Good Pub Guide "County Dining Pubs of the Year" 2012 A-L
Every year The Good Pub Guide highlights the best Dining Pubs around the country - and awards one pub in each county the accolade of "County Dining Pub of the Year"
On this page we have listed the best Dining Pubs in the counties A-L - please click here to look at the winners from the counties M-Z
View Good Pub Guide County Dining Pubs of the Year 2012 in a larger map
Bedfordshire Dining Pub of the Year
Contemporary comfort, with old-fashioned virtues on the food and drinks side
They really take the trouble to get things right at this comfortably refurbished pub. Careful lighting, hardwood venetian blinds, modern leather easy chairs in the bar, the quiet colour scheme of olive greys and dark red, the meticulous layout of one wall of old local photographs, and the pleasing chunky tables and high-backed seats in the bright dining room, with its well lit prints and contemporary etched glass screen, all suggest quality. Service is charming, they have a good choice of wines by the glass, guest ales from brewers such as Hopping Mad and Wells & Youngs on handpump, 20 wines by the glass, nicely served coffee, and a rack of recent [I]Country Life[I] issues as well as daily papers; piped music and board games. The dining room overlooks a sheltered terrace with smart modern tables and chairs under cocktail parasols, with a few picnic-sets on the grass beside, and the handsome medieval church in its churchyard just beyond; there is a heated smokers' shelter.
Berkshire Dining Pub of the Year
Top-notch gastropub with excellent food, traditional surroundings and a fine choice of drinks
Under the same ownership as the nearby Crown and the renowned Fat Duck restaurant, this handsome old pub is exceedingly popular for its excellent food. They do keep Rebellion IPA and Smuggler and Windsor & Eton Guardsman on handpump, 14 wines by the glass from an extensive list and quite a few malt whiskies, but there’s no doubt that most customers are here to eat. The thoroughly traditional L-shaped bar has dark beams and panelling, polished oak parquet, blazing log fires, red-cushioned built-in wall seats and studded leather carving chairs around small round tables, and latticed windows.
Buckinghamshire Dining Pub of the Year
Civilised dining pub with nice little bar, excellent choice of wines by the glass, real ales, good service and excellent food
This is a smashing all-rounder and much enjoyed by our readers. Of course much emphasis is placed on the delicious food but the friendly and helpful staff will make you just as welcome if you just want a drink and they do keep Rebellion IPA, Mutiny and Smuggler on handpump, 21 wines by the glass (all European), nine pudding wines and a good choice of liqueurs. Locals tend to head for the low-beamed cosy snug, closest to the car park, which has three small tables, a woodburning stove in an exposed brick fireplace, and a big pile of logs. Several attractively decorated areas open off the central bar: the half-panelled walls variously painted in pale blue, green or cream (though the dining room ones are red).Throughout there’s a mix of church chairs, stripped wooden tables and chunky wall seats, with rugs on the partly wooden, partly flagstoned floors, co-ordinated cushions and curtains, and a very bright, airy feel; thoughtful extra touches enhance the tone: a bowl of olives on the bar, carefully laid out newspapers and fresh flowers or candles on the tables. Board games and piped music. A terrace with good solid tables leads to an appealing garden, and there’s a smaller side garden; pétanque.Civilised dining pub with nice little bar, excellent choice of wines by the glass, real ales, good service and excellent food
Cambridgeshire Dining Pub of the Year
Imaginative food in pretty pub, extensive wine list plus, four interesting beers, a bustling atmosphere, and smart restaurant
Cleverly, this well run place manages to be a pub as well as a restaurant – and you can be sure of a genuinely friendly welcome wherever you choose to sit and whether you are dining or just popping in for a drink. The bar rooms have dark or white-painted beams, lots of contemporary pale yellow and cream paintwork, artwork here and there, fresh flowers and church candles, and throughout, a really attractive mix of old wooden dining chairs, settles and tables. They’ve sensibly kept the traditional public bar on the left for drinkers only: an open woodburning stove on the raised hearth, bar stools, wall seats and a carver, steps that lead down to more seating, Brewsters Hophead, Great Oakley Wagtail, Nethergate IPA and Tydd Steam Barn Ale on handpump, 17 wines by the glass and local farm cider. In marked contrast, the stylishly simple spotless restaurant on the right - you must book to be sure of a table – is set for dining with flowers on each table, pale wooden floorboards and another woodburning stove. There are seats and tables among stone troughs and flowers in the neat garden and lovely hanging baskets.
