Best pub in the UK for 2025 named — full list

Britain’s best pub for 2025 has finally been revealed, and the winner may not be what you’re expecting. The Good Food Guide has unveiled its top 100 Best Pubs, shining a spotlight on venues that are keeping the nation’s pub culture alive.

From charming village taverns with centuries of history to lively city favourites buzzing with energy, these pubs are celebrated for their exceptional drinks and delicious food. With support from Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, Tracklements, and Koffmann’s Potatoes, this list is a toast to Britain’s thriving pub scene. Discover the winner below – but the real question is, has your local made the top 100 list?

How the list was created

Chloë Hamilton, the editor of The Good Food Guide, went on to say: “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.”

The winner

The Highland Laddie in Leeds has taken the top spot. This century-old Cavendish Street pub, first opened in 1925 and has had a reputation for “pouring the best pint of Tetley’s in Leeds, which people would make the journey for,” said a writer for The Good Food Guide. 

The pub reopened in April 2025 under new owners Sam Pullan and Nicole Deighton. After spotting it on Rightmove, the duo revitalised the historic venue with an innovative menu that redefines relaxed yet inventive pub dining.

When The Good Food Guide visited, they wrote: “Billed as ‘a drinkers pub with dining room’ The Highland Laddie is a pub of two halves – turn left into the bar and be greeted by brass fittings twinkling in the sun and the red glow of a vintage Guinness tap box on the bar, echoing the red and black colour scheme of the textured-wallpapered walls and ceiling.

“Small round tables line the triangular room where you can fit about four people and their pints, empties, and a couple of bar snacks (possibly six if you’re close acquaintances, or one of them is telling a particularly good story).” The review ended with a big compliment: “There’s a genuine commitment shown here to preserving The Highland’s legacy while bringing it into the modern pub era.

“It’s easy to hang an old mirror in a pub and call it a day, but by showing real attention to detail and a dedication to Sam and Nicole’s vision, even two weeks in The Highland Laddie feels established, lived-in, and already well on its way to becoming a neighbourhood pub for the community.”

According to Yorkshire Live, the owners of The Highland Laddie beamed in their glory and said, “We are all absolutely over the moon to be recognised as The Good Food Guide’s No. 1 pub in Britain! We are even more thrilled to be flying the flag for Leeds and Yorkshire.”

The Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Pubs 2025 full list

1. The Highland Laddie, Leeds
2. The Kinneuchar Inn, Fife
3. The Merry Harriers, Surrey
4. The Beckford Arms, Wiltshire
5. The Radnor Arms, Kent
6. Greyhound Inn, Pettistree, Suffolk
7. The Pelican, London
8. The Abbey Inn, North Yorkshire
9. Inn at The Sticks, Carmarthenshire
10. The Pack Horse, Hayfield, Derbyshire
11. The Eagle, London
12. The Barrington Boar, Somerset
13. The Sun Inn, Dedham, Essex
14. The Kerfield Arms, London
15. The Broad Chare, Newcastle – Readers’ Choice Award
16. Church House Inn, Devon
17. The Killingworth Castle, Oxfordshire
18. The Felin Fach Griffin, Powys
19. The Gunton Arms, Norfolk
20. The Plough, Rye, East Sussex
21. The Bath Arms at Longleat, Somerset
22. The Parakeet, London
23. The Rat Inn, Northumberland
24. The White Hart Inn, Essex
25. The Pipe & Glass, East Yorkshire
26. The Bull Charlbury, Oxfordshire
27. The Farmers Arms, Devon
28. The Devonshire, London
29. Hop Pole Inn, Somerset
30. The Waterman’s Arms, London
31. White Horse Holme, Norfolk
32. The Olive Branch, Rutland
33. The Old Wharf Inn, West Midlands
34. The Star Inn, Harome, North Yorkshire
35. The George at Burpham, West Sussex
36. Fox & Hounds, Hertfordshire
37. Tichborne Arms, Hampshire
38. The Bull Inn, Totnes, Devon
39. Parkers Arms, Lancashire
40. The Woolpack Inn, Gloucestershire
41. The Double Red Duke, Oxfordshire
42. The Cat Inn, West Sussex
43. The Canton Arms, London
44. The General Tarleton, North Yorkshire
45. The Anchor, Walberswick, Suffolk
46. The Camberwell Arms, London
47. The Brisley Bell, Norfolk
48. The Swan, Suffolk
49. The Riverside at Aymestrey, Herefordshire
50. The White Horse, Brancaster Staithe, Norfolk
51. The Kirkstyle Inn & Sportsman’s Rest, Northumberland
52. The Grove Inn, Devon
53. The White Hart, Fyfield, Oxfordshire
54. The Silver Cup, Hertfordshire
55. The Anglesea Arms, Hammersmith, London
56. Heathcock, Cardiff
57. The Feathers Inn, Northumberland
58. The Anchor & Hope, London
59. The Taybank, Perthshire & Kinross
60. The Queens Arms, Somerset
61. Hare & Hounds, Glamorgan
62. Applecross Inn, Highlands
63. The Punch Bowl Inn, Cumbria
64. The Clachan Inn, Dumfries & Galloway
65. The Bull Freehouse, Troston, Suffolk
66. The Exmoor Forest Inn, Somerset
67. The Ship Inn, Northumberland
68. The Bell at Selsley, Gloucestershire
69. The Tamil Crown, London
70. The Millbrook Inn, Devon
71. The Drunken Duck Inn, Cumbria
72. The Bull’s Head, Herefordshire
73. Dylan’s at The Kings Arms, Hertfordshire
74. St Kew Inn, Cornwall
75. The Pilgrim, Buckinghamshire
76. The Howard Arms, Warwickshire
77. The White Horse, Churton, Cheshire
78. The Alford Arms, Hertfordshire
79. The Plough, Bolnhurst, Bedfordshire
80. The Cotley Inn, Somerset
81. The Cornish Arms, Tavistock, Devon
82. Kilchrenan Inn, Argyll & Bute
83. The Red Lion, Isle of Wight
84. The Greyhound Inn, Letcombe Regis, Oxfordshire
85. The Halfway at Kineton, Gloucestershire
86. The Crown, Hastings, East Sussex
87. The Bonnie Badger, East Lothian
88. The Owl Hawnby, North Yorkshire
89. The Blind Bull, Little Hucklow, Derbyshire
90. The Surprise, London
91. The Leicester Arms, Kent
92. The Old Eyre Arms, Derbyshire
93. The Dartmoor Inn, Lydford, Devon
94. The Longs Arms, Wiltshire
95. The New Inn, Herefordshire
96. The Duck at Yeoford, Devon
97. White Horse, Lincoln, Lincolnshire
98. The Gurnard’s Head, Cornwall
99. The Manor House Inn, Somerset
100. The Bunch of Grapes, Pontypridd, Wales