Gastropubs are for when scampi fries and salted peanuts with your pint just aren’t enough to fill you up. The restaurant/pub hybrids have all the cosy vibes of a traditional boozer alongside spectacular food menus that rival that finest restaurants in the country. And since 2009, the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs has called upon the expertise of industry experts, chefs and food writers to determine which UK gastropubs stand out above the rest. Now, it’s revealed its 2026 edition.
In a ceremony on Monday January 26, the title of the best gastropub in the UK for 2026 went to… The Devonshire in London.
The ‘Dev’ in Soho first opened its doors in 2023 and quickly became the place to be spotted if you’re anyone who’s anyone (the likes of Margot Robbie and Nigella Lawson have stopped by there). Top 50 called it a ‘roaring success’ and described it simply as somewhere that ‘serves up premium quality, homemade food, focusing on the best of British produce’.
Its main pub on the ground floor serves what’s widely regarded as London’s best Guinness and upstairs is the restaurant and grill rooms led by beef connoisseur Charlie Carroll and former Fat Duck chef Ashley Palmer-Watts. There you’ll find dishes like Scottish beef that has been dry-aged and butchered on site, creel-caught langoustines from Oban, lobster and hand-dived scallops from Devon.
Though the Devonshire is one of the hardest places in the city to get a table, it’s not absurdly unaffordable. You can tuck into a two-course set menu for just £25 or three-courses for £29.
Photograph: Estrella Damm
The London boozer pushed three-time winner The Unruly Pig in Suffolk down to second place. Top 50 described the Unruly Pig as a ‘winsome and warm’ pub that serves ‘filling and well-crafted pub food in an environment that reflects the personalities of the people behind the stunning venue’. It offers a three course £35 lunch set menu featuring dishes like smoked cod’s roe on focaccia, confit pork belly and sticky date pudding.
Third place went to another London gastropub, The Red Lion and Sun in Highgate, while fourth prize was handed to Gloucestershire’s The Woolpack Inn and fifth place was claimed by The Star Inn in North Yorkshire.
The Estrella Damm 50 Best Gastropubs 2026 ranking in full
The Devonshire, Soho, London
The Unruly Pig, Woodbridge, Suffolk
The Red Lion & Sun, Highgate, London
The Woolpack Inn, Slad, Gloucestershire
The Star Inn, Harome, North Yorkshire
The Angel at Hetton, Hetton, Yorkshire
Parkers Arms, Newton-in-Bowland, Lancashire
The Rat Inn, Anick, Northumberland
The Rum Fox, Grindleton, Lancashire
The Cornish Arms, Tavistock, Devon
Canton Arms, Stockwell, London
The Dog at Wingham, Wingham, Kent
The Abbey Inn, Byland, Yorkshire
The Three Horseshoes, Batcombe, Somerset
The Broad Chare, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland
The Gunton Arms, Norwich, Norfolk
The Baring, Islington, London
The Merry Harriers, Hambledon, Surrey
The Fordwich Arms, Canterbury, Kent
The Bell Inn, Langford, Oxfordshire
The Kentish Hare, Tunbridge Wells, Kent
The Crown, Burchetts Green, Berkshire
The Marksman, Hackney, London
The Hero, Maida Vale, London
The Kerfield Arms, Camberwell, London
The Sportsman, Seasalter, Kent
The Mariners, Rock, Cornwall
The Bull, Charlbury, Oxfordshire
The Coach, Marlow, Buckinghamshire
The Highland Laddie, Leeds, West Yorkshire
The Pipe and Glass Inn, South Dalton, Yorkshire
The Silver Cup, Harpenden, Hertfordshire
The Waterman’s Arms, Barnes, London
Heft, High Newton-in-Granes, Cumbria
The Tamil Crown, Islington, London
Harwood Arms, Fulham, London
The Killingworth Castle, Woodstock, Oxfordshire
The Gurnard’s Head, St Ives, Cornwall
The Bull & Last, Highgate, London
The Kinneuchar Inn, Leven, Fife
The Tartan Fox, Newquay, Cornwall
Queen of Cups, Glastonbury, Somerset
The Knave of Clubs, Shoreditch, London
The Mason’s Arms, Bampton, Oxfordshire
The Wild Rabbit, Kingham, Oxfordshire
The Black Bear Inn, Bettws Newydd, Monmouthshire
The French House, Soho, London
The Loch & The Tyne by Adam Handling, Old Windsor, Berkshire
Shibden Mill Inn, Halifax, West Yorkshire
The White Horse, Chester, Cheshire
The very best gastropubs in the UK for eating and drinking, according to Time Out.
ICYMI: The greatest pub in the UK has been crowned for 2026.
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