Good Food Guide names top UK pubs

Nigel Haworth's the Highwayman in Burrow, Lancashire, has been named Pub Newcomer of the Year in the 2008 edition of Which magazine's Good Food Guide.

Best Family Restaurant went to the Inkin brothers' Felin Fach Griffin in Brecon, Wales, while Chris Lee at the Crown at Bildeston, Suffolk, was named up-and-coming chef of the year.

The consultant editor Elizabeth Carter said the guide includes a record number of pub entries and the standard of pub food is better than ever.

She said: "Years ago, I was an inspector for Egon

Ronay. I'd go into a pub and order three courses all at once and take a bite of each and move on as quickly as possible.

"The food was OK but I didn't want to eat it all. If I was to do an exclusive pub guide now, I'd be enormous because I wouldn't be able to resist the food."

But Carter warned that some gastropubs are charging too much. She said: "It could be cheaper. I think it would be different if you were getting restaurant service but often you have to order at the bar and the napkins aren't cloth - but that's why you go to a pub. I don't want cheap food but I think sometimes the prices are not in tune with the surroundings."

There are over 1,200 entries in this year's guide with 150 new inclusions and a further 150 recommendations by readers.

This year's guide has also ditched all mention of dress codes; Carter said: "Up-and-coming pubs and restaurants like Restaurant Nathan Outlaw in Fowey, Cornwall, the Felin Fach Griffin in Wales and the Bildeston Crown in Suffolk achieve a relaxed style without any compromise on excellence."

The guide is out this week, priced £16.99.