And the winner is . . . The Unruly Pig in Suffolk

The Unruly Pig in Suffolk, last year's number 10, has moved up the rankings to become the winner of the best gastropub in the UK in the Estrella Damn Top 50 Gastropubs 2022 list.
The list, now in its 13th year, ranks the UK’s best gastropubs according to the votes from more than 400 gastropub owners, food critics and other industry experts.
The Unruly Pig entered has also been named by the Michelin Guide as one of the top six food pubs in the east of England. Owner and former solicitor of 36 years Brendan Padfield experienced a fire within weeks of taking on the pub forcing it to close for six months, however, this provided an opportunity to make significant upgrades to make the pub into the welcoming place it is today
“For any UK gastropub this list is the ‘gold standard’. It’s the business. To be a part of such a prestigious group is a huge honour and a very real privilege,” says Padfield.
“There are some very famous chefs and talented operators here... and for us to be a small part of this amazing list means so very much to all our team. They can rightly hold their heads up proud yet again as our listing is because of their dedication, loyalty and sheer hard graft”.
Elsewhere on the list there were 10 new entries with Adam Handling’s The Loch and The Tyne, in Windsor, named as the Highest New Entry. “I’m so happy and proud that our little pub with guest bedrooms has made it in to the Top 50. This is our first time opening a pub and it’s been great fun to adopt our restaurant style into a super informal setting,” says Handling. “Co-chef proprietors, Steven and Jonny, have worked for me for 13 years and have always wanted a pub, so to give them an opportunity to run one and for it to go straight into the Top 50 is bloody fantastic.”
New for 2022, Sally Abé’s The Blue Boar in central London was voted One to Watch for its menu reflecting the very best of British pub dining, with Dylans at The Kings Arms in St Albans winning Front of House team of the year. The Princess of Shoreditch in East London, headed up by Great British Menu’s Ruth Hansom, was Newcomer of the Year.
The Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs 2022 list in full
The Unruly Pig, Woodbridge
Parkers Arms, Clitheroe
The Star Inn at Harome, Harome
The Angel at Hetton, Hetton
Freemasons at Wiswell, Clitheroe
The Sportsman, Whitstable
The Guinea Grill, London
The Fordwich Arms, Canterbury
The Mariners, Rock
The Hand & Flowers, Marlow
The Beehive, White Waltham
The Kentish Hare, Bidborough
The Coach, Marlow
The Cornish Arms, Tavistock
The Harwood Arms, London
The Red Lion and Sun, London
The Pyne Arms, Barnstaple
The Rat Inn, Anick
The Broad Chare, Newcastle Upon Tyne
The Hardwick, Abergavenny
The Bull & Last, London
The Masons Arms, Knowstone
The Pipe and Glass, Barnsley
The Longs Arms, South Wraxall
The Swan, Bampton
The White Swan at Fence, Fence
The Loch and The Tyne, Old Windsor
The Duncombe Arms, Ashbourne
The French House, Soho
The Moorcock, Norland Moor
The Shibden Mill Inn, Shibden
The Pack Horse, Hayfield
Heft, High Newton
The Felin Fach Griffin, Brecon
The Five Bells Inn, Cullompton
St Kew Inn, Bodmin
The Castle Inn, Castle Combe
The Canton Arms, Stockwell
The Higher Buck, Waddington
The Duck Inn, Pett Bottom
The Hovingham Inn, Yorkshire
The Plough, Coton
The Three Hills, Bartlow
The Hind’s Head, Bray
The Dog at Wingham, Wingham
The Bell Inn, Langford
The Black Bear Inn, Usk
The Cadeleigh Arms, Tiverton
The Bailiwick Free House, Egham
The Cross, Kenilworth
Source: Big Hospitality
Comments