Best Pubs for a pint of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord
Published 07 November 2025

Motorists beware! Approaching this ancient inn by Fore Street should be attempted by small vehicles only, so narrow is the old passageway between St Andrew’s lichen-covered churchyard walls and the pub that has serviced the parish for the best part of 700 years. But to make it there (by whatever means) is to be ensconced in the sleepy, storied spirit of Harberton – barely 10 minutes from Totnes, but in a world of its own.

To welcome you into the dark wood-panelled and beamed room, lit by flickering tapered candles, is chef Tim Blanchard who will make it dazzlingly worth your while. The St John alumnus, with south Devon’s fertile larder at his fingertips, is producing some of the finest pub-style cooking found anywhere. 

Our lunch kicked off with a starter of potted duck and charred sourdough from favoured Buckfastleigh bakery Hylsten, ahead of unbeatably flavoursome grilled lamb chops paired with anchovy-spiked chard. A smashed-patty cheeseburger was a populist triumph and, with chips included, is a great value sub-£20 meal. Just don’t skimp on the homemade mint choc-chip ice cream, served in a retro coupe. 

A pool table, quizzes captained by the pub's previous owner, and well-kept beers maintain the spirit of a proper watering hole. Sunday lunches are single-sitting feasts featuring anything from roast porchetta and pig's head to confit duck with treviso, bread sauce and crab apple jelly. The wine list opens at a friendly £25 with a small by-the-glass selection, while service is warm and efficient.

A pub with deep roots in the city the Romans called Verulamium, the Kings Arms occupies a handsome Tudor building in the Cathedral Quarter. Its beamed ceiling and burnished wood surfaces evoke an atavistic note of bygone days, and the history extends even to the name, Dylans, which commemorates a gone-but-not-forgotten chocolate Labrador.

There is a seam of stylish grandeur running through much of Josh Searle's repertoire, and yet it never severs its connection to pub cooking. Chargrilled onglet with chimichurri, beef–fat chips and brown butter gravy could well be the best steak and chips you'll eat this year, or there might be Cornish sea bass with ratatouille, rouille potatoes and grilled artichoke. Familiar dishes are given productive tweaks to keep the regulars interested, so buffalo burrata might come with chestnut and pumpkin-seed panzanella, while a riot of spice inflames the punningly named Scotch Bonnet egg and habanero jam. Locals lavish special praise on the meat offerings – astonishing dairy cow burgers, luscious lamb chops, the lifetime's best roast pork belly. Olive oil typically plays a resourceful role in desserts such as dark chocolate mousse with sea salt and oil, or lime sorbet with olive-oil vodka.

When it comes to drinking, a surprisingly extensive list of Champagnes must wait its turn behind Nyetimber's superlative Sussex sparklers, while a baker's dozen of wines in all three colours come in three glass sizes. Cask ales and a selection of guest brews dispensed from a green-tiled 'beer wall' are a strong draw too.

With forested hills sloping onto fields of grazing sheep and the Gothic remains of Byland Abbey towering over the entrance, this pub with rooms is a dream ticket – no wonder it was snapped up by chef Tommy Banks (the Black Swan at Oldstead is nearby). Inside, there’s a little bar with a snug for those wanting a drink, but the main action takes place in the three dining rooms, one of which is the former piggery – an expansive room with beams, giant flagstones and a double-facing log-burning stove, all illuminated by a conservatory-style skylight. The mood is relaxed and staff stay on top of their tasks, while cute details in the handsome finishes speak of Tommy Banks’ pedigree.

The food also makes a connection to the Banks family farm (without labouring the point), and chef Charlie Smith serves up a procession of seriously appealing, modern pub-style dishes – an incredibly original Dexter steak tartare, perhaps, cut into uniform nuggets resembling translucent rubies decorated with grated wild horseradish, fermented peppers and smoked bone marrow. Elsewhere, there might be a light, elegant plate of smoked Pablo beetroot with ewe’s curd, preserved Yorkshire rhubarb and linseed crackers for texture. Some of the meaty main courses such as a pork rib chop with fermented mushroom béarnaise could do with a little finessing, although fish dishes hit the spot – judging by a pitch-perfect serving of cod with a splendid mussel cream sauce and purple-red potatoes on the side.

Everything is executed with flair, professionalism and a deep respect for local ingredients – and that extends to the dazzling roasts served for Sunday lunch (check out the rare-breed Berkshire pork and Herdwick lamb from the family farm, just two miles away). If you're looking for real value, however, order the mighty Dexter cheeseburger with fries, plus a pint of Yorkshire-brewed ale and a shared dessert – say a soft-serve sundae topped with Douglas fir, blackcurrant and white chocolate. Aside from real ale, drinks include seasonal cocktails, homemade libations and a short but decent selection of wines with plenty by the glass.

One of London's first 'dining pubs' in the 1990s, the Anglesea Arms may have a lower profile these days, but we were heartened by the fact that little appears to have changed – a mix of locals, their friends, children and dogs all contributing to the relaxed neighbourhood vibe. And there’s no doubt that it remains a proper local boozer where you can happily pop in for drinks. It’s quite a rustic retreat, too, with wooden floors, chunky furnishings and a dedicated 'long brick wall' hung with an ever-changing exhibition of photographs and paintings by local artists. 

The menu has a Mediterranean streak running through it, so expect the likes of ham croquetas alongside pappardelle with beef ragù. A generously portioned fritto misto with spiced aïoli was a simple but satisfying start, although the battered seafood (prawns, squid, sea bass and whitebait) could have done with a wee-bit less time in the fryer. But we had no misgivings about a brightly coloured dish of gilled sea bream fillet teamed with new potatoes, sweet datterini tomatoes and thinly shaved courgettes, all lifted by a zesty sauce of white wine, olive oil and lemon. To finish, a panna cotta with poached rhubarb in a light rhubarb syrup sent us away on a happy note. 

Service is generally reckoned to be 'warm and friendly’, while the drinks list spans everything from bottled beers, ciders and monthly changing real ales from the likes of Fuller's to a tight and well-edited wine list with fair prices and more than 20 selections by the glass. 

Terry Laybourne's self-styled ‘proper pub’ stands not far from the north bank of the Tyne. It looks the part too, with a polished oak bar furnished with high stools, a plain wood floor and inviting banquettes. The dining goes on upstairs, in an equally convivial setting of sturdy wood tables, where cheery staff dispense the kind of food you thought city pubs didn't do any more. There are raised pork pies, Scotch eggs, potted shrimps – and not a leaf of amaranth to be seen.

A serving of Dorset crab with kohlrabi, celery and fennel is about as foofy as it gets. Otherwise, enjoy the sight of bubble and squeak with a fried egg and HP sauce, calf's liver and bacon with crispy onions or smoked haddock fishcakes with proper tartare sauce. As you would imagine, it's food to fortify yourself against the northern chill (whatever time of year) and it's probably best accompanied by one of the cannily chosen seasonal beers.

Sunday roasts are every bit as satisfying as you would expect, complete with mint sauce to daub on the shoulder of lamb, and there are sponge puddings of course – perhaps made with whisky marmalade and served with lashings of custard. Too full by now? Then take a lemon sorbet. Those who incline more to the grape than the grain will be grateful for a decent selection by the glass, starting with Castilian house wines.

‘Our local’ noted one reader proudly. For anyone with misgivings about pubs with restaurant inclinations, this urban hostelry should set you straight. As befits a sibling of Southwark’s Anchor & Hope, Stoke Newington’s Clarence Tavern, and the Magdalen Arms in Oxford, the Canton Arms is fully committed to its role as an old-fashioned city boozer. Low-lit and friendly, there’s pretty much a 50/50 split between drinkers knocking back pints of real ale in the front bar and diners in for some consistently delicious food in the dining area at the back.

Ingredients are seasonally spot-on, with the daily changing menu delivering anything from labneh with walnut and pomegranate dressing or crispy blood cake with homemade quince jam to roast hake with crab bisque, steamed potatoes and gremolata or duck confit with Puy lentils. After that, there might be bread-and-butter pudding with praline sauce, which was recently reported as ‘something I dream of weekly’.

It’s all considered good value, and that includes the line-up of drinks, which range from an ‘amazing’ selection of real ales on rotation and an impressive list of classic cocktails to a perfectly judged European wine list.

Are Oisín Rogers, Charlie Carroll and Ashley Palmer-Watts champions of a new era in pubs? The Devonshire is certainly one of the most enjoyable places to eat in the capital – if you can get in (far too many people want to eat here). Yet it looks set to become an institution – and long may it continue, for this is no ordinary pub. Ingredients are impeccable and the strong meat-focused menu serves the kind of dishes you want to eat, especially in the lively environment of a central London watering hole where drinkers have their own space and staff are noted for their relaxed expertise. Dining rooms are divided between the first and second floors where, under the direction of Ashley Palmer-Watts (formerly executive chef at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal), the kitchen applies a certain simplicity and accuracy of cooking to impeccable ingredients.

Flames are at the heart of the operation, with wood-fired Ibérico pork chops, lamb cutlets, fillet, ribeye and T-bone steaks (plus lobsters) keeping company with the likes of lamb hotpot or beef and Guinness suet pudding on the hand-scrawled menu. Three wonderfully meaty scallops, lightly roasted, served in the shell with nothing more than a buttery, vinegary sauce and strips of crisp bacon, is a terrific opener that hammers home the kitchen’s modus operandi – namely sourcing prime ingredients and treating them with the utmost simplicity. And there’s something deeply comforting about a fixed price, no-choice lunch that can deliver real quality and value in the shape of prawn and langoustine cocktail, skirt steak with excellent chips and béarnaise sauce, and light, luscious sticky toffee pudding – all for £29.

Sunday's roast ribs of beef carved from a silver-domed trolley are terrific value too and have helped restore the tradition in this part of town. To drink, everyone orders Guinness – it’s fast achieving cult status here – and you can drink well without breaking the bank from the mainly European wine list. The pub now has its own 40-cover rooftop terrace for fine-weather dining (note that you can't book this separately). 

