The 2007 edition of Michelin's Eating Out in Pubs guide lists over 550 of the best dining pubs in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland
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If you want to read a review of the new 2008 edition of Michelin's Eating Out in Pubs guide then click here.
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British and Irish pubs used to be places where you only went for a drink. Some served good pub grub, but many only had kitchens staffed by one chef and four microwaves. These days the food has improved enormously, and Michelin (famed for handing out Stars to only the best gourmet temples) now publish an annual guide to Eating Out in Pubs. The 2007 edition lists over 550 of the best pubs for gourmet pub food throughout the UK and Ireland.
Eating Out in Pubs has over 600 pages of listings, with each selection having a full page to itself, including a colour photo. Contact details are listed, driving and parking information given, the types of beer served and the times when food is served (but not the full opening hours). Sample menu prices are indicated too.
Each entry in Eating Out in Pubs then gets a lengthy description, inside and out, before focussing in on the food. In the corner of each page a neat little blackboard shows a typical starter, main course and dessert – the first thing I look at after the photo. Hmm, chicken, truffle mash and asparagus, eh? Truffle mash – now what does that taste like? I'll have to go to The Beehive in Cheltenham to find out.
Lacking the time to eat at all 550 places, I decided to check how good the guide was by looking at my own area in and around Cambridgeshire. The entries listed include every good eating pub I can think of near my home, from the closest, The Crown at Broughton, to The Falcon in Fotheringay, well worth a 20-mile drive.
I want to eat in some of these pubs from the names alone, like The Snooty Fox, The Gin Trap Inn, The Drunken Duck, The Crazy Bear and The Trout at Tadpole Bridge. The reviews of others that I have eaten in, like The Angel in Hetton in Yorkshire and The Pheasant at Keyston here in Cambridgeshire, give me confidence in the guide – they know what they're talking about.
And the Pub of the Year? Which inn combines location, looks, service, drinks, guest bedrooms and fine food? Michelin chooses The Bell at Skenfrith in Monmouthshire, on the Welsh side of the English border. Why? Maybe their own website will give a clue: click here. It certainly makes me want to visit. Comfy sofas and marmalade soufflé? Cheers!
The 2007 Michelin Eating Out in Pubs Guide costs £14.99 in the UK, $19.95 in the USA and $23.95 in Canada.
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The copyright of the article Your Guide to Gourmet Pub Food in U.K./Ireland Travel is owned by Mike Gerrard. Permission to republish Your Guide to Gourmet Pub Food in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Pub grub is *exactly* how I recall my impression of food in Britain while I was there. Yes, some of the finest curries I've ever had were in Bradford, but pub food was rather dreary.
Now.... truffle mash! That's more like it! So, yes, I'd love to hear a first-hand account of how decadent and luscious this must be. Get to it!
Oct 28, 2006 1:55 AM
Mike Gerrard :
Thanks, Catherine. We're planning to take some friends to the Crown at Broughton in the next few weeks, so I'll definitely report back!
Oct 28, 2006 8:47 AM
Keith Kellett :
Which Broughton? Broughton-in-Furness?
My pub grub story is how we always went to the Ship at Upavon for an Indian on a Thursday night. Reason was an Indian lady came every Thursday to cook a week's supply to put in the freezer, so if we went on Thursday night, the food was fresh!
Also remember the pub at Sandhead, near Stranraer ... don't recall its name, but it's the only one in the village ... where it's said that Norman, the then owner, threatened to sack the chef if he found anything but icecream in the freezer!
Oct 28, 2006 9:49 AM
Mike Gerrard :
It's Broughton in Cambridgeshire, a few miles from where I live. If you're ever in the area, the Crown does really top-quality food. There are also some impressive old frescoes on the walls of the village church opposite, though you might have to ask to see if you can get someone to open it for you.
Nov 5, 2006 7:59 AM
Barbara Rogers :
To me, the highlight of pub food is available almost anywhere: a Ploughman's Plate (or Ploughman's Lunch). This bountiful platter of cheeses, served with bread, chutney and often a little salad, usually includes not only the "standard" cheddars, but at least one locally-made farmstead or artisanal cheese. Normally there are several of these (especially in Ireland), often ones whose identity I ask, so I can buy more. This is an excellent lunch, but it's also a good way to discover a region's best local cheeses.
Nov 7, 2006 9:28 AM
Mike Gerrard :
Yes, gourmet pub food doesn't have to be high-price pub food, if you think about what you're buying. Good local cheeses and ham, say, can give you a great pub lunch very cheaply.
There's a saying from a food writer: never buy Chinese food in Oklahoma.
But you can buy good Thai food in several English pubs, where one of the partners might be Thai.
It just needs common sense thought. If a small pub has a big menu, chances are tht most of it is bought in, part-cooked, just waiting for the microwave. It might well taste fine, but it's not gourmet pub food or even good local food.
Nov 7, 2006 9:51 AM
Keith Kellett :
This bountiful platter of cheeses, served with bread, chutney and often a little salad
You forgot the onions!!
For a really good 'ploughman's', I recommend the Avon Brewery, in Salisbury ... I mark down the good ones, because, all too often, the 'ploughman's' is little more than a cheese and pickle sandwich.
Nov 8, 2006 5:15 AM
Mike Gerrard :
Thanks, Keith. Maybe you should do a travel piece, or even a book - The Search for the Perfect Ploughman's.
Just don't forget the "'s" at the end, or you might end up in a pickle yourself.
Nov 8, 2006 7:49 AM
Keith Kellett :
Well, probably you know ploughmen never ate it ... but wasn't it a nice piece of marketing? Has much more appeal to it than 'cheese platter'!
I have, actually, written a book about British beer ... still looking for a publisher for it. However, it is rather short and sweet; I may expand its cover to include regional food specialities ... and, of course, cheese ... too!
Nov 8, 2006 9:49 AM
Mike Gerrard :
Well, I wish you the best of luck with the book. I'll review it if you find a publisher. I have two books on British beer in my Amazon shopping basket at the moment, both by Pete Brown - MAN WALKS INTO A PUB and THREE SHEETS TO THE WIND. Should I hang on till yours is out?
Nov 9, 2006 7:01 AM
Keith Kellett :
I wouldn't hold my breath ... right now, it's so far on the back burner, it's falling off the stove!
Nov 18, 2006 1:49 AM
Mike Gerrard :
That's not the attitude. Positive thinking! Have a drink.