Cheshire Dining Pub of the Year
Pretty white cottage with stylishly airy décor and an enterprising menu
Much enjoyed by readers, this warmly welcoming place is run with attention to detail and is welcoming to drinkers and diners alike. The tiled bar is dominated by a big log fireplace and has stools along its counter. A bigger uncluttered dining area has attractive rugs and an eclectic mix of period tables on polished oak floorboards, with extensive wall panelling hung with framed old prints. Outside is plentiful seating on a terrace and in the garden, which contains old fruit trees and a tractor. Real ales include Caledonian Deuchars IPA, Weetwood Easgate and a couple of guests such as Morlands Original and Weetwood Cheshire Cat; good array of wines, with 20 by the glass.
Cornwall Dining Pub of the Year
Gurnards Head Hotel - Gurnards Head
Interesting, well run inn close to the sea with real ales, lots of wines by the glass and very good inventive food; comfortable bedrooms and fine surrounding
This is an informal and friendly dining pub with comfortable bedrooms and in a wonderful position just 500 yards from the Atlantic. There are glorious walks all around through the outstanding bleak National Trust scenery - both inland and along the cliffy coast. Inside, the bar rooms are painted in bold, strong colours, there are paintings by local artists, open fires and a happy mix of wooden dining chairs and tables on stripped boards. Skinners Betty Stogs, St Austell Tribute and a changing guest beer on handpump, several wines by the glass and carafe and a couple of ciders; piped music and board games. Seats in the large garden behind and the recently refurbished bedrooms either have views of the rugged moors or of the sea. This is under the same ownership as the civilised Griffin at Felinfach (see our Wales chapter).
Cumbria Dining Pub of the Year
Emphasis on imaginative food but with local beers and thoughtful wines, a pubby atmosphere and warm welcome from the helpful staff
Handy for Ullswater and a civilised break from the M6, this is an immaculately kept 17th-c dining pub, much loved by our readers. There’s a cosy bar of charming antiquity with country pine and dark wood furniture, lots of brasses on the beams, church candles on all the tables and a good log fire in the attractive stone inglenook. Friendly, courteous staff serve real ales on handpump from breweries such as Cumbrian Legendary, Hesket Newmarket and Tirril and they keep around a dozen good wines by the glass, quite a few malt whiskies and maybe Weston’s cider. Two restaurant areas have oak floors, panelled oak walls and heavy beams; piped music. There are seats on the terrace and in the garden. They have a self-catering cottage to let.
Derbyshire Dining Pub of the Year
Unspoilt country inn with low-beamed cottagey rooms, good range of real ales and a peaceful garden; bedrooms
Readers can’t heap enough praise on this terrific all-rounder. Justifiably popular, this happy character-laden tavern has lovely dark low-beamed rooms with warming open fires and a cheerful miscellany of antique furniture including high-backed settles and locally made antique oak chairs with derbyshire motifs. One little room is filled right to its built-in wall seats by a single vast table. Other décor includes staffordshire china ornaments, old paintings and engravings. There's no obvious front door - you get in through the plain back entrance by the car park, and as it can get busy you may need to book. Bass, Derby Bluebear, Hartington IPA, Thornbridge Jaipur and Timothy Taylors Landlord are on handpump alongside a guest or two from brewers such as Thornbridge, and they do several wines by the glass from a decent list, as well as malt whiskies. Well spaced picnic-sets out on the side grass have peaceful country views.
