Britain’s 12 Best Pubs reached by train
Published 26 November 2025

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.

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.

*Sally Abé left the Bull on 7 January 2026 to pursue a new project.*

The Public House Group (the Pelican, the Hero, the Hart et al) is fast becoming the last word in pared-back cool contemporary British pubs and this Cotswold outpost is a model of its kind. Owners Phil Winser and James Gummer grew up around these parts and cut their drinking teeth in the Bull (which has stood on the corner of Sheep Street since Henry VIII was taking wives). Together with Olivier van Themsche, they've retained an atmospheric air, with low raftered ceilings, welcoming fires and the flicker of pillar candles throughout the flagstoned bar and dining rooms.

With Sally Abé in post to lead the kitchen, there’s just the right dose of finesse cutting through the line-up of contemporary pub dishes. Start with some warm soda bread to bolster the lightness of ‘mackerel, tomato and lovage’ or mushroom and chestnut soup; otherwise, head straight to a heartier Bull pie or pork chop charred on the grill. On one recent visit, a dish billed simply as ‘farm salad’ proved a flavour-flaunting textural medley of green beans, courgette, fresh peas, and crushed and whole-roasted hazelnuts. Delicious simplicity continues right through to desserts such as pitch-perfect chocolate mousse and apricot frangipane tart.

Wednesdays might bring steak night and the otherwise absent chips to the table, while the beautiful garden plays host to summer BBQs. An enterprising list of cask ales and speciality ciders competes with the adventurous wine selection (fleshed out with a weekly changing list of single bottles).

The Bull describes itself as an 'organic, radical, ethical' pub, which is what it's about these days. Who doesn't love a radical pub? Just round the corner at the top end of Totnes' main drag, it's certainly a comfortable and welcoming place to enjoy good beers, adventurous wines, and some conscientiously sourced local produce that is treated with respect for its innate quality.

Johnny Tillbrook's blackboard menus offer a wealth of choice, turning Jersey-milk Ogleshield cheese, Jerusalem artichokes and leeks into a warming gratin topped with pangrattato, or curing monkfish in paprika, alongside electrifying accompaniments of blood-orange, fennel and chilli oil.

No lily feels over-gilded, and yet every dish has plenty to say for itself, through to sustaining mains such as sea bass in ajo blanco with spinach and roast courgette, or chicken breast with greens, turnip, onion, skordalia and green sauce. Basque cheesecake, perhaps with prunes soaked in Earl Grey, is a sweet stalwart. The small plates arrangement remains a good way to go for an enterprising group (how about venison koftas with cumin yoghurt, preserved lemon and pomegranate salad?). Wines are arranged by style, and (not surprisingly) embrace a healthy showing of biodynamic and natural specimens.

A staple of the Pontypridd scene since 1851, this forward-thinking community pub is a veritable hive of activity. Not only a staunch champion of Welsh produce, it’s also home to the Otley Brewery, which sits in the grounds behind the building. There's a tap room if you want to chill out, as well as a craft beer shop selling an astonishing range of cans and bottles, and assorted special events from live music and cheese nights to macramé workshops.

As for food, local and sustainable ingredients dictate the show, with Welsh heritage proudly showing its colours in the form of cockles on toast with laverbread or a Merthyr brisket pie with mash – although much of the action centres on the charcoal barbecue. On Mondays and Tuesdays, the menu is limited to eclectic small plates – pork belly burnt ends with pickled ginger or home-smoked salmon fishcakes, say. From Wednesday to Saturday, a full repertoire takes over, so expect anything from beer-glazed charred chicken with grilled leeks to buttermilk-crusted sea trout to a vegan laab salad with enoki mushrooms.

Sunday means roasts, while desserts could bring lemon meringue tart or whisky and orange cheesecake. Beer is the drink of choice, with a rolling roster of Otley ales (and others) at the bar.

‘Encapsulates everything I love about a pub – comfort, cosiness, and community’ is one reporter’s appraisal of this family-run red-brick watering hole that’s considered the beating heart of Hastings’ Old Town. It hosts many community events, exhibits local artists, and is welcoming to all ages (it even has a snug full of toys), all backed up by cooking that puts the emphasis on fresh seasonal and local ingredients served with minimal fuss.