Sam and Georgie Pearman continue to build on their reputation for creating cool, country house-style inns. At the former Plough, a substantial, stone-built 17th-century pub in a bucolic west Oxfordshire village, they have got it right from the start, providing all the warmth, atmosphere and chic rusticity you could wish for – with positive, approachable service and a keen eye for seasonality added to the mix. The Duke is a strong draw even on the bleakest of midweek nights. Local families come for a pub meal in the large, woody bar area (well-stocked with local ales), couples head for a table in the dimly lit, intimate dining rooms (perhaps by a smouldering fire), and friends chew the cud under venerable beams and portraits in oils – or sit on stools at the chefs’ counter by the open kitchen. Unless, of course, it’s a warm summer’s day, when the garden terrace is a magnet. The same menu is served in the bar and restaurant. A recent spring meal began with snacks in the bar (goat’s cheese, wild garlic and honey flatbread; wood-fired aubergine and miso dip) before moving to the dining room for Evesham asparagus with sheep’s yoghurt and pistachio followed by wood-fired cod with smoked velouté, baby gem, peas and broad beans. Elsewhere, readers have praised a well-flavoured little portion of tender beef tartare under a mound of Parmesan, as well as a mouth-wateringly succulent log of (boneless) bacon ribs, neatly matched with a tangle of crunchy, shaved fennel slaw. Steaks are a forte and appear in various guises, including hefty 1kg porterhouses for £95. Our visit ended on a high note with a forced Yorkshire rhubarb pavlova with blood-orange curd (an expert balance of sweet and zesty). The drinks list offers plenty of joy – from a varied, mostly Old World wine selection (including English labels and ample by-the-glass options) to house cocktails, bottled English ciders and even a couple of meads.

Bearing all the hallmarks of a traditional, country pub, the 19th-century Duck sits at the heart of its community and offers everything its locals could dream of – a welcoming bar, a generous, partially covered beer garden, dining in an assortment of rooms (including a private dining room), takeaways (extending to Christmas lunch, no less), and a village shop – all overseen by James and Sarah Parkinson. Veteran chef James takes care of all things culinary while Sarah ensures front of house maintains what our readers call a warm, family-friendly, 'nothing’s-too-much-trouble' vibe.

Keenly priced menus are concisely curated to make the most of local ingredients, while being sustainable and resourceful at the same time. Generosity is key, with a hunk of warm, salty, home-made focaccia serving as a teaser to rich, velvety chicken liver parfait (topped with grape jelly made from the pub’s own vines) plus Melba toast-style sourdough, and an unexpectedly liberal smoked duck breast salad interlaced with a creamy mustard rémoulade. To follow, crisped-up pieces of tender, slow-cooked shoulder of Penstone lamb arrive flanked by an intricately layered potato terrine, braised leeks, peas and deep, earthy thyme jus. On Sundays, roast beef sirloin is perfectly pink and tender, served with textbook roasties, a giant Yorkshire pud and seasonal vegetables.

Poached pears from a relative's garden brought a light and floral note to our flawless almond tart, which was given a further dimension with cinnamon mascarpone and a refreshing pear sorbet. Locally brewed Devon ales, including the pub’s own-label Muddy Duck, are offered alongside Devon lagers, Sandford Orchards cider and an eclectic list of over 40 wines, nearly half of which are sold by the glass.

With pubs closing week on week, you might wonder why Tommy Banks would take on a tired old roadhouse between Knaresborough and Boroughbridge and transform it into a modern inn for the 21st century. But Banks has form: in 2005 he took his local village boozer, the Black Swan at Oldstead, to stellar status in just five years; later, he bought a mock Tudor tavern in York and made Roots a destination, and recently revived the beautifully located Abbey Inn at Byland.

The General Tarleton is the first restoration in Banks’ new group, Jeopardy Hospitality, and good money has gone into the smart makeover. The homely bar with old-style oak tables and Windsor chairs is dedicated to drinkers, while the sunlit atrium is a fresh, modern space filled with light ash tables. Beyond is ‘the barn’, another dining room with attractive beams and exposed stone walls.

The tight menu is packed with pub classics: oozing Scotch eggs and twice-baked cheese soufflé to start, then pork schnitzel with a fried egg or fillet steak with fabulous triple-cooked chips. There are Dexter beef burgers and handsome pies too, laced with Black Sheep ale and served with 'baked potato' mash. Dishes are refined and carefully executed, as in a snow-white fillet of cod with deep-fried cockles and a roast onion or a chocolate pot with sour cherry, miso and almond.

This is elevated pub cooking, so don’t expect average pub prices, but there's also a terrific-value three-course set menu at £30 (available most sessions).  Bar snacks of pork crackling and Old Winchester croquettes go well with pints of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord and Knaresborough’s Turning Point on tap; there's also a strong selection of wines by the glass, including some New World highlights. If this is what it takes to keep a village inn thriving, they may be onto something.

Set in the picturesquely named Vale of White Horse, in a village not far from Wantage, this Greyhound is a thoroughbred if ever there was one. Its interior spaces have been fashioned in accord with best modern style, with plenty of light wood, walls in primary colour schemes and a dining room that boasts white-clothed tables. A couple who found the place bathed in unseasonal February sun after a fogbound 50-mile car journey had their spirits lifted – especially when presented with the ‘lunch for less’ menu, enjoying Camembert with black garlic aïoli, and then sensational roast guinea fowl from a three-course deal that comes in at under £35.

The principal menu deals in ambitious modern British food full of enticement from the get-go, with preliminary nibbles such as venison croquette with gribiche dressing and watercress to consider. For an opening salvo, mackerel might be soused and scorched, partnered with rillettes of its smoked version, and energised with a beef-fat crumpet and grated horseradish – a spectacular composition of flavours. The vegan main course is hardly lacking in imagination, either – think Crown Prince squash accompanied by dressings of hazelnut dukkah and pistou, along with Swiss chard, apple and pickled walnut. Otherwise, look to Cornish skate wing with smoked leeks, cockles and capers in beurre noisette, or harissa-fired pork tomahawk steak with Guinness-infused onion purée and pearl barley.

