The Unruly Pig has moved up from last year’s 10th place, when it also won the Highest Climber category. It is one of five East Anglian pubs in this year’s list, more than ever before.
The pub is owned by Brendan Padfield who took on the pub following a 36-year career as a solicitor. However, within just 12 weeks of opening, a fire destroyed large parts of the building forcing it to close for six months. During this period changes were made to the structure and feel of the pub to make it more welcoming and accessible.
It entered the Estrella Damn Top 50 Gastropubs list in 2017 and has also been named by the Michelin Guide as one of the top six food pubs in the east of England.
“For any UK gastropub this list is the ‘gold standard’. It’s the business. To be a part of such a prestigious group is a huge honour and a very real privilege,” says Padfield.
“There are some very famous chefs and talented operators here… and for us to be a small part of this amazing list means so very much to all our team. They can rightly hold their heads up proud yet again as our listing is because of their dedication, loyalty and sheer hard graft”.
The Top 50 Gastropubs list, now in its 13th year, ranks the UK’s best gastropubs according to the votes from more than 400 gastropub owners, food critics and other industry experts. This year there were 10 new entries on the list with Adam Handling’s The Loch and The Tyne, in Windsor, named as the Highest New Entry. “I’m so happy and proud that our little pub with guest bedrooms has made it in to the Top 50. This is our first time opening a pub and it’s been great fun to adopt our restaurant style into a super informal setting,” says Handling. “Co-chef proprietors, Steven and Jonny, have worked for me for 13 years and have always wanted a pub, so to give them an opportunity to run one and for it to go straight into the Top 50 is bloody fantastic.”
New for 2022, Sally Abé’s The Blue Boar in central London was voted One to Watch for its menu reflecting the very best of British pub dining, with Dylans at The Kings Arms in St Albans winning Front of House team of the year. The Princess of Shoreditch in East London, headed up by Great British Menu’s Ruth Hansom, was Newcomer of the Year.
“This is the seventh year that we have sponsored the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropub Awards, an awards ceremony that celebrates high calibre ingredients, culinary excellence and innovation, qualities that are also shared by Estrella Damm,” says James Healey, UK Country Manager for Estrella Damm,
“We want to extend our congratulations to all 50 gastropubs on the list and hope more pub-goers are lucky enough to experience their talent in 2022.”
The Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs 2022 list in full
1 The Unruly Pig, Woodbridge
2 Parkers Arms, Clitheroe
3 The Star Inn at Harome, Harome
4 The Angel at Hetton, Hetton
5 Freemasons at Wiswell, Clitheroe
6 The Sportsman, Whitstable
7 The Guinea Grill, London
8 The Fordwich Arms, Canterbury
9 The Mariners, Rock
10 The Hand & Flowers, Marlow
11 The Beehive, White Waltham
12 The Kentish Hare, Bidborough
13 The Coach, Marlow
14 The Cornish Arms, Tavistock
15 The Harwood Arms, London
16 The Red Lion and Sun, London
17 The Pyne Arms, Barnstaple
18 The Rat Inn, Anick
19 The Broad Chare, Newcastle Upon Tyne
20 The Hardwick, Abergavenny
21 The Bull & Last, London
22 The Masons Arms, Knowstone
23 The Pipe and Glass, Barnsley
24 The Longs Arms, South Wraxall
25 The Swan, Bampton
26 The White Swan at Fence, Fence
27 The Loch and The Tyne, Old Windsor
28 The Duncombe Arms, Ashbourne
29 The French House, Soho
30 The Moorcock, Norland Moor
31 The Shibden Mill Inn, Shibden
32 The Pack Horse, Hayfield
33 Heft, High Newton
34 The Felin Fach Griffin, Brecon
35 The Five Bells Inn, Cullompton
36 St Kew Inn, Bodmin
37 The Castle Inn, Castle Combe
38 The Canton Arms, Stockwell
39 The Higher Buck, Waddington
40 The Duck Inn, Pett Bottom
41 The Hovingham Inn, Yorkshire
42 The Plough, Coton
43 The Three Hills, Bartlow
44 The Hind’s Head, Bray
45 The Dog at Wingham, Wingham
46 The Bell Inn, Langford
47 The Black Bear Inn, Usk
48 The Cadeleigh Arms, Tiverton
49 The Bailiwick Free House, Egham
50 The Cross, Kenilworth