The kitchen team makes everything in-house – we’ve had many an endorsement for the stuffed courgette flower with labneh and chips, served with mayo and ketchup that were ‘markedly homemade’, according to one reporter. In addition, the sensibly short carte ranges from bar snacks (say broad bean and pumpkin seed dip), via roast lion’s mane mushroom ragù with handmade gigli pasta to venison and red wine sausages with green lentil cassoulet, salsa verde and braised carrots.

And who could resist such a finisher as Pevensey Blue cheese with treacle tart and a ginger and prune compôte? As for drink, the selection of hand-drawn ales (alongside keg beers) is from mostly local breweries, while the wine list offers European and local vintages at sensible prices.

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.

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.

Squeezed between a busy road and the Stourbridge Canal basin, this recently renovated industrial-era pub attracts fervent local support – especially for its Sunday roasts, where ‘perfectly pink’ beef, ‘amazing’ beetroot Wellington, and ‘phenomenal’ Yorkshires are singled out. The modern interior, with wooden flooring, sensitive lighting and a woodburning stove, has a homely, family feel in winter, while a tarmacked beer garden with views of the canal adds summertime appeal and is soon to be converted into a separate dining area.

Local suppliers are proudly name-checked on the main menu, which offers an appealing blend of modern pub food and Mediterranean-accented cooking. The kitchen is renowned for 'very generous portions’, and our visit began with an unnervingly huge ‘small plate’ of tender beef brisket surrounded by cheesy Parmesan polenta and topped with salsa verde. A request for horseradish brought a saucer of the freshly grated root in cream – the kitchen’s attention to detail is impressive. The ensuing ‘large plate’ was equally full flavoured and bountiful: a glisteningly white fillet of cod resting on a stew of beans, tomatoes and chorizo.

Puddings are also enticing – our tangy Bramley and cranberry crumble (paired with salted-caramel ice cream) came with unexpected squares of toasted gingerbread to boost its crunch. Staff receive universal praise; we found them polite, on-the-ball and exceedingly prompt. Breakfast (served Thursday to Sunday) includes the likes of kedgeree and shakshuka as well as the ‘Full Monty’. Wines are supplied by a local vintner, and the brief, good-value list is a cut above the norm; alternatively, enjoy a pint of real ale from a choice of four regularly rotated brews. This is, after all, a proper pub.

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).

Located in what is possibly Perthshire’s prettiest village (with glorious river views), this aptly named all-purpose destination is an asset to any community. Factor in some very decent cooking and you also have a bright spot on the local dining scene. It's all down to Fraser Potter, who took over this live music venue (once owned by singer-songwriter Dougie MacLean) and turned the riverside car park into a beer garden partly sheltered by a stretch tent (this is Scotland, after all), complete with firepits, a pizza oven, long tables for communal feasting and an outdoor bar. The Taybank even has its own riverside cinema, while the original bar remains charmingly rustic with musical instruments ready and waiting for weekly live sessions.

On the first floor, sheepskin-strewn seating sets the tone in the high-ceilinged two-room restaurant, which also makes the most of the dreamy river views. Here, the cooking is well above the local norm, with homegrown produce from the walled garden adding some zingy freshness to fiercely seasonal dishes that seem to please just about everyone. Food miles mean a great deal here.

A starter of creamy garden pea velouté with a slow-cooked egg, broad beans, sugar snap peas and a punchy apple-smoked Cheddar foam was thick, creamy and suitably moreish, while tender slabs of Perthshire venison haunch were accompanied by earthy beetroot, shredded venison in a flaky pastilla parcel, turnip gratin, asparagus tips, Drambuie-spiked venison jus and a nasturtium-leaf garnish. For dessert, lightly poached chunks of still-squeaky garden rhubarb came with a sharp rhubarb sorbet sweetened with white chocolate and a sprinkling of crumble. A thoughtfully assembled wine list offers sound drinking at fair prices, plus a handful of ‘fine wines’ if you want to splash out.

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.