‘World beating’ and ‘awesome’: the UK’s best gastropub in 2026, according to Time Out

If there’s one thing we do well in Britain, it’s pubs. From the wet-led and flat-roofed to hipster joints serving crafties, British boozers come in all shapes and sizes. Today we’re here to talk about gastropubs – the drinking dens that also serve top-notch food. 

Time Out has just released a new list of the best gastropubs in the UK. Our ranking names the best of the best when it comes to pubs that are culinary destinations in their own right – it includes everything from Michelin-guided eateries to elegant London taverns and former country houses packed with modern art. 

Taking the crown for the UK’s best gastropub in 2026 was the Gunton Arms in Norfolk. With one of the UK’s best chefs, Stuart Tattersall, in the kitchen, this romantic countryside bolthole serves up local meat and fish cooked on an open fire. The best things to order at the Gunton include venison – bagged by the gamekeeper –, crab soup and pork belly served with bramley apple sauce. Diners tuck into English classics in a dining room that looks like a medieval banqueting hall. 

The pub is also home to a ‘world-beating’ and ‘awesome’ collection of modern art, including Damien Hirsts, Lucian Freuds and Tracey Emins, according to Time Out food and drink editor Leonie Cooper. This is down to the Gunton being owned by the art dealer Ivor Braka. But the pub is still ‘uniquely down to earth and a boozer for everyone’. The space caters to thirsty locals as well as down-from-Londoners on weekend trips, and has a pool table, dart board and roaring fire for the pub traditionalists. 

For more gastropubs: here are the 21 best in the UK.

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