Devon Dining Pub of the Year
Bustling and friendly dining pub with imaginative food, several real ales and quite a few wines by the glass; sizeable garden
Readers very much enjoy this well run, friendly pub and you will be sure to get a genuinely warm welcome from the hardworking, hands-on licensees. Several small linked green-carpeted areas have a cheerful, bustling atmosphere, comfortably cushioned pews and farmhouse chairs, a sofa beside the woodburning stove, candles in bottles, horsey and hunting prints and local wildlife pictures. Two dining areas have a brighter feel with quarry tiles and lightly timbered white walls. Cotleigh Golden Seahawk, Exmoor Ale and Otter Head on handpump, 14 wines by the glass, two local ciders, 25 malt whiskies and a good range of spirits; skittle alley, chess and solitaire. There are plenty of tables and chairs in the sizeable garden and on the terrace and they have a wendy house and other play equipment for children; there are good surrounding walks.
Dorset Dining Pub of the Year
Fine old inn with hard-working hands-on licensees, a friendly atmosphere, three real ales and good choice of wines and interesting food; bedrooms
Since Mr and Mrs Lee took over this charming 16th-c former coaching inn, we’ve had nothing but praise from our readers for the warm welcome and enjoyable food; it’s a nice place to stay as well and the bedrooms are clean and comfortable. The simple bar has straightforward wooden tables and chairs on the patterned carpet, old photographs and prints on pink walls, logs to either side of the stone fireplace and a few high bar chairs by the duck egg blue-painted bar counter where they keep Palmers IPA, Copper and 200 on handpump and a dozen good wines by the glass. The two rooms of the dining room have a happy mix of dark chairs around wooden tables, more old prints and mullioned window seats with a view down the main street of this attractive stone-built village. There are seats on the terrace and picnic-sets under mature fruit trees or parasols in the back garden. You can walk from the village up and around the prehistoric Cerne Abbas Giant chalk carving and on to other nearby villages. They are hoping to add more bedrooms.
Essex Dining Pub of the Year
Bell Inn - Hornden-on-the-Hill
Lovely old historic pub with great food and very good range of drinks and attractive bedrooms
You get the feeling you are enjoying the best of all worlds at this beautiful Tudor inn, particularly as the heavily beamed bar maintains a strongly pubby appearance and stocks a great range of drinks, though in fact the jolly good imaginative food does take some precedence. It’s furnished with lovely high-backed antique settles and benches, with rugs on the flagstones and highly polished oak floorboards. Look out for the curious collection of ossified hot cross buns hanging along a beam in the saloon bar. The first was put there some 90 years ago to mark the day (it was a Good Friday) that Jack Turnell became licensee. The hanging tradition continues to this day, but now the oldest person in the village (or available on the day) hangs the bun. During the war, privations demanded that they hang a concrete bun. An impressive range of drinks includes Bass (tapped straight from the cask), Crouch Vale Brewers Gold, Greene King IPA and three guests such as Greene King Morland Original, Sharps Doom Bar and over a hundred well chosen wines (16 by the glass). You do need to get here early or book as tables are often all taken soon after opening time. Two giant umbrellas cover the courtyard which is very pretty is summer with hanging baskets.
Gloucestershire Dining Pub of the Year
17th-c stone inn with excellent contemporary food, real ales, candles and fresh flowers, and a relaxed atmosphere; stylish bedrooms
Smart and ivy-clad, this handsome old coaching inn manages effortlessly to be both a pub and a restaurant without letting either dominate – and it’s now a free house. The big-windowed airy linked rooms have high ceilings, antique and contemporary artwork, lots of pictures, church candles and fresh flowers, an attractive mix of dining chairs and stools around wooden tables, flagstones in the central bar and wooden floors in the airy dining rooms and three open fires. Bath Ales Gem Bitter, Purity Pure Ubu and Wye Valley HPA on handpump, several wines by the glass from a fantastic list of around 500 and farm cider, too. There are seats in the pretty back garden and they can arrange fishing on the River Coln. This is an attractive Cotswold town with a fine old market square. If you are staying, the breakfasts are excellent. Dogs are genuinely welcomed and they even keep a jar of pigs’ ears behind the bar.
