Industry experts took part in the latest stage of judging that saw our finalists whittled down from a long list of pubs that made it through the first round of judging.
Each of the pubs will now receive a site visit from our panel of judges to take a long hard look at the business, before a final panel interview via Skype to decide our category and overall winners.
Ed Bedington, editor of The Morning Advertiser (MA) said: “The judging process is always a hard task, as the quality of pubs that made it onto this year’s long list was stronger than ever.
“Nevertheless, the judgments have been made and we now have an exceptionally strong short list of pubs that will be battling it out to take the title of each of their categories, with one lucky winner going on to be named the John Smith’s Great British Pub of the Year.
“These awards are the most rigorous of their kind for the pub sector and it’s a real achievement to make it this far into the competiton – I’d like to wish all our finalists the very best of luck.”
GBPA sponsors include
John Smith’s
Admiral Taverns
Booker Wholesale
Makro
Diageo
Ei Group
Sky
The competition has also seen an evolution this year, with the introduction of a new element – our pub company categories.
Bedington explained: “This year, we’ve invited pub companies to put forward their top sites for judging in the Great British Pub Awards.
“Each of these sites will undergo the same rigorous judging process as the rest of the finalists, and we’ll be revealing each pub company winner on the night. The winners of these categories will then go head to head with the finalists in our Best Partnership Pub category.”
Pub companies entering sites of their own include Marston's, Greene King, Admiral, Punch and EI Group.
This year’s awards takes place at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on 6 September. To book your tickets to this exciting event, contact Stevie Robinson on 01293 846508, or email her at stevie.robinson@wrbm.com.
Bedington added: “We’re looking forward to getting out on the road for the judging, and also celebrating all of your success on the night.”
The finalists are:
Best Beer Bar/Pub
The Crown Inn, Oakengates, Shropshire
Hogshead, Wolverhampton
Mason & Company, London
North Bar, Leeds
The Bunch of Grapes, Pontypridd
The Great Northern Railway Tavern, London
Best Cider Bar/Pub
Cider Press, Bristol
Old Horse, Leicester
The Crown at Woolhope, Herefordshire
The Harlequin, Sheffield
The Star Inn, Godalming
Best Community Pub
Chaplin's and the Cellar Bar, Bournemouth
The Bull, Ditchling, East Sussex
The Fox, Lyng, Norfolk
The Horse & Jockey, Liverpool
The Pheasant at Neenton, Shropshire
The Royal Oak, Hail Weston, St Neots, Cambridgeshire
Best Family Pub
Fox and Hounds, Theale, Berkshire
The Eastfield Inn, Bristol
The Mayfield Seamer, Scarborough, Yorkshire
The Pen-y-cae Inn, Pen-y-cae, South Wales
White Hart on the Green, Crowborough, East Sussex
Best Food Pub
Freemasons at Wiswell, Lancashire
The Dabbling Duck Pub, Great Massingham, Norfolk
The Elm Tree, Worksop, Derbyshire
The Kitchen at the Cross Keys, Epperstone, Nottinghamshire
The Port Gaverne Hotel, Port Gaverne, Cornwall
The Unruly Pig, Bromeswell, Suffolk
Best Freehouse
The Bull, Ditchling, East Sussex
The Fox at Peasemore, Berkshire
The Kenton, London
The Plough Inn, Faversham, Kent
The Roebuck Inn, Laughton, East Sussex
Ye Old Sun Inn, Tadcaster, Yorkshire
Best Inn
Ellerby Country Inn, Ellerby, Whitby, North Yorkshire
The Black Swan, Kirby Stephen, Cumbria
