The UK’s top 50 Gastropubs have been announced – and 11 London spots made the list

If there’s one thing the UK does well it’s got to be pubs. Whilst there are any number of experimental cocktail bars, dining experiences, fusion restaurants and more, sometimes a classic British pub hits the spot.

London has some great pubs – we should know, we spend half our time trotting across the capital to sink a schooner with your favourite actors, comedians, and influencers. The question is whether London’s lovely watering holes can compete with the cosy country pubs of the rest of the UK. Well, according to Estrella Damm’s yearly Top 50 Gastropub competition, yes they really can. London pubs cleared up a respectable 11 number of places in the top fifty, with one central institution crowned the winner.

Soho’s somewhat infamous Devonshire clinched the top spot, knocking off The Unruly Pig in Suffolk which has held the title the two previous years. Not far behind it was The Red Lion and Sun in Highgate.

It was a bit of a drop after that, with the next London spot landing fourteen places lower down the list. The Baring in Islington was awarded 17th place, followed by Marksman Public House, The Hero of Maida, and The Kerfield Arms, which were ranked 23, 24, and 25 respectively.

The Watermans Arms in Barnes came in at spot 33, with beloved Islington local The Tamil Crown close behind it at number 35.

The Bull & Last came in at 39, The Knave of Clubs in Shoreditch at 43, and The French House in Soho just made the list at number 47.

The top ten in the UK were:

1. The Devonshire, Soho
2. The Unruly Pig, Suffolk
3. The Red Lion and Sun, Highgate
4. The Woolpack Inn, Gloucestershire
5. The Star Inn, York
6. The Angel at Hetton, Yorkshire
7. Parkers Arms, Lancashire
8. The Rat Inn, Northumberland
9. The Rum Fox, Lancashire
10. The Cornish Arms, Devon

Not one to gatekeep excellent pubs, Estrella Damm also named and ranked the top 51-100 – aka. The (other) shortlist which didn’t quite make the cut. A further 11 London pubs make the cut for the top 100. These were: The Camberwell Arms (60), The Parakeet, Kentish Town (61), Anchor & Hope (64), The Pelican (65), The Drapers Arms (67), The Fat Badger (75), The Eagle, Farringdon (77), The Clarence Tavern, Stoke Newington (78), The Lady Mildmay (83), The Blue Stoops (88), and Parlour (91).

Basically, what we’ve learnt is that the UK is chock-full of cracking haunts, and luckily you don’t have to head out of London to get some of the best of the crop.

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