Which is the best pub in England ?

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BOBTHEukBREWER

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I have my nomination, but England members, if you have a view, share it with us. And what would make the perfect English pub ? For me it would have ONLY excellent beers served from the barrel tap, no dispense taps, it would not sell lager, wine, spirits, mixers or even soft drinks, friendly and knowledgeable bar staff, no hot food sold, no piped music, clean toilets, nobody under 25 allowed in, and you can keep the same pint glass all evening.........
 
I've been to the Hob Goblin in Reading. Nice brews on tap and if your cell phone rings, they will bounce you out on your ear. :D

Turf Tavern in Cambridge is a nice place too.
 
I am partial to the Green Dragon in Cambridge. I stayed at a friend of mine's parents house about 10 doors down from there and I loved it. They've got great food and it's right on the River Cam.

What I love about English pubs are the atmosphere. It's like going to somebody's house and hanging out in their living room. It's like a big social house party.
 
I like BOB's description, except I do like the hot pub food... at least a jacket potato. I ate at a pub for my birthday a few years ago somewhere in Shropshire... can't remember the village/name... somewhere near Much Wenlock or Craven Arms. But I had a steak there from locally raised beef that was to die for. So, I'd keep the hot food.

And they would have to have a good cider or two... for those who can't drink beer.
 
i agree that a pub should be able to serve hot food. the griffon pub here in bc has the best fish-n-chips tin the state with 30 beers on tap and 3 on the engines.
 
was extremely lucky to be able to study at Oxford for semester and basically lived at the Fox and Hounds...

All of the college pubs were amazing too since they were all something insane like 600 years old.
 
I'm going to cry now. It was so nice in the UK to stroll down to the corner pub for a meal and a few pints. Nothing like that here. I need to go back.

Oh, and no pubs here, even the ones trying to be authentic, serve the beer any warmer than freezing cold. And no cask ales to be found. :(
 
I'd say The Bird in Hand in Mildenhall, but since it's the only one I've had the pleasure of spending any time at I don't have much of a frame of reference. At least the atmosphere is nice and they have real darts. :D I'm a sucker for a pub with real darts (none of those plastic tipped electric scoring dealies). Another big plus is that it's easy stumbling distance to a kebap (kabob) joint that takes US Dollars and billeting at RAF Mildenhall.

I went to a bar in Cambridge, but it wasn't what I'd call a true pub. Too modern and sterile feeling. I don't want to drink in a piece of modern art.

Terje
 
Derby Tup in Chesterfield Derbyshire gets my vote, in fact it was voted best real ale pub in the UK for quite a few years back in the early 90's when I lived in the UK.
 
Derby Tup in Chesterfield Derbyshire gets my vote, in fact it was voted best real ale pub in the UK for quite a few years back in the early 90's when I lived in the UK.
Hmm... that's no distance from here. I might have to give that a try. :)
 
Bob's definition sounds almost perfect to me. Throw in the cell phone ban and that's about as perfect as it gets!

I like hot food. i sometimes even like it in a pub......However, when the food gets too good it tends to bring in the wrong crowd, so yeah. Ploughman's lunches only! (Bread and cheese, Branston Pickle with a couple of pickled onions) :D

The best pub in England? In my experience, it was always the one that had ME in it! ;)
 
I had worked for an English company in Oxfordshire and would go over from time to time. The Turf brings back fond memories. I also remember the Black Prince in Woodstock. I had an Old Peculiar on cask and it was bad but I was afraid to tell them because I was a Yank, so I had my British comrades tell them. There was also the Chequers in Chipping Norton, where they let me pull a pint of cask ale.

I could have moved there but worried about the difference in salary and decided to stay in the US. I still question that decision.
 
Orfy's description sounds like a winner to me. Do those exist??


Oh yes.
My local isn't like that but it's a cracking pub.
No1 rule. No knobheads!
It's a freehouse so the owner can do what he wants.
I visit 3-5 times a week, maybe more
I probably pay for around half to three quarters of my beer.

There is a no tracksuit rule.
 
However, when the food gets too good it tends to bring in the wrong crowd,

So very true. The Golden Valley restaurant is quite good and is crawling with winos, ice tea drinkers, and their kids. Pity the bar isn't in a separate room.
 
If you want picturesque, within a village of thatched cottages with a smattering of Aston Martins then try the "Falkland Arms" in Great Tew, near Oxford. I drove 60 miles to try it out and we had a fantastic Sunday roast and good beer.
http://www.strum.co.uk/scratch/falkpic.htm

If you want Big, then "The Old Joint Stock" in Birmingham is Fuller Smith & Turners biggest pub. It is licenced for about 600 peeps. I was in there yesterday and it was heaving with revellers. The only drawbacks are it is shut Sundays, and both the ESB and the London Pride have 3 separate hand pumps coming from three separate casks, ( The ESB beer engines are connected to 3 Firkins and the Pride is on Kilderkins as they sell more of that) This means that to be sure you are drinking from the best cask you have to order a half pint from each of the 3 hand pumps, then decide which you prefer! Then if you swap to a different ale, you have to do the selection process again.....It's a hard, but someone has to do it.....

If you go out the back, past all the smokers and across a "Dickensian" ally, you go straight into another pub with at least 15 ales, and down the street there are two others!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2609/3955336225_35cb1092e1.jpg

If you want totaly weird, try the "Bounty" in Bourne End near Marlow Bucks. It is on the river Thames and you can only get to it either by boat, or a good half mile walk from the nearest car park (Park in Bourne End railway station, walk down the dirt path towards the river, cross the river on the footbridge and turn right and go a further 1/4 mile.)) It's a ramshackle sort of gloryfied shed, with loads of kids running about and a kind of non PC attitude. It is hard to rate this pub as you cannot tell whether it will be full of rich tossers with boats, ordinary hikers walking the towpath, or aging rock stars out with the missus and the kids.You are likely to get Led Zep on the sound system and it's a kind of alternative place. It is best visited in Summer, with a bunch of your own mates when the sun's out....
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?i...ounty%22%2B+%22Bourne+end%22&gbv=2&hl=en&sa=G
 
This is my local.

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This is a few minutes away.

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this is a few hundred yards from me.

pad2-bar2.jpg


dsc00017sk.jpg
 
Definitely a different world. Prohibition killed off the neighborhood bars in the US and by the time it was repealed, everyone was driving. It's five miles to the nearest bar (I've got a better beer selection than they do) and 25 to a brewpub.
 
I have an hour drive for decent beer on tap. Well commercially. i have 3 steps to Good beer on tap in my basement :)
Orfy, those look amazing. Unfortunately if you were to walk into a bar in a building that looked like that here, it'd be run down inside full of people you really wouldn't want to associate with drinking BMC and whiskey waiting to go to jail for something that night.
 
Google... "The Case is Altered", Five Ways, Warwickshire. Its like stepping back into the 17thC.
No food, no kids, no jukebox, the pool table (in the traditional games room) only takes old sixpences, sometimes no electricity.
Excellent variety of cask beers, hand poured straight from the barrel (which are situated on the bar). Nice wood fire.
Well worth a visit if your in the area.
 
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