The Mayfield Seamer, Scarborough, Yorkshire
The Pickwick Inn, Wadebridge, Cornwall
The White Hart, Ufford, Cambridgeshire
Timbrell’s Yard, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire
LGBTQ+
Mary’s, Cardiff
The Little Angel, Whitby, Yorkshire
Two Brewers, Clapham, London
The Marlborough Pub, Brighton
Best Live Entertainment Pub
Chandos Arms, Colindale, London
Chaplin's & the Cellar Bar, Bournemouth
Phoenix Artist Club, London
Rendezvous, Weymouth, Dorset
The Anchor Inn, Canterbury, Kent
The Fulford Arms, York
Best Managed Pub
Pleased To Meet You, Newcastle
The Greyhound, Kirkdale, London
The Kings Arms, Bexleyheath, Kent
The King’s Head, Hursley, Winchester
White Hart, Overton, Hampshire
Best Newcomer
7 Saints Bar & Burger Kitchen, Prestwick, Scotland
Central Oven & Shaker, Newcastle
Cowick Barton, Exeter, Devon
Frampton’s Cafe Bar & Kitchen, Bath
The Brisley Bell, Dereham, Norfolk
The Kings Arms, Offham, Kent
Best Partnership Pub
7 Saints Bar & Burger Kitchen, Prestwick, Scotland
So! Bar and Eats, Ripon, Yorkshire
The Horns, Reading, Berkshire
The Horse & Jockey, Liverpool
The Lion Treorchy, South Wales
The Tap, Harrogate, Yorkshire
Best Pub Garden
Chaplin's & the Cellar Bar, Bournemouth
Jacob’s Inn, Oxford
Prince of Wales, Mosely, Birmingham
The Crown Inn, Carlisle, Cumbria
The Star Inn, Godalming, Surrey
Ye Old Sun Inn, Tadcaster, Yorkshire
Best Spirits Bar/Pub
Fiesta Havana, Chester
Phoenix Artist Club, London
The Mad Hatter, Oxford
The Stillery, Bury St Edmonds, Suffolk
Ye Old Sun Inn, Tadcaster, Yorkshire
Best Sports Pub
Barratts Club, Northampton
Elevens Bar & Grill, Cardiff
Famous Three Kings, Fulham, London
Greenwood, London
The Gardeners Arms/Murderers, Norwich, Norfolk
The Lion Treorchy, South Wales
Best Turnaround Pub
Mc & Sons, London
The Castle, Oxford
The Crown Inn, Carlisle, Cumbria
The Hanmer Arms Inn, Whitchurch, Shropshire
The Hare, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire
The Horse & Jockey, Liverpool
Best Wine Bar/Pub
Chadwicks Inn, Maltby, Yorkshire
Daly’s Wine Bar, London
The Cross at Kenilworth, Warwickshire
The Hand at Llanarmon, North Wales
The Red Lion & Sun, Highgate, London
The Three Crowns, Newton Abbot, Devon
Chef of the Year
Chadwicks Inn, Maltby, Yorkshire
Freemasons at Wiswell, Lancashire
The Turks Head, Woodbridge, Suffolk
The Unruly Pig, Bromeswell, Suffolk
The White Hart, Oldham, Manchester
The White Swan, Burnley, Lancashire
Young Chef of the Year
Chadicks Inn, Maltby, Yorkshire
The Horns, Reading, Berkshire
The Kentish Hare, Tunbridge Wells, Kent
The Red Lion Inn, Penderyn, South Wales
Pub Company Categories
Punch
The Albion, Barnsbury, London
Hiltonbury Farmhouse, Eastleigh, Hampshire
Flying Scotsman, Newcastle
Bristol Inn, Clevedon, Somerset
Champs, Urmston, Manchester
Marston’s
The Star, Penkridge, Stafford
George & Dragon, Arundle, West Sussex
The Anchor Inn, Burbage, Leicestershire
The Minsters Inn, York
LC Drinks and Dine, Llandudno, North Wales
EI Group
The Horse & Jockey, Liverpool
Lion Hotel, Treorchy, South Wales
Victoria Hotel, Bury, Manchester
Milk House, Sissinghurst, Kent
Milford Arms, Isleworth, London
Greene King
The Queen’s Head, Pinner, London
The Newbury, Newbury, Berkshire
Rogue, St Andrews, Scotland
The Elizabethan, Dunfermline, Scotland
The Saracen’s Head, Shirley, Derbyshire
Admiral
The Park Hotel, Blackburn, Lancashire
Dusty Miller, Brighouse, Yorkshire
Cock'n'Bull.co, Stourbridge, West Midlands
Colston Arms, Bristol
The Albert, Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire