12 of the top 100 UK restaurants are pubs

By Nikkie Thatcher

- Last updated on GMT

Taste of success: the Sportsman in Seasalter, Kent, won Gastropub of the Year at the 2019 Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards
Taste of success: the Sportsman in Seasalter, Kent, won Gastropub of the Year at the 2019 Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards
More than a 10th of the top 100 restaurants, which was announced at the Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards last night (10 June), are pubs.

Featured on the list were pubs from across the country, including celebrity chef Tom Kerridge’s the Coach and the Hand & Flowers pubs, both in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, which were at numbers 36 and 37 respectively.

Moor Hall in Ormskirk, Lancashire, was crowned the National Restaurant of the Year at the awards, which were held at The Hurlingham Club in London by The Morning Advertiser​’s sister title, Restaurant ​magazine.

The pubs scooping a spot in the coveted top 100 restaurants list were:

13. The Sportsman, Seasalter, Kent

29. The Black Swan at Oldstead, North Yorkshire

30. The Fordwich Arms, Fordwich, Kent

35. The Crown at Burchetts Green, Berkshire

36. The Coach, Marlow, Buckinghamshire

37. The Hand & Flowers, Marlow, Buckinghamshire

38. The Parkers Arms, Newton-in-Bowland, Lancashire

39. The Freemasons, Wiswell, Lancashire

56. The Angel Inn at Hetton, North Yorkshire

81. The Mash Inn, Radnage, Buckinghamshire

87. The Hardwood Arms, Fulham, west London

96. The White Swan at Fence, Lancashire

Specialist awards

The ceremony also saw special awards presented where Stephen Harris’s the Sportsman in Seasalter, Kent, which is also number one of the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs​ list, took home the title of Gastropub of the Year. Sally Abé, chef-patron of the London’s only Michelin-starred pub, the Harwood Arms in Fulham, won the Chef to Watch award.

The award winners in full:

  • One to Watch, sponsored by Schweppes 1783: Emilia
  • Best Restaurant in Northern Ireland, sponsored by Hildon: Yügo, Belfast
  • Best Restaurant in Wales, sponsored by Hildon: Ynyshir, near Machynlleth, north Wales
  • Best Restaurant in Scotland, sponsored by Hildon: Ondine, Edinurgh
  • Wine List of the Year, sponsored by San Marzano: Hide, Mayfair, central London
  • Cocktail List of the Year, sponsored by Seedlip: The Frog by Adam Handling, Covent Garden, central London
  • OpenTable Diners’ Choice ‘Fit for Foodies’: Carters of Moseley, Birmingham
  • Chef to Watch, sponsored by Woods Foodservice: Sally Abé
  • Chef of the Year, sponsored by Ritter Fresh: Clare Smyth
  • Restaurateur of the Year, sponsored by threesixty° by UCC Coffee: Tom and Michaela Kitchin
  • Gastropub of the Year, sponsored by Estrella Damm: the Sportsman, Seasalter, Kent
  • Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Quandoo: John Williams
  • The Service Award, sponsored by Liberty Wines and Piper Heidsieck: Bibendum by Claude Bosi
  • Estrella Damm National Restaurant of the Year: Moor Hall, Ormskirk, Lancashire

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