A LEEDS watering hole has been named the best in Britain – and five other Yorkshire spots have also made the Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Pubs.
Taking the top spot is The Highland Laddie, a 100-year-old city centre institution which reopened in April 2025 under new owners Sam Pullan and Nicole Deighton, also of the Empire Café in Leeds.
They remastered the historic pub, on Cavendish Street, after finding it for sale on Rightmove, introducing an ‘eclectic menu that raises the bar for casual yet creative pub dining’.
‘We are all absolutely over the moon to be recognised as The Good Food Guide’s number one pub in Britain,’ say Sam and Nicole.
‘We are even more thrilled to be flying the flag for Leeds and Yorkshire.’
‘Highland Laddie is a city centre slam dunk’
Chloë Hamilton, editor of The Good Food Guide, says: ‘We went searching for the pubs that nail the drinking and dining side of the equation.
‘It turns out the harder you look, the more you find, and they’re not all hidden away in the Cotswolds.
‘The Highland Laddie – a city-centre slam dunk – is a very good case in point.’
Yorkshire pubs in The Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Pubs
Tommy Banks’ Abbey Inn, Byland, and The General Tarleton, Ferrensby, both feature on the list – The Abbey Inn at eighth place and The General Tarleton at 44th.
The Abbey Inn, Byland. Picture: Keith Hartwell
The General Tarleton recently opened its doors through a food partnership called Jeopardy Hospitality, which aims to revive local pubs, safeguard their future, invest in hospitality training, and restore their place as community hubs.
Speaking about the pub, Tommy told guests on the opening night: ‘When I first started cooking, this was an absolute institution, one of the first gastropubs in Yorkshire with an amazing reputation.
‘We thought, ‘Can we take it back and restore it to its former glory?’ That was the start of the project.’
‘Pubs are really struggling now – four pubs a week are closing in the UK, and that’s a massive shame.
‘I have spoken to people who have had their wedding here, golden wedding, christenings and wakes – the circle of life – you realise that pubs are the heart of communities.’
The Star Inn, Harome (Image: Kathryn Armstrong)
Other Yorkshire pubs on the list include:
The Pipe & Glass in South Dalton, which is ranked 25th, The Star Inn at Harome, ranked 34th, and The Owl Hawnby, which sits in 88th place.
The inaugural 100 Best Pubs in Britain has been published in partnership with Timothy Taylor’s Landlord and supported by Tracklements and Koffmann’s Potatoes.