There are the almost-obligatory pub classics too (when only a plate of fish and chips will suffice), and proceedings conclude with, say, banana pain perdu, torched banana, peanut-butter ice cream and butterscotch. British and Irish cheeses are top-drawer selections served with spiced pear purée and boozy chutney. A wine list with helpful tasting notes adds to the cheer.

On the fringes of a 1,000-acre deer park just four miles from the Norfolk coast, this idiosyncratic pub/restaurant with rooms is quite a prospect. The grey-stone exterior may seem rather stark but inside all is comforting, thanks to soft, warm furnishings, lots of varnished woodwork, leather, blazing fires and the owners' collection of contemporary British art from the likes of Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst and Lucien Freud.

A recently acquired walled garden and chicken coop bolster the kitchen's larder, while big-boned British dishes are the order of the day. Much attention focuses on the mighty Elk Room fire, where cuts of meat are dramatically cooked to order as you watch from your table – expect anything from Blythburgh pork chops, ribs of beef and herby Gunton venison sausages to flavoursome sirloin steak served with goose-fat roasties, sauces and rowan jelly. Rich, carefully seasoned pies are also something of a trademark (perhaps chicken, bacon and leek) and there’s fish from the coast too (sea trout with seashore vegetables and King’s Lynn shrimps, for example). For afters, a delicate Amedei chocolate mousse was the standout for one visitor, but there’s also comfort to be had from the vanilla cheesecake with rhubarb or the Bramley apple and almond tart.

Sunday brings roast Aberdeen Angus sirloin as well as roasted chickens, which are carved by skilled staff and served with veg from the walled garden, garlicky bread sauce and a spectacular gravy that elevates the whole feast to another level. Everyone praises the cheerful, prompt and ‘incredibly friendly’ service too. Norfolk ales are on tap in the bar and the short wine list offers a decent spread at fair prices.

The team behind the Empire Café reopened this much-loved neighbourhood boozer in spring 2025, and its new guise is respectful of its heritage, ticking all of the proper pub boxes: dark walls and velvet curtains creating a cosy atmosphere, a polished wood bar dolled up with shiny brass accessories, plus a tray of oysters on ice at one end waiting to be shucked to order. The interior of the flatiron-shaped building is lined by a continuous burgundy-leather banquette, encouraging chat between tables of regulars and first-timers. It’s a pub for and of its community. One fan marvelled at the balance of serving 'world-class food' while 'maintaining an air of working-class Leeds'.

The menu nods to pubs of all stripes, from chophouses to Desi to sandwiches-on-the-bar boozers. Bone-in sirloin steaks from Sykes House Farm are ordered in inch-thick increments, cooked on an eight-foot woodburning grill that fires the kitchen – custom-built to fit into a former fireplace – and served with a lick of peppercorn sauce. A dish of smoked mussels in a Pernod-spiked shellfish bisque atop fire-toasted sourdough, has been highly commended, as have Sunday wood-fired roasts of half-chickens or whole beef rump served pink.

A separate selection of bar snacks is enough to tempt anybody – half-pints of shell-on prawns, sausage rolls baked to order and served warm on a paper doily with homemade brown sauce, slices of ham carved off the joint and warmed through on the fireplace with butter-brushed dinner rolls, presented alongside a dedicated mustard menu. And everyone praises the grown-up versions of Black Forest gâteau, brûléed banana split, and other nostalgic puds.

The bar features well-managed cask ales, perfectly poured Guinness, local keg brews and a fridge of Belgian beers, as well as a dozen rotating single malts (all served from optics) with prices ranging from post-work sharpener to post-meal extravagance.

Some pub restaurants flatter to deceive, with fancy menus that don’t deliver. Others offer a short repertoire of dishes that transcend expectations. The Howard Arms is of this second happy breed – and some. A handsome and venerable Cotswold hostelry, it is well-used by locals who gather in the bar to sup pints of local ale. Up a few stairs is the restaurant, which provides decorum as well as conviviality (note the old pictures of country scenes, all fashionably decorated with allium seeds in November). 

Chef Chris Ellis (formerly at the Killingworth Castle) has produced a brief menu that has space for the classics (burgers, fish and chips) as well as more elaborate dishes. Choose the latter and you’re unlikely to be disappointed. For us, a thick chunk of pork belly set the tone: luscious fat, crisp skin and tender meat, accompanied by mouthwateringly tangy homemade brown sauce, plus crunchy rémoulade and a mound of flavoursome black pudding. To follow, a perfect, plate-filling lemon sole was cooked with split-second accuracy on the bone and matched with an abundance of potted shrimps, samphire and new potatoes in a pool of butter. Meat-based mains more than pass muster too, judging by an equally generous portion of juicy duck breast with Puy lentils and beetroot.

To round things off, an exemplary apple and blackberry crumble with custard was zesty, crunchy and creamy in all the right places. The concise wine list provides admirable back-up, service is informative and friendly, and prices are moderate for the Cotswolds. What’s more, Sunday lunch receives special acclaim for ‘melt in the mouth’ meat, a ‘great veggie option’ and (our favourite) ‘unlimited gravy’. How civilised.

Slaggyford's finest, the Kirkstyle, has been a watering hole since the 19th century, although it did service as the local rectory for many centuries before that. In ravishing open moorland near the Cumbrian border, it capitalises on its rugged location by bringing in pedigree produce from across the county of Northumberland. Pasture-raised sheep and cattle, together with seasonal game and fish, adorn Connor Wilson's enterprising menus, and the immaculate presentational style is full of contemporary chic, although it doesn't occlude the essentially straightforward approach to its distinguished ingredients.