Hampshire Dining Pub of the Year
Civilised pub, lots to look at, real ales, good wines and imaginative bar food; comfortable bedrooms
There’s always a really good mix of customers in this civilised but informal old pub – locals (often with their dogs) enjoying a pint and a chat and groups of friends, families and couples appreciating the particularly good food; all are made welcome by the friendly and efficient staff. There are low beams and standing timbers, flagstones in the bar and wood stripped floors elsewhere, sofas and armchairs dotted here and there, a mix of nice old tables and dining chairs, lit candles in candlesticks, an open fire and high bar chairs at the counter. Throughout there are all sorts of interesting knick-knacks, books, lots of copper, horsebrasses, photographs (several of Charterhouse School) and all manner of pictures and prints; paint colours are fashionable, values are traditional and they keep Andwell King John and Triple fff Altons Pride and Pale Ale on handpump, nine wines by the glass (including fizz) and interesting pressés. The bedrooms are stylish and breakfasts are good.
Herefordshire Dining Pub of the Year
Terrific food using tip-top ingredients served in extensive dining rooms, real ales and a fine choice of other drinks and two-acre garden; comfortable bedrooms
Obviously, the excellent food remains the main draw here (this is one of Britain’s top dining pubs after all) but it’s still very much a pub rather than a pure restaurant and the staff are genuinely welcoming and courteous. The little bar is comfortably hospitable with a civilised atmosphere, a fine collection of 200 jugs attached to the ceiling, Hobsons Best and Ludlow Gold on handpump, nine house wines by the glass (there’s also a carefully chosen 100-bin list), local potato and apple vodkas, local gins, farm cider, and quite a choice of spirits. The two-acre garden has seats on the terrace and a croquet lawn. The accommodation is in bedrooms above the pub as well as in the additional rooms in a Georgian vicarage four minutes’ walk away; super breakfasts.
Hertforshire Dining Pub of the Year
Thriving dining pub with chic interior, good food from imaginative menu, and a thoughtful wine list
You do need to book a table at this pretty victorian pub as it’s usually full to the brim with cheerful diners - though you might still find a few locals (and perhaps a jack russell perched on a stool) chatting at the bar. The fashionably elegant but understated interior has simple prints on pale cream walls, with blocks picked out in rich Victorian green or dark red, and an appealing mix of good antique furniture (from Georgian chairs to old commode stands) on bare boards and patterned quarry tiles. It’s all pulled together by luxuriously opulent curtains; darts and piped jazz. All the wines on their list are european, with most of them available by the glass, and they’ve Sharps Doom Bar, Rebellion IPA and a guest brewer such as Tring on handpump. The pub stands by a village green and is surrounded by lovely National Trust woodland. There are plenty of tables outside.
Isle of Wight Dining Pub of the Year
Cheerful pub with seafood specialities, good beers and wines too
Going from strength to strength, this nice old 18th-c former fisherman's haunt offers a genuinely happy atmosphere, great seafood and well kept beer. It’s rambling rooms have plenty of character with warm fires, yachting photographs and pictures, boarded ceilings and scrubbed pine tables on flagstone, carpet and slate floors. Goddards Fuggle-Dee-Dum, and Sharps Doombar are kept under light blanket pressure, and they stock over 60 wines; piped music. As it’s popular, you will need to book and there may be double sittings in summer.
Kent Dining Pub of the Year
Pubby beamed rooms of considerable individuality, log fires, imaginative food and pretty garden
The series of little low-beamed rooms at this appealingly civilised place have a charmingly timeless feel – as one reader put it ‘ spend more than a couple of pints here and you will cheerfully let slip which decade you are in’. They are simply done out with plain wooden furniture and old settles on flagstones and coir matting, some harness and sporting prints on the stripped brick walls and good log fires. The public bar on the left is quite down-to-earth, with darts, dominoes and cribbage. Adnams Best, St Austell Tribute and a guest tapped straight from casks racked behind the counter, several wines by the glass, local Biddenden cider and apple juice and several malt whiskies. But don’t be misled into thinking this place is in any way old fashioned. In fact, the candlelit bare-boards restaurant though rurally rustic in its decor is chatty and alive with customers and the style of dining is completely up to date. French windows open from the restaurant to a conservatory and garden. Sissinghurst Gardens are nearby.
