The Plough Inn, in Longparish, Hampshire, the Inn at Whitewell, Lancashire, the Freemasons at Wiswell, Lancashire and the Hardwick, Abergavenny, Wales, were chosen respectively by Emily Watkins of the Kingham Plough, Kingham, Lisa Allen of Northcote Langho, Lancashire, Gary Usher of the Sticky Walnut, Chester and Shaun Hill of the Walnut Tree, Wales.
Watkins described the food at the Plough Inn as ‘interesting’ and ‘beautifully executed’ and said the fish dishes showed ‘real finesse and technical ability’.
Both James Durrant, chef patron of the Plough Inn and Watkins were winners of BBC 2's Great British Menu 2014.
The Plough Inn, the Freemasons and the Hardwick ranked amongst the Publican’s Morning Advertiser’s Budweiser Budvar Top 50 Gastropubs 2015, coming in respectively in fourth, sixth and twelfth place.
Top 50 testimonials
TV’s Tom Kerridge, chef patron of double Michelin-starred Greene King lease the Hand and Flowers, Marlow, chose Heston Blumenthal’s iconic restaurant the Fat Duck for the list, calling it ‘the best restaurant in the world’.
He said that he was a ‘huge fan’ of the bacon-and-egg ice-cream, and said the snail porridge was taking a ‘solid French dish’ – a parsley risotto with snails – to ‘a new level’.
This year’s Budweiser Budvar Top 50 Gastropubs winner Stephen Harris of the Sportsman, Kent, rated Elliott’s Coastal Kitchen, in Whitstable, for its ‘great produce, well cooked food, warm welcome and decent value’.