A party who undertook an intrepid three-hour drive weren't disappointed, but instead sang the praises of a pigeon pie starter in cherry gravy, as well as the concluding Darling Blue (cheese) panna cotta with plums and walnuts ('a work of alchemy'). Lucky locals also take full advantage of this 'fantastic community hub'. Diners might kick off with a scallop alongside mushroom and spelt ragoût and hollandaise, while mains pump up the volume for pork collar and crispy jowl with carrot and fermented hispi, or pollock and mussels with celeriac and kale. There are, of course, crowd-pulling Sunday roasts, and if you're after something offbeat to finish, look to madeleine with blackberries and woodruff.

The magnificent wine list wouldn't let the side down at a Mayfair boutique, albeit at mark-ups that Mayfair hasn't seen in half a century. French classics lead the charge, but are followed by a Brazilian Chardonnay, a German Pinot, Swiss Dôle, Uruguayan Tannat – it's all good.

This beautifully restored, ancient village pub with rooms is proving to be a popular venue with readers and locals alike. The quaint beamed public bar with real fires is a cosy place to hunker down, especially with a pint of Larkins ale (brewed just up the road in Chiddingstone), while the airy wood-panelled dining room overlooking a terraced garden and the stunning countryside beyond puts the focus on food. The kitchen manages to pull off the pub classics with aplomb, delivering everything from black pudding Scotch eggs with mustard mayo to 'an excellent cheeseburger with fantastic chips', alongside generous portions of homemade chicken liver parfait with tangy, spiced Cavendish plum compôte, duck confit, and well-reported Sunday roasts.

Named in honour of its original owners, this picture-perfect country pub is now in the hands of Alistair Myres (the man behind Rafters restaurant across the border in Sheffield). He sees his new acquisition as a ‘trip down memory lane’ and a chance to celebrate the virtues of the traditional country local. A central horseshoe bar and tap room nods to the history of the place and is where the drinkers congregate to chat, drink pints of local ale, and play dominoes or cards. For a menu of well-tried pub classics, head to the main dining areas.

A starter of confit duck terrine with pickled plums from the garden resembled a coarse rillette and was perfectly seasoned. For main course, we missed out on the best-selling beef-cheek suet pudding, but our choices both hit the mark: calf’s liver cooked pink as requested and served with streaky bacon, buttered mash and onion gravy, while pan-fried plaice fillets came herbed potatoes, broccoli and tomato and chive beurre blanc – a textbook example of fresh fish cooked properly.

Desserts could be Arctic roll with roast peaches or fig Bakewell tart with poached pears and Chantilly cream. Service is attentive and engaged without being overbearing, prices are very fair, and a short but well-priced wine list matches the food admirably.

A pubby success story if ever there was one, this handsome stone hostelry was gifted to Clipsham by a local squire in 1890 and rescued from extinction by three friends in 1999. Since then, it has become a shining star on the Rutland scene with its open-minded community spirit and forward-thinking approach to food and drink. The Olive Branch was an early adopter of local sourcing and still name-checks its ever-growing list of suppliers, as well as topping up its larder with home-grown produce from an increasingly productive ‘pub paddock’.

The kitchen caters for all appetites and predilections – whether your preference is for haddock and chips, courgette and sage tagliatelle or venison haunch with braised onion, roast beetroot and chocolate tortellini. Starters are equally creative, ranging from cockle-warming leek velouté bolstered by Westcomb Cheddar dumplings, miso leeks and croûtons to trendy cured salmon with nori, yuzu, pickled tapioca and buttermilk sauce, while dessert might bring tonka-bean panna cotta, mulled poached figs or an Eccles cake with Barkham Blue cheese.

Sunday lunch also ‘delivers on every level’, with locally sourced beef sirloin or roast pork loin supplemented by a ‘full house of veggies’ and rich, dark gravy. On the drinks front, top-notch regional ales and an ever-changing list of good-value wines receive equal billing, with Coravin selections signalling the owners’ serious intent in this field. Readers are also keen to praise the pub's relaxing, homely vibe and the top-drawer service from polite, attentive staff who are happy to ‘go that extra mile’. Accommodation is available at Beech House, across the road. 

Tucked away in a remote valley in the southwest corner of the North York Moors National Park, Hawnby is an estate village of mellow sandstone, with a church, a pub and a village store. John Wesley visited here in 1757 calling it ‘one of the pleasantest parts of England’ – and we agree. Surrounded by forest and the heather-covered Hawnby Hill, it is a beautiful spot attracting walkers and shooting types who pay handsomely for a day on the estate’s grouse moor. The Owl (a former drover’s inn) sits at the top of the village and gives a commanding view over this stunning countryside.

Here Sam Varley, who previously ran Bantam in Helmsley, has created a welcoming retreat, a place to come for unfussy food and a comfortable bed for the night. Whether you eat in the stone-flagged bar in front of a warming stove, the dining room or the splendid terrace on sunny days, you'll find crowd-pleasing dishes such as chicken, leek and bacon pie or pork T-bone with roasted peach, green beans and pine-nut vinaigrette. Back in the day, cheap monkfish was often passed off as scampi; nowadays it’s a luxury fish and Varley’s monkfish scampi with curry mayo is fabulous.

