2021 Editor's Choice Pubs-with-Rooms
The UK’s best gastro pubs-with-rooms
The Cat Inn
West Hoathly
From its tile-hung facade to Harvey the resident spaniel snoozing in front of the fire, this is a quintessential Sussex village pub. The kitchen is passionate about local sourcing, and the bedrooms have Vispring beds and posh toiletries.
The Star Inn at Harome
Helmsley
This exceptional pub in a thatched village cottage is worth a long detour. Andrew Pern serves Michelin-starred food, the bar was built by a master craftsman,
and the bedrooms across the road are charmingly eccentric and very comfortable.
The Felin Fach Griffin
Brecon
Not far from the book-lovers’ paradise of Hay-on-Wye is this laid-back dining pub with famously comfortable beds in its retro rooms. Menus are brief, to maintain the chef’s fierce commitment to the fresh, seasonal and locally sourced.
The Sun Inn
Colchester
The Sun continues to shine with its winning blend of modern pub food, beamed interiors and a jolly atmosphere. Bedrooms are graceful, with solid oak beds, and an indulgent fry-up at breakfast will set you up for a day in Constable country.
The Talbot Inn
Mells
This relaxed 15th-century coaching inn offers food of a consistently high standard, whether it’s a simple Ploughman’s or a dry-aged Stoke Marsh Farm sirloin steak. Bedrooms have Egyptian cotton sheets, Welsh blankets and cosy armchairs.
The Royal Oak
Tetbury
Plant eaters will be happy at this funky inn, with a jukebox inside, an Airstream trailer outside, and rustic chic bedrooms. Chef Stergios Pikos specialises in excellent vegan and vegetarian dishes, alongside traditional pub favourites.
Pentonbridge Inn
Penton
This stylish former coaching inn with views across Cumbria is run with a five- star touch. Chris Archer serves local food, much of it grown in the kitchen garden. Contemporary bedrooms have fresh flowers and wet-room showers.
The Lamb Inn
Burford
Set in former weavers’ cottages, with a beamed and flagstoned interior and a jumble of antiques and armchairs, this is a classic old English pub, but with a smart dining room, and 17 rather swish rooms attached, some of them with four-posters.
The Bonnie Badger
Gullane
Tom and Michaela Kitchin’s classy gastropub has a nature-to-plate philosophy (and serves everything from ham, egg and chips to Orkney scallops), while the coolly luxurious bedrooms reflect the soft colours of the East Lothian countryside.
The Pear Tree Inn
Melksham
A gorgeous 17th-century pub, lovingly restored by Jackie Cosens and Adrian Jenkins, has got everything right, from chic-farmhouse interiors to delicious seasonal food – so local that meat can be traced right back to the individual animal.
2020 Editor's Choice Pubs-with-Rooms
The UK’s best gastro pubs-with-rooms
The Rose & Crown
Barnard Castle
A chorus of acclaim this year for Cheryl and Thomas Robinson’s 18th-century coaching inn turned village pub par excellence. The quality of local ingredients shines in David Hunter’s seriously great grub. Rooms are splendidly non-chintzy.
The Black Swan
Kirkby Stephen
Cosy and quirky, Louise Dinnes’s Victorian pub ticks so many boxes. Friendly staff, public rooms filled with clocks and curios, individually styled bedrooms, first-rate modern cooking, a garden with rushing brook, and the Eden valley on the doorstep.
The Inn at Whitewell
Clitheroe
A distinctly Merrie England ethos pleases readers at Charles Bowman’s eccentric inn on the River Hodder. Blazing log fires, locally shot game, cask-conditioned ales, four-poster rooms, antiques, oil paintings, and a subversive sense of humour add to a potent mix.
The Felin Fach Griffin
Brecon
Twenty years after Edmund Inkin bought the first of the three dining pubs he owns with brother Charles, the formula is still a winner. Shabby chic decor, delicious food, an inclusive ambience, sustainability, support for the community, perfectly judged simplicity.
The Rose & Crown
Snettisham
Top marks to Jeannette and Anthony Goodrich for the enthusiasm they bring to their pretty 14th-century pub, which serves pub classics and more ambitious fare. Traditional charm is matched by friendly staff, a happy vibe and decor with touches of humour.
The Sun Inn
Colchester
The Sun has been on the rise since Piers Baker took on what was then a grotty local boozer in 2003. A 15th-century coaching inn, it perfectly fulfils the roles of friendly local, smart hotel and modern restaurant with Italian-inspired cooking.
The Red Lion Freehouse
Pewsey
From a burger in the beer garden or bar, to Michelin-starred cooking, Guy and Brittany Manning will provide at their thatched village pub. Boutique guest-house rooms have decking almost on the banks of the Avon. Better than ever, say our readers.
