Best gastropubs in the UK during the Olympics
The Feathers Inn in Northumberland.LONDON, July 10 — In addition to Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and the Tower Bridge, there is another iconic British institution that visitors to London this summer are sure to check off their to-do list: the classic British pub.
It’s where locals head to after work in order to share a pint with colleagues and de-pressurise, where friends meet to catch up on the latest gossip, and, in many towns, where everybody knows your name, à la retro US TV series “Cheers”.
And while nearly every block and every street corner in London may boast a local watering hole, not all are created equal.
Here’s a selection of award-winning pubs in London as well as outside Olympic city, as singled out by Michelin, the Great British Pub of the Year awards, and the Gastropub Awards.
— The Feathers Inn, set high on a hilltop with an arresting view of the bucolic Tyneside countryside in northeast England, took top honours at the 2011 Great British Pub of the Year Awards organised by trade publication The Morning Advertiser.
— The latest Michelin guide for Great Britain and Ireland bestowed two stars to a pub in Buckinghamshire, The Hand & Flowers, for the first time in the publication’s history. The pub was also named the best in the 2012 Top 50 Gastropub Awards.
— Other London addresses in the Gastropub Awards include Harwood Arms, in Fulham, London, and The Anchor & Hope, in Waterloo.
— The Good Pub Guide crowned Old Mitre, in Clerkenwell, London the Town Pub of the Year for its cosy atmosphere, small rooms with dark wood panelling, and unusual guest beers like BrewDog Trashy Blonde and Titanic White Star. Note: The pub is closed on weekends.
— The latest 2012 edition of the “Michelin Eating Out in Pubs” guide also includes dozens of addresses in London. Newcomers this year include Crabtree in Hammersmith, My dining room in Fulham, and Grazing Goat in Marylebone. — AFP/Relaxnews