Also expect devilled kidneys on toast, piles of hot, melting cheese gougères and cracking Sunday lunches – generously sliced aged sirloin of beef with horseradish cream, rolled shoulder of Yorkshire lamb or game birds in season (red-legged partridge or pot-roast grouse, perhaps). Puddings might be a refreshing grapefruit and Campari sorbet or a homely rhubarb sponge and custard. To drink, there are hand-pulled Yorkshire ales, while low-intervention wines figure prominently on a list that offers plenty by the glass.

Hayfield in the Peak District was the birthplace of Arthur Lowe, Dad's Army's Captain Mainwaring, and is a favoured rest-stop for those tramping the Derbyshire hills. At its heart, the stone-built Pack Horse aims to be more than just the standard village pub, with a conscientious ethos of sustainable supplies from local sources, ranging from meat butchered only four miles away to unimpeachable regional fresh produce.

Menus follow the rhythm of the seasons (as celebrated in the kitchen's own cookbook) and the food has the kind of contemporary appeal that makes the place a destination. Glazed High Peak lamb belly appears surprisingly in a starter with a leafy salad and yoghurt, while scallops in brown butter gain an edge from pickled apple and kohlrabi.

Fish is generally handled with assurance, producing a main course of charcoal-roasted halibut with mushroom and smoked bacon bourguignon and pommes Anna accompaniments, while similar inspiration from the French provincial cookbook informs a dish of pork belly with a cassoulet of trotter and beans plus a salsa verde dressing. The charcoal oven comes into its own on Wednesdays, when a special menu includes Barnsley chops and rump steak.

To finish, there might be blood-orange and olive-oil cake with whipped ricotta or salted-caramel custard tart and almond Chantilly. Quality growers abound on the inspiring wine list, which opens with small glasses at £5.70, before darting acquisitively around both hemispheres.

‘Kentish Town has been crying out for something like this for years,’ volunteered one reporter who whole-heartedly approves of this relaxed neighbourhood hostelry. Reinvented, resurrected and reconstituted, the landmark Victorian building is split into two halves – the front bar keeps things affable for drinkers, while those after a bite to eat head to the smaller dining area at the back, where the team have got it right from the start with positive, approachable service. Dominated by impressive stained-glass windows, a scrawled blackboard menu and an open-to-view kitchen, there’s an informality about the room that suits the feel-good contemporary menu. Dishes cooked over fire using a custom grill are the high points of Ben Allen’s repertoire, which creates an impression of sophistication and flair (‘impeccable’ leek and spider crab croquettes), while remaining down-to-earth and wholesome (rabbit pie, for example). Combos such as homemade smoked ricotta with petits pois, quinoa and pickled Tropea onions or lamb with cabbage, fermented green tomatoes, oyster sauce and shiso leaf are typical of the seasonally aware, to-the-point approach – as are strawberries softened in the wood fire and marinated in Grand Marnier, topped with caramelised strawberries, a swirl of milk ice cream and a sprinkling of elderflower and sweet cicely. There’s good drinking too, from cocktails and draught beer to a confident, modern wine list including more than a dozen by the glass or carafe.

Martin and Jayne Lee have been at the helm of the white-fronted Tudor pub in the north Bedfordshire Wolds for nigh on 20 years. The Plough still wears its age proudly, with winter fires and low beamed ceilings inside, and garden tables within sight of the river outside. Menus are coded as 'seam' and 'furrow', representing what we might otherwise call lunch and dinner, and proceedings begin with sourdough made from the kitchen's own cultivated yeast, accompanied by cultured butter and marjoram pesto to spread on it. Dayboat fish and thoroughbred meats are given the Josper grill treatment, as in whole lemon sole with pink fir potatoes and buttered spinach or a chump chop of Cornish lamb with peas à la française and rosemary jus. Beef from grass-fed suckler Hereford herds is naturally top-drawer. Dishes tend to have a lot going on – witness a starter that combines fried monkfish with charred courgette, pickled shallot and a sturdy romesco made with roasted almonds – but it all comes together with beguiling ease. Nor does the food drift into pastoral clichés: a serving of crisped Blythburgh pork belly, for example, comes tricked out with grilled asparagus, red onion and smoked tomato hollandaise. A brightly flavoured veggie main course might see a tian of ratatouille components served with roast gnocchi. Desserts tend to the seasonal farmhouse way of thinking, so expect anything from gooseberry crumble tart to a fragrant raspberry posset – albeit one booming with grappa. Wines from Noel Young of Cambridge add lustre to the occasion, from citrus-sharp Hungarian Furmint to the Dandelion McLaren Vale Shiraz that has an aromatic dash of Riesling in it. Glasses and half-bottle carafes allow for intrepid experimentation.

For those in the know, the Queen’s Arms and its green and pleasant surrounds are more than just a handy pit stop near the A303 – they are a destination in their own right. In 2020, local resident and Ballymaloe alumnus Doune Mackenzie-Francis took on the pub with her family, transforming it into a model of contemporary country elegance. 

Along with charmingly renovated bedrooms and a cottage to rent, there’s a ‘pub hub’ offering coffee and provisions in lieu of a village shop. A rose-fringed garden and pleasant terrace allow visitors to drink in glorious views while inside, flagstone floors, open fires and the day’s papers on the bar make for an inviting space to lounge or dine after walking the Corton Denham Ridge.