The Cricket Inn
Kingsbridge
You can eat a soup of locally caught crab in the nautical-themed restaurant at Rachel and Nigel Heath’s Victorian pub overlooking Start Bay, as waves crash on the shingle beach. New England-style bedrooms are fresh and appealing.
The Greyhound Inn
Wantage
First out of the traps this year among Oxfordshire pubs, Martyn Reed and Catriona Galbraith’s red brick village local wins high approval for maintaining traditional values while innovating with jazz, pizza, garden parties. Liam Whittle cooks with flair.
The Wellington Arms
Baughurst
Fluffy tea cosies, fine china, new-laid eggs, home-grown produce and resident Jacob’s sheep add to the off-beat appeal of Simon Page and Jason King’s pub. Bedrooms
are beautifully appointed, and Mr King’s cooking has an unfussy elegance.
2019 Editor's Choice Pubs-with-Rooms
The UK’s best gastro pubs-with-rooms
The Cat Inn
West Hoathly
A log fire warms the bar of this popular 16th-century pub, its oak beams hung with pewter mugs. There is pub grub of the highest order, freshly decorated bedrooms, each with a Nespresso coffee machine, a good breakfast. The terrace and herb garden are the cat’s whiskers.
The Colonsay
Isle of Colonsay
There are quiz nights and live music at the sole hostelry on this remote island. Simple bedrooms have views of hillside and sea, across to neighbouring Jura. A new chef is making waves. Why not come for the annual book festival?
The Punch Bowl Inn
Kendal
You can sleep in a four-poster bed made of reclaimed elm at this atmospheric 300-year-old inn in a pretty south Lakeland village inn. The chef makes inventive use of prime Cumbrian produce. Vegetarians have a field day.
The Old Coastguard
Penzance
Casual chic, a laid-back vibe and local art are the style at this former coastguard’s station turned dining pub in a picture- postcard fishing village. Enjoy Cornish produce, clever cooking, foraging walks, yoga weekends and sub-tropical gardens.
Beech House & Olive Branch
Clipsham
Readers write of the fun at this village pub/restaurant, but the food is seriously good. Options include tapas and creative, modern British fare, with fresh produce from the kitchen garden. The pub’s bedrooms in Beech House are rather glamorous.
The Gunton Arms
Thorpe Market
Venison from the surrounding deer park appears on the daily-changing menus at this extraordinary converted country house near Cromer, crammed with Victorian paintings, vintage novelties and Brit Art. One room has a marble bathroom from Egypt.
The Greyhound Inn
Wantage
Real ale, wine tastings, jazz evenings and quiz nights assure this 18th-century pub of a local following. The friendly staff, superior pub fare and smart rooms
supplied with freshly baked biscuits make it a Guide shoo-in.
The Bildeston Crown
Bildeston
Ancient timbers, a roaring fire in winter, alfresco dining in summer, characterful bedrooms (one with antique four-poster), the chef’s ways with local produce and an excellent breakfast won over our inspectors in 2018 at this historic coaching inn.
The Pipe and Glass Inn
South Dalton
Beyond a beamed bar serving hand- pulled Yorkshire ales, there are menus for children, for vegetarians, for everyone, in the Michelin-starred restaurant at this friendly former coaching inn. Jazzy, high- spec bedrooms surround a herb garden.
The Glenelg Inn
Kyle of Lochalsh
You can eat in the garden overlooking the Sound of Sleat, or cosily in the bar, at this traditional inn and music venue in a remote and beautiful landscape. The young chef works magic with local produce.
2018 Editor's Choice Pubs-with-Rooms
The UK’s best gastro pubs-with-rooms
The Rose & Crown
Barnard Castle
‘I would love to keep this place secret – but that would be selfish.
The Feathered Nest
Chipping Norton
An 18th-century malthouse on a hilltop, with spectacular views across the Evenlode valley, is today a village hub, pub and foodie destination.
The Star Inn at Harome
Helmsley
On the edge of the North Yorkshire moors, this postcard-perfect thatched village pub continues to delight with its Michelin-starred cooking and quirky bedrooms.
The Felin Fach Griffin
Brecon
Dogs love this dining-pub-with-rooms, between the Black mountains and the Brecon Beacons, as much as their two-legged friends do.
The Rock Inn
Newton Abbot
Built from granite quarried beneath massive Haytor, this whitewashed village inn is a perennially popular local and makes a good base for exploring Dartmoor.
Beech House & Olive Branch
Clipsham
Just a couple of miles from the A1, down a tree-lined road, is a great combination of gastropub and luxury B&B.
The Beckford Arms
Tisbury
With Beckford Phoenix ale on tap, ‘top-quality’ cooking, and bedrooms with Welsh blankets and seagrass floor covering, this sophisticated pub at the edge of the Fonthill Estate in the Nadder valley is the perfect synthesis of traditional and contemporary.
