurant in character. There’s plenty of outdoor seating. More.
The Angel Coaching Inn, Warminster, Wiltshire
Original beams and open fires beckon in this sixteenth century inn which recently won a mention in Michelin’s Eating Out In Pubs guidebook. The wholesome lunch menu (including herring roes on toast, £4.95 and crayfish Tail and avocado cocktail on brown walnut and date bread, £5.95) gives way to an evening a la carte menu with main courses averaging around £10. Meals can be taken in the cosy bar or the more formal dining room. More.
The Tollgate Inn, Holt, Wiltshire
Two AA rosettes and winner of the Catering Pub of the Year Awards in 2000, 2001 and 2004, this rural inn has a positively huge menu of lunchtime snacks including cheddar cheese and beef fondue. An adventurous and imaginative a la carte menu offers calves liver and bacon on beetroot and tarragon with an orange and dubonnet sauce alongside oven roasted Brixham halibut on a bed of wilted spinach and a vanilla butter sauce (prices range from £6-£14). More.
The Inn At Farnborough, Banbury, Warwickshire
Stealing the Tollgate Inn’s crown in the Pub of the Year 2003 awards was the grade II listed Inn At Farnborough, where extensive gardens, a conservatory and stylish interior provide the perfect wind-down setting for the mouth-watering array of specials including Provencal shellfish soup with saffron rouille (£5.95) and char grilled Oxfordshire entrecote steak with field mushrooms, béarnaise sauce and fries (£13.95). More.
The Ship, Elie, Fife
The daily-changing summer menu is best sampled facing the stunning views over the Frith of Forth, while winter warmers can be tucked into next to the roaring fire. Dating from 1788, this is a true community pub, well known locally for its summer barbecues. More.
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