Britain’s Best Food Pubs
The Publican Awards are the Oscars of the pub hospitality trade and the 2018 gongs will be dished out at a glittering awards ceremony in London next March. Shortlisted in the ‘Best Food Offer’ category are four pub groups that are leading the way in the sector. Here's a quick look at each:
Oakman Inns & Restaurants
Coverage: Home Counties, Midlands
It’s exactly 10 years since Oakman Inns opened the doors to its first pub – The Akeman in Tring. A decade later and the group has 21 properties spread across the Home Counties and the Midlands with founder and CEO Peter Borg-Neal – who started his hospitality career as a 16-year-old cellar boy in Reading – still very much at the helm. Menus are Med-influenced with dishes cooked in wood-fired ovens and Josper Grills. Accredited by the Sustainable Restaurant Association, the group is a firm believer in the ethos that ‘good food doesn’t happen by accident’.
Cheshire Cat Pubs & Bars
Coverage: Cheshire, Staffordshire, Dorset
Cheshire Cat owners Tim Bird and Mary McLaughlin specialise in lost causes - or rather grand old pubs that are down on their luck. And if anyone is qualified to turn a struggling pub around, they are – Mary was MD of Spanish restaurant group La Tasca and grew it from 3 to 70 venues; Tim headed up pub operator Brunning & Price. They are also serial award winners and the latest of their seven venues, The Roebuck Inn at Mobberley in Cheshire, was named Favourite Newcomer 2017 in the Sawday’s Pubs & Inns Guide of England & Wales.
Seafood Pub Company
Coverage: Lancashire and Yorkshire
There’s more than fish on the menus at the Seafood Pub Company. But no surprises that the daily catch from Fleetwood fish merchant Chris Neve is an integral part of the offering at his daughter Joycelyn’s 12-venue pub group. The latest opening, The Inn at South Stainley, on the A61 between Harrogate and Ripon is a second Yorkshire venue for this largely Lancastrian company and seven of the pubs have accommodation too.
Cirrus Inns
Coverage: South of England
Cirrus Inns is the nom de plume of the Epicurean Collection, a group of 25 boutique country inns spread across the south of England. Each venue is geared around experiencing the very best of country living, built around the four pillars of Food & Drink, Heritage & Culture, Nature and Country Pursuits. Specially curated ‘Experiences’ are designed to help guests make the most of their country stay and Epicurean Club members enjoy a range of offers and benefits. Winter breaks start from £69 per room, including breakfast.
