AA Pub Guide highlights ‘record’ number of food pubs

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Stairway to Devon: the Royal Seven Stars Hotel in Devon has made it into the guide

A record number of pubs have been included in the AA’s Pub Guide 2020, with 20 pubs from across the UK included in the book for the first time, its authors have said.

For the first time, 2,000 pubs have been highlighted in the AA’s guide, which showcases the best pubs for great food and great beer.

The counties with the most pubs highlighted as the ‘best of the best’ include Oxfordshire (33), Devon (32) and Somerset (26).

Pubs in the guide

New pubs in the guide include Cheshire Cat-owned the Roebuck Inn, Mobberley in Cheshire, as well as the Amble Inn in Northumberland.

Of the new guide, which is now in its 21st year, AA’s managing director of hospitality and hotel services Simon Numphud said: “As we see more pubs closing in Britain, it is encouraging to have record numbers of pubs being recommended for The Pub Guide, demonstrating the extent to which pubs have continued to improve the quality of their offerings.

“The establishments in this year’s guide prove that there is a brilliant range of pubs across the country, offering fantastic service, drinks and dining opportunities.”

Some 250 pubs in the book are also highlighted by the organisation as having AA Rosettes because of the high-quality food offer available.

Pub scene better than ever

“While pub numbers have decreased in the UK since the guide launched in 1998, the quality of the UK’s pub scene is better than ever, with a record number of pubs included in the guide this year,” AA said in a statement announcing the guide’s release.

Meanwhile, the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs 2019 list was revealed earlier this year, which ranked the Sportsman in Seasalter, Kent, as the UK’s number one gastropub.

Other pubs highlighted on the list included Tom Kerridge’s the Coach – which came in at number two – and the Freemasons in Wiswell, Lancashire, in at number three.

New pubs include:

  • The Roebuck Inn, Mobberley, Cheshire
  • Fernaville's Rest, Whorlton, County Durham
  • The Dog & Gun Inn, Skelton, Cumbria
  • The Lamb Inn, Crediton, Devon
  • The Talbot Hotel, Iwerne Minster, Dorset
  • The Bonnie Badger, Gullane, East Lothian
  • The Bathurst Arms, North Cerney, Gloucestershire
  • Barton’s Mill, Old Basing, Hampshire
  • The Three Mariners, Hythe, Kent
  • The Royal Oak, River, Kent
  • The Carpenters Arms, London W1            
  • The Wigmore, London W1           
  • The Perseverance, London WC1
  • The Amble Inn, Amble, Northumberland
  • The Star Inn, Woodstock, Oxfordshire
  • The Wheatsheaf, Corston, Somerset
  • The Litton, Litton, Somerset
  • The King Alfred, Street, Somerset
  • The Hollist Arms, Lodsworth, West Sussex
  • The Anchor Inn & Boathouse, Worcester, Worcestershire

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