In the kitchen, head chef Rich Townsend (who hails from the Newt, near Bruton) strikes an artful balance between pub classics and proper cooking. Refreshing tomato terrine with Westcombe ricotta and earthy lovage pesto wouldn’t feel out of place in a fancier establishment, but avoids being prissy. Chicken and mushroom pie comes stuffed with full-flavoured ceps, while the aged beef burger patty is paired with thick-cut smoked bacon from down the road and a potato bun made in-house. Pub classics are moored around the £20 mark and don’t require sides but it would be a shame to miss the crispy smashed pink fir potatoes adroitly seasoned with salt and vinegar.

Cocktails take up more real estate on the drinks menu than beers but a very good £10 ‘marg of the month’ – ours with a dash of spicy jalapeño syrup – is justification of sorts. Wines are a rung above the average pub line-up, with bottles starting at just under £30.

Of the many endorsements we’ve received for this smartly remodelled Victorian hostelry, ‘the locals’ local’ is the one we like best. Most visitors make a beeline for the Harbour Arm, especially during summer, so the Radnor Arms’ 'west end of town' location doesn’t get much passing trade and can feel like a real find. Yet this is the kind of prototype pub that every neighbourhood needs: divided equally between drinkers and diners, it scores heavily with its warmly welcoming service and value for money.

The rotating selection of guest ales and local beers, including the ‘best Guinness in Folkestone’, keeps drinkers on their toes, and the Southeast Asian thread that weaves deliciously through the modern menu is starting to attract attention – thanks to talented Filipino head chef Niel Talan. In the stylish dining room, you can eat a pork and prawn Scotch egg, a spiced buttermilk chicken burger with Kewpie slaw and pickled cucumber, or a first-class Sri Lankan fish curry. But there’s also good eating to be had, in more straightforward dishes such as grass-fed ribeye steak with Café de Paris butter and fries, or a designed-for-sharing wood-fired whole bream with smoked beurre blanc that one fan couldn’t resist finishing solo – ‘it was that good’.  

Moderation isn’t easy here, especially when the enticing selection is boosted by must-order sourdough flatbreads straight from the oven (the beating heart of the open-to-view kitchen). And desserts are no afterthought either, if our light, creamy Basque cheesecake was anything to go by. Bring an appetite. Like the food, the wide-ranging wine list is inexpensive and good quality, with a fair choice in the £20-£40 bracket and a decent selection by the glass (from £6.50).

‘Great food, great atmosphere, proper pub,' declared one reader who lives locally. This revamped 18th-century drovers’ inn atop a hill also offers spectacular views of the Tyne Valley and proves its worth as a local watering hole, with an atmospheric bar, up to six ales from North Country microbreweries on tap and 'lots of quirky items to look at'. The cooking has real character too, and it's obvious that the kitchen is passionate about provenance and Northumbrian produce – check out the board detailing the local farms and herds that supply its meat. You can sample the results by ordering from the regular ‘seasonal menu’, which puts the emphasis firmly on steaks – sold by weight and served with the pub’s own ‘steak sauce’. Even more alluring is the list of daily specials, which might run from pork and black pudding terrine to griddled sea bass with roasted cauliflower, lemon and caper butter. Skilfully fashioned desserts could be anything from Basque cheesecake to Manchester tart, although the rhubarb crumble with homemade ice cream has also gone down a treat. The personally selected wine list includes a dozen selections by the glass.

The sensitive renovation of traditional pubs has become one of the design achievements of the UK hospitality trade, and here, in a historic white-fronted hostelry on the edge of Harpenden Common, is another triumph of the art. There is a traditional bar area for well-kept beers, ciders and superior bar snacks, but the main dining room plays host to Matthew Reeder's artfully crafted and elegantly presented modern cooking, offered in the form of fixed-price set menus at lunch and dinner.

A gathering sense of anticipation distinguishes the repertoire as it progresses, hitting one highlight after another – perhaps encompassing tuna crudo with red pepper, capers and pine nuts, a fish course of Cornish cod with salsify, Parma ham and pecorino, and a main dish teaming Old Spot pork with oyster mushroom and black garlic in Madeira. The intermediate offerings are not to be scanted either, from the fine sourdough with yeast butter to a pre-dessert of blood orange and yoghurt, prior to a gathering of Yorkshire rhubarb, buttermilk and ginger to end things on a high.

Sunday lunch has its devotees too, none more so than the reader who was won over by principal roast dishes of dry-aged Hereford beef and Sutton Hoo chicken that came with salt-baked carrots, tangy cauliflower cheese, ‘great roasties’ (always essential), and more besides. A dessert homage to the Snickers bar has them gratefully returning.

The wine list finds space for such relative rarities as Canadian Chardonnay and one of the unsung Beaujolais crus, Saint-Amour. Sparklers, meanwhile, include a white and a rosé from Sussex's Rathfinny Estate. 

Synonymous with ‘true Yorkshire hospitality’, Andrew Pern’s country inn sets the benchmark for hostelries hereabouts. Pristinely re-thatched and restored, it still hides more than seven centuries of history behind its thick stone walls, while its warren of beamed rooms is home to a collection of hand-crafted furniture from Yorkshire's Robert ‘Mousey’ Thompson.