The Brownlow Arms
Grantham
With her infectious laugh and ready endearments, hostess Lorraine Willoughby is the life and soul of this gastropub-with-rooms in a friendly rural village, but there is much besides to like.
The King’s Head Inn
Bledington
‘The staff were friendly and helpful, the setting on the village green was delightful – what a wonderful place to stay,’ says a trusted reviewer of this Cotswolds inn-with-rooms.
The Red Lion
Babcary
With regional ales and ciders on tap, the charismatic Red Lion is as much a local watering hole as it is a contemporary pub-with-rooms, where owners Clare and Charlie Garrard ensure that in the cosy bar, with its ancient flagstone floors, exposed beams and open fires, both villagers and residents feel at home.
2017 Editor's Choice Gastropubs
The UK’s best gastro pubs-with-rooms
The Feathered Nest
Chipping Norton
An 18th-century malthouse on a hilltop, with spectacular views across the Evenlode valley, is today a village hub, pub and foodie destination.
The Bell at Skenfrith
Skenfrith
On the banks of the River Monnow lies this characterful boutique retreat fashioned from a 300-year-old coaching inn, all flagstone floors and beams.
The Stagg Inn
Kington
At the meetings of two ancient drovers’ roads, close to the Welsh border, Steve and Nicola Reynolds’s rural village dining-pub-with-rooms has been a foodie destination for more than 20 years.
Beech House & Olive Branch
Clipsham
Just a couple of miles from the A1, down a tree-lined road, is a great combination of gastropub and luxury B&B.
The Gurnard’s Head
St Ives
You drive over moors on a near-deserted road to reach Charles and Edmund Inkin’s relaxed, informal dining-pub-with-rooms on Cornwall’s Atlantic coast.
The Talbot Inn
Mells
Take a historic village inn, then reinvent it as a dining-pub-with-rooms, in shabby-chic style, for the modern era.
The Red Lion Freehouse
Pewsey
On the edge of Salisbury Plain not far from Stonehenge, this thatched 19th-century beer house is run as a friendly village local and Michelin-starred pub-with-rooms by chef/proprietors Guy and Brittany Manning.
The Bridge Inn at Ratho
Ratho
Beside a bridge over the Union Canal, Graham and Rachel Bucknall’s genial pub-with-rooms is conveniently sited for Edinburgh airport.
The Grazing Goat
London
You can graze throughout the day at this dining-pub-with-rooms in an area of trendy independent shops dubbed Portman Village, two minutes from the homogenous stores of Oxford Street.
The Devonshire Arms
Langport
A former hunting lodge in a village that was once part of the Devonshire estate, this inn has been given a smart make-over by hands-on owners Philip and Sheila Mepham.
2016 Editor's Choice Gastropubs
The UK’s best gastro pubs-with-rooms
The Cat Inn
West Hoathly
‘This is one of the best, if not the best-run inn we’ve ever stayed at.
The Sun Inn
Colchester
In the heart of Constable country, Piers Baker’s 14th-century inn is ‘what pubs were meant to look like’, from the eye-catching sign outside to the beamed ceilings and wooden floors within.
The Brownlow Arms
Grantham
With her infectious laugh and ready endearments, hostess Lorraine Willoughby is the life and soul of this gastropub-with-rooms in a friendly rural village, but there is much besides to like.
The Victoria
London
A busy, multi-tasking pub, 'school-run coffees in the morning, great food and pub atmosphere at night'.
It’s when these details are combined with the best of modern hospitality; Michelin Star food, stylish design and luxury toiletries are all part of the experience.
Whether you fancy shabby chic decor in the Brecon Beacons or boats bobbing by in the sunny South West. Maybe you fancy a riverside retreat or somewhere that the music plays and the village congregate for convivial evenings full of community and joy. Whatever you choose, there’s a gastro pub with rooms waiting to welcome you, with food celebrating local suppliers and home grown produce from kitchen gardens.
Related Pages
- Best gastro pubs with rooms in Cornwall
- Best gastro pubs with rooms in Cotswolds
Best gastro pubs with rooms in Cumbria
Best gastro pubs with rooms in Devon
Best gastro pubs with rooms in Dorset
Best gastro pubs with rooms in East Anglia
Best gastro pubs with rooms in Kent
Best gastro pubs with rooms in London
Best gastro pubs with rooms in Midlands- Best gastro pubs with rooms in Norfolk
- Best gastro pubs with rooms in North East
- Best gastro pubs with rooms in North West
Best gastro pubs with rooms in Scotland
Best gastro pubs with rooms in Somerset- Best gastro pubs with rooms in South East
- Best gastro pubs with rooms in Sussex
Best gastro pubs with rooms in the Lake District- Best gastro pubs with rooms in Wales
Best gastro pubs with rooms in West Country
Best gastro pubs with rooms in Yorkshire- Dog friendly pubs with rooms