THE ANCHOR & Hope in Southwark, London, has been voted the UK’s top gastropub for the third year running.
The Top 30 Gastropub Awards is organised by PubChef magazine, the food magazine of pub trade newspaper the Morning Advertiser.
400 pub food experts, including gastropub operators, chefs, restaurant critics and food writers voted for their top three pubs and no operator was allowed to vote for their own outlet.
Among the voters were Raymond Blanc, James Martin, Anthony Worral Thompson, Loyd Grossman and Times critic Giles Coran.
Jo Bruce, editor of PubChef, said: “In the past decade gastropubs have moved from being a radical invention to a high street staple.
"Gastropubs have had an impact everywhere from M&S to Manhattan and are loved by the British public as they offer them a more informal and accessible place to dine out.
"With gastropub chefs’ often strong focus on regional and local produce, gastropubs reconnnect people with produce and recipes from their area.”
The Anchor & Hope does around 1000 covers a week and Jo Bruce added: “Their success is down to their great British menu and attention to sourcing ingredients.
"It’s run by people who are passionate about what they do and that shines through.
“Despite many gastropubs becoming more about fine dining, the Anchor and Hope has retained its bohemian charm.”
The Anchor & Hope’s best selling dishes include rib of beef, chips & bernaise (for two); slow-cooked lamb shoulder and gratin dauphinoise (for five) and duck in a pot for three to four.
The team behind the Anchor and Hope opened a brasserie called Great Queen Street in Covent Garden earlier this year.
The UK’s Top 30 Gastro Pubs
1.Anchor & Hope, Waterloo
2.The Star Inn, Harome
3.The Garrison, Bermondsey
4.The Hinds Head, Bray
5.Three Fishes, Mitton
6.The Eagle, Farringdon
7.Olive Branch, Clipsham
8.The Narrow, Limehouse
9.The Hand and Flowers, Marlow
10.Jolly Sportsman, East Chiltington
11.The Greyhound, Battersea
12.The Crooked Billet, Stoke row, Henley on Thames
13..Anglesea Arms, London W6
14. Felin Fach Griffin, Brecon, Powys
15. The Gun, Docklands
16. Gurnards Head, Cornwall
17. The Stagg, Titley
18. Pig’s Ear, Chelsea
19. The Angel, Hetton
20. The Cow, Westbourne Park
21. The Drunken Duck Inn, Ambleside
22. The Boot, Lapworth
23.The Kingham Plough, Chipping Norton
24. The Pipe and Glass, East Beverley
25 Alford Arms, Frithsden
26. The Highwayman Inn, Burrow, Kirkby Lonsdale
27 Griffin Inn, Fletching
28. Ginger pig, Hove
29 Rosendale, West Dulwich
30. Rose & Crown, Warwick
The Top 30 Gastropubs 2007 was sponsored by Addlestones, part of Gaymer Cider Company.