The Unruly Pig tops Britain's gastropub list with Highgate's The Red Lion and Sun as London's top pub

The Unruly Pig in Woodbridge, Suffolk

The annual reveal of the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs list always makes us want to close our laptops and head straight to a cosy pub for a proper pint and a pie. This year the list is topped, for the second time, by Suffolk pub The Unruly Pig.

The 16th-century pub has won a plethora of awards since it was taken over in 2015 by former solicitor Brendan Padfield and chef Dave Wall and is 77 on the National Restaurant Awards Top 100 list too. As for the food, they describe it as Britalian, so seasonal British food with an Italian influence. A quick look at a recent menu includes dishes such as Cuttlefish and brown crab ragu with sopressini pasta alongside Venison Wellington served up with a huntsman sauce.

Back down in London our own personal favourite, The Red Lion & Sun in Highgate, has climbed even higher to Number 6 on the list (it was at 10 last year). Over in Kentish Town, the fizz is being uncorked by The Parakeet which joins the list at number 36. And just outside town The Fordwich Arms and Bridge Arms in Kent are both celebrating their chef Daniel Smith being named Chef of the Year in the awards.

We're going to assume The Devonshire didn't open in time to make this year's list, but expect that to be prominent come 2025.

Here's the full 2024 list (with London pubs in bold).

1. The Unruly Pig, Woodbridge
2. The Cornish Arms, Tavistock
3. The Mariners, Rock
4. The Fordwich Arms, Canterbury
5. The Sportsman, Seasalter
6. The Red Lion & Sun, Highgate, London
7. Parkers Arms, Newton-in-Bowland
8. The Star Inn, Harome
9. Freemasons at Wiswell, Wiswell
10. The Hand & Flowers, Marlow
11. Heft, High Newton
12. The Harwood Arms, Fulham, London
13. The Angel at Hetton, Hetton
14. The Rat Inn, Hexham
15. The Bridge Arms, Canterbury
16. The Dog at Wingham, Wingham
17. The Shibden Mill Inn, Halifax
18. The Gunton Arms, Thorpe Market
19. The Pack Horse, Hayfield
20. Pyne Arms, Barnstaple
21. The Coach, Marlow
22. The Beehive, White Waltham
23. The Broad Chare, Newcastle
24. The Edinburgh Castle, Manchester
25. The Three Horseshoes, Batcombe
26. The Baring, Islington, London
27. The Kentish Hare, Tunbridge Wells
28. The Pipe & Glass Inn, Beverley
29. The White Swan at Fence, Fence
30. The Longs Arms, Bath
31. The Bull & Last, Highgate, London
32. The Black Bear, Usk
33. The Dog & Gun Inn, Skelton
34. The Woolpack, Stroud
35. The Barrington Boar, Barrington
36. The Parakeet, Kentish Town, London
37. The Masons Arms, Knowstone
38. The Abbey Inn, Byland
39. The Black Bull, Sedbergh
40. The Cadogan Arms, Chelsea, London
41. The Bulls Head, Craswall
42. The Loch and The Tyne, Windsor
43. The Guinea Grill, Mayfair, London
44. The Dew Drop Inn, Hurley
45. The Killingworth Castle, Wootton
46. The Canton Arms, Stockwell, London
47. The Double Red Duke, Clanfield
48. The Duncombe Arms, Ashbourne
49. The Scran & Scallie, Edinburgh
50. The Bull, Charlbury

The cosy Red Lion & Sun up in Highgate

More about The Top 50 Gastropubs

Find out more: Visit the Top 50 Gastropubs website.

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