All-comers receive the warmest of welcomes here – no wonder villagers still proudly use the place as their local, dropping by for pints of local ale and solid sustenance from a ‘pub menu’ that never loses sight of its Yorkshire roots (think peppered swede soup followed by calf’s liver with a fried egg). Sunday roasts are also ‘an absolute joy’ with their creative use of local ingredients. However, the serious culinary action takes place in the restaurant extension, where seasonal North Country produce reigns supreme. Here you will find ‘levain-fed’ bread, honey from Harome’s hives, moorland game, Swaledale lamb, seaweed from Robin Hood’s Bay, Whitby lobsters and the occasional interloper such as salt-cured skrei cod. 

The justly famous ‘rich man, poor man’ starter of pan-fried foie gras sandwiched between roundels of grilled black pudding is rightly renowned as a signature dish, although the carte and 10-course taster are stuffed with fulsome, richly flavoured delights and surprisingly creative combinations. Consider sticky braised ox cheek with Yorkshire blue cheese raviolo alongside Marmite-pickled radish and Lindisfarne oyster velouté or a seafood bonanza featuring North Sea turbot and a supporting cast of poached langoustine, crispy calamari, Shetland mussel ‘sauce matelote’ and fennel rouille. After that, carefully matured and truffled cheeses are arrayed on a bespoke ‘Mousey Thompson’ trolley, while desserts range from seasonal riffs on Yorkshire rhubarb to baked banana soufflé with Libations double-aged golden rum syrup and a dollop of Pontefract cake ice cream. 

Wine pairings have been thoughtfully chosen to match the food – an Austrian Beerenauslese, Domäne Wachau with that soufflé, for example – and the full list includes ample drinking by the glass.

Taking its name from the warship HMS Surprise, this neighbourhood pub has stood on a quiet spot, a short walk from the King's Road, since 1853. In keeping with its neighbourhood vibe, green leather banquettes, a fireplace and peach-painted walls create a vintage/cosy feel. Indeed, the inviting ambience and good-natured staff are enough to encourage those popping in for a drink to linger and perhaps explore bar snacks such as seafood croquettes or Wiltshire cocktail sausages with mustard and honey dip. 

The straightforward menu runs from fish and chips to Somerset pork tomahawk and Sunday roasts (including a veggie option of pearl barley, celeriac and wild mushroom Wellington). We started with cured sea trout paired with thick-cut fennel finished off with apple slices and a lemony crème fraîche and dill, followed by a juicy Creedy Carver duck breast teamed with bubble and squeak, savoy cabbage and a topping of thyme crumble and blackberries. A seasonal dessert of English plums and Bramley apples with a light dusting of crumble and Cornish clotted cream made a pleasant way to finish. 

The drinks list leads off with cocktails, followed by craft beers, whiskies, and some delightful wines (especially if your tipple is Burgundy or Bordeaux), ranging from £34 right up to a Château Lafite Rothschild from the sensational 2003 vintage, at a whopping £950.

Opened under new ownership at the end of 2023, this old red brick pub on a city-centre backstreet has a deceptively large and modern interior. For drinkers, there’s a bar and a cosy snug (along with high-quality real ales and cider on tap), while diners have various options: a section off the bar with round tables as well as seating for couples, a first-floor space (the Gallery) for private parties, and a bright ground-floor ‘Orangery’ overlooking the little urban garden.

Like the decor, the food is contemporary in style – a collection of small and large plates (available all-day on Fridays and Saturdays) served by enthusiastic young staff who also get an honourable mention from readers. There’s ambition here, both in the drinks selection (pairings from the well-thought-out wine list are offered with main courses) and the food, which incorporates fusion assemblies as well as pub food of the burger/meat-platter ilk.

Results can vary, with the stars at inspection being an expertly judged ‘small plate’ of three ox cheek tacos (tender meat and crunchy cucumber salsa, topped with a generous squiggle of spicy chermoula), and a moreish pudding of warm carrot and pecan cake with delectable ‘beurre noisette’ cream cheese and ice cream. Less accomplished was a ‘large plate’ of smoked tofu laksa (one of several diverting vegetarian options), where authentic Asian flavours were hard to discern among the general creaminess. A convivial hubbub and a groovy soundtrack of obscure 60s and 70s tunes (chosen by the staff) add to the vibe, and we've had abundant praise for the Sunday roasts.

Sometimes, pubs hit that ‘something for everyone’ note pitch-perfectly. Locals and North Norfolk coastal tourists alike can thank Anglian Country Inns for turning this rundown village boozer into a smart, forward-thinking hostelry, where drinkers are more than welcome and food is top of the agenda.

Chef Gabriel ('Gabe') Lea has impeccable credentials (Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons under Raymond Blanc, The French under Simon Rogan and Northcote with Lisa Godwin-Allen), but keeps things admirably straightforward here. His dishes are simple and unshowy, revealing a commitment to local and regional suppliers (Brancaster oysters and smoked salmon, Howard & Sons pork sausages, Mrs Temple’s Binham Blue cheese, Norfolk asparagus), while flavours are as big-hearted as the portions. Given the location, you can expect seafood to feature strongly (we enjoyed a flawlessly cooked whole lemon sole with a sauce bonne femme), but there’s excellent meat too – both a whopping bone-in pork chop and a plate of pink and perfect grilled mutton chops were triumphant highlights when we visited. 

We would also go back for the cheese and red onion tart and for the fresh sourdough from the on-site bakery, which is irresistible – especially with whipped chicken butter. To finish, dark rum panna cotta comes with local strawberries, while Norfolk cheese is paired with blackberry chutney and an Eccles cake. Lovely service and decent wines also repay the journey.