Lancashire Dining Pub of the Year
Succesful all rounder with antiques in stylishly simple interior, great food, interesting range of beers, appealing rustic garden
Hitting the nail on the head with unfussy effortless charm this country pub is largely open-plan and discerningly furnished with a lovely mix of small old oak chairs, an attractive oak coffer, several handsomely carved antique oak settles (the finest apparently made partly from a 16th-c wedding bed-head), old hunting prints and engravings and low hop-draped beams. There are red walls and coir matting up a step and oriental rugs on ancient flagstones in front of the fine old stone fireplace and counter; the pub’s dogs are called Betty and Doris. Friendly young staff serve Thwaites Original alongside five guests from brewers such as Coniston, Phoenix, Prospect, Slaters and Southport as well as Saxon farm cider, decent wines and around 25 malt whiskies. They hold a popular beer festival over the first May bank holiday weekend. The spacious gently rustic garden has a well tended but unconventional bowling green, and beyond this, a wild area that is home to crested newts and moorhens. Selling interesting wines and pottery, the shop housed in the handsome sidebarn includes a proper butcher and a deli.
Leicestershire Dining Pub of the Year
Marquess of Exeter - Lyddington
Stone inn with contemporary décor, real ales and excellent food cooked by the landlord
Readers speak of the particularly friendly and accommodating service at this rather handsome inn. The refurbished beamed bars are simple yet stylish with some stripped stone walls and some painted pale grey or yellow, chairs upholstered in a striking navy print dotted between leather sofas and tub chairs, wooden wall settles and all manner of tables on the wood-strip or flagstone floors, pine chests and old barrels, fresh flowers and several open fires (one has heraldic shields above it). Marstons Pedigree and a guest like Brakspears Bitter are on handpump and they offer several wines by the glass. There are seats out on the terrace and on the lawns. The pub is named after the Burghley family, who have long owned this charming village.
Lincolnshire Dining Pub of the Year
Interesting food at comfortably relaxed inn with good drinks and appealing castle views from outside tables
Emphasis at this 17th-c coaching inn tends to be on the food, so it is worth booking. It’s run with great care by friendly licensees and service is cheery and welcoming. The heavy-beamed main bar has two big tables (one a massive oak construction), a comfortable mix of seating including some handsome leather chairs and leather banquettes, and a huge boar's head above a good log fire in the big brick fireplace. Among cartoons on the wall are some of the illustrated claret bottle labels from the series commissioned from famous artists, initiated by the late Baron Philippe de Rothschild. The lounge on the right has a deep red colour scheme, leather sofas and a big plasma TV, and on the left, there are more leather seats in a dining area in what was once the village bakery. A corridor leads off to the light and airy main restaurant, with contemporary pictures and another bar; piped music and board games. Greene King IPA and Old Speckled Hen and a guest such as Everards Tiger are on handpump, with around 35 wines by the glass, 50 malt whiskies, and local fruit pressé. There are good quality teak tables, chairs and benches outside and, beyond these, some picnic-sets on the edge of the pub's cricket field, with views of Belvoir Castle. If you stay here, please do let us know how you find the recently refurbished bedrooms.
London Dining Pub of the Year
Top-notch gastropub, pricey but worth it, great views from riverside terrace, plenty of character and history, well chosen wines
There is a terrific long narrow terrace behind this busy riverside pub with uninterrupted views of the Dome across a broad sweep of the Thames. Heaters and huge umbrellas make it welcoming even on cooler days. Inside, crisp white walls and smart white tablecloths and napkins on tables at one end of the front bar contrast strikingly with dark wood floors and the black wood counter and back bar with its row of red stools. Towards the terrace is a busy flagstoned bar for drinkers, with antique guns on the wall, and no tables, just a large barrel in the centre of the room. It shares a warm log fire in winter with a cosy red painted room next door, which has comfy leather sofas and armchairs, a stuffed boar's head, some modern prints, well stocked bookshelves and views onto the terrace. Friendly aproned staff serve three real ales such as Adnams, Fullers London Pride and Greene King Abbot and a good choice of wines. There’s a relaxed chatty atmosphere throughout. On summer days they open up another terrace as a portuguese barbecue; piped music. They may occasionally close the pub on Saturdays for weddings, and will keep your credit card if you are sitting on the terrace and want to run a tab.
Click here to see the Dining Pubs of the Year from the Counties M-Z
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