Best Food Guide to UK Pubs Now Out
2008 Michelin Guide to Eating Out in Pubs in Britain and Ireland
Sep 8, 2007
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Read a review of the latest 2010 Michelin Eating Out in Pubs Guide.
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A good food guide or a good restaurant guide, and a good pub guide, used to be separate books. But these days UK pubs, and pubs in Ireland, serve some of the best food in the British Isles while maintaining their tradition of being a good village pub, or a good local. Michelin's annual Eating Out in Pubs guide has become an essential reference for travelers who like their pubs and like good food too.
The 2008 edition of Michelin's Eating Out in Pubs guide lists 564 of the best pubs serving good food in the UK and Ireland. Of this total, 76 pubs are brand new entries showing a steady and healthy growth in good British and Irish cuisine. It also suggests there's a good quality control on the contents of the guide, as some quick maths says that about 60 pubs have been removed from the 2007 edition.
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Read a review of the Michelin Eating Out in Pubs Guide 2007,
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Michelin's guide also names its 2008 Pub of the Year, which is The Olive Branch and Beech House in Clipsham, in the tiny English county of Rutland. Fans of Monty Python's Eric Idle may remember his TV series, Rutland Weekend Television, which had some gentle fun at the expense of England's smallest county. So – do they serve spam-a-lot? Hardly, the Olive Branch's menu includes such dishes as artichoke and beetroot risotto, roast Herdwick lamb and langoustine ravioli.
The Olive Branch is one of the pubs in the Michelin guide to receive the extra accolade of a 'We Most Liked' stamp. The stamp singles out the best of the pubs in the guide, for providing at least one extra quality over and above the high standard of food that got them into the guide in the first place. In the case of The Olive Branch there are several reasons, like the number of champagnes and wines available by the glass, the pub's home-made lemonade and its wide choice of real ales including its own label Olive Oil brew.
A quick look at the Olive Branch website shows a commitment to local produce, including local breweries, by listing its local food suppliers, giving details of the breweries it uses and even recommending local farmers' markets. No wonder Michelin chose it as their Pub of the Year.
But the Michelin Eating Out in Pubs guide has 563 other good pubs in it! Each one gets a page to itself, with a photo, contact details, opening hours, prices, directions, samples from the menu, a note of whether they have accommodation or not (and the cost of it) and a lengthy review.
The Eating Out in Pubs guide divides England into nine regions, including London, with separate chapters for Scotland, Wales and Ireland. There are also good general maps and then separate maps for each chapter, showing where the pubs are located – ideal if visiting an unfamiliar area. There are also two indexes, of pubs by name and of their locations alpabetically. For ease of use, layout and design the book simply cannot be faulted.
As a guide to where to find the best food in Ireland and UK pubs, the Michelin Eating Out in Pubs guide has no rivals. From the Kylesku in the Scottish Highlands to O'Neill's (The Point) Seafood Bar in Cahersiveen on the Ring of Kerry, Michelin definitely has the best food pubs covered.
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The Michelin Eating Out in Pubs Guide 2008 costs £14.99 in the UK, $19.95 in the USA and $23.95